Help me pick a major!

[septmommy]

I am a stay at home mom with no college under my belt. I am newly single and ready to start being self sufficient. I would like a degree that will give me a good chance of finding work, offer a decent salary, and some flexibility would be awesome. I would prefer to work with people than with numbers or machines. I have a set amount of money put aside that will take me through about four years of school but obviously if I went to less school it would be nice to have the rest of that money left. Ideas I've had:

Ultrasound tech - would enjoy it, short schooling period, but it sounds like jobs are hard to find.

Nurse - Great salary and schedule, but the schooling and waiting lists sounds brutal.

Teacher - Same schedule as my kids, but masters necessary which I don't have the money set aside for.

I am open to any ideas. Please throw suggestions at me!

Oh my kids are 5 and 7 and in school. I would LOVE a career that allowed me to homeschool, but I'm trying to be realistic too!

[LynnS6]

Other fields to think about:

Dental hygiene? I don't know what the job market is like, but the pay is pretty good, and the hours can be somewhat flexible (though probably not enough to let you homeschool, but you never know).

LPN: Shorter schooling than RN and you'd get the experience that you'd need to make your application to nursing school look good.

Speech Language Pathology: Also requires graduate school, but if you're a school-based SLP, you can have the same schedule as your kids and the pay is good.

[EFmom]

There are a bunch of allied health fields, like the pp mentioned, that pay pretty well, have a better than average expected job growth, and many only require an associates degree. Around here there are openings for ultrasound techs.

Google the Occupational Outlook Handbook. It's online and it gives average earnings, job outlook and educational requirements. It's a great place to start.

[RaeDyCo]

I have no idea on the job prospects in the US on these but here are my suggestions:

Radiation Therapist

Cardiovascular Technologist

Respiratory Therapist

[3tammuz]

You do not neccessarily need a master's for education. It will get you more pay, but many teachers get their bachelors, start teaching then go back for a masters (either taking a leave of absence or doing night classes).

Speech-Language Pathology: Requires a master's, but there is a huge demand for them. There are quite a fews ways to get graduate school paid for given the hugh demand. I am a SLP, so pm if you have questions. I work in the schools and LOVE what I do.

I second the other options above. GOOD LUCK

[Happiestever]

You could also look into being a SLP assistant. That I believe is a two year program.

[meemee]

so you have to start from scratch right?

dont even worry about all that.

just go to school and start taking your GE's.

and as you do you will get a better sense of what you want to do.

why do i say that. i was all set up to pursue a certain path before finishing my GE.

and then i took this one summer class. WHAM!!!!! it hit me like a tonne of bricks. and completely changed my life. and has so inspired me and pulled me out of the hard places i have been at.

i like how you are thinking. i would also try to find some sort of internship or volunteering position in the field you decide on just to see if you would like it. THAT's when i discovered i liked the principal of it, but didnt really like the other aspects of being a biologist.

[CrazyCatLady]

Like meemee said, actually being in college may totally change your mind about what you want to do. It may give you all kinds of ideas that you never even considered.

If you do pick a healthcare related job, I would just do a bit of research first. There are so many trade schools cranking out certain kinds of healthcare workers (like MA's). Too many and then it makes it hard to find a job in that field. So if it were me I'd try and pick one that you definitely need a basic degree for. Then you'll likely have a lot more options when you're job hunting.

I'm a single mom in school studying to become a teacher. My major has changed from Spanish, to child development, and now I'm considering psychology.

So definitely get started (even if you don't know what you want to do yet) and hopefully actually being in school will help you to figure things out. Good luck!

