Ask HN: Thoughts about going back to school to pursue a 2nd Bachelor's degree?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6581709

by funcfun • 13 years ago

9 10 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hi all, I thought this would be a great place to get people's opinions on this matter. I have a BA in Psychology and Philosophy and have been working as a sort of Data Analyst and software developer in an academic research lab for the past several years, but would really like to get into the field of Aerospace Engineering. I do a lot of Statistics and Machine Learning in my current job, but certainly don't have the Math & Physics background for Engineering, so would likely be starting from the ground up. Oh yeah, I'm also in my early 30's. What are people's thoughts on this? Any advice on how to finance this?

dylanhassinger• 13 years ago

start a microbusiness/do a kickstarter. maybe it can even be in the aerospace industry. maybe it would be better than the job you need said degree for.

fourhourworkweek.com startupbook.net tropicalmba.com

Don't borrow money for school, it's a trap

mchannon• 13 years ago

If you're not still encumbered by student loans from your first degree, then maybe taking some out isn't so crazy.

With Math & Physics in particular, given that you're starting a bit late (even 18-year-olds struggle mightily with these subjects), might not be such a bad idea to take just a few credit hours, only in these subjects to help you transition from working full time to school full time.

Odds are you can probably apply some of your BA credits to your BSAE degree but with 4 years of math you won't be able to make the degree happen any faster even if you went full time to start.

Also, devote 10 hours to scholarship hunting. Apply, apply, search, and apply. It's amazing how much free money people pass up to get loans for.

phaus• 13 years ago

Just a couple of questions.

Do you think there would still be many scholarships that a 30-something white male, going to school for a second BS, a MS, or a Doctorate would qualify for? I'm just about finished with my BS, which was largely funded by the GI bill, but I'm trying to make plans for when that money runs out.

I honestly don't know where to start when it comes to looking for scholarships, do you have any resources that you could share?

One of the ideas that I've toyed with is trying to fill the gaps in my Information Systems degree by taking calculus, physics, possibly algorithms, and then trying to apply to Georgia Tech's super-cheap CS Master's program. Info systems is more of a business degree than I expected, when I really want to do software development in the long run.

rblatz• 13 years ago

What would you need to get into a master's program? If you could meet those requirements in less than 2 years it might be worth it to do that.

thejteam2• 13 years ago

Most Aerospace Masters programs won't take you without a BS in Aerospace. I have a BA in Math and they told me not to bother applying. They told me to talk to the EE people.

skadamat• 13 years ago

If your set on becoming a data scientist, I would just take a tom of courses on coursera.org - machine learning, computing for data analysis, intro to data science, natural language processing, then compete in Kaggle.com competitions and do some cool data projects and network your way into a data journalist or data scientist

cprncus• 13 years ago

Much depends on what the sort of work you want to be doing down the road is. Does it require a bachelor's in engineering? Does it require a masters? Ph.D?

terrykohla• 13 years ago

Dude you're going the opposite way, I'm trying to get out of Aerospace. What are you specifically looking for in Aerospace. The field is pretty broad and the work you'll do will be so specialized that you'll be using only 5% of all you learn in engineering school. You can always take classes specifically for what you want to do, you do not need an engineering degree to do the job unless you want to become an FAA DER since they are the ones certifying all the work done by "the engineers".

thejteam2• 13 years ago

If you have been working as a data analyst and software developer have you thought about getting into the simulation side of aerospace engineering. I have a math degree and I did that for over 12 years.

If you don't have a problem working in the defense industry that would be the most logical place to start looking for work, especially on the simulation side. Although with defense spending being tight right now it may not be the best place right now.

avenger123• 13 years ago

Have you gone ahead and looked at specifically what job you want to be doing in "aerospace engineering". It's like someone saying they want to do chemical engineering or mechanical engineering. Within each there is many many different jobs.

Once you know this, how likely is it that you will be able to break in with your degree? Can you break in without the degree?

Personally, unless you truly are committed and really want to do this, further education isn't an answer. You will be losing four years of income plus career growth.

Based on your description of the work you have been doing, you could likely get a good job outside academia. Maybe what you are really looking for is a change of environment.

Ask HN: Thoughts about going back to school to pursue a 2nd Bachelor's degree?

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