I have a 2.7 GPA in Mass Communications, but I want to pursue work in Teaching (High School or College) or work in Animal Bio Sciences, but it seems the only way to get serious training in these areas is another Bachelor’s in order to be competive for Master’s or PHD. Unless vocational and professional programs don’t provide much training in these areas (except maybe lower level work like preschool or Vet Tech). Vet Tech is basically a bottom level job you never really advance from. So trade programs and professional certificates don’t like good investments if I go either direction. I’ve turned down vocational school offers. Don’t have much relevant work experience either. I know it will be expensive, but doesn’t sound like I have any other options.
How does someone seek further education in different field if they have a Bachelor's with a low GPA?
I would recommend taking and doing well in additional undergraduate courses in the area that you intend to study in grad school but not pursuing another bachelors degree. There are prevet post baccalaureate programs like this one
https://learn.uvm.edu/program/post-baccalaureate-premedical-program/veterinarian-dvm/ if you are considering vet school.
I would recommend figuring out what you want to do before you get more education. You could possibly do this by volunteering, or interning.
If you are considering education, you could substitute or get a job as a Teachers Aide or assistant and see if you enjoy it.
Unfortunately most of the internships in my area are mostly reserved for current college students, which is also why getting experience is tough. Most of the volunteering jobs are in areas like construction, daycare, of healthcare.
I agree that you need to figure out exactly what you want to do before you pursue higher ed, because the route you can take will really depend on what your goal is.
Teaching college is a very different beast from teaching high school. You’ll not only need a PhD, but you will need research experience before the PhD and publications during the PhD process. Most college professors are researchers + teachers, and you really get a PhD if you want to do research in a specific area and pursue that as a career. It’s also extremely competitive, so I wouldn’t recommend that - the preparation time pre-PhD + PhD = postdoc’ing won’t be worth it if there are other things you want to do equally.
If you wanted to teach high school (or middle school) biology, your best bet would be to get an M.Ed in secondary science teaching. That will lead to licensure in the field. I’m not sure whether M.Ed programs would want you to have some background in the field - I feel like they would, so you might have to take some biology classes as a non-degree student before you can be competitive for those programs.
As far as work goes - that really depends on the kind of work you want to do. Different career fields will require different degrees and approaches.
What if I decide to do the PHD route? Because research is something I’m interested in. Because I’m guessing not much research is done at the High School Level, so maybe I should look for a research job instead.
Then I would recommend volunteering as a research assistant in a lab to see what it’s like before jumping onto the PhD track. Reach out to former professors to see if they have any opportunities for you. To gain enough experience for applications and then complete the PhD, you’re looking at 6-8 years until you get a post-doc or a job. You need to make sure this is a commitment you are willing to make. Right now I wouldn’t worry about what degree to pursue; figure out what interests you and where your strengths lie.
How do you get hired as research assistant if you don’t have a degree or experience. Should I at least get a minor to do that?