How necessary is a bachelors degree/jobs without.

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amother

Thu, May 06 2021, 8:40 am

My daughter is trying to figure out what fields she should start looking into. Due to her nature and cost/benefit analysis aka family finances, I cannot see us Laying out 70k plus for a masters program. My question is this:
A) what fields would be open to her without a college degree aside from office work.
B)!are there any 2 year college programs for a career that does not need a bachelors or is a bachelors a pre requisite for those programs.
Thank you.

amother

Orchid

Thu, May 06 2021, 8:48 am

I don't understand. She can go to a cheap in state school, take out loans, and pay them back like many of us. Why does a BA degree cost 70k and why do you have to lay it out? Generally, people with degrees make more/have a steady reliable income. However, this is not always the case. There are no hard/fast rules. Your daughter should decide which roads she wants to take. Both my dh and myself took out loans. We have repaid mine and we are b"h paying his off now.

amother

Thu, May 06 2021, 8:55 am

Thank you for answering. My question really is what jobs or two year programs could be done without a bachelors? The bachelors is not that expensive, it’s the master programs that pack a heavy punch!
Is a bachelors necessary for all upper educational programs?

amother

Pewter

Thu, May 06 2021, 9:07 am

If you want to get into a masters program, then yes, you need a bachelor's (in the US. Most other countries have more of a blurred line between undergrad and graduate). There are other career options that don't require college. For instance if you want to go the tech route, you can do certification courses or coding "boot camps" that only take about a year and are accepted qualifications in those fields.

baby12x

Thu, May 06 2021, 9:24 am

In today's world, you can barely even get an office job without some form of degree.

It's sad but it's the way it is.

You can do lots of things to lower the cost of school- community college, scholarships etc.

amother

Burgundy

Thu, May 06 2021, 9:44 am

This really depends on where you are located. I have a Masters degree and am from the "minority" in my community... Majority of my friends don't have any sort of degree and have good jobs. It also depends what field your daughter wants to go into. I would suggest you look into Jewish institutes if possible. COPE has CPA courses that aren't very costly, TTI has courses in various fields and offer many financial aid options. (They are all affiliated with state colleges)

amother

Aquamarine

Thu, May 06 2021, 9:59 am

As others have pointed out, there are ways to get a less expensive education especially if you are located in NY or other places which have relatively inexpensive public institutions.

You don't need an MA in order to get a well paying job. For example, you can pursue the "vocational" degrees like accounting, nursing and computer science and get a career track position even without the masters. Many times one can pursue a post graduate degree while employed and one's employer will subsidize cost of course work.

Even a standard BA will provide more employment opportunities since most corporations hire only people with degrees for jobs that have any kind of promotional opportunity above the level of a secretary. FWIW, many corporations don't even hire secretaries any more - they hire assistants with degrees who use those jobs as the opportunity to learn the business and get promoted or find better jobs within the field.

amother

Mustard

Thu, May 06 2021, 10:31 am

amother [ Aquamarine ] wrote:

FWIW, many corporations don't even hire secretaries any more - they hire assistants with degrees who use those jobs as the opportunity to learn the business and get promoted or find better jobs within the field.

Additionally, I see clerical jobs being increasingly phased out by technology. In my nearly 20 years of work experience in corporate settings and in the practice of law, I consistently see formerly well-paying clerical positions with benefits like "receptionist," "secretary," "assistant," and "office manager" being cut completely or outsourced to vendors who offer worse employment terms and provide less stability to their employees.

amother

Thu, May 06 2021, 10:44 am

I hear and thank you. So I guess my question now is what we’ll paying jobs can someone do without a bachelors are there any courses that don’t require it?

amother

Aquamarine

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:09 am

amother [ Mustard ] wrote:

Even low level jobs for LAWYERS are being outsourced. For example, at one time, a lot of just out of law school lawyers would be hired to do document production. Now a lot of that work is being done by Indian lawyers under the supervision of an outside vendor.

Legal secretaries didn't typically need a degree. They were just very smart regular secretaries. I had a secretary who was a very typical graduate of the parochial school system. She was extremely smart but didn't have a degree but impeccable spelling, grammar; knew shorthand etc. If she had been born into a different family she would have gone to college and maybe even law school. Lots of older legal secretaries were just like her.

Even law firms don't hire "legal" secretaries anymore like that. Maybe the most senior partner has an assistant but younger lawyers do their drafting and correspondence themselves. Digital has really eliminated the massive filing system that lower level law clerks did.

And paralegal is actually a good job but requires a BA at this point if not an actual certificate program. In the old days, a good legal secretary actually performed as a paralegal and often could get promoted to being an official paralegal even without a degree.

I am so old that I worked before there was voice mail so there had to be people who actually took messages on little pink slips. Now the only people who have others answering their phones are very high level executives who have their calls screened.

amother

Orchid

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:10 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I hear and thank you. So I guess my question now is what we’ll paying jobs can someone do without a bachelors are there any courses that don’t require it?

A coding bootcamp if she likes coding would likely offer the most secure career. A medical assistant, a veterinarian technician, hair/makeup, sewing, CAD drafter is an associate's level, electrolysis technician, day care, etc. Everything requires some training!

amother

Amethyst

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:15 am

OP, your posts are conflicting. Are you asking what she can do with a bachelors and not a masters or with nothing at all?
Not everything needs a masters degree and there are plenty of ways to go about getting a bachelors degree that should not cost you 70k. A few fields that don’t need a masters that come to mind are accounting, programming, actuary. She should definitely get at least a bachelors degree.

amother

Mustard

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:19 am

Would she be interested in CNC machining or tool-and-die? It is an overwhelmingly male field still, so she may find it culturally awkward. But it is skilled work and, with overtime, can pay quite well.

oneofakind

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:20 am

Lots of bookkeeping/junior accounting jobs that pay well and have stability- even better than some "degree" jobs. PCS has courses.

amother

Jetblack

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:23 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Babysitting. Playgroup Morahs. Teachers. Shaitelmachers. Makeup artists. Salesgirl. Open her own business.

Where I live playgroup subs do well.

amother

Lavender

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:34 am

A Realtor can make good money and doesn’t require a degree, just licensing. But you have to be motivated and have a thick skin. And
If she needs her mommy to look into degree options doesn’t sound like she is.

amother

Oak

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:41 am

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

amother

Oak

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:42 am

amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:

Babysitting. Playgroup Morahs. Teachers. Shaitelmachers. Makeup artists. Salesgirl. Open her own business.

Where I live playgroup subs do well.

How much do playgroup subs make? Even if it's a lot per hour/diem, it's not steady, consistent or reliable.

amother

Oak

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:44 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What does your daughter enjoy doing?

amother

Jetblack

Thu, May 06 2021, 11:59 am

amother [ Oak ] wrote:

How much do playgroup subs make? Even if it's a lot per hour/diem, it's not steady, consistent or reliable.

It could be a nice, steady side income for a woman who wants flexibility. Not every woman is looking to be the main breadwinner.

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