I'm 21 years old and I have an AAS in Culinary Arts. I have been out of school for a little over a year and have discovered a fascination and excitement surrounding food science and safety (specifically with curing, fermentation and aging). I'm currently working on and developing our own line of kombucha. My company is paying for my training as a PCQI and has offered to get me HACCP trained and certified in August. I think a food science degree (or similar) would be invaluable to my growth in my career, but the closest in-person program is three hours away, which means I would need to quit my job and move across the state.
I want to be able to invest in the opportunities my company has given me. Because I am so young and new to the industry I feel really lucky to be in this position and I don't want to give that up. Buuut I've also been out of school for over a year now and am ready to start learning again.
I have heard of online degrees pertaining to food science and am wondering if it is a viable form of education in the industry and given my situation?