Here's the deal... I seem to have hit a brick wall. I have a full-time career which I work Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm. I also own my house. I'm trying to go back to school to earn my undergrad in Physics, but every school that I've talked to doesn't offer all the classes I need outside of my working hours. In fact, over HALF of my current classes are only offered during the hours in which I work. I explained this to my current counselor and let her know that there was absolutely no way I could get out of work to take these classes (because of the nature of my job). I asked if there was a way to take them with online, test out of them, or take them at night or on the weekends. She said that these classes were ONLY offered during those times (times which I have to work). I asked, "Then how am I suppose to ever complete my degree?" Her response was that I should work part-time (which is an impossibility because not only is this my career, not just some random job, but also because I have a mortgage and car note to pay. Working part-time would mean abandoning my career and foreclosing on my house just to go to school. Yeah.... I don't think so, pal. Her other advice was that I should pick a degree program which is specifically offered for working adults where classes are offered strictly in the evening. The problem is that only gives me two options - Business or Pre-Dental, neither of which I want to do. In fact, this seems to be the norm here. Every school in the region has the same two damn degree programs for evenings and nothing else. I don't want Business. I don't want Medical or Dental. I have no interest in either of them. Am I missing something? Am I really out of options here? Has anyone else here been in this situation?
It seems that universities are losing interest in educating mature adults. Such a shame. 35 years ago, Mrs. Fraggle earned both her bachelor's degree and her master's degree in English entirely with evening classes. [Asterisk: she quit her job and became a full-time day student in the last quarter of her master's program, because she was running into the seven-year deadline and this was the only way to beat it.] Perhaps universities only want young students now because they won't realize what a bad deal most degree programs are today, for people who want to make enough money to pay back their student loans before they retire. My 1967 B.S. in accounting from a very good state university cost about $8K per year (in today's dollars), including books. I think it was right here on SciForums where I ran into a lady who had more than $100K in student loans, and the only job she could get was as a barmaid. I'm curious about the kind of work you're doing, and how a B.S. in physics is going to help you move forward? It doesn't seem like the key to great advancement for a person in your circumstances. Obviously you're not going to sell your house and move into a garret for the love of science. Night classes are, indeed, more common in the business administration school. Surely also in I.T., although as a hiring manager I put a diploma in I.T. in the same category as a cereal boxtop coupon. They'll both expire in five years.
If you are working full-time, especially in a career-type job that's supposed to be your first priority, part-time study is just about your only option. You will have to proceed slowly, taking just one or two classes a semester. And if you are working during the day, your options would appear to be limited to night and/or online classes. You face an additional problem due to the fact that you want a degree in the hard sciences. Programs such as physics are going to require lots of laboratory classes where you will need to be physically present. So online programs will be hard to find in the sciences. Unless you can find a local school that offers all the required lab classes at night, physics is going to be hard to pull off. Here's a question: Why are you seeking a bachelors degree in physics? If it's a matter of personal interest, then maybe you can look for a program in a related subject. For example, you could enroll in an online BA program in philosophy, and then kind of specialize in the philosophy of science. There are several viable online philosophy BA's out there. Acouple of examples: The University of New Orleans http://www.uno.edu/cola/Departments/Philosophy/online.aspx The University of London's International Programme http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/birkbeck/ba-diploma-philosophy#overview If doing this interests you, there's maybe half a dozen other decent online philosophy BA programs that I could also list if you like.
Can't really add anything to Yazata's advice. Just wanted to say ...I wish you great success! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Another option is mathematics. There are quite a few online bachelors programs in mathematics. You could try to find one with an applied mathematics option whose classes are relevant to physical and engineering problems. Again, if you are interested in this idea, say something, and I'll try to post some possibilities.
Yes, that's not too far from what I was driving at. If you already have a life and a career and a house, then deciding that you want to be a scientist is roughly equivalent to deciding that you want to be a musician. You're going to have to dump your whole life and start over. And you may never attain the same economic level that you have now. (More true of music than science, but the risk is there.) And your point is well taken. Classes in the "hard sciences" have laboratory work, and they are only held in the daytime when the majority of the students are there. He'd have the same trouble in chemistry or biology. Where there's a will there's a way, of course. But the question is: how much is he willing to sacrifice?
searching on the phrase "online undergrad physics degree" yielded the following: http://www.google.com/search?client...ee&btnG=Google Search&oq=&aq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_l= some of the above are from places such as penn state and MIT.
I'm not sure what college or university you are going to, but there is no reason why they shouldn't offer evening or night classes to those that need them.
Nope. There is only one shift where I work. I'm currently a Regional Sales and Marketing Director for a electrical and mechanical engineering company (my current degree is in Mechanical Engineering. I just somehow got stuck on the Sales and Marketing side of the business). I don't expect a Physics degree to get me any further in my position. My goal would eventually to become a teacher. Thanks! And yes, it's a matter of personal interest. Thanks! After speaking with the advisors last week, this is the option I chose to go with. I've know switched my degree program to Mathematics. Unfortunately, the reason why evening classes are available for many of the courses is because that there just simply isn't enough demand to have them. There are only a select few going after a Physics degree. Therefore the specialized courses (like Quantum Physics, Astrophysics, etc) that really aren't used by a wide variety of other degree programs are just offered during the day. In the school's eyes, it's pointless to have to pay the extra money to offer evening classes for these courses when only a very very small number of students would need them since most students going after physics are full-time students that are able to take them during the day.
