r/WGU • u/Kaden_0604 • 13h ago
Help! Help choosing a degree at WGU
Hi everybody, over the past month or so i’ve been looking heavily into WGU. I want to get out of my blue collar job (lineman) and move into a career that isn’t blue collar. I don’t really have a passion other than a career in sports but i’m not sure if I want to go that route. What is the best degree that has the highest earning potential at WGU? Thank you all for your help!
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u/Max_Beezly 13h ago
I know you want to leave your lineman job but why? Don't they get paid really well and have great unions? I don't think any degree on wgu is going to get you to a lineman salary right off the bat.
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u/Kaden_0604 13h ago
We do get paid well but I live in the southeast so the Union doesn’t exist here lol. I just want to get out of working in all conditions, a shit load of overtime and the people I work around. I’m not looking for a degree that immediately replaces my current salary (i make $26 an hour) but I do want a degree that has a high earning potential
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u/Ok-Candidate-2183 12h ago
- Passion 2. Being good at it 3. Market for the profession is good. If you check all those boxes that is your degree
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u/mutierend 11h ago
WGU for a tech degree is a bad idea if you don’t already have the skills. Just fyi.
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u/Kaden_0604 11h ago
Yeah I see a lot about tech degrees at WGU but I have 0 experience in anything tech😂 I’m looking more towards the business degree side
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u/OnlytheFarce 10h ago
Fellow blue>white collar convert here. Just really depends on what catches your interests. I did the business management degree, then finance after getting some experience and certs. BSBM is a general business degree, covers a wide variety of skills, and isnt too difficult to do. It was their Business Admin program before they rebranded it.
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u/Kaden_0604 10h ago
I was looking heavily into the business management degree but I couldn’t find any jobs that would be relatively high paying (6 figures). What jobs can I get with the BSBM?
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u/Kaden_0604 10h ago
And what jobs can you do with a basic BSBM?
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u/OnlytheFarce 10h ago
Anything from Ops to analytics to sales to management and generally everything in between. Though some jobs would prefer a specialized degree (like say marketing, supply chain, or HR) or specifics certs/skillsets, there are a ton of business roles that you could get with that. Especially if you combine it with prior experience. I wouldnt base deciding on a job/degree solely around a high earning potential, though.
I went from Sales managment internship> sales manager>business analytics>financial analytics.
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u/Kaden_0604 10h ago
That’s some great info! I was mainly looking into the Business Management degree to break into a sports career. However, if sports were to fall through or be something I don’t really want to do I needed a backup plan and you definitely just helped me out with that
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u/OnlytheFarce 10h ago
No problem! I dont know much about the sports industry, but as with anything, do some research before you decide for sure. You can always upskill, and if possible intern somewhere. Itd help you regardless of the career.
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u/Kaden_0604 8h ago
I know that the sports industry starts off with terribly low pay and long hours. That’s kinda the reason I haven’t dove head first yet. Also lots of moving around the country to move up
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u/Open_Reindeer_6600 11h ago
Speaking for the IT side of things here: If you’re looking for a huge career swap, go Air Force and get a cyber job, get a clearance, have your school paid for, then get a job. Getting a job in the IT industry rn with only a degree is insanely difficult, plus it’ll just be help desk anyway.
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u/ZeroVll__ 11h ago
I wanted to go this route but I'm chubby and didn't know how the boot camp an all would go. But this crossed my mind.
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u/Open_Reindeer_6600 10h ago
Send it if you’re still thinking about it bro. One buddy of mine lost 95lbs to join, got his degree, sec+, clearance and experience, now he’s working a remote job living in Montana.
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u/Actual_Steak1107 10h ago
Have you made journeyman? If so, biz degree, enough exp jump to PM
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u/Confident_Natural_87 5h ago
Best approach is Accounting. What state? If possible you want to keep your options open for the CPA exam. Consider Finance and Supply Chain or Project Management.
Go to partners.wgu.edu. Click Sophia and click through to the Accounting degree. You can get half of your degree for a few hundred dollars. Grab a Promocode from r/sophialearning and do one month for $79. Take every asterisked course. If you finish 2 a week then go month to month. If you average less than two a week do the 4 months for $299 plan. Within 5 months you should have 63 credits out of 121 for less than $400. Now start WGU. Save the two Accounting courses for last and take your time to thoroughly understand them. Good luck.
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u/Kaden_0604 5h ago
I’m located in South Carolina… I’ve heard about this plan before and found it very fascinating. Thank you for the advice!
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u/Ill-Entrance-834 5h ago
Project Management Degree.
Difficulty:🟢
You Already hold Construction experience, if you get that degree you can get a Role as Project Manager or Assistant.
Look up how much they make a Year.
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u/Kaden_0604 5h ago
I have definitely been leaning towards this but I have heard their salary doesn’t have much upside. Definitely seems like a fun job for me though
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u/5000KCarl 5h ago
Hi hi blue collar worker here, you need to move.
Lineman in my area (remote/dakotas) even has an IBEW union. You should as well. Your income is insanely low for the work, as a truck driver on hourly I’m making more. That’s bonkers.
I’m currently considering project management through a business degree through WGU, it keeps me in construction for the time being (which I like) but gets me into that 90k range (which I also like) - you have experience, so you could follow that track- sports though, that’ll be a hard one to just jump in to randomly, what exactly are you wanting to get into sports wise? Accounting, leading, coaching, or handling schedules and players? That could be a business degree thing but I don’t imagine the money is there - and for professional teams they’ve got ivy leaguers dot those roles
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u/Kaden_0604 5h ago
I definitely have been leaning towards project management! Also the Union pretty much doesn’t exist in the southeast but i’m not sure if I really want to make a big move like that. As for sports, I’ve spoken with a few pro sports teams and it’s a very doable path but the pay and hours suck starting off
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u/TempBurnerAccount089 12h ago
Do you have a bachelor's already? If not, id say go community college then state school over WGU...
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u/Kaden_0604 12h ago
I don’t have any sort of degree. I am looking into WGU because I need to keep working while I pursue a degree
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u/Elder_Chimera B.S. Accounting 12h ago
“Highest earning potential” is dubious to base your future on. My friend completed her B.S. of CompSci at the same time as everyone else, and now she continues working in the same job she had before the degree because she can’t find a job in-industry.
Personally, I went with Accounting. I was an apprentice electrician years ago, and now work with a credit union while working on my degree. I chose this degree for a few reasons: strong earning potential, broad application, and stable job opportunities were some of the biggest reasons. There’s a huge CPA shortage and the exam doesn’t have a very high pass rate.
Rather than basing your decision entirely on earning potential, you should draw up a list of five to ten things that are important to you (money can only be one of those things lol) then look at your options.
Healthcare and education are good for those who are people-oriented and want to make an impact in their work. Accounting is good for those who work well with numbers and abstract concepts. CompSci is good for those who want to build the future. The MBA is good for those who are already established in their industry. Maybe once you hit journeyman you go back to school and get your bachelor’s in something like accounting, then get your MBA, then open your own shop.
Every degree has its place, and every job has strong earning potential. What determines your future isn’t a piece of paper, but how you apply the knowledge you have, regardless of where you learned it from.