Middle Georgia Technical College

Tech colleges get more students with degrees

June 13, 2007

Jennifer Burk, Macon Telegraph

After graduating from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, Miki Causey worked a handful of odd jobs.

But it wasn't until she went to Macon Technical Institute, now known as Central Georgia Technical College, that she says she found her career.

Causey now works as a blood bank clinical laboratory specialist at The Medical Center of Central Georgia, where she has been since earning her medical laboratory technician certificate in 1985.

“It takes some people longer than others to decide what they want to do fortheir life,” said Causey, who will tell her story at Central Georgia Tech's graduation tonight.

Causey is not the only one to follow up a bachelor's degree with studies at a technical college. The number of people attending Georgia's technical colleges who already have bachelor's degrees has grown by 19 percent over the past five years, according to the Technical College System of Georgia.

At Central Georgia Tech, 279 students, or 3 percent of the college's enrollment, already had a bachelor's degree or higher during the 2006 academic year, according to an e-mail from Eddy Dixon, vice president of student services at the college.

At Middle Georgia Technical College, students with a bachelor's degree or higher made up 1.8 percent of the college's enrollment in the fall of 2006. By the winter 2007 quarter, which ran January through March, those students increased to 2.4 percent, said Dan Perdue, the college's spokesman.

Graduates and technical college administrators have given a number of reasons why people might seek a technical education after earning a bachelor's degree. Some people find they can't get a job with a bachelor's degree in some fields, like history, religion or psychology. Others need more hands-on training for advancement in a current job or use it as a springboard for a new career.

A lot of people go to a four-year school because that's what's expected, but sometimes after getting their education and entering the work force, people may want to change their field and they do so quickly, Perdue said.

Universities create individuals who think globally, and technical colleges train students with specific skills that are in demand in the market, Dixon said.

“The combination of the two obviously will make you more employable,” he said. “It's a win-win. Therefore, the students are doing it.”

Dixon said he sees going to a technical college after earning a bachelor's degree becoming more of the norm as universities and technical colleges become more seamless and collaborative in the future.

“What the four-year schools do well is deliver theory ... and they offer the four-year degree (employees) need to make advancements,” said Gardner Long, director of instructional technology at Central Georgia Tech. “Students are coming back to us for the (hands-on) skills.”

This happens particularly in information technology and health related fields, he said.

Jim Wilson, a senior systems administrator for a software development company in Atlanta, said he used his certificate from Central Georgia Tech to change careers.

After earning a bachelor's degree in political science from Georgia College (now Georgia College & State University), Wilson started teaching. But in the late 1990s, Wilson said, he caught the “technology bug.” In 2001, he completed a certificate in Windows networking at Central Georgia Tech and started working with computers.

The combination of his bachelor's degree, hands-on-training from his certificate and actual experience helped him advance from basic systems administrator to senior systems administrator, he said.

“It's probably one of the fastest ways for someone to springboard to something else,” he said.

Causey said she doesn't regret her college experience at UGA, and although she doesn't use her philosophy degree in her career, it has helped her in other aspects of her life.

“I've never considered it a waste, but it just doesn't make me any money,” she said.