leepne

Good Day all,

Firstly I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Lee originally from Lancashire, currently working for Carnival Cruise Lines (Ship board).

I currently don't have any distinct degrees as such but I am hoping for that to change.. I think my end goal is to work in construction/Engineering. Construction Management, Electrical Engineering or petroleum Engineering... Also open to options and also looked into Elevator Mechanics...

As I'm currently working on a ship it's impossible to be able to attend a college so I'm hoping online courses are going to possible... I am happy to start again with General Eduction but I have no idea where to begin..

Edit: Forgot to mention, I am currently in a relationship with a girl from California, our long term plan is to get married and live in the United States.

Hoping for some help...

Thank You

Pulaski

OK. I'll kick off.

Your options in the short term are (i) study in the US on an F-1 visa, but you have very little right to work, and only on campus, (ii) get married, which gets you a green card, making you a permanent resident, and you can work and/or study with virtually no restrictions, or (iii) study in the UK, and visit your girlfriend in the US.

If you have retained your residential status in the UK it may be cheaper to get your degree there. The cheapest way to get a degree in the US is to two years of basic courses at a community college (but you might have trouble getting an F-1 visa to do that) then transfer to "a four year college" to get your bachelor's degree.

leepne

Pulaski,

Thank you for your quick response.

When you say basic courses are we talking General Ed classes or Highschool diploma? Do you know how easy these courses are to do online? Any recommended websites?

Pulaski

Classes required, after your high school diploma, for you to get a degree in the US that are not specific to your degree "major", so typically they are subjects that are over and done with in the UK at O' level - basic English, maths, history, some science, no matter what your final degree is in.

Those basic courses can be done cheaply at a community college. I am not sure if there is any way to do them on-line - there might be, but I honestly don't know.

leepne

So let me get this straight.

1. Highschool diploma.
2. General Education? (2 years)
3. University (4 years)

As I understand.

Pulaski

No.

Either:
1. Highschool diploma.
2. University (4 years) -> Bachelors degree

Or:
1. Highschool diploma.
2. General Education (2 years at community college) -> Associates degree
3. University (2 further years) -> Bachelors degree

leepne

Ahh I see.

Now I also assume the second option would be cheaper due to university costs..

Thanks again for your help.

Globetrotta

Okay having worked in the USA higher ed sector albeit 8 years ago i can attest to what it was. Fact best way if you do not have a high school diploma or equivalent A levels et al. or the alternative GED which is equivalent to the US High School Diploma is to go to a community college take an AS thats associates degree in a relevant subject. Best if you do it with an adjunct college that is linked to a university that offers the degree you are interested in. For example Community College Denver is well was linked to Metropolitan State University now another name, but you get the idea. If you are in California there are loads that link to the CSU system. Now if like me I never finished A levels way back during the neolithic period i showed em my O levels and hey presto got in but i had passes mostly B's and HS transcript that was a pre technological global world so without knowing your HS qualifications. Alternatively, if you are mature you may come across mature university entry over 25 given your experience say e.g. hospitality...then when you get into university its is typical of a 4 year programme 2 years general education courses e.g. 2 math, 2 English, 2 science, 2 arts, 2 social science etc a major e.g. construction management a minor say drafting or physics depending on what is on offer drafting would be a CAD design type course. Now if you are really clever you can speed all this up. Follow along here...you find a 2 year Community college typically cheaper way cheaper 2 years there then switch to a university that has the degree you need and do just 2 years there, but lets say they have what is often called a 3-2 programme normal entry where you do 3 years undergrad and 2 years grad you leave with a masters you could be done in 5 but if you transfer in 2 years who knows typically it was that standard was you spent 30 to 60 semester hours 1 to 2 years of your undergraduate degree on campus. If you need anymore information I can help I was a high up director level over all sorts of departments at one time. It does vary at each university not by much though. You can tell me what you have where you live etc... the associates degree offsets some major or minor courses or GED courses this is important to note as the reciprocity is imperative to stop wasting money and time so a community college that transfers to a university where they give 1 for 1 is essential. Community Colleges are basically an open door. Good luck. I reckon with luck associates 2 years 2 years undergrad and 2 years masters in project management 6 years all up you are then set up join PMI and hey presto career you want if really lucky 5 years - get a plan through research easy to do.

civilservant

Did they not teach you about paragraphs while you were working in the Higher Ed sector?

This is very hard to read.

Globetrotta

Why do think I left smart arse! Given the effort I put in your captious remark does not help at all and frankly not appreciated.

Pulaski

His first line is a throw away comment, which some no doubt, including me, found amusing.

The second line is very sound advice, and TBH I found your massive block of text almost unreadable, so I didn't actually read most of it. I strongly recommend you use the edit function and break your post up into paragraphs of 2-3 lines/ sentences.

Garbatellamike

My thoughts exactly...

NatashaB

I took a number of courses via Straighterline recently - all online, you sit a final exam proctored by webcam. You would then transfer the credits to a Straighterline partner college:

Earn Your Degree from Our Partner Colleges & Universities | StraighterLine

and you should be able to at least do your general ed requirements this way. Only a small number of colleges will accept the straighterline credits, so check before you do anything. Frankly also those colleges that do are not exactly the best renowned colleges, but all I wanted to do was get a degree as quickly and cheaply as possible for work purposes, so it did the job for me. Degreeforum.net has a really useful forum with a number of different options to study online.

If your goal is to get to the US as easily as possible, though... marry your girlfriend. Much easier than trying to get a degree and then find a job-based visa, or paying out thousands as a student on a J1.

cranston

Guindalf

I skipped it entirely!