ellehina (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ellehina) wrote,@ 2007-10-05 11:14:00 |
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Ok so moving on to a different subject. I have finally decided to give up and go to school. If I want to get much beyond where I am now before 10 years has gone by I will have to and I don't want to stay here for that long. So now I have to figure out what the hell kind of degree I'm going to get and where I'm going to go to school.
Now to start with Principal (the place I work) just started a program with DMACC (the local community college) for graduating high school seniors to get into a program that will get them a 2 year degree and will give them guaranteed employement as an IT Buisiness Analyst (not the exact job title but close enough). I cannot get into the program officially because obviously I am not a graduating high school senior. HOWEVER as a Principal employee I could get into the classes and get the degree. Now I wouldn't have the guaranteed job but it might be enough to get me into the Business Analyst career track (which is where I want to be).
The problem here is that there is a LOT of IT emphasis in this program. I do not want to be an IT person I want to be a business analyst. I mean yes I know I would need to take some IT type courses to get where I want to be but I KNOW I don't need THAT many. So now to consider what other types of degrees I could get that might still get me where I want to go. Another minor problem is that the classes for this program would almost certainly all be in Ankeny meaning I would need my own car.
I have several options for schools. DMACC, William Penn, Grandview, Vatterott, AIB. I know there are others but those are the obvious ones. In looking through course options and information online I have pretty much discounted William Penn, Vatterott & AIB. I don't think they really have the programs or program flexibility to give me what I need. So that leaves DMACC & Grandview.
Grandview has several pluses going for it. Based on the information available online I see I could get an individualized Major. Basically what I see myself wanting is something combining Business Administration with Information Technology Management. So I could really get what I need not some generalized degree that might not really help. They only have the one campus which I could reach via bus so transportation wouldn't be a MAJOR issue. However Grandveiw is REALLY expensive for me. I wouldn't be able to cover all costs with the tuition reimbursement program here at work. I really can't afford to be paying a ton for college right now. Even with the tuition reimbursement I'd have to take out a loan to cover my first set of classes until the tuition reimbursement started kicking in. I know it's a really good college and would look good on my resume. But I just don't know that I could afford it.
So that brings us back to DMACC. DMACC offers an online Business Administration degree (it's not 100% online classes but only a very few would I need to go to and actual class for). So there's the transportation problem taken care of. The degree can have a computer emphasis so I could get some of the computer type stuff the other degree required without going totally overboard. Plus I could probably snag a few of the Principal specific courses offered by the other program to help round out my degree. It wouldn't be QUITE as focused as the other degree so might not be quite as useful but I think it might still get me where I want to go. Another benefit is the whole degree is estimated to cost less than the amount I can get in tuition reimbursement over 2 years. I estimate that it will probably take me a little over 2 years to complete all the coursework as I don't want all of my time taken over by school. So except for books and supplies I could have this paid for by my work. DMACC isn't quite as prestigous a school as the others but it's also cheaper.
I know I can't get this all resolved yet. I need to take care of a few things on my credit before I can get the small loan I would need to cover me starting my classes. But I think I MIGHT be able to start in the summer next year or by the fall of next year for sure.
Ok well enough rambling on that subject now. I need people to go back to the post about the job and help me out there!
Now to start with Principal (the place I work) just started a program with DMACC (the local community college) for graduating high school seniors to get into a program that will get them a 2 year degree and will give them guaranteed employement as an IT Buisiness Analyst (not the exact job title but close enough). I cannot get into the program officially because obviously I am not a graduating high school senior. HOWEVER as a Principal employee I could get into the classes and get the degree. Now I wouldn't have the guaranteed job but it might be enough to get me into the Business Analyst career track (which is where I want to be).
The problem here is that there is a LOT of IT emphasis in this program. I do not want to be an IT person I want to be a business analyst. I mean yes I know I would need to take some IT type courses to get where I want to be but I KNOW I don't need THAT many. So now to consider what other types of degrees I could get that might still get me where I want to go. Another minor problem is that the classes for this program would almost certainly all be in Ankeny meaning I would need my own car.
I have several options for schools. DMACC, William Penn, Grandview, Vatterott, AIB. I know there are others but those are the obvious ones. In looking through course options and information online I have pretty much discounted William Penn, Vatterott & AIB. I don't think they really have the programs or program flexibility to give me what I need. So that leaves DMACC & Grandview.
Grandview has several pluses going for it. Based on the information available online I see I could get an individualized Major. Basically what I see myself wanting is something combining Business Administration with Information Technology Management. So I could really get what I need not some generalized degree that might not really help. They only have the one campus which I could reach via bus so transportation wouldn't be a MAJOR issue. However Grandveiw is REALLY expensive for me. I wouldn't be able to cover all costs with the tuition reimbursement program here at work. I really can't afford to be paying a ton for college right now. Even with the tuition reimbursement I'd have to take out a loan to cover my first set of classes until the tuition reimbursement started kicking in. I know it's a really good college and would look good on my resume. But I just don't know that I could afford it.
So that brings us back to DMACC. DMACC offers an online Business Administration degree (it's not 100% online classes but only a very few would I need to go to and actual class for). So there's the transportation problem taken care of. The degree can have a computer emphasis so I could get some of the computer type stuff the other degree required without going totally overboard. Plus I could probably snag a few of the Principal specific courses offered by the other program to help round out my degree. It wouldn't be QUITE as focused as the other degree so might not be quite as useful but I think it might still get me where I want to go. Another benefit is the whole degree is estimated to cost less than the amount I can get in tuition reimbursement over 2 years. I estimate that it will probably take me a little over 2 years to complete all the coursework as I don't want all of my time taken over by school. So except for books and supplies I could have this paid for by my work. DMACC isn't quite as prestigous a school as the others but it's also cheaper.
I know I can't get this all resolved yet. I need to take care of a few things on my credit before I can get the small loan I would need to cover me starting my classes. But I think I MIGHT be able to start in the summer next year or by the fall of next year for sure.
Ok well enough rambling on that subject now. I need people to go back to the post about the job and help me out there!
