For now I will try that and I will:

-Go back to community college to take more classes.
(The private college seemed like an awesome college, but I found out the hours are very limited and wouldn’t work with my current job. This job is what will pay for college.)
-Work full-time at my current job for as long as they will have me.
-Fully contribute to an IRA.
-Plan on having a life somewhere in between and traveling.
-Save money for future college, as I do not qualify for most grants/gov’t assistance.
-Continue on to a 4 year college, just because it’s cheaper.

As for a degree, I have always been leaning towards a double degree. I want something creative like design and something a little more intense like engineering. After I take a few classes and get more exposure I hope I can decide in the future. As for now, I am debt free, happy, healthy, and have a good job, so all I can say is I am thankful for that and all the advice I was given.

THANK YOU!

Another thing I’ve noticed about these financial blogs. They are great for teaching to be good with your money but an awful lot of them come from finance and computer science/engineering backgrounds! They also seem to have higher than average paying jobs that in combination with good financial management/frugality are able to have more choices in their lives. So think how the salary will effect your life/choices/freedom. To be honest I almost did a degree in mathematics when I was young and I wish I had.

I’d think we’d all be interested to hear an update from you as to your choice. All the best :)

I’d consider doing the community college route AT FIRST for two things:
1) Take some classes in your field (Autocad, etc) to determine if you are truly 100% interested in this career. This is also a good reason to talk to people in the field to get an idea of what they do, good and bad.
2) Knock out those GECs! There is no reason to take GEC classes like language, math, or science at a bigger, more expensive university (unless they’re offering financial aid, o’course).
WORD OF CAUTION: You really want to have a college and major to shoot for and know the course requirements, otherwise you could waste a lot of money at the community college if A) those aren’t the classes you need, or B) they don’t transfer. So know what you need and what will transfer, then do the CC route for those.

If you can do that, then I think it would be totally worth it! But if you’re still in doubt, talk to some people who have positions you think you’d ideally like to have one day and see what they did. Or talk to people who hire people in those positions, and find out what they look for.

After being out of school for 6 years, I have met a quite a few people who have two degrees, a bachelors in ______ (fill in the blank) and a masters in architecture. This route usually takes roughly 6 years, 4 for Bachelors and 2 for Masters. A Bachelors in Architecture (where you can actually become licensed) = 5 years min. I did it this way because that was all I knew. Plus, they say there is no need for a masters unless you are teaching…. I have realized that a lot of NYC jobs would rather have a person with a masters. Masters programs usually cost more, plus you are going to school for longer…however, there are always grants/scholarships to be won.

So, now that I got that through…cost is up to you. In state, out of state, etc. I have plenty of friends who went to architecture school in their home state and are doing just fine. Engineers make more money, but you have to love math. Architects still make more (starting) than most right out of college. Ivy league…its up to you, but you can get a great education elsewhere for less and still be amazing.

The market…..sucks…..period. 3 years ago the market tanked. Roughly 95% of the people I graduated with lost their jobs, went to part time, or are currently not working at a ‘typical architecture firm’. This should change in 5 years (when your done….if you go through with it). Taking loans out = no fun. I did and I would much rather have that cash in my pocket.

Best!

Don’t go into a serious amount of debt to do so. I mean it doesn’t make sense to go into $80k in debt after graduation and be struggling to find a job. Can you go to a school that’s competitive but moderately priced.

Education is all about what you put into it as well and making connections to leverage your knowledge.

This is weird, because all the people I know say say go to school for Engineering? Do I give off an Engineering vibe or something lol?

Outside of that I don’t know design specifics, but I do know that $100,000 for any degree can get you into trouble. What happens if you can’t finish because of a health issue or other unknown? Keep looking for an option that gets you the degree you need without risking your financial future.

Good luck!