Hooray! I have heard back from 2 dietitians I have contacted, asking for some time to sit down with them and have a career chat. Hopefully I will be able to speak with them both this week and have some great info. Some other questions I have thought of you ask:
Is there anything about your career that was surprising to you, or that you don't like?
Is this your only "job"?
One thing I have noticed is that a lot of these professionals seem to work part time. Now, this COULD be because they only NEED to work part time, or it could be that this is not the kind of career that is full-time appropriate... meaning, there isn't enough work to make it full time. This is concerning, because that's where I am already coming from, and I don't want to take lots of time, money and commitment to be right back where I am. However, I know that at hospitals, dietitians work full time. But, are they "just" RDs? Or do they have further education? This is what I need to find out. ASAP.
Along with moving toward a degree as a registered dietitian, I am also considering looking into fitness science as well. Gateway offers an associates degree in fitness technology, and since I will be taking a bunch of courses there anyway, I was thinking of adding that. In that vein, my next goal is to start going to the gym. Not just working out at home, but getting to the gym and trying out different classes. I would love Zumba to be my first new class. I'm looking into schedules and will report back here.
PROGRESS!
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The plan
Ok all - here is the ultimate, overall plan:
Obtain a degree as a registered dietitian. This included approx. 3-4 semesters of coursework and an internship type program that encompasses approx. 1200 hours. This is UNPAID, and is most likely tuition required.
Along with this Bachelors, obtain a minor in psychology. Having this as a minor will allow me some wiggle room to counsel as well.
This, of course, is how long it would take as a full time student, which I will not be. So, this is how I plan to start things off.
Gateway Community College has the least expensive courses, by far. My plan is to begin taking the basic courses, like Biology, Chemistry, etc there. They offer accelerated courses, and some are even online or what they call a "hybrid" course, which means all class work online and lab work in class. And since I can take a typical 3 credit course for about $300, it's much more feasible than taking a 3 credit course at UNH for approx $2100.
"But", you must be exclaiming - "You WORK at UNH! You MUST be able to go there for free!". Haha. One would think I would be able to take at least a certain number of credits for free. Alas. As an adjunct (read - bitch) we can take credits for half price, but only as many as you have taught the previous year. For example. Last year, I taught 15 credits, so this year, I am eligible to take up to 15 credits at a %50 rate reduction in tuition. Using the numbers from above, it still makes more financial sense to take classes at good ol' Gateway.
Now, when we get into the core courses for the degree - this is where it gets tricky. UCONN offers the same program, and instate tuition is just shy of $10,000. UNH is just shy of $29,000. By that point, I won't be an instructor there anymore, so the 50% reduction will no longer be an option. *sigh*
So, what have we learned? It's expensive to go to school. But, we already knew that. We have also learned that to get where I want to be - it's going to take a while. And while that bothers me a bit - I am 32, and let's face it, I'll probably be working till I'm 70 (unless I win the lotto. Hey, a girl can dream.) Therefor, even though this may take a bit of time, I have 40 years of career ahead of me. I really want to spend it doing something worth wild.
Obtain a degree as a registered dietitian. This included approx. 3-4 semesters of coursework and an internship type program that encompasses approx. 1200 hours. This is UNPAID, and is most likely tuition required.
Along with this Bachelors, obtain a minor in psychology. Having this as a minor will allow me some wiggle room to counsel as well.
This, of course, is how long it would take as a full time student, which I will not be. So, this is how I plan to start things off.
Gateway Community College has the least expensive courses, by far. My plan is to begin taking the basic courses, like Biology, Chemistry, etc there. They offer accelerated courses, and some are even online or what they call a "hybrid" course, which means all class work online and lab work in class. And since I can take a typical 3 credit course for about $300, it's much more feasible than taking a 3 credit course at UNH for approx $2100.
"But", you must be exclaiming - "You WORK at UNH! You MUST be able to go there for free!". Haha. One would think I would be able to take at least a certain number of credits for free. Alas. As an adjunct (read - bitch) we can take credits for half price, but only as many as you have taught the previous year. For example. Last year, I taught 15 credits, so this year, I am eligible to take up to 15 credits at a %50 rate reduction in tuition. Using the numbers from above, it still makes more financial sense to take classes at good ol' Gateway.
Now, when we get into the core courses for the degree - this is where it gets tricky. UCONN offers the same program, and instate tuition is just shy of $10,000. UNH is just shy of $29,000. By that point, I won't be an instructor there anymore, so the 50% reduction will no longer be an option. *sigh*
So, what have we learned? It's expensive to go to school. But, we already knew that. We have also learned that to get where I want to be - it's going to take a while. And while that bothers me a bit - I am 32, and let's face it, I'll probably be working till I'm 70 (unless I win the lotto. Hey, a girl can dream.) Therefor, even though this may take a bit of time, I have 40 years of career ahead of me. I really want to spend it doing something worth wild.
New Life, New Blog
Here we are! I mean, doesn't it seem that all new things begin with a blog? This blog will be dedicated to my step by step process of becoming... uh... something other than what I am. Yeah, that's clear. I have been thinking for a while that I need a change in career. There are many pros and cons to this decision. I won't go into all of them - but my largest obstacle right now is education. I have a masters degree - go ahead, be impressed. EXCEPT that it's in music. And not just music, but performance. While that is impressive (somewhat) in the music world, well, it just isn't in the real world. The real world (aka - an education that will get you a lucrative job, preferably in something you enjoy) requires things like Biology, Finite Math and the like. Things I never needed to take in my small music school in New Jersey. This puts me at a disadvantage, especially seeing as I am still paying (out the nose, mind you) for the education that I am now seeing as practically defunct.
So, you see this will be quite a path. As things stand, I am very interested in becoming a nutritionist/dietitian specializing in bariatrics. Is this really possible? Who knows. The degree I need to become a registered dietitian is a 4 year program. I will only be able to go part time, as I have to start working full time as well. This could take forever. Will it be worth it? Well, keep reading to find out.
So, you see this will be quite a path. As things stand, I am very interested in becoming a nutritionist/dietitian specializing in bariatrics. Is this really possible? Who knows. The degree I need to become a registered dietitian is a 4 year program. I will only be able to go part time, as I have to start working full time as well. This could take forever. Will it be worth it? Well, keep reading to find out.
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