Taking 18 credits hours per semester?

[Titanium3er]

Originally Posted by RandomHero

I don't think his priority should be whether he gets paid or not. The whole point of earning a degree is so you can use it. Taking 12 credit hours a semester would mean 5+ years in school. From strictly an age standpoint, you're already starting behind people who entered college immediately after high school

Let's put that into perspective:
Assuming you enlisted at 18, only did 4 years of active duty, and did the 12 hour/semester plan....that means you're earning your degree at 27+ years old. Meanwhile, other people in their related field could have as much as 6 years of actual work experience after graduating. If that's your plan, I'd question if a degree would actually be beneficial towards your future.

I also have to disagree with this. Perhaps comparing yourself to your peers in this manner makes sense in a vacuum, but in the real world "better late than never" usually applies.

[kihun]

lol, finishing college is my #1 priority right now. It's never too late. I have a classmate that's over 35 and this motivates me because he always tells me.. its never late. he's in sales for over 15 years and he was in the navy. I get paid to go to school.. yea 2100 BAH ain't nothing, nothing left after paying bills but I made sure I have some savings before I got out.

[ake53]

It's possible. I currently take 16 credits and work full time day job in IT.

[RandomHero]

Originally Posted by boostedTIAG335

This is all bullshit. Higher education will never be less beneficial to your future. I started college when I was 18 but I was going part time (6-8 credits per semester). I only did that because I was working full-time and making good money for my age. 2.5 years later, I was starting to realize how not having a college degree would hurt how successful I would be in the future. I straight up quit my job and went to school full time. Finished my degree in 2.5 years. Now I'm making more than double what I was making when I quit my old job.

If you want to graduate in 4 years or less, take 15-18 credits per semester. Most "suggested" academic schedules are for minimum 15 credit hours. I took 49 credit hours in one year. 18 in the fall, 18 in the spring and 13 in the summer. Sure, my life sucked. But I wasn't working and I put the "getting shit faced every weekend" on hold. I'm happy I did that.

This is coming from the person that thought college was stupid and a waste of time at the age of 17. My parents physically took me to the university I got accepted to and made me sign up for classes. I will forever be in debt to them. Especially because they stretched themselves thin to pay for every dime of my tuition.

You’ve entirely missed my point. I will elaborate below

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

If I had worried about this I would not be where I am today. I didn't start medical school until I was almost 30. 6-7 years older than most of my classmates. Didn't bother me and I had no problem finding a job. Not trying to bash but he's got time if it's what he really wants to do.

Again you are entirely missing my point.

Originally Posted by M_Six

Likewise here. Got my BS degree at 37. Got a decent job immediately. Never looked back. Although I do agree that dragging things out longer than needed is a waste of time. If the OP can do 18 hours/semester, then do it and get the degree faster.

Same

Originally Posted by Titanium3er

I also have to disagree with this. Perhaps comparing yourself to your peers in this manner makes sense in a vacuum, but in the real world "better late than never" usually applies.

I don’t think it’s bullshit in the least. My post was taken out of context. I am a strong supporter of the fact that he’s considering taking 18 hours to speed up this process much less the fact that he’s going to college in the first place. I said “The whole point of earning a degree is so you can use it.”

I am not saying for a second that you must have a degree before a certain age. I know plenty of successful people that earned their degrees much later in life. Heck, to relate it to this topic, I lived in a large military town for 6 years and saw plenty of people earn their degrees after serving our country (something I have a great deal of respect for). One of my former business partners served in the military for 12 years then got an online degree from Kaplan at 40 years old. Now he’s a successful Financial Advisor with the largest wealth management firm in the world.

My point is this: If you serve in the military and then earn your degree in 3-4 years after YOU ARE GOING TO GET HIRED BY SOMEONE. Companies love educated people with a military background. It’s strong proof that the person is both educated and has a strong work ethic.

However, if you serve in the military and then take 6 years to earn your degree with no internships, work experience, or anything other than education, you will likely still get hired, but it may be a point of concern for a hiring manager.

My point wasn’t even military specific, really. It’s saying that an applicant that graduated in 4 years is much more desirable than an applicant that graduated in 6 years (everything else equal).

TL;DR- It matters very little when you go back to school. If you assumed that that was what my point was, you misinterpreted my point. What matters is that you can prove you haven’t fucked around in life. A military background, good grades, and a reasonable time in school prove that point to a hiring manager.

To use an example:
Of these three candidates, who would you hire?

Candidate 1:
Marines 18-21 years old
College- 21-24
Candidate 2: Marines 18-21 years old
College- 21-26 years old
Candidate 3:
College 18-23 years old

All things equal, I’m taking Candidate 1 100% of the time. He’s a year older than candidate 3 but he has a proven work ethic, 4 years of work experience, and now he has a degree. He's accomplished the same thing in less time as Candidate 2, and he's accomplished much more than Candidate 3 with only a year of extra time. That’s all I’m trying to say.

[black335i]

I took 18hrs and 21hrs even in undergrad, if you feel you can then do it.

[budski]

While I was in college, I'd say "no way!" but now that I'm older (not much) I think it's definitely doable especially if you're focused.

If you did IT stuff while in the military you'll be WAY more marketable than a standard college grad.

If you decide to work in the DoD field after graduating, I'd suggest going Reserve or Guard to maintain your clearance.

[mdosu]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

only 18 credit hours.....

Did you say former Marine or former air force???

oh snap! called out another slacker!


Marine-
We expect you to take 20 credit hours, while conducting surface warfare simulation, while walking in Baltimore at 2AM.


on a serious note, it all depends on course load and difficulty of work. I'm not sure how technical each course is, so you have to balance it properly. I've loaded up on 20 hours before. But only half of them are technical courses that require massive energy and time and is part of my major. The other class were easier general classes...just some thoughts

[bosstones]

It's already been said, but it depends on your coursework. All gen-eds? Stack that sh*t up no problem. Core major classes, it'll depend on your professors and the individual (let's face it...some topics sink in better than other depending on the person). Either way, 18hrs/sem isn't unrealistic. If you're taking less than 16hrs, somethings wrong. Don't worry about getting sh*t faced every weekend. I spent my free time grappling and kickboxing instead of drinking and don't regret or feel I missed a thing. Best of all, it was an awesome stress reducer and kept me in great shape.

[CJ421]

I did 16-18 credits per semester in college (my college actually had quarters, 10 weeks, but whatever). Seemed relatively normal.

If your college has a LinkedIn/Facebook discussion group, ask on there about specific classes, difficulty level, professors and so on.

Also take advantage of your college's class/schedule advisers. They can really help you out.

P.S. plenty of people at my school were in their late 20s/30s.

[kihun]

Originally Posted by budski

While I was in college, I'd say "no way!" but now that I'm older (not much) I think it's definitely doable especially if you're focused.

If you did IT stuff while in the military you'll be WAY more marketable than a standard college grad.

If you decide to work in the DoD field after graduating, I'd suggest going Reserve or Guard to maintain your clearance.

LOL.. my MOS in the Marine corp was infantry rifle man.
I do have secret clearance. but before the Marine corp, I used to work at reputable IT company..(entry level)