What is the best first degree to obtain? Many people have told me that a General Studies is the way to go.

If you are not sure of what you want to study, Gen studies is a way to go because it is doing something VS doing nothing.

While you are in, burn off "prereq" credits. Things like your General Math, English, etc. Do this while you are not burning valuable GI Bill time. "Most" of these are cross discipline, and will account for 45-60~ (about half) of a BA/BS degree (or an AS/AA) degree.

If you combine these with CLEP & DANTE (free to military through Base Education), you can knock out quite a few credits (most schools will take up to 30).

Once you have those done, you can start to get a feel for what you want to specialize in. Whether it is career oriented, or otherwise.

If you are not certain what route you want to take in the future then a degree in general studies is the way to go. This major will let you take a variety of courses and figure out what subject matter you will be more interested in. On a positive note, general studies is known as a gateway degree that many undecided first year students will start off with before they switch to a more focused area of study. On a negative note a general studies degree lacks specificity and focus; say for example a degree in business or engineering where the courses you have taken indicate the skills you have acquired during your education. Hope that helps.

There may be some immediate gains related to quickly acquiring an associates degree... however your focus should really be on where you want to be in 5 and 15 years. If you are not sure, then an General Studies Associate degree is a good place to get started.

Just remember that when jobs mention a required college degree, what they are talking about is a Bachelors degree, if you want to stand out in a sea of bachelors degrees you are probably going to need some good certifications and/or a masters degree.

There is an advantage to getting the certifications first. First, the certifications are usually worth a fair share of college credit... while college credit isn't going to get you a certification. In order to keep a certification, your going to need continuing education credits which are extremely easy to get if you are still working on a degree.

SGT (Join to see): I would say that your best first degree, would be a B.A. That will open doors for you.
However, [And I don't work.] I believe that obtaining your Master's Degree; should be your second goal- with regards to your getting your foot in the door. An M.A., in today's society, I believe: will open far more doors for you.
-With My Kindest Regards, Margaret

Honestly, unless you plan on going into a technical type fields (engineering, medical etc) it doesn't much matter what your degree is in. Look at me, I hold a B.S. and M.A. in history but I am a Project Manager who buys IT stuff. Go for the degree that you have a passion for. I started my PhD in management, but that bored me to no end so I stopped.

I might suggest something like a Respiratory Therapist. The two year degree gives you the necessary skill set to work in the profession upon graduation.

It's the easiest to get AD in General Education(Studies) then I got AD in Design Engineering, then BS in Chemical Engineering. Did it all while on AD USArmy

Spc Sword, for what it is worth, here is my recommendation. If you are unsure which path/field of study you will eventually chooses but want to get your college studies underway, then I would recommend:

For a 2 year program - General Studies. This allows you to get the general classes, that you are required to complete (math, social sciences, etc, out of the way.

For a 4 year program, you can choose “undeclared” at the start. If memory serves me right, you again have two years to get all your general class requirements completed before you will have to declare a path of course study.

Here is a true life example - me: I started college perusing my degree in the legal field, because I was a Legal Clerk. However, by the time I received my bachelors degree, my focus had changed. I wanted to study technology.

Although, I had 120 credit hours already, less than 80 went towards my degree in computer science. I therefore, had to extend my studies to meet the new requirements. Although I did complete my Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, and went on to complete my Masters Degree, I sometimes ask myself why I did not choose to go “undeclared” at least until I was certain.

Please know, I have no regrets because I learned so much studying both paths, but I could have saved a lot had I been sure.

I hope this helps you in your decision, however, in the end you have to choose what you feel is right. We (RP) can only give you advice based on our experiences and what you post.

I wish you the beat of luck !

I agree with just getting a degree. Contact Kristina Noriega at [login to see] and she will show you the best way to get the most value for your military training in your quest to get a bachelors degree! Good luck with it! Dave