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In a dramatic shift, Americans no longer see four-year college degrees as worth the cost
(www.nbcnews.com)
this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2025
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Once again, thank you, and apologies for the delay in my response. I was traveling this weekend and didn’t have time to really absorb your post until now.
IT degree – The degree I’m looking at is a business degree focused on IT Management. I chose this because it’s business-oriented, lets me leverage some of the experience I already have, and includes content outside my current wheelhouse that’s directly applicable to the roles I’m targeting. It also leaves a future path open if I decide to continue. My intention is to complete the IT Management degree and then evaluate whether I want to go on to an MBA or pursue more education in a different direction. The idea is to achieve something relatively quickly and stack wins so I feel like I’m making real progress. My biggest worry with jumping into something entirely new is burnout.
WGU - This is the first program I’ve really dug into, and it seems like a good fit for what I’m looking for. I understand their model, and my hope is that I can move through it fairly quickly. I’m not trying to “speedrun” it, but I do want to use my existing experience to accelerate where it makes sense. Based on my research, it still checks the most boxes. I have a full-time job, I have kids, I’m an assistant scoutmaster for my kid’s troop and so I need something that lets me learn at my own pace, in fits and bursts as I can clear time. I’ve run some financial numbers, and if I can stick to a plan, I think WGU (or a similar online, competency-based program) is still my best bet. Plus, I kind of like the idea of trying school in a different way than the traditional model, since I never had much love for traditional classroom environments.
Costs – As I said, I’ve run some numbers. I could do some prerequisites through something like Study.com, but the cost savings versus the added complexity just isn’t worth it to me. I’d rather commit to a complete program and march through it; I know myself well enough to know I need to feel like I’m “on the path.” I do have some tuition reimbursement and have reached out to HR for details, but even without that, WGU is affordable. My planning assumes a two-year target for the degree, but I’m fine if it ends up taking three.
I’m working on finding any transferable credits I might have and trying to track down my ACT scores (do 30-year-old test results even still exist?). I’m also talking with some trusted colleagues and friends who’ve been down a similar path for advice. I also personally know a career coach who is absolutely fantastic, and we’re meeting next week.
So, a plan is coming together. Thanks again for all your advice, this is good stuff and will absolutely help me on my path.
I thought about a graduate degree too, however my career really took off (partially because of jobs I was able to get that had a Bachelors requirement). A graduate degree at this point in my life would not advance my career further and actually probably reduce my success because of the time commitment and what it would mean I couldn't do with that same time and energy. Maybe I'll chase one after I retire just for fun!
I had this same worry for myself, and it is certainly a balancing act. Too much course load, and you won't succeed on learning/passing then get burned out even if you do. Too little, and you might get "comfortable" again getting your time and schedule back to what you had before you started.
For me I found success by starting with one course per term for the first term, then two courses per term for two more terms, then three per term (finding out that was too much), then dropping back down to two per term. Additionally, I never took a term off. I was worried I wouldn't go back, so I did the low-and-slow path or the entirety of my Associates degree to completion. Then when I got the new job (with tuition reimbursement), I did the same, low-and-slow until completing the Bachelors degree.
Right now you might be thinking "how am I going to find the time to do this along with everything else?!" After the 2nd week of this new responsibility you will have it worked into your schedule. You will then ask yourself "What was I doing before with all this time I found for school commitments?!", and finally after you graduate a month or two later you'll loop back and say "Where the heck did I find all that time for the school commitments!?"
You've got this! The hardest part is just starting. You are so close. Just. Start.