The Decision to go Back to School

I graduated from a community college in 2002 with an Associate of Applied Science degree and set out into the work force as an IT professional bright eyed and bushy tailed. I originally believed that a college degree was meant for getting your foot in the door and wasn't needed after you obviously had a good job and gained experience. That was 2002, it is now reaching the end 2009 seven years later and luckily I still have a job despite nationwide layoffs and cutbacks across the country, thank goodness I'm very good at what I do. I have watched numerous friends and colleges who were either very experienced or well education, usually never both, struggle to find employment after school or a lay off.

It is in this economy I realized the true importance of a strong education combined with great work experience. It wasn't just to get my foot in the door, it wasn't even so I look better on paper. A college education to me has become a necessity because it helps you to improve yourself. The more educated you are and the more knowledge you attain the better your ability to make decisions about pretty much anything and everything no matter what the topic.

With this I began the research of what to get my degree in. When I told folks about my decision to go back to college most asked if I would be getting another degree in the computer science field, and to that I had to replied "maybe". I couldn't really see the value in relearning the things I already knew after seven years in the industry. I was more interested in getting as much knowledge about everything as I could. I wanted to learn more about business, finance, history, writing, speaking, and even the dreaded math. And with this I found the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences, or BAAS, degree. A degree that until recent I had never heard of but as I kept researching I found that more and more schools offered it.

The BAAS degree was designed for people with technical degrees such as myself who wanted to get a Bachelors without having to "start all over". The BAAS major is a general Applied Arts and Sciences and the minor is individualized and custom tailored to my preferences for my field or pretty much whatever I choose. As I looked into the program more and more I loved its flexibility and the fact that completion of a BAAS degree opened the door for a Masters degree should I decide to continue my education in the future. A very possible goal after completion of my Bachelors.

Some may argue that a Bachelor of Science is better than the BAAS, however, for me it wasn't about what someone else thought was better, it was about what is best for me. I didn't want to go back to school in order to help me with my job, although that would be a well accepted benefit, I went back to school because I wanted to become more intelligent in my journey to gain wealth. I think that in order to gain wealth one must first gain knowledge.

If you are thinking of the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences verses Bachelor of Science or BS degree remember to consider yourself and which would benefit you more in your lifetime. I like to think of the BS as a more specialized degree plan which may be what you want or need, where as the BAAS is a more generalized and broad spectrum degree plan covering more topics and allowing me to take more classes that I chose instead of classes strictly chosen for me. Because I already have a career and specialized a degree as well as specialized knowledge I wanted to spread my knowledge into more areas, you may be the opposite. The decision to go back to school is a bold but great move for anyone and I think the options should be considered accordingly.