Morgan19d Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 I have 15 years in the Army and am wrapping up an Associates degree in Business Management and Marketing. I am going to transfer to a 4 year school(wide open choices since I will be doing distance learning online) and am thinking I may stick to the business degree route. I have seen A LOT of different business degrees with varying focus and was curious as to your opinions which may be good to pursue. I ask because I know there are MANY successful professionals on this forum and, honestly, I am still unsure what I want to do once I retire. I would love to get into something business related with cars, but might pursue teaching also. I know, I know... I am 34 y/o and still don't know what I want to do when I grow up! Thanks in advance for any advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helge Ruchelski Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 I always wanted to be a cowboy...just saying...Good luck with whatever you choose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svtakach62 Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 I had to make the same decision 25 year ago. I started out in Finance but we were in a banking crisis back then so I changed to accounting. You don't want to get a GB degree because you really aren't specializing in anything. I ended up with an accounting degree and have found that with that degree I can get a job basically anywhere: banking, marketing, business manager, financial advisor. I worked 3 years as an accountant and then went to work as a Financial Advisor for the last 20 years. I would stick with Accounting, Finance, or Marketing in that order. Good Luck, SVT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IngotSilverSnake Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 I have 15 years in the Army and am wrapping up an Associates degree in Business Management and Marketing. I am going to transfer to a 4 year school(wide open choices since I will be doing distance learning online) and am thinking I may stick to the business degree route. I have seen A LOT of different business degrees with varying focus and was curious as to your opinions which may be good to pursue. I ask because I know there are MANY successful professionals on this forum and, honestly, I am still unsure what I want to do once I retire. I would love to get into something business related with cars, but might pursue teaching also. I know, I know... I am 34 y/o and still don't know what I want to do when I grow up! Thanks in advance for any advice! I retired from 27 years in the AF in 1996. I decided to do what I enjoyed doing rather than pursue a second "traditional" career. Drove 18 wheelers, sold cars, Jap and HD bikes, and worked in the marine industry selling boats and yachts. Had a great time doing all of the above. Now fully retired and just playing with my toys. Do what makes you happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07SGT Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 Whatever you do be sure you get a degree. The world has changed and a BS or BA is required for almost any position today. Why..........because they can. There are many unemployed people with BS degrees so why hire a person with only a high school diploma. Employers look upon you as more well rounded if you have a degree. And choose your distance learning center very carefully. Be sure it is an accredited university as many are not. Choose one with a great reputation. Check US News and World Report site for distance learning colleges and other sites. Again, be sure it is accredited. Schools such as ITT are not usually accredited even though they offer degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grsybtch Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 I retired from 27 years in the AF in 1996. I decided to do what I enjoyed doing rather than pursue a second "traditional" career. Drove 18 wheelers, sold cars, Jap and HD bikes, and worked in the marine industry selling boats and yachts. Had a great time doing all of the above. Now fully retired and just playing with my toys. Do what makes you happy! The MOST important advise!!!!!!! ^^^^^^^^ Decide what you are going to be happy doing, then tailor your degree to specialize in that and maybe minor in business. In today's world, a business management degree is like the old Liberal arts degree.......too general Good luck and Thank You for your 15 years of service to our country Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffJ Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 I'm not sure how well you like computers, programing or other? If so, getting a business degree with an emphasis on finance/accounting and IT has a world of possibilities. I'm in the SAP world and the demand is huge for SAP programmers/analysts, and the pay is good. But only if you enjoy that sort of thing. I really do not that much, but it's what I do. Having a good understanding of Accounting/Finance and then getting into IT is very marketable. I was at a college last week for a meeting in Denver, and they even offer IT classes directed towards SAP now. Now if I had to do it all over again, I would have gone to college and got my fire science degree and gone straight into being a firefighter as a career. I spent 21 years as a volunteer where I live and just retired from that a couple years back. My heart is still in that, but it's a young mans game to start out at the bottom. I almost made the jump to career a couple years back, but I couldn't take the pay cut to start all over again at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hawkins Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) I have 15 years in the Army and am wrapping up an Associates degree in Business Management and Marketing. I am going to transfer to a 4 year school(wide open choices since I will be doing distance learning online) and am thinking I may stick to the business degree route. I have seen A LOT of different business degrees with varying focus and was curious as to your opinions which may be good to pursue. I ask because I know there are MANY successful professionals on this forum and, honestly, I am still unsure what I want to do once I retire. I would love to get into something business related with cars, but might pursue teaching also. I know, I know... I am 34 y/o and still don't know what I want to do when I grow up! Thanks in advance for any advice! Run for Congress and shake things up. Edited October 25, 2013 by tesgt350 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperNC Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 You guys will get a kick out of this. My degree is in recreation with an emphasis in corporate fitness (yes I got a degree in FUN). Did my internship at Lockheed Martin in ATL prior to graduation working in their onsite fitness facility. A life insurance company offered me a job straight out of college and almost 20 years later I'm one of the 3% that make it in this industry. Sometimes I wonder how I made it when 97% of the people who attempt to get into sales selling life insurance fail. A client recently gave me a compliment stating my demeanor was similar to a physician with an excellent bedside manner. The saying is true - people don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care. Bottom line, in many cases a 4 year degree is proof to a potential employer that you can start and finish a project and you are trainable. I guess it really depends what you want to do. Some careers demand a specialty education, such as the medical field, accounting, engineering, law, etc. I found that sales requires excellent communication skills, strong work ethic, and a desire to help people. If you have those three attributes you'll do well in sales. You wake up unemployed everyday being on straight commission, but the up side is limitless. If you do some good for others, you will do well. These days I work about 35 hours a week and sometimes less. Plenty of time to ride my bike, motorcycle, drive the Shelby and then be back for family time with wife and kids. Not a bad lifestyle if you can pull it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali_KR Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 (edited) I got a degree in parking lot.... ....moving on....with a blunt.... Best of luck in your choice. Do what makes you happy. Edited October 26, 2013 by Cali_KR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
real_supersnake Posted October 26, 2013 Report Share Posted October 26, 2013 I am 34 and just got out of the Army. Based on what I have seen so far, I would recommend you take a look at the world of contracting. I am working on govt contract overseas and the business part of the delivery is my Achilles heel. I sure wish I had a better understanding of the business side to all of this. I am actually going to go back for a degree next fall. Good luck in your journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan19d Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Thanks for all the input everyone! Both in the open thread and through PM. I have some more thinking to do, but feel that if I do go for a business degree it would be wise to go more specialized like with accounting. May still decide to go into teaching too. Thanks again for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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