Continued Education

[TheBigDog]

So here I sit. I am 38 years old. I am married with 4 kids and a full time job. This week I bid on a new job at work and was challenged by an important figure within my company during my interview with him to get an MBA within 2 years because he has plans for me and wants to see me taking initiative to build myself into a more valuable employee. Cost is not a problem as the company will pay for it as long as I get good grades. Up until now motivation has been my problem, for dread of the process. I am in the middle of deciding to make this commitment for the next few years of my life, and I wanted to hear other people's stories as I go through the process.

 

So, if you have continued your education, what drove you to do it? What are the things you enjoyed, and what are the watch outs that you would try and avid if you did it again? Has your education gotten what you thought it would, and if not, has it gotten you something else instead? For those like me who are just starting, or restarting down the road of higher education, what advice would you give?

 

You don't need to be in my situation to comment. All stories are valued and welcomed.

 

Thanks :)

 

Bill

[TheBigDog]

My own story is that I have a High School Diploma, and no college. I have 16 years of experience with my current company, and I am trying to find an MBA program that will honor my work experience to grant me admission into their program. I know they are out there, I just need to look.

 

I plan on taking my GMAT before the end of November and be enrolled in a program beginning in January. I don't know as I sit here if those date are realistic, but they are my targets. I am looking exclusivly at online programs right now so that I can have the maximum opportunity to fit the course work into my life's schedule.

 

I will post updates here as they happen.

 

Bill

[Cedars]

Get accredited program education only, especially with the company paying your way. Even if you dont make it, any credits you get, you want to be able to transfer later.

 

One job I had involved licensing of a type of professional to work in this state. Board of xxxxxx. Anyways, this put me in contact with alot of other licensing divisions within Minnesota. You would be amazed at how many persons have degrees that are worthless when it comes to being licensed in this state. I am talking about degrees in electrical/heating/barbers/counseling/dental/nursing/etc. A wide variety of professions. I dont know what your state offers/requires in regards to information on your best choices. Some of these different professions are handled by the Dept. of Commerce. Others have an individual Board, such as the Board of Electricity (yep, thats what it is called).

 

Also, pay attention to the possiblity that your profession may have to become licensed someday. There is usually a grandparenting provision that allows persons working in a job that falls under this new licensure to become licensed without meeting the new requirements. And no matter the hassle, keep that license if you do not meet the state requirements. Past experiences with persons who decided their yearly/bi-annual fees were just not worth it and let that grandparented piece of paper lapse. They found themselves unable to achieve licensure later when their dream job was offered to them.

 

I have also seen in other instances where people have gotten their representatives to hassle whatever governmental agency/school was not giving them credit for past schooling/work experiences. It is definately a possiblity that you can get a state rep/senator to twist some arms on your behalf.

[Tormod]

I am taking a Masters degree at the moment - it is a "2/3" program, meaning that I have two thirds of regular workload in addition to my full time job. It's hell and takes a lot of effort, but I get to attend one of the better schools here in Norway for five weeks a year for lectures etc, so it's not an online course. The syllabus for this year is as tall as a mountain and sometimes my gut feeling says "this is not good" and I still have two and a half years to go but I think (or hope) that it will be worth the effort.

 

It's not an MBA, but a Master of Management. It's a practical degree, meaning that I'm supposed to be able to use the stuff I learn when I get back to work after each week of lectures. I am taking Innovation and plan to continue with courses which focus on business organization and strategy.

 

I have to say, it's very interesting - I'm 35 and have been thinking that I really need to get my Masters before I get too old. But some of my fellow students are way above 50. I guess it's never too late.

[Jay-qu]

Personally I think I could continue to do degrees for the rest of my life.. But at some point (probably after my first PhD :D ) I will go get a job

 

I decided to do it simply because I love it, I love learning and am passionate about the subject of astrophysics. I could never understand how kids at school didnt know what to do when they left :) it has always been so clear to me.

[Freddy]

It took me 5 years to obtain my M.Ed in History. My company paid my tuition, if I maintained a B, and I paid for the books. It was their idea, but I had been thinking about it because they were talking about making it a requirement. When the company paid for the classes, it was great, because I could not have afforded it back then. However, even though I need the M.Ed. to continue to keep my job it only allows for $1000 more a year in salary.

[TheBigDog]

I begin courses on Nov 27th. I discovered that you cannot get a MBA without a BA or BS as a prerequisite. So I am going to get my BA first, and then continue through my MBA. This will take me several years. I will post here from time to time about my progress.

 

Bill

[pgrmdave]

Good luck BigDog!

[Tormod]

So I am going to get my BA first, and then continue through my MBA.

 

Yeah! We'll be each other's support team. :hihi:

[Freddy]

Bill,

Check whether they give credit for life experiences. You may be able to CLEP some courses by passing an exam for a fee. Good luck!

[TheBigDog]

Bill,

Check whether they give credit for life experiences. You may be able to CLEP some courses by passing an exam for a fee. Good luck!

I have two avenues for this with the school I chose. I can test out of some courses with CLEP, or I can test out with an essay showing mastery of the topic. I can only do this for certain courses, and for a certain percentage of my total credits. But my ability to do this weighed heavily on my decision.

 

The format is accelerated, with each course taking just five weeks. And they will only allow me to take one couse at a time until I have completed three courses, and have a 2.0 or higher average. Each course is a commitment of 10-12 hours per week. So taking two courses in addition to work would be very strenuous. So I am looking at doing one at a time. And during each course testing out of at least one other. That would let me finish in about 2 years.

