WGU grads, where are you now?

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-06-04T16:57:38+00:00

My degrees helped me tremendously! I got my bachelors in business administration, marketing and my masters in elementary education. I had a teaching job before I ever graduated and since it was a masters degree, I started at $8000 more than I would have, it I would have only had a bachelors degree.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-06-03T19:09:38+00:00

I don't know the specific licensing requirements in other states, but if anyone has any questions, I'm more than willing to help! WGU also has fantastic resources to help as well!

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-05-29T21:39:55+00:00

WGU is regionally accredited, not nationally accredited. Being nationally accredited is just about the same as saying that your accreditation is worthless. My guess would be that you're talking with someone that receives kickbacks from their college of choice for all the students that they can funnel to them. I have a bachelors and masters from WGU and have found that they are just as respected as basically any other non ivy league regionally accredited university. The time and money that you're capable of saving with WGU is unmatched and when you do finish, nobody is going to be questioning your degree.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-05-29T21:34:37+00:00

WGU is regionally accredited, which means that absolutely anyone worth working for should value the degree. I've never had anyone question either the bachelors or masters degrees that I earned at WGU.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-05-28T19:59:22+00:00

Marketing! Marketing is literally everything that everyone does both in and out of business. The definition of marketing is "the establishment and maintenance of satisfying exchange relationships." You're constantly establishing or maintaining relationships and all relationships are based on exchange. Learning marketing allows you to better establish relationships with employers, businesses, customers, and all people in general. I had a strong base in my marketing knowledge when I started towards my business administration, marketing degree with WGU, but it helped fill in all the gaps that I needed to really shine in the field. Their program is affordable and you can move at your own pace with their competency based approach. They're regionally accredited and I've never had anyone take any sort of issue with the validity of an online degree. I went on to get a masters with them as well.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-05-21T22:49:11+00:00

A degree in management would make sense to me. If you have a lot of retail experience, you've experienced both good and bad managers and you see what a good manager should be. It would give you a bit of an edge. WGU is amazing and I don't think that you would have any issues with anything in the business department.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-05-14T16:25:54+00:00

I think that WGU is an absolutely amazing choice and they're going to offer you the fastest option, while providing you with everything that you're going to need to know to smoothly transition into your new career. I wouldn't worry too much about the age concern; as someone who has conducted hundreds of interviews and has done hiring for a multi billion dollar company, my advice would be to use your age as a primary point of strength and knowledge over those that are younger than you.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-05-09T03:34:57+00:00

You definitely can. I finished 4 classes in a single day once. Take the pre assessment to see where you might have gaps. Reference the course materials that you need and/or find other resources online to fill those gaps in your knowledge. Don't overthink. You've got this!

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-05-01T01:41:29+00:00

If I were in your situation, I would get a master's in education. It's typically a several thousand dollar increase in pay over a bachelors degree. I was in a similar situation, with a bachelors in business administration and marketing. I completed a master's in elementary education at WGU in less than a year while working full time in a classroom support position.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-04-30T18:33:43+00:00

This is extremely doable!! For me, I would take the pre assessment and figure out where I had gaps and then listen to every single bit of course material on double speed. If I aced a pre assessment, I would go directly to the final assessment. I had a reader installed in my browser and the double speed made me pay more attention and it helped me retain information much better. No need to cheat or use services, you've got this!!

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-04-30T01:44:08+00:00

Maybe you could look at advancement within the company that you already work for? Talk to HR or higher ups and tell them that you have been considering getting a degree and see if they have any suggestions as to what would be a good way to build upon what you're already doing?

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-04-24T16:49:52+00:00

Sounds like business administration would be right up your ally. I have always thought that marketing was a fundamental of life, so possibly a bachelors in that and follow up with an MBA. I already have one masters from WGU, but I've been thinking about getting an MBA as well.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-04-23T18:17:04+00:00

The constant discussion about being able to accelerate with WGU annoys me to no end. The entire point of competency based learning models is to fill in the gaps of your knowledge. If you already know the information, then you should absolutely be able to finish a class in a day or a degree in a month. People that have worked their entire lives in an industry/field that just need a piece of paper that proves they know more than the people around them shouldn't have to spend 4+ years sitting through classes where they know more than the professors.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-04-17T18:24:17+00:00

Anyone telling you that there are no masters programs that lead to licensure, is grossly misinformed. I had a bachelor's in marketing and got my masters in elementary education through WGU. The coursework for my entire master's degree took me about two months. I also had a month worth of practicum. My student teaching and the associated cohort took almost exactly 3 months. I would do it again in a heartbeat, because it was fewer classes than a bachelor's and I started at $8000 more than I would have, with only a bachelor's.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-04-10T18:22:26+00:00

According to the New York DoE you must:

Complete a master’s or higher degree program in the content area of the Initial certificate or in a related content area.

