What college course has been the most useful in your career?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 06:31:13 -0500

For me, the two most useful courses has been technical writing and professional writing. Why just take a college course for promotion when it can help you right now!

Response by 1SG Steven Stankovich made Feb 20 at 2014 6:40 AM

1SG Steven Stankovich — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 06:40:41 -0500

I am currently taking COLL300 Writing, Research and Analysis. It is pretty good. Definitely helps to hone and improve those skills used on a daily basis.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2014 6:48 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 06:48:24 -0500

The course itself should actually take second base to the school. Far too often soldiers enroll in these schools for profit that are not accredited merely because a friend told them it was easy to get a degree only to find out that the diploma was viewed as a pretty piece of paper by employers.

As for the classes themselves, leaders should definitely take leadership, management and writing classes, some should sadly also take reading classes. I teach senior NCO's all day and it baffles me how some got to where they are with their reading and writing skills.

All too often when I was back on the line I would review official documents that appear to be written by 8th graders. Leaders need to realize that everything they present is an indication of their abilities and professional products display competence.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Feb 20 at 2014 8:29 AM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:29:54 -0500

I believe taking "Diverse Cultures" as a class has benefited my career for it made me aware and opened my mind that we call come from different walks of life in the military. It has also made me interested getting to know my soldiers and where their families came from.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2014 9:00 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 09:00:54 -0500

SFC Pederson,

The most useful course I've taken was Organizational Team Building at Austin Peay State University. The course taught us how to manage team processes, develop and lead project teams, evaluate team members’ strengths and weaknesses, lead effective meetings, manage conflict, and work through team problems.

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made Feb 20 at 2014 9:05 AM

Maj Chris Nelson — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 09:05:52 -0500

No one course has been "best one" for me....I target a degree path and all the courses I take are geared to completion of that degree....whether it was my BSN or my MSN. There were some that were much more FUN.... I enjoyed my Public Health class during my MSN program....allowed me to "develop a public health program" (my choice of populations....so I chose 'wounded warriors'). It is something that could have been implemented if needed. Got an A and think I blew the instructors mind with it, as I don't think she had any wounded warrior experience in her 20 years in public health nursing!

On the flip side, I have taught a couple years of Nursing Leadership and Management. While teaching, it expanded my thought processes a bit for my own utilization at work!

Response by SSG Zachery Mitchell made Feb 20 at 2014 9:23 AM

SSG Zachery Mitchell — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 09:23:43 -0500

English and Speech. Both of which had a lot of writing and research involved. Also, intro to Psychology was surprisingly useful as well.

Response by SFC James Baber made Feb 21 at 2014 1:28 AM

SFC James Baber — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 01:28:25 -0500

For me, it was Foreign Terrorist Organizations, as I was AT level II certified it was a great course for my then current job and for my future career as well with my new Homeland Security degree.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2014 10:34 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 10:34:44 -0500

Anatomy and Physiology I and II, my life has a healthcare spin to it, but this was the foundation course. Microbiology proved useful for learning infections. Had a ton of math(Up to pre-cal), my career hasn't required anything beyond basic algebra for the last 20 years.

Response by SPC Michael Helgesen made Feb 22 at 2014 2:30 AM

SPC Michael Helgesen — Sat, 22 Feb 2014 02:30:00 -0500

Professional business writing and Microsoft Office 2010 course.

Response by SPC Michael Helgesen made Feb 22 at 2014 2:30 AM

SPC Michael Helgesen — Sat, 22 Feb 2014 02:30:58 -0500

Professional business writing and 2010 Microsoft Office course

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Mar 6 at 2014 7:42 AM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 07:42:58 -0500

Speech, psychology and human group dynamics, and of course, writing.

Response by CMC Robert Young made Mar 6 at 2014 8:02 PM

CMC Robert Young — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 20:02:55 -0500

While working on my MA in Organizational Leadership, I was required to take a course on Ethics in Leadership. Enough reading to make my head explode, but truly a requirement for anybody who by virtue of their position must make leadership decisions. Not for the faint of heart but well worth the effort.

Response by SFC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 6 at 2014 8:53 PM

SFC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 20:53:13 -0500

It has been Business Research and IMS (Information Management Systems) so far that I have used many times to Analyze data for reports or to problem solve certain things. Overall most of the classes I have taken can be applied, well except for Shakespeare which was just for fun.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 19 at 2014 10:22 AM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 10:22:47 -0400

Archery - yes I took it as a required PE minor. It teaches you that even if you factor in all the variables while adjusting your aim on the target, a random, stray gust of wind can still push you a bit off your main objective.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 19 at 2014 10:35 AM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 10:35:18 -0400

As part of my computer science degree I took a course in logic - how to think in and recognize patterns and make decisions based solely on available data.

Then MDMP came along and all logic went out the window.

Response by LCpl Steve Wininger made Jul 19 at 2014 10:36 AM

LCpl Steve Wininger — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 10:36:12 -0400

I have enjoyed all of the classes I have taken so far. My philosophy classes have proved the most useful, especially Logic.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jul 19 at 2014 1:34 PM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 13:34:19 -0400

I will throw out that Diverse Cultures was very interesting as it opened my mind to other people in the U.S. and around the world.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 19 at 2014 3:41 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 15:41:12 -0400

Business courses. Any business course I took I was able to take something with me to apply every day. And human sexuality 101. Just kidding.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 19 at 2014 7:41 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 19:41:52 -0400

SFC Private RallyPoint Member - Besides Driver's Ed? MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 19 at 2014 7:58 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 19:58:42 -0400

PhD Level Industrial & Organizational Behavior: The Psychology of Work Motivation and Behavior.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 15 at 2015 11:25 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 May 2015 11:25:34 -0400

As a former signal officer, it was a class on the history of cell phones and networks and how the worked at the time.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made May 17 at 2015 6:24 AM

SFC Mark Merino — Sun, 17 May 2015 06:24:19 -0400

A logic class at UNLV called "Critical Thinking." It really taught me how to filter out the BS and emotion from........everything. It was almost like Spock 101.

Response by SFC Stephen King made May 17 at 2015 8:50 AM

SFC Stephen King — Sun, 17 May 2015 08:50:37 -0400

Speech and Philosophy

Speech was a paramount to being able to express a view.

Philosophy helped me looking at things in different perspective's.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made May 17 at 2015 9:23 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Sun, 17 May 2015 09:23:27 -0400

Research Methods.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made May 17 at 2015 9:41 AM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Sun, 17 May 2015 09:41:37 -0400

Project Management. At the time it was directly applicable to the work I was doing. It added structure to all the management philosophy and techniques I had learned. It also led me to getting my Project Management Professional certification at a time (2000) when relatively few people had it.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2015 9:45 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 17 May 2015 09:45:28 -0400

Quantitative Analysis. It helped me really understand my previous statistics class and gain a better analytical perspective which has actually carried over into other facets and not just metric measurements of performance.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2015 9:48 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 17 May 2015 09:48:27 -0400

Organizational Behavior and Change was a class I took during my studies. A lot of reading that fried my brain at times but it gave me a better understanding on why people are so afraid of different ideas and change in an organization. It taught me how to implement new and creative ways on how to create a positive work environment.