The beneficent Congress of the United States has recently passed a new 
GI Bill for veterans of the US Armed Forces who served in the military 
on or after September 11th, 2001.  For those who served a full 36 months 
on active duty after that date (as I have done), they are funding a full 
36 months of college, including 100% tuition, all fees, $1K/annum book 
stipend, and a housing allowance for those who qualify (and you can bet 
that I will arrange my affairs to qualify, if I can).

I already have one bachelors (in computer and information science), but 
I am considering getting another bachelor's in a different field, 
preferably one with decent job prospects.

I am presently leaning towards pre-pharmacy (since the pharmacy field 
appears to be both challenging and rewarding, but not as stressful as 
medicine), but I could consider other fields.

If anyone has first-hand knowledge of other degree fields, I would be 
interested in hearing about the pros and cons.

Regards,
John

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On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:46:18 -0400, John VanSickle wrote:

> I am presently leaning towards pre-pharmacy (since the pharmacy field
> appears to be both challenging and rewarding, but not as stressful as
> medicine), but I could consider other fields.

Pharmacy as in working in one?  Here in the US, I understand (having 
worked a few years ago for a company that owns several pharmacy chains) 
that there is a shortage of qualified people to fill the pharmacist 
role), so that would be a good route, but I don't know that I'd call it a 
"stress-free" job, either (and I note you aren't, just "not as 
stressful").

But what I hear (I still keep in touch with a few people I used to work 
with), it's a field that has good job prospects at present.

Jim

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John VanSickle wrote:
> I already have one bachelors (in computer and information science), but 
> I am considering getting another bachelor's in a different field, 

Why not go for the masters? You don't want to repeat all the general courses 
a bachelor's takes, and you could almost finish a masters in 36 months with 
lots of coursework. You really want to take english lit and sociology again?

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Insanity is a small city on the western
   border of the State of Mind.

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On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:33:43 -0700, Darren New wrote:

> John VanSickle wrote:
>> I already have one bachelors (in computer and information science), but
>> I am considering getting another bachelor's in a different field,
> 
> Why not go for the masters? You don't want to repeat all the general
> courses a bachelor's takes, and you could almost finish a masters in 36
> months with lots of coursework. You really want to take english lit and
> sociology again?

I would think that if the credits carried over from his previous degree, 
it's be a few courses to get a second.  It was my understanding that 
that's how people who do multiple degrees tend to do it.

Jim

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Jim Henderson wrote:
> I would think that if the credits carried over from his previous degree, 
> it's be a few courses to get a second.  It was my understanding that 
> that's how people who do multiple degrees tend to do it.

I see. That makes sense. Anyway, consider a Master's. :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Insanity is a small city on the western
   border of the State of Mind.

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On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:05:08 -0700, Darren New wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> I would think that if the credits carried over from his previous
>> degree, it's be a few courses to get a second.  It was my understanding
>> that that's how people who do multiple degrees tend to do it.
> 
> I see. That makes sense. Anyway, consider a Master's. :-)

Well, I'd need a BA first. ;-)

Jim

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On 06/30/09 10:38, Jim Henderson wrote:
> Pharmacy as in working in one?  Here in the US, I understand (having
> worked a few years ago for a company that owns several pharmacy chains)
> that there is a shortage of qualified people to fill the pharmacist
> role), so that would be a good route, but I don't know that I'd call it a
> "stress-free" job, either (and I note you aren't, just "not as
> stressful").
>
> But what I hear (I still keep in touch with a few people I used to work
> with), it's a field that has good job prospects at present.

	I don't think I know any pharmacists personally in the US. But I know 
in Canada and some other countries, it's considered a good job for the 
money it pays (in terms of stress and I think education as well).

-- 
Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming 
only things that are good for you.


                     /\  /\               /\  /
                    /  \/  \ u e e n     /  \/  a w a z
                        >>>>>>mue### [at] nawazorg<<<<<<
                                    anl

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On 06/30/09 13:13, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:05:08 -0700, Darren New wrote:
>
>> Jim Henderson wrote:
>>> I would think that if the credits carried over from his previous
>>> degree, it's be a few courses to get a second.  It was my understanding
>>> that that's how people who do multiple degrees tend to do it.
>> I see. That makes sense. Anyway, consider a Master's. :-)
>
> Well, I'd need a BA first. ;-)

	If you're double majoring, credits transfer. If you're going to a new 
institution, then it gets hazy and would be something to look into.

	What Darren is suggesting is common. I've seen lots of people jump into 
a different area directly into the MS program, and they just take a bit 
longer because they're taking undergrad courses to make up for 
deficiencies. The usual downside is you may not get funding initially 
(TA/RA), but that doesn't seem to be a problem here.

-- 
Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming 
only things that are good for you.


                     /\  /\               /\  /
                    /  \/  \ u e e n     /  \/  a w a z
                        >>>>>>mue### [at] nawazorg<<<<<<
                                    anl

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John VanSickle <evi### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> I am presently leaning towards pre-pharmacy (since the pharmacy field
> appears to be both challenging and rewarding, but not as stressful as
> medicine), but I could consider other fields.
>

No direct experience, but lots of stories from a pharmacist friend.  Long, long,
long hours, and lots of dealing with the bureaucracies of government and health
plan benefits.


How about instead getting a degree in the branch of mathematics that lets you
get Charlie Epps' job?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Eppes

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Darren New wrote:
> John VanSickle wrote:
>> I already have one bachelors (in computer and information science), 
>> but I am considering getting another bachelor's in a different field, 
> 
> Why not go for the masters? You don't want to repeat all the general 
> courses a bachelor's takes,

I don't have to repeat them for a second bachelor's, either; most 
colleges require only the courses peculiar to the second major, and if 
those classes (and any prereqs taken along the way) don't add up to a 
certain number of credits, then I'd only need a few electives to fill in 
the gap.

Regards,
John

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