Ok guys, here's the deal.  I'm 31 years old.  Married, two young kids.  Great job, great benefits, nice little house, etc.  Wife has a great job.  I'm doing pretty well.

After years of just working, getting on our feet, settling in to the normal life, etc.,  I've decided to finish my education.  I am in my last two semesters of my Associate's, with three classes left after this fall semester.

Here's my problem - I don't know what to do about my Bachelor's.  My employer will reimburse me up to $4,000 annually for an A or B in my courses.  I can usually pull that off.  However, as with a lot of places, the degree has to be deemed "relevant to your job or your developmental goals within the company."  In my line of work, that is a major in Business, Management, Finance, HR, etc.  I have ZERO interest in these subjects, beyond what I need to do my job every day.

Frankly, I want to major in History or American Studies. I know, stop laughing.   But it's always been my thing.  Deep down I know that's what I'll excel at because that's what I want to read/write/talk about.  When I was 18 and just starting college, History was my first declared major.  Under peer and parental pressure, I changed majors and as you can figure lost interest in college.  

To sum it up, here are my options -  A. A degree completion program at a local Tier 1 Liberal Arts college, majoring in Organizational Management.  It's affordable and will be partially paid by my employer;  B.  A BA in American Studies or History from another Tier 1 school for a little more money, but ZERO reimbursement from my employer.

I know, the answer seems obvious, but I am really struggling.  I am leaning towards the BS in Organizational Management, because that's what the logical side says to do.  But my heart says I'll always regret not doing the History degree.  I know, without a Master's or PhD it's not really worth anything.   I'd just like some opinions and encouragement, I guess.  

Thanks, and sorry for the long post.

Honestly, as much as you would like to get a degree in history, it won't help you at all where you work. And if you want to make money as a historian you will have to go and get at least your masters degree, if not your phd. I'm not you so I don't know what you really like/don't like as far as your work, but it would be best to get a degree that correlates with what you do for a living.

say fuck it and do what you want, spread the courses out if you have to for an extra semester to make paying for it more manageable

Option A first.  Once you've gotten the degree your employer should increase your salary to match your education level, so you will be able to afford Option B on your own, even if it's just one class a semester.

I wish History degrees were more appreciated.  Anyway, boils down to reimbursement...  get whatever bus. degree your employer will reimburse (NOT HR) and take as many electives as you can in History (get a minor if possible).

And when you are focusing on American studies, don't skip out on the early modern european history...  professors focused on american history tend to lapse into their own little world, and understanding the motivations of early americans requires understanding the environment of early modern europe.

What will a history degree do for you other than let you say, "I have a degree in history"?

With that in mind, let THEM pay for it and suffer through it.

GR

Nothing in particular, it's just one of my favorite things.

That's where I'm leaning

I can't help but think the right boss in your company should be able to articulate how a history degree would make you more valuable.

Corporations hire college grads for their supposedly more developed critical thinking and analytical minds, among other things.  That plus the experience you already have should make the HTR guys hire a clone of you off the street for a job "requiring" a degree.  Why would that not then also fit in line with promotions from within?  

For all the rhetoric about "outside of the box" thinking or "new paradigms" - if your company cannot respect a history degree as true professional development they possibly do not have the respect for the meaning behind those words.

Who really wants a board room full of business majors?  Those are the kind of companies later beat out by upstarts who are not locked into one way of thinking.  Such is the history of the world, though.  If nobody in your company has studied history, I suppose they are unable to recognize this.

Why can't you milk your employer for the basics and then switch majors and pay your own way?

If you're not going to ever use your degree in your career, don't waste your money. History isn't something you need college to explore. Read. Read. Read.

Yup.  At least get the Associate's so you have it and then go on from there.



 

OP, in typical Arfcom fashion, I'll give you an answer with a serious twist: get both.



Get the "logical choice" degree first, since that will be cheaper, and will get the bachelor's degree in your hands.  America really is an "educated man's" place these days, and being one of the 33% of adults who has a 4-year college degree will, statistically, open up many doors for you that would otherwise remain closed.



Down the road, after you've monetized your degree a bit, you can go back to school and either get a BA in history, or possibly enter a Master's program in history directly.  If you want to get the BA in history later on, you'll most likely just need to take about a year and a half's worth of classes.  Or, if you minored in history while getting your organizational management degree, you might be able to enter a history master's program directly even with your BA in OM degree.



Since you have a family and the associated financial obligations, get the "practical" degree first.



BTW, I got my master's degree two years ago, and am glad I did.  I feel like my skill set and education mean that I will always have relatively good paying, satisfying work opportunities available to me.  So far that has been the case.    

Do whatever your company will pay for college-wise and then buy a pile of history books.

I went through this with my company when I went back.  The company would only pay for associated classes so I knocked out the majority of the basic/core stuff at first and then started throwing in a class or two per semester under the guise of electives.  I never encountered any problems in the three years I worked there and went to school.

Good luck!

M

These days of cost cutting, with a wife and kids, I would do NOTHING to draw the red pencil to me. If that means a BS from your local jr college in history than so be it.

I  "followed my dream" too. Now I get to work 3 jobs to barely keep my head afloat.

Good luck!

GR

If your intention is to get ahead at your job, go with the management courses, and minor in history.  Or, double major.

Thanks guys.  I am going to go with the Organizational Management.  At the end of the day, what I can do for my family outweighs anything else.

I can always chip away at a History degree later like a couple of you guys said.

Regardless, I'm just happy and blessed to be in a position to finish my Bachelor's.  I guess I just needed the old "ARfcom Reality Check" to set me straight.

Ok, first, keep your job and dont mess up your good life. Get your BA if they will pay for it.

you can study all of that stuff without getting a degree!  if you've already got a good job that you like, why mess with a good thing?

Get your degree in BA in some form Business degree, get a raise or a promotion, then go back with the intent to get a second degree in history or what ever and get a second degree. Im sure you could take some history classes and minor in it while taking your business classes for your major. Then when you go back you already have some of your History classes done too.

this.  if you can, find the syllabuses for the courses you are interested in taking, and read those books on your free time.

If you just like history you don't need a degree.  You can read history book and watch documentaries on your own.  Why pay a professor to make you do it?

Because you'll be forced to write and learn about history in a way you couldn't or wouldn't learn outside of a college environment?


 

A.

I appreciate how you feel about B., but A fits with your current occupation and a higher percentage of future possibilities.

Fo' real.  OP can even do history research on his own.  Find a subject you like and research it.  When you go on vacation visit some place that will help your hobby research.  If you write a kickass book you could retire early.  

If it's a Liberal Arts school there is probably a pretty healthy requirement for humanities classes.  You can probably get the employer to at least cover some 100 and 200 level history classes as prerequisites for the Biz degree.

Dont hook all your horses to being reimbursed.  Get the degree that will best get you to where you want to go in life and it will point you in the right direction.

I'm in Finance now, but I would also consider Operations Management.  Take a look into it since they are in demand.  I also really like History, but It would be last on my list next to an Underwater Basket weaving Degree.  Honestly, it is a pretty useless degree unless you go into teaching or maybe University work.  It doesn't teach any marketable skills.  However, it is your money and your life.