I'm sort of spinning my wheels in life, and I'm thinking about going back to school. I just am very uncertain about what path to take.
My background: I graduated in 2011 from Rutgers with a BA in History and a 3.45 GPA. My GPA in my Major is considerably better, probably close to a 3.7. However, my transcript is literally shot through with holes. I went to RU for 2 years straight out of High School and after a successful first semester (in their honors program), promptly shit the bed- failed multiple classes, withdrew from others. I left with probably less than a 2.5 and joined the Army. After about 5 years I went back to school and did very well, pulling my GPA out of the gutter. Beyond just GPA, for what it's worth, I had almost perfect SAT scores, made Sergeant in ~3 years, and was President and founding member of a very successful fraternity. I've always had a knack for writing and did very well on research papers for my school's toughest graders- I'd feel very strong submitting writing samples to any program I apply to. However, since graduation I haven't done much to write home about- just working some blue-collar jobs to pay the bills.
What I want to do: To be honest, I don't really know. I have 3 semesters of GI Bill time left. I've got a decent amount of student debt, but not enormous (~$30k). I really enjoyed the Classics courses I took, but I discovered my love for Antiquity too late in my college career to make majoring in Classics possible. (My late uncle was a Princeton Classics man, and had the keenest wit of anyone I've ever known.) I have 4 years of high school Latin under my belt, but I remember very little. I've looked at various PhD programs and they generally require fluency in German, French, or Italian. I've got 2 semesters of Spanish, and to be honest, my biggest weakness as a student is listening to foreign languages (reading and writing I am very good at.)
It just seems that there is no straightforward path to anything I'd like to do. I could pay a bunch of money to get an Education degree, but I wouldn't really be learning any history, just paying for the privilege of teaching high school. I could use my remaining GI Bill time to learn some languages and apply to a PhD program, but I'll be financing that on my own, and if I don't get in the language instruction is for naught.
Likewise, I could go back and do a second BA in Classics- what I should have done in the first place. But let's be honest, in this day and age, can anyone say that going for a second Bachelor's in Classics is a responsible decision?
Perhaps someone here can point me in the right direction. I think my ideal route would be to work on a Master's Degree that I could finance with my GI Bill, and pick up the necessary language skills for the future while doing this, then apply to a PhD program, but I'm not sure if this is something that exists. I'm terribly bad at navigating bureaucracy and would appreciate any guidance or insight.
Your question is certainly welcome here but you might want to try posting it to /r/AskAcademia too – they're good with career advice.
If you are looking for a job, I would learn a skill that people will pay you for. Your transcript doesn't matter too much if you have some sort of skill you can provide to an employer. What do you bring to the table?
By my calculations your 27? The years keep slipping by faster and faster. I don't know what you should do, I just want to throw in my 2c. At this point you should not go in for a degree that won't add to your skill set. Classics is history's older uncle, so it's too related. You need something that will give you a plan B, should your first plan of PhD fail. Plan ahead carefully, and hedge your risk. Go get the degree in education. Learn another language at the same time. You can still apply to PhD programs with that combo. You're good at writing? Once your back in school apply for grants and scholarships and programs, the essay is the most important part. It will also help with your PhD application. With a degree in education though, you have a fallback option. A plan B of teaching high school, a very solid career that is stable (if you can break through) and has great vacation and benefits. Whatever you do, don't just recklessly gamble, you are continuously losing time.