 

I'll see how it goes.

 

Bill

[hallenrm]

So, if you have continued your education, what drove you to do it? What are the things you enjoyed, and what are the watch outs that you would try and avid if you did it again? Has your education gotten what you thought it would, and if not, has it gotten you something else instead? For those like me who are just starting, or restarting down the road of higher education, what advice would you give?

 

You don't need to be in my situation to comment. All stories are valued and welcomed.

 

My story is very different.:cup:

 

I am about to cross 53 soon, I had my handsful of conventional education, I studied till I got a Ph.D. But somehow the circumstances were such that I never landed up with a conventional job. So, I learnt making video films for education, in fact I have scripted and directed more than a dozen video programs for the apex educational institutions in the India. I also learnt basic electronics, (my education for degrees was mainly in chemistry, physics, maths etc.) and designed instruments for chemical education, viz. pH meter, Colorimeters, conductometers etc. using op amps.

 

Then I shifted my focus towards computers, although I had learnt programming on the mainframe computers while I was a graduate student at IIT Kanpur, a pioneer institution for computer education in India (Narain Moorthy the mentor of Infosys also studied there), I learnt MSDOS and windows totally on my own, and in fact did some projects on multimedia and databases for some public institutions.

 

I then shifted towards writing, had a three year contract with NISCAIR, as a scientist fellow for the popular science magazine Science Reporter and hence learnt to improve my writing skills, something I am continuing even today. :eek:

 

I enjoyed every bit of my education, as I do even today, because I indulge in it not for the sake of any profit, but the sheer joy of learning.

 

So dear TBD, go full stream ahead, never pause to think what your education may pay you back, the returns can be very unexpected. Some of them in forms you never dreamt of. :shade:

[TheBigDog]

I finished my first class this week. EXP105-Personal Dimensions of Education. It was dedicated to teaching adults how to fit school into their lives, and reintroduced us to the disciplines of school such as properly formatting a paper, and basics of punctuation and grammar. As my classes are 100% online it also was geared toward teaching us the ins and outs of the school website.

 

3 credits done, 117 to go!

 

My current class is PSY202-Adult Development and Life Assessment. So far I have learned that my home grown theory of human development is best described as a hybrid of Skinner's operant conditioning, and Bandura's social learning theory. I plan on looking into these a bit deeper in good time.

 

I'll update again in 5 weeks.

 

Bill

 

(post 2500)

[InfiniteNow]

Congratulations, BigDog. One of my closest teachers studied and received his PhD under Al Bandura. If you ever have questions about SLT, post them here and maybe I can offer some guidance (or, our other members as well) ;)

 

 

As an aside, it was this teacher who studied with Bandura that started me on my career. During the time of his course, he was involved working up a telephone counseling script to assist the American Cancer Society with, what was then, a pilot study designed to help people quit smoking. He offered 3 horus of research credit to anyone who would volunteer 10 hours per week to answer phones and do the intake script with new callers to the program. I did so, and within 4 years was supervising 48 team members. I've since left ACS because the pay was too low for what I was doing, but it was a great experience.

 

Still salivating at the ringing of a bell theorem...

[Buffy]

Yes, big congrats Big! I've never done this: like just about everyone in my family I zoomed straight through college into grad school (MBA). My mom went back to school after she got divorced (when I was a kid) and got two masters degrees, neither of which she subsequently used, but it sure helped her self-assurance as a person who became quite successful in business. Just from watching her--as well as the "executive" MBA's when I was in school--going back sure seems like a transformative experience.

 

I've dreamed about going back and getting a PhD, but I'll prolly never convince myself to do it. Careerwise its actually *harmful* in my business!

 

If you want to start an MBA thread, please do! I'll join in for sure!

 

Coupon clipping swaptions,

Buffy

[Freddy]

I finished my first class this week. EXP105-Personal Dimensions of Education. It was dedicated to teaching adults how to fit school into their lives, and reintroduced us to the disciplines of school such as properly formatting a paper, and basics of punctuation and grammar. As my classes are 100% online it also was geared toward teaching us the ins and outs of the school website.

 

3 credits done, 117 to go!

 

My current class is PSY202-Adult Development and Life Assessment. So far I have learned that my home grown theory of human development is best described as a hybrid of Skinner's operant conditioning, and Bandura's social learning theory. I plan on looking into these a bit deeper in good time.

 

I'll update again in 5 weeks.

 

Bill

(post 2500)

If you want to understand B.F. Skinner I recommend the books by Skinner from the link. Skinner was a hard determinist/behaviorist who refuted free will and freedom.

From your link:

"Whether you agree with him or not, Skinner is a good writer and fun to read. I’ve already mentioned Walden II and Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971)."

[hallenrm]

I, too am continueing my education as I near 54 years of age. I have initiated a forum for the science community of the University of Delhi. I opted fpr phpbb for the software. I am learning how to install the mods and entice the community members to post on the forum. I shall be interacting with the students and teachers of the various segments of the community (constituent Colleges and University Departments) that are spread out over the city. I would be using an LCD projector a Laptop connected to a fixed wireless phone. Presently I am busy designing posters for its publicity.

 

Can somebody recommend me a link, that gives an overview of the e-forums and their potentialities etc. I want to add a link on my forum for the novice (I could write one myself but presently I am too busy)