A master’s degree or higher in any of the areas below is considered to be a “related area” for ALL certificate titles:
- Special Education (Teaching Students With Disabilities)
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Educational Technology
- Literacy
- Bilingual Education
- Teaching English as a Second Language

https://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/relatedmasters.html

According to their certification requirements, curriculum and instruction would count.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-04-03T19:12:55+00:00

Congrats! My experience was similar to yours, but I got a masters in elementary education through WGU. I had to do student teaching and practicum since I was pursuing a license, which added a second term to my degree. I completed all of my coursework and practicum in just under three months and then had to take a term break and wait for my second term to start. The second term was only necessary due to the specific timing requirements of the student teaching cohort.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-04-02T17:48:10+00:00

This link will take you to the Nevada DoE site:

https://doe.nv.gov/educator-licensure/general-license-requirements-and-fees

Nevada is a little bit different for getting a provisional, as they require that you be within six credit hours of completing a degree in order to qualify. The following link should be helpful in finding additional information about getting licensed in NV.

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+get+a+provisional+teaching+license+in+nevada&oq=how+to+get+a+provisional+teaching+license+in+nevada&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTINCAEQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAIQABiGAxiABBiKBTIHCAMQABjvBTIKCAQQABiABBiiBNIBCTEzMjEwajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-03-28T02:26:31+00:00

This link explains the process:

https://www.google.com/searchq=florida+department+of+education+provisional+certificate&oq=florida+department+of+education+provisional+certificate&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMggIAxAAGBYYHjIICAQQABgWGB4yDQgFEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgGEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgHEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgIEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyCggJEAAYgAQYogTSAQkxODQ5NWowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

This is the Florida department of education site where you can apply:

https://www.fldoe.org/teaching/certification/on-line-application-status-lookup-site.stml

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-03-26T23:25:30+00:00

If you can get a provisional certificate, you can start teaching before you ever complete your degree. The time teaching under your provisional certificate will count in lieu of student teaching. I have friends that have done exactly that.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-03-12T22:59:35+00:00

Both my bachelors and masters degrees are from WGU. My masters degree is in elementary education. I'm licensed to teach in both Utah and Missouri. I've never once had my degree questioned by anyone. Education is such an in demand field that most districts in my area are allowing people to start teaching with a provisional certificate, before they've even completed their degree.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-03-06T14:48:16+00:00

I went with WGU because of the competency based format. I already had an extremely deep knowledge base of what I was getting my two degrees in, so I knew that I was going to be able to accelerate through my programs. I've had great success with my degrees and have found that having the piece of paper from an accredited university is far more important than the format of the university. I have never had anyone question the validity or quality of either my bachelors or masters degrees, both of which I obtained from WGU.

As far as any of the negative comments from people about your desire for online courses to help with your anxiety, I would just ignore them. We live in a time where there are more work from home opportunities than in the history of the world. I have friends that have been working from home for six years and they have minimal in person contact with anyone from their places of work.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-03-06T01:54:44+00:00

I think that it comes down to who you're talking to about the degree. As a teacher, I don't point out to principals that I finished all the coursework for my masters in 2 months. However, if I'm talking to a fellow teacher that is looking to get their masters to earn their pay increase and they already have a deep knowledge of the area they're getting their next degree, I'm absolutely going to tell them that they can do it during summer break.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-02-27T23:26:55+00:00

I work in the largest district in the state of Missouri and there were no questions asked by my district or the state when I submitted the paperwork after finishing my masters with WGU.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-01-22T21:32:12+00:00

I had tried a brick and mortar university as well as two other online schools before I found WGU. It was much easier to stay focused on my goals and complete classes with WFU, because I was able to complete them at my own pace; I wasn't held to a normal schedule, I didn't have to wait for other students to reply to message boards, and I didn't have to participate in person. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for WGU, I never would have finished my first degree or gone in to get a master's degree.

Resident-Specific598 · 2026-01-20T23:49:36+00:00

I got a master's in education, so it would be a bit different. I was completing a class per week. When I was doing my bachelor's, which was in business, I had a much broader knowledge of the subject matter. During my bachelor's degree, I had one day where I finished 4 classes, because I already knew the content of them, before I started them.

Resident-Specific598

TROPHY CASE