[Coco] Re: Thoughts about going back to school full time.

[Jim Cox]

Hi Richard:

Yep, you have the right person.  I have thought about the 
possibility of teaching, but I am not sure if that is the 
right path for me.  I like helping people, and actually I 
am pretty good at tutoring people who are not technically 
knowledgable, but that is one on one, and not in a class 
room.  I like helping people, and it provides a positive 
feedback unlike what I am getting now.

Right now, my biggest problem is career burnout.  I've 
been a test technician for most of my 23 years in tech (I 
did a brief stint in tech support, but moved on for better 
pay)  I want to find something more rewarding and 
enjoyable.  I want to move into an engineering tech job.

I am starting to agree with James that pursuing a degree 
just in hopes of a better job, might not be the right 
choice.  I thought of getting a degree in some sort of 
sciences (meteorology or oceanography) in hopes of finding 
a job as a tech in those fields, but I think I could 
pursue that course much cheaper via self study and build 
on my tech experience.

In an effort to prevent burnout, I need to have a life of 
some sorts.  If I had some hobbies in the fields I am 
intersted in and worked on personal projects, I think that 
would increase my skill set and help me move into the 
fields I am interested in.

It's funny you wrote today, since I took my final in 
Introductory C Programming.  I choked on two questions - 
didn't even work on them, and spent way too much time on a 
third.  Even though it was open book, it was a struggle 
for me.  It been over 23 years since I took a final and I 
have some added preasure from work, since there are some 
expectations (they want me to be come a test automation 
engineer and there is a lot of pressure.)  It's hard to 
explain to someone who's almost 15 years younger than you 
and has a four year degree, that school isn't that easy, 
especially when you don't write code in your current 
position and only at home.

I need to work on a strategy to prevent burnout and 
improve my skill set.  Well, there is the CoCo :)  Cheers!

-Jim

On Wed, 07 Dec 2005 22:22:33 +0600
  "Richard E. Crislip" <rcrislip at neo.rr.com> wrote:
> Hello Jim
> 
> I know I'm jumping in here, but I have elected to return 
>to school to get my
> bachelor degree at 58yrs because when I graduate, I want 
>to be able to teach
> in the two year colleges that are springing up every 
>where. I was doing that
> until the accreditation team came through. They pointed 
>out that in Ohio,
> the teacher had to have  bachelors degree to teach the 
>MS-Office suite
> because they are deemed as being business courses. My 37 
>years experience
> and associate degree in programming didn't mean a thing 
>8-/. So if you think
> you may want to teach, then by all means get the degree. 
>If you plan to
> switch jobs, I agree with James, unless you have a sure 
>thing. I hope I'm
> replying to the correct person 8-}.
>