For the last, oh, long time, I've been working towards my MBA at the University of Phoenix. I picked Accounting because I was somewhat interested in taking a role as a Risk Analyst for my company, and I also picked accounting because it was the longest program and I wanted to postpone my student loans forever and ever. Regardless of what direction I opted for, University of Phoenix has me complete all my "regular MBA" courses first. I assume this is in the event that I lose steam and want to drop out, I will be closer to graduation and decide to stick around anyway.
Anyway - as of tomorrow, I will be starting what could potentially be my last class at the University of Phoenix. In 6 weeks, I will have completed all the necessary coursework to graduate with my MBA. If I want to stamp the Accounting specialization on after that, I have to take 6 more courses.
Here is my dilemma... I am so done with so school. I have taken to procrastinating quite badly lately. All I want to do when I get home after work is sleep - I really don't want to get online and contribute to group work and online discussions about business. Oh, and finally, I'm not so convinced that I want to work as a risk analyst any longer. I'm kind of a people person, and at times I worry that our risk analysts spend too much time with numbers and not