Going Back 2 Skool & Changing Careers Thread

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by lilyukyuk

...like I wish I wasn't one. =)

Agreed. Practicing law is not a good job (unless you enjoy spending 90% of your waking hours, and a further 50% of your supposed sleeping hours, worrying about other people's problems.) Oh, and don't forget about these fringe benefits: the job market stinks right now and society more or less despises you and what you do.

[scotty2hotty]

Originally Posted by Thor

The best is I am still studying while working, after getting a wack of certifcations from Microsoft, Cisco, Comptia, I'm now working on Oracel with my Red hat cert.

Nice work.

How did you do it? Distance ed? Traditional classroom?

[Buff]

At 26 or 27 or so, I went back to school to officially become a computer geek (or to at least get a piece of paper to backup my claims of being a geek). I was one of the younger people in my classes. There were two people in their 50s in my grad class. One of my friends was in his 40s. If you're motivated to learn something new then you can go back to school at any age. Don't make excuses. Just be brave and tell yourself you can do it.

[Rathji]

I also went back to school many years ago and am taking my final class now. I wasn't sure where I wanted to end up, so I took a computer science undergrad degree. Now I am working in the IT field and while my degree is a bit of overkill for what I do, I don't regret it for an instant.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by scotty2hotty

Nice work.

How did you do it? Distance ed? Traditional classroom?

I did my MCITP, Comptia A+ and CCNA via classroom. I´m working currently on outlook 2010 configuration on my own, the company pays for the exams though.

Then with Red Hat, not sure how that's going to work as its classroom and I work shift work, but I´ll find a way to make it work as I'm really keen on getting Red Hat and then focusing on Solaris certs. My company has a big need, well in fact in Iceland there's a big shortage of these guys.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I think it's time for you to transform.

Seriously though, good luck!

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by chemgear

I had never noticed before how ridiculously lame the Megatron transforming sequence was! Seriously, were they all this bad in the old cartoon??

[Ashartus]

I went back to grad school part time 10 years after finishing my previous degree. Overall it was a very positive experience. I found that the additional years of "real world" experience made a big difference; the quality of my work was much higher than when I was in university the first time. There were no issues with acceptance or not fitting in, but in graduate and after-degree programs it's quite common for a lot of the students to be older and more experienced (particularly programs designed to accommodate part-time study). My experience might have been a bit different in that I wasn't doing a complete career change, but rather doing another degree to gain new skills relevant for my existing career.

Going back to school part time while working full time certainly has its challenges - it's a big time commitment. If you have young kids it can be very difficult to manage your time (my son was born while I was finishing up my thesis and I really struggled to find enough time after that). If you don't have to work full time then it would obviously be easier.

[Scorponok]

Originally Posted by Makarov

Agreed. Practicing law is not a good job (unless you enjoy spending 90% of your waking hours, and a further 50% of your supposed sleeping hours, worrying about other people's problems.) Oh, and don't forget about these fringe benefits: the job market stinks right now and society more or less despises you and what you do.

Are you a lawyer speaking from experience, or is this 2nd hand information from a lawyer you know?

Law seems like a fun job. I like reading about different cases, and my friends who are lawyers make it seem like a really interesting career.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Scorponok

Are you a lawyer speaking from experience, or is this 2nd hand information from a lawyer you know?

Law seems like a fun job. I like reading about different cases, and my friends who are lawyers make it seem like a really interesting career.

Lawyer speaking from experience. I don't mean to sound totally bitter, and my initial post was probably unfair. It definitely is an interesting and rewarding career at times. It simply wears me down sometimes. I imagine that people who are truly brilliant (and more experienced) than I am find it easier and less stressful than I do.

I definitely wouldn't describe it as a "fun job" though.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Scorponok

Are you a lawyer speaking from experience, or is this 2nd hand information from a lawyer you know?

Law seems like a fun job. I like reading about different cases, and my friends who are lawyers make it seem like a really interesting career.

If you seriously want to go to law school you need to do a lot more research. There are good books that pretty accurately capture the law school experience. Also, talk to different types of lawyers and ask about their actual daily tasks and see if that is something you want to do all day everyday. Be sure to talk to ones with 5-15 years of experience. New grads may be "gilding the lily' to justify their own choices.

Also, keep in mind you will likely need a 4 year degree to get in, unless you are brilliant and can get the marks in 2 years, and even then the competition to get it is cut throat.

It can be a good career and give you lots of interesting challenges but it is also a grind. Be sure of what you are getting yourself into.

I definateley would not do it again if I had the chance.

[The Reverend]

This is a timely thread. I had been wrestling with doing my MBA and every single person I've spoken to who has done it has not hesitated in recommending that I do it. Just starting the application process now but the things that worry me are being able to work at the same time as going to school, writing papers again etc.

I am at a crossroads career-wise and every time I began looking at options, the MBA came up as a better answer as opposed to making moves to other organizations.

I also decided to pay for it myself as some people advised that having your company pay for the education really can handcuff your ability to use the new credentials upon graduation.

[Scorponok]

Hmm, it seems a lot of people are "coming to a crossroads in their career" or seriously considering switching. Not a coincidence that it's also due to the times we are living in right now.

As for unemployment, the job market seems to suck everywhere, so there's gonna be that problem no matter what field you get into. (Unless it's oil & gas it seems.)

[something]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

You'd be suprised...

Haha.

I am trying to figure out if this was intentional or not...

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by The Reverend

I also decided to pay for it myself as some people advised that having your company pay for the education really can handcuff your ability to use the new credentials upon graduation.

I don't know if it really handcuffs your ability to use your new credentials, though it may depend on your employer. There is a good chance that your employer will expect some commitment from you if they're paying though - for example some companies will pay but will call it an interest-free loan that has to be repaid if you leave the company within a certain number of years.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Does anyone have much experience making a drastic change like this when you're married with kids? I would imagine that would make things very stressful.

We don't have kids yet, but planning on it in the next couple years- problem is I hate my job. A lot of people look at me a little cross-eyed when I say this as I have a very good job... still, I hate it. Want to do my MBA and possibly stay working where I am, but not sure if that would allow me enough time to focus on the school

Well either go back now, or save up every nickel you can in the coming couple of years. I would love to go back to school so I could get a real job, but in my situation, it's really hard to make work. Kids cost money, but it's the time demands that cause bigger issues.

Also depends on if your wife works, will be going back to work, and what your child car requirements would be. If you want to take more than one class and work you might have a wife who hates you in a couple years. You may find that the place you work could be willing to work with you though since you could still work there after.

[Titan]

this was a good read by an awesome author but reflects the American experience:

http://www.amazon.com/One-Turbulent-...6297430&sr=8-1

Introduction to the Study of Law by S.M. Waddams was a good look at what "going to law school" actually entails.

[Cactus Jack]

Not to derail, but does anyone have advice for someone looking to switch careers but not sure to what. I find the amount of options we have nowadays so daunting, I don't know where to start.

I'm an HR professional with 5 years of experience and I like it, but I don't love it. I feel like I could be doing something else, make more money and be happier. I speak 3 langauges and live down here in Brazil where the economy is booming. As boring as being a translator would be, I think I could be a killing here. I was also thinking about becoming a corporate trainer for international business, expats or cultural issue in the corporate world but I definitely need more education and experience. I am also good with numbers, that's another possibility.

I'm just not sure how to begin. Thanks

[Thor]

I just wanted to say I hate you for living in Brasil, jerk.