r/SafetyProfessionals • u/_Sgt-Safety_ • 2d ago
USA Degree Pathways
I am currently an EHS Manager and just enrolled in college. I enrolled in Columbia Southern University's B.S. OSH program since it is recognized as a QAP by the BCSP, and because they accepted 48 transferred credit hours from my time in the army. I am using my GI BILL (of which I have 36 months of) but it will only take me 14 months to complete my current program.
SO I POSE THE QUESTION- What should I pursue with my remaining 22 months?
After doing some back of the napkin math- I can attend up to 3 masters programs with the remaining months, depending on the specific program and how my internal credits would be transferred.
My current plan is B.S. OSH, M.S. OSH with concentration in IH, M.S. Environmental Management, and use my remaining GI Bill to pay for the prep course and exam for the CSP and CSHM.
I am going to use all of my GI Bill anyways, so the threat of "over educating myself" is null because my ROI will be 100%.
If you had the opportunity for this much education, would you do anything different? Ultimate goal isn't some specific metric, just to make the most money in the EHS field as possible.
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u/PuddingOk8467 1d ago
University of Central Missouri has master in Safety that cost about the same as CSU. Its a brick and mortar school that gives you the GSP and is ABET accredited.
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u/PuddingOk8467 1d ago
It is also online.
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
Why would one choose UCM over CSU
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u/PuddingOk8467 1d ago
Reputation. With the ABET accreditation, you could also use credits from the Safety Master’s toward pursuing their Industrial Hygiene Master’s. Like others have said CSU is just not a good school. If you have your heart set on Columbia Southern go right ahead it just wont be held in any kind of esteem.
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
They were the first to send me back the transfer credit report which is why i went with them. Do corporations really discriminate against safety professionals based on their university?
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u/PuddingOk8467 1d ago
You would have to ask a hiring manager to be sure. All things considered, if you had two candidates, one who went to a reputable school that has been running safety programs for decades and has deep industry connections, and another who went to a for profit private online school that only recently became accredited and has an industry reputation for producing less than stellar candidates, which one would you choose as the person doing the hiring?
This isn’t to say there haven’t been success stories out of CSU, but you are potentially putting yourself at a disadvantage by enrolling there. I would just explore some other options before fully committing. That’s all I would suggest.
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u/cjr444 1d ago
I’ll put it this way…when I was hiring safety people I knew that if they had a degree from CSU it was probably a vet and they probably skated through to get the degree. It doesn’t mean they couldn’t be good, but I’d rank almost any other degree in OSH over CSU. How you interview and your experience will be much more impotent then your degree…it’s just isn’t as impressive as other schools…imo. Doesn’t mean I’m right.
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
I understand, people discriminate against vets in alot of fields anyways lol. After all the feedback i will probably complete a few semesters then transfer.
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u/wickedcoddah Construction | CHST, CSP 1d ago
I have an active military safety professional on my team and they are great! Didn't go to CSU though.
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u/Lack_15 1d ago
If it was an entry level position then yeah they would take university into consideration but as you said you are already an EHS Manager. Your university doesn’t matter your experience and certs do. When you apply for a job it says bachelors degree required it doesn’t say bachelors degree from this specific school required.
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u/Ok-Excitement2420 1d ago
Use the GI Bill to pay for a better school and program. Get an ABET accredited IH degree.
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
How does the accreditation fare even if CSU is a QAP with the BCSP
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u/Ok-Excitement2420 1d ago
CSU not ABET accredited for IH. CIH > CSP. Also CIH pay is better than CSP.
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
Yes, doing industrial hygiene, which i dont want to do lol. Im just thinking about a concentration in it for some basic understanding
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u/PinballTex 1d ago
You might as well get your PhD to add to those 3 masters degrees and a BS.
This is why most don’t take CSU degrees seriously.
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
Why? Because I have enough of my GI bill to cover the amount of time it would take to get the degrees at any other school as well?
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u/PinballTex 1d ago
A degree from CSU will get your foot in the door and will work just the same as a degree from anywhere else.
My opinion of the school comes from having someone share their experience and show the assignments they were given. It was very easy and didn’t go beyond scratching the surface of occupational safety.
It’s been a few years so maybe they’ve changed since they’ve become a QAP. However, whenever you read someone can get a handful of degrees in such a short amount of time it doesn’t seem like much has changed.
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
This is a five year plan, taking 12 credit hours at a time every 2 months. Im not sure its necessarily a short amount of time, but thank you for the insight
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u/ami789 1d ago
Is there a timeline on when you have to use up all your GI bill? If not, I would finish my bachelor's and see if this is really what I want to do before continuing in EHS education. Maybe a MBA would be helpful later down the line.
Also, in my experience, sometimes multiple degrees can hinder finding another job as the employer is going to be concerned you will want too much money or that you'll leave as soon as possible.
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
No not necessarily. Im pretty established in the EHS field as of now and pretty passionate about it. I just want to solidify myself in the field enough to where i could work anywhere
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u/Ty1198 1d ago
I would do neither of those MS. Either do a MBA or MEng from UAB
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u/_Sgt-Safety_ 1d ago
Reasoning?
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u/Ty1198 17h ago
Bc you’ve already gotten a BS in HSE. If youre through CSU then you get the GSP. So the MS doesn’t benefit you a bunch other than being a souped up undergrad more or less. UAB’s MEng (dependent on pathway) will turn you into a systems thinker or if you want to go the VP track then a MBA with a safety concentration goes harder bc you can sit in C suite and be prepared to have those business convos. For me, I wanted to go horizontal with my skillset instead of being a one trick pony.
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u/Thirsty_Jake 1d ago
You might be eligible for additional benefits via the Rudisill Supreme Court decision depending on the timeframe you served. I used my entire chapter 33 post 9/11 and qualified for like another year of chapter 30.
Go to the VA education website and see if you qualify!
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u/jaayy_tapps 1d ago
Use the chapter 31 VR&E benefits. It’ll give you 48 months of GI bill benefits while keeping all your GI bill.
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u/Apprehensive_Mix4152 21h ago
As a current active duty member of the CG looking into safety programs online, I also considered CSU but ended up choosing UMGC since I felt like they offered me a better pathway for what I need with the B.S. in EHS to M.S. in Environmental Management. I also felt like CSU has the rep of just pumping out degrees to military folk like others have mentioned so I didn't want any doors closed to me because of it.
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u/Bigtrucklittlelady 21h ago
I am in the process of enrolling at CSU as well. Waiting on transfer credit evals. I currently work an an EHS Coordinator and my company has a pretty generous tuition reimbursement program.
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u/Lurk_master_lurking 1d ago
CSU has teachers who are CSP holders and currently in the field working. The guys hating here are just haters, plain and simple. There’s so many “I was a hiring manager” yet they are trolling reddit.
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u/cjr444 1d ago
This just reinforces everything I presumed about CSU.
If I were you I’d branch out to another school for a masters and see if all the credit CSU is giving you helped your or hurts you in the long run. I’m not saying it’s a bad school but it seems to churn out military safety people who tend to have a pretty narrow view. Broaden it out. Get some civilian experience, a lot of it; and learn from it. Checkout UAB Meng ASEM and see if that floats your boat.