Community vs. University vs. Online
I’ve been thinking about going to community college first to see if I really enjoy Marine Biology/Oceanography/Zoology/Animal Sciences and explore the careers each one provides. I’ve always been told that “everyone chooses these careers and ends up hating them” so I’m scared. Yet, I’ve been getting a ton of reach from university’s and online. There’s even a scholarship where I am where if I go online I get a full ride. I thought going to community college would be a great financial decision and I get the “ experience “. What do I do?
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2 answers
I would say you should go to the community college first. It will save you a lot of money in the long run, and you can experiment with what you like. Also, you don't have to choose a major until your junior year of college, so you have plenty of time! you can sign up for different classes in the things you are interested in and see if you like them. you don't have to decide what you want to do right away. I hope this helps:)
Don't be scared! Here is some awesome advice I heard that helped me decide what I truly wanted to pursue careerwise:
If there is something you love/enjoy (Marine Bio, Animal Sciences), try it for 10 hours. If you get through 10 and still love it, try 100 hours. Once you get through 100 hours, if you felt like it was way too long, then it may not be the best thing for you. However, if the time flew by and you could totally see yourself enjoying it for years, then go for it! This helped me decide between 2 different career interests. The one thing I enjoyed but sparingly. I couldn't do it every day. But the other career interest envigorated me.
Personally, I think you should give community college a try. You may find you love the career and not the school but that's ok. Transferring is always an option. I am actually taking online community college classes right now. My goal is a little different (I am taking gen eds to transfer to my bachelor's upon graduating high school) but it is saving me 1000s of dollars. Like, I spent $200 (not counting books) per class instead of almost $2000! Just a few semesters of this will save me almost $50,000 dollars in the long run! I don't care for all the professors and I know if I take in-person cc classes, I will not love the environment vibe, but I know I am not staying there and it's ok.
I recommend going for it! Try community college and just know you aren't ever stuck in one place. It is a great idea to explore a career before diving into so you KNOW its for or not for you. I also recommend that you start exploring those fields now while you are in high school. There are so many resources and high school is absolutely the time to explore!
Let me know if you have any questions :)
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