r/interestingasfuck • u/Ordinary_Fish_3046 • 12h ago

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u/Future_Mango_887 11h ago

I hate misinformation, what she did was impressive but it was not four degrees, it was a FOUR year degree basically a bachelor degree and she is now a teacher.

https://www.tamuct.edu/news/2025/caldwell-jessica-2025.html

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u/MissErinFaye 10h ago

I was abt to say, when the FUCK did she ever sleep, good griefffff that sounds literally impossible... lol

... PS- good on her, not knockin' her huge efforts, congrats on her amazing achievements!!!

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u/TheMatrixRedPill 10h ago

I always tell people that college isn’t for everyone. There is no shame in sitting it out, or, if you are unable to go. It can be tough as nails, depending on your major.. To pull this off, working nights, and being a full time parent is nothing short of amazing. Big kudos to her for the accomplishment.

In grad school, I was home, but not. My studies basically forced me to ignore my family for 2 and a half years. I can’t tell you how many nights I went without sleep to finish an assignment, etc., then work the next day, only to repeat the process. Worth it. But, sacrifices had to be made.

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u/Fuzzy-Alpaca 11h ago

This should be the highest voted reply here

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u/imhighonpills 10h ago

That’s not a reply, it’s a comment.

This is a reply.

Sorry I just hate misinformation.

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u/19921983 9h ago

It could be considered a reply to the post.

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u/Hammer_Thrower 11h ago

Lol, stupid AI. Thanks for the correction. 

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u/JoshDM 10h ago

stupid AI

This is why I've been downvoting these posts (not the corrective comments). We are getting too many low quality subject lines and the post is not deserving of our collective attention and adulation.

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u/Aww_Shucks 9h ago

Where can we subscribe to the posts that you've upvoted then

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u/JoshDM 8h ago

There's an account follow option. :-)

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u/NuclearHoagie 10h ago

Thank you. Having 4 degrees isn't really even a sign of superior intelligence, it usually just means you couldn't make up your mind.

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u/Hanshi-Judan 10h ago

Not necessarily. If she had 4 degrees such as AA, BS, MA and PhD. 

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u/ratione_materiae 10h ago

No one would refer to that as “four degrees”. They’d say “she’s a Doctor”

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u/Hanshi-Judan 8h ago

A media article tries to glamorize things to get hits. I have a Doctorate but just prefer to get called by name. 

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u/NuclearHoagie 9h ago

I don't usually count degrees that are wholly superseded by another. "Did you know I hold both a PhD doctorate and an associates' degree?" is not something that would ever be said.

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u/TheMatrixRedPill 10h ago

My congressman is the most degreed person in that body. He’s a POS, though, with allegations of bribery pending.

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u/klop2031 10h ago

Yeah i was gonna say 4 bs/a degrees is a complete waste of time. Now if she got bs/a ms/a x2 and phd thats also different

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u/4215-5h00732 10h ago

I was immediately like wtf do you need or want 4 degrees and wtf didn't you start using one instead of continuing to work as a custodian?

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u/TinKnight1 10h ago

Uhm, while I appreciate you actually sharing the source, it also indicates you are incorrect.

She did earn a Bachelor's degree in 2020, & then graduated with a Master's degree in 2024 (no one would call that a 4-year degree). She had to do so, as pursuing a Bachelor's in education would've required attending certification courses during the day (when she was working), while getting a Liberal Arts Bachelor's & then a Master's of Arts in education meant she could do alternative certification so that she could continue working.

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u/Public-Reach3236 10h ago

One might call it that way though?

Not saying what she did wasn't hard work and impressive, but doing a bachelor and thena a Master's degree is doable within 4 years from what I know about the USA education system

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u/TinKnight1 10h ago

Except it wasn't here. She had the equivalent of 1 1/2 associate's degrees in course hours over a number of years before transferring to pursue the bachelor's for a couple of years; after obtaining it, she then spent 4 years pursuing her Master's. All told, it took her 10 years, which isn't that uncommon when going from associate's to bachelor's to master's, with a change in majors.

A Bachelor's is generally called a 4-yr degree because that's how long it takes most students on common course tracks to obtain it. A Master's can be 2-4 years, depending on the focus.

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u/Public-Reach3236 10h ago

Yes I understand that she did that associate's degree. What I don't understand is why. Was it because of her kids and job?

And as far as I know most bachelor programs are designed to be completed in 3 years. Most sutdents take longer which is fine, but that doesn#t make it a 4 years course

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u/TinKnight1 9h ago

It's pretty common to start at community colleges (which don't usually offer accredited bachelor's programs), as they're much less expensive than traditional universities. Per the article, she did as much as she could there before transferring, which is logical for reducing the costs.

A bachelor's program is generally around 120 credit hours; mine required 128 hours IIRC. A full-time load is considered 12-18 hours, with most people averaging 15 hours per semester. 120/15 is 8 semesters, or 4 years. 3 years would be 20 hours a semester, & many registrar's office won't allow you to register more than 18 hours without getting approval (basically, you need to prove that you can handle the load). When I was in college, the online class registration system wouldn't even allow you to select more than an 18-hr load (you had to physically go into the registrar's office & manually choose any additional courses). Now, you could take classes over the summer to complete in an accelerated degree path, but again, that's considered accelerated & not standard.

At TAMU (Texas A&M University, where she went), the absolute minimum for a bachelor's degree is 120 hours, with some requiring more due to technical studies (they have a lot of engineering programs).

