alright, its late at nite and it hits me "what the heck am i doing"

i am in college, second semester, a community college, i am doing an A.S. general major, my plan was to transfer to the university and major in politcal science. the reason is so i can get into my dream career in the state department.

now, i am looking, there is no way i can afford to go to the university, my medical bills and other bills accumulated during my cancer treatment are dragging me as it is, not alone paying twice the cost at the university.

so i was looking and thinking, what if i just get an applied science degree like in electronics or something, and use that with my previous military experince and get a job for a while, pay off some stuff, then resume school, or go to school during the evening while working.

the job i want with the state department doesn't even require a degree actually, just got to be smart and good writing and speech skills.

now, are the applied scinece degrees worth the darn? i see lots of electronic tech type jobs available, my skills now are rusty, but was wondering, since a few of you know this stuff good, would i be wasting my time? i don't want to get a worthless degree.

and i am really bad at math, so the whole engineering thing is no good for me, thats why i was doing political science thing, plus the line of work i would like requires that type of degree also. i am a firm beleiver in "real" skills, like construction, plubing, computer, etc, things you can do, political science pretty much just certifies my opinion on something i guess, not much use outside the gov.

just seeing what your all's opinions and advice is, i have to get a real job sometime in the next year or i will have to start getting things repossed and payments not made. trying to get some dang doors opened for me.

 

fwiw, I got an AS before I transfered to a university. In IL, an AS degree guarente's that all of your classes transfer.

Doesn't the GI bill pay for your education? (went to school with lots of guardsmen who didnt have to pay a dime)

you'll be a non traditional student, you should qualify for high dollar amount grants, and then get a student loan for the rest. I know lots of "broke" people who went to college.

 

i could go to the university if i was just "broke", but i owe med bills and various other expenses from being unemployed while having cancer.

i would be cruising just fine money wise if i didn't have the added expenses, but payments here and there keep me in the poor house.

 

so since you have bills you cant:

get a gi bill?
get student loans?
get college grants?

 

oh, i get the gi bill and college loans.

but, i owe about 100k dollars in medical bills, and that is spread out among 5 different people, so making payments to all of them before they take me to collections.

then i got rent, would love cheaper, but anything cheaper puts me in ghetto land and there is no way i am going to live in some high crime crap hole.

then my car, i had to get something, and had to take a loan out unfortuntly, but had no cash reserves left, but it has a great warranty and i fit in it.

then i had to take out a bank loan for low interest to cover the high interest credit card stuff i ran up while being unemployed, so got that payment to make. but saved my rear from getting into credit card trouble.

on top of that, been looking for work for 6 months, any work, and have not got any yet for whatever reason.

so, besides that, its cool, but the gi bill and student loan doesn't go far enough, then again, niether does any job around here.

heck, i don't know, maybe its to late for me to be thinking right now.

of course (ok my little rant) i wouldn't be in this mess if my dad didn't lie his rear off about the so called job he had for me (he is a project manager at an industrial electric company), i worked it a little and found out the pay was actually half what he promised, then i didn't get no work for a long time, then he sort of, without telling me of course, dismissed me from work for whatever reason. haven't communicated since.
but that is another thread.

 

Still single? Take an over the road truck driving job for 2-3 years and use only enough money to survive on until the bills are paid. It would be tight having your truck as your primary residence for that amount of time, but free rent.
Once your bottom line is in the black, it would be a lot easier to set and achieve some goals.

 

No such thing as a "worthless" degree, they are all worth something. Sounds like for you now an AS would be the way to go (I did a lot of years ago and transferred to a 4 yr school) Once you have that paper, they can't take it back. I would major in something though (electronics?, business etc).

 

Have you sought any credit counseling? It might be worth a shot. Get them to help you negotiate with your creditors, maybe get some type of consolidation loan, live well within your means, and try from there.

As for the job with the state dept., that's always a crap shoot. I'm sure it's quite competitive. For a start, though, if it requires writing skills, you may want to practice your skills here. Once you develop good habits, even in an online forum, it's easier to do it all the time.

Just remember; this is only advice, which you did ask for.

 

you might want to see the financial aid office. lots of university's have family housing for the price of a dorm room

 

Bf....You've been pretty open and candid with us on your personal health and finance situation, and I admire that......Seriously......

It seems to me that you would qualify for some sort of hardship grant.....Maybe even through the University?.......Hell, some states throw money at people who aren't even in the country legally, and you, a Navy vet with a history of health problems and financial hardship, can't qualify for a hardship tuition?........I'd check around for that some more, I'd rather my tax money went to a guy like you than to a non-citizen, or someone given admission and/or money based on their skin color.........

Hell, write your congressman! I'm serious.....It's kind of cynical, but it makes THEM look good to be able to say......"you see, you see.....I did what I could to help out this military veteran in his educational endeavors"!........Dude....do it! The congressman literally works for you and his other voters, so make him work for it a bit.......

 

When my 'rents went through a divorce and one of them was on medical/disability I went in to seek advice from a counselor who sat me down with the head of the University's finacial office. I ended up getting a LOT of things paid for and got help getting great grants and loans due to my financial and personal family issues.

I would reccommend you also do this. Just set up a time to talk with your counselor and ask that you meet with some in finances at the same time. I gurantee you that you will get help. They are there to help you succeeed. I would say do this before changing schools, majors, etc.

Another thing is to watch your finances closely. DEF look into consolidation (bring this up when you meet with your counselor and financial aid person) and don't go blowing your money on beer and video games (no saying you do, but most of the kids I knew in college did just that - lol).

Gl and please let us know how it goes. I was almost in your same situation a few yrs ago and now have myself a nice job, smaller house (will be bigger in a fw yrs ) and a nice vehicle that I can play with. Everything will work out if you keep your head straight and work hard. And gl with the treaments (if you still do them). Many relatives and good friends have succeded in beating the "devil" so I know how hard it can be. And thanks for serving our county!

 

BF250, as dumb as this may sound, i did it and got all kinds of assistance. go to your local high schools guidance counselor. they have EVERY resource there is. the counselor here set me up with paperwork, referrals, and contacts.

 

If you want to do the working thing, like kwik suggested, I would work in an oil field for awhile. In no time you could have all your debt paid off.