While I haven't found a job outside of security (there was hope of one a couple months ago but they never got back to me) I have made a life-altering decision.
I'm going back to school.
I have applied to Regis University's School for Professional studies for a BS in Computer Science. It's expensive, being a private school, but I can take all my classes online. I'll probably end up taking some classes in the classroom ($335/credit classroom, $435/credit online, dunno why) but they have a campus just across the highway and up an exit from me. Most of the classroom classes are 6pm-10pm which means I'd have to get up early, but I'd have plenty of time between that and work.
If I do the insane route, I could finish in 5 semesters (fall/spring/summer/fall/spring) and graduate in 2k9. I'm not sure if I can afford that or handle the workload. The classroom classes are mostly 5 weeks long (some 8) which makes for some really hardcore intense fast crazygonuts learnin. The online classes are 8 weeks, but probably no less strenuous. The advantage is that I could take 18 credits a semester and only have to deal with 2 classes at a time. It also prevents me from getting bored with a class and not doing the work.
But, I'm looking at $40k+ for the 88 credits required (the preliminary transcript eval only took 40 credits from junior college) not counting books, supplies, and software. The gen ed stuff I'll be required to take includes some religion and lots more cultural stuff (bleh) and the amusing thing is that they want me to take a college algebra class (since my college pre-calc was algebra/trig mixed) but they took my credits for calc I so I can start calc II right as soon as I'm done with algebra. I don't want to take algebra again. I had algebra in high school (wasn't AP but was darn close) and plenty of the stuff in my college class was already a repeat of that. If anything, I'd like to take Calc I again cause it's been 5 years and I got a C in the class (mostly due to being bored and disinterested by the last 3rd of the class).
Then there's the option for a math minor with only 4 more classes (including Linear Algebra and Statistics) which sounds interesting but would just be more money at this point.
All in all, I'm looking forward to getting back into school. It'll be expensive (all loans as I make too much to even get a Pell grant) but it'll be worth it.
In other news, I hate SOX audits. Paperwork sucks.