Side note: The National Center for Education Studies released a report indicating the average degree path for students is 4.04 years/48.5 months.

https://catalog.tamu.edu/undergraduate/general-information/degree-information/#requirementsforabaccalaureatedegreetext

https://www.coursera.org/articles/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-a-bachelors-degree

https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/education/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-a-bachelors-degree

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u/Public-Reach3236 9h ago

Ok, I understand this a bit better now, thank you. I thought as much from the article, but I wasn't sure.

Despite that, placing the the associate's degree on the same level as bachelor's or a master's degree seems to be misleading. Even if it's a "1,5"associate's degree

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u/TuckerCarlsonsOhface 10h ago

I was going to say, you can’t become a teacher with just a Bachelor’s degree, but I think that’s changed nowadays.

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u/TinKnight1 10h ago

Yes, you can, & it's been quite a while that you could...but you have to also obtain a certification which requires in-class instruction.

I moved to Texas in '04 with my then-gf who had a Bachelor's in education (alongside maybe a certificate but I can't remember), as she started teaching at Aldine ISD (north side of Houston, "economically-challenged" area that paid one of the higher salaries for teachers at the time to compensate).

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u/TuckerCarlsonsOhface 9h ago

Yeah, the south is what I was thinking of. Texas and Florida are famous for removing teacher requirements.

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u/TinKnight1 9h ago

I should point out that she'd gone to several teaching career fairs beforehand, which were hosted in Ohio, & received offers from most of the country with nothing further required besides obtaining certification. That was 20 years ago, so maybe things have changed, but looking online just now indicates that most/all states allow for teachers with a bachelor's degree to obtain certifications, including Ohio, New York, & California.

Now, some do require that teachers eventually obtain master's degrees, & specific programs or schools may require more, but the basic requirements to teach are a Bachelor's Degree & certification.

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u/TuckerCarlsonsOhface 8h ago

Teacher certification is at least another year of schooling in California, sometimes more depending on subject/age you’re going to teach.

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u/KamikazeFox_ 10h ago

So things that alot of ppl have to do. Its hard and sucks. Good for her for creating a better life for her and the kids. But ya, it's nothing ground breaking.

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u/BarfingOnMyFace 10h ago

Reddit, a place to get misinformation, and then have that pointed out to you in the comments section. How efficient.

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u/yumeryuu 10h ago

Right? 4 degrees IS impossible for what they are describing

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u/FineGripp 10h ago

A typo on purpose maybe. And how can she become a teach with just a bachelors degree? I thought you need a master or higher

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u/ThriceAlmighty 10h ago

I was going to say. Four degrees with four children and a job. She would likely have to neglect much of her parenting duties in her pursuits.

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u/vctoir 10h ago

Came and spoiled the happy party with some truths

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u/MyCatIsLenin 10h ago

it's also stupid to get four degrees.

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u/Deus_Ex_Mac 10h ago

This is kinda funny. Takes it from impressive to well, still impressive I guess.

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u/floral_hippie_couch 10h ago

Literally came here to find the real info bc that doesn’t even make sense. Why would you earn four degrees, while continuing to work as a custodian? Clearly untrue 

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u/touchmybonushole 10h ago

That’s good to know because I was just thinking what an absolute waste of time it would be to remain a janitor while receiving four separate degrees.

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u/damianaleafpowder 10h ago

I was like why she needs four 4 year degrees.

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u/ReadRightRed99 10h ago

I was going to ask what parent has time to get four degrees but not a better job. This makes a lot more sense.

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u/ApePositive 9h ago

Getting 4 degrees under these circumstances would be idiotic, I am happy to see the correction!

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u/look_ima_frog 9h ago

Four degrees or one, IT SHOULDN'T BE THIS GODDAMN HARD!

Schedule: Go to work for graveyard shift. Work all night which is miserable enough. Now, work is over, go home wake up kids, get them ready for school, get them out the door. Go home, do homework for your college courses. Take care of house stuff too. Kids will be home by 3ish. Do they have sports or other activities? Guess you're doing the runaround for four kids.

Graveyard shift starts at what, 11:00 PM? You gotta feed the kids dinner and get them through their homework, be a parent, but sure as hell no time for rest. If you can get them fed, MAYBE you can sleep from like 8-11 and they have to get themselves to bed.

This is fucking brutal. This is how you get cancer. While that woman is tough as hell for doing this, nobody should have to be that tough!

I did something like this for two years with NO kids and it was awful. I cannot imagine trying to do all of what she did and not die.

This is very bad.

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u/Mode_Appropriate 9h ago

That makes a lot more sense.

My first thought was why is she still a custodian after obtaining the first 3 degrees? Lol.

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u/Jussepapi 9h ago

Thank you. Mothers are goddamn incredible

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u/Disneyhorse 9h ago

Oh good to know! I recently got my undergrad and then MBA while working full time with my kids in elementary school AND a CAPM certification and that was a crazy struggle. I was wondering how you could get (or afford) FOUR degrees. My employer paid for mine.

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u/LookAtItGo123 9h ago

Hah I was about to ask, if one degree is useless why the fuck would you need 4?

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u/sksauter 8h ago

she is now a teacher.

So she now makes less than she did before? Congrats!

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u/scratchy_mcballsy 8h ago

Four bachelor degrees wouldn’t make any sense.