5 Year Plan

I have a lot of plans and goals for myself to achieve within the next five years. During the

next five years im planning on attending the Merced Junior College campus for approximately 2

years and get all of my basic credits mostly focusing on psychology. After I obtain the credits

needed to transfer which I believe is 60 credits Im planning on going to Stanislaus State to obtain

my masters degree and most likely a philosophical doctoral in criminal psychology.

I want to do this because I believe that doing it this way i'll hopefully have less student

debt than I would going directly to a four year UC or CSU. I also chose this school for the first

two years because it is a more affordable option and I can live at home and get a bit of financial

help from my parents as I attend school and get a part time job to start getting on my feet and

saving up my money so I can eventually have myself to depend on.

I plan on going to school part time and getting a part time job. I've been applying to jobs

around Merced to try and get my foot in the door while I attend college. I want to get a job in

retail part time and attend school to hopefully get my education as fast as possible. I plan to work

during the two year duration that I will be studying here and hopefully having steady good hours

at a good establishment. I am honestly open to any job because things won't pay for themselves

and I need to be independent as quick as possible to better my future and hopefully make it easier

if I do it at 17 or 18.

During the first year of attending the Merced Junior College I plan on living at home with

my parents until I can become financially stable enough to support myself and get my own place

to settle. To achieve my goal of moving out during my second year of community college I plan

on getting a good job working hard learning to budget things and saving up as much as possible.
After my two years at the community college either I will still be living in my own apartment

hopefully and be able to commute to Stanislaus for school after I transfer or I will wait two

years, live at home, and save more to be able to move myself to Stanislaus for the rest of the time

that I need to obtain my degree.

To pay for school I will most likely have financial aid and that will help me pay for books

both years and tuition for one year because at Merced Junior College they allow you to attend

one year of units free of charge. Food and Rent are the most important things for me to be saving

for and I plan on doing that by getting a job and working as many hours as I can and putting my

checks in savings minus the money I would need for food. I don't really do much for fun things

wise I usually stay in and watch Netflix so I’d need to save money for my subscription to that

and gas for my car as well as utilities to live in my own apartment.

My future career goal is to go to a two year, transfer to a four year and complete a

doctorate in criminal psychology. I will not complete this all in 5 years, My career path is

supposed to take 8-12 years. To be what I want to be I need to obtain my masters degree and

then proceed to my doctorate in psychology. When I attend Merced Junior College for two years

I will be getting the rest of my basic education, When I finish my basic education I will go to

Stanislaus State to get the rest of my degree and complete any certifications that are required as

well as get a license in Criminal Psychology which I believe is needed. The career path I chose

requires a lot of extra schooling and dedication and I am excited to start and get my degree at the

age of 26 which seems like a long time from now but the future is very exciting. I am glad that I

have thought about what I want to do and that I have so many supportive and helpful people

around me that will push and help me reach my goals in life.