[meemee]

Originally Posted by CrazyCatLady

I'm a single mom in school studying to become a teacher. My major has changed from Spanish, to child development, and now I'm considering psychology.

the other day my xmil was goodheartedly making fun of me. because my major has changed from computer programming [took me toooooo long to get it - main aim was trying to work from home to be home with dd], mathematics [didnt like the job options], ECE [wanted to open my dc and be home with dd], anthro-biology [wanted to study conservation], to finally anthro/native american studies. it really helped me to take those bio classes to realise how much of a humanist i am. i came away thinking i really dont care how many pistils or stamens a flower has. i want to know how it impacts peoples lives.

the funniest part even as i did bio my anthro proff kept teasing me 'just declare anthro as your major, do it. i'm just waiting for the day you will. you are way too much an anthropologist to not be one.' i am friends with all my profs i have taken except a few. and the ones who are office mates of my proffs. they all keep tabs on me because they are watching to see how my life turns out. some of them are organic farmers and i have actually gone and helped them on their farm. [one of my hobbies and something i want to look into are agricultural methods].

so what i am saying is i have a lot of people invested in me. so when its time for me to get a job i doubt i will have a hard time coz i will get tonnes of letters of recommend from people who know me for years and have helped me get scholarships.

[CrazyCatLady]

I understand what you're saying. Yeah...this is my second time in college. The first time I went from majoring in philosophy, to dance, to physical education, to finally nursing (and I did become a nurse, it lasted about four months )

Sorry for taking your thread off topic OP. I hope our indecisiveness doesn't make you more nervous about any of this.

[Ianthe]

If you are a newly single SAHM you should qualify for full funding, so you shouldn't have to dip into your savings for school

I agree with the others to start taking some generals and see what you click with. I went from political science to psychology to sociology to finally anthropology. I've toyed with doing nursing school just for the money and schedule, but my heart is in anthro and I've worked too many jobs I've hated (and a few jobs that I loved) to know that I won't survive (mentally) if I doing something just for the money and the hours.

[Drummer's Wife]

As for the ideas you have - sonographers, nurses, and teachers are all having a hard time finding employment right now. It's hard to say, of course, what the future looks like (and this also depends on your area). I like the idea of SLP, b/c it pays better than all of the above, and is in demand in many places. However, it would take you 5-6 years going full-time (possibly longer), and some programs may be hard to get into. It's something I have considered, myself, but have decided on nursing - as hard as it may be for new RN grads to find work today; I just hope that changes by the time I graduate.

I agree with taking your gen ed. courses and deciding what you are passionate about. Then you can do some more research into specific careers and possibly by then have a better idea what's in store for our economy.

Good luck deciding.

[Holland73]

Originally Posted by 3tammuz

but many teachers get their bachelors, start teaching then go back for a masters (either taking a leave of absence or doing night classes).

I strongly disagree. I didn't just get my bachelors degree and start teaching. Specific training and education is imperative. Teaching 20+ students is not easy and just any standard bachelors degree is not enough.

There is typically either a fifth year (aka a credential program), which also includes student teaching

OR

what is becoming more common... a MAT (Masters of Arts in Teaching), which is typically the same as the fifth year program, except -- and this is a BIG except, those masters level classes taken with a MAT program will allow you a significantly higher salary.

You cannot become credentialed without either one of those.

I am a solo mama & elem. teacher in a high-needs, urban school. Teaching has been a godsend for me and my son in so many ways, particularly financially and allowing me to be a very present and available mama. But, it has also been very hard. Those first couple of years were h***!

[Holland73]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

I agree with taking your gen ed. courses and deciding what you are passionate about. Then you can do some more research into specific careers

[ashleyhaugh]

im a fairly newly single mama too... i wanted to be an architect in high school, and then i wanted to be a preschool teacher forever. i started taking classes, then got divorced and moved... im working at a daycare again,and while i was looking at job openings in the school district, i saw a posting for sign language interpeters that just jumped out at me. i had already been feeling maybe i didnt want to be a teacher after all. sign language is something ive been interested in since i was a kid. this is a 2 year course (i just finished the last step in enrolling. i cant take any of the sign language courses til spring, but im gonna get a few others out of the way in the flex 2 term coming up) that im super excited about. and pretty flexible i think. if i wanna workwith kids, i can, if i want to do it somewhere else, i can do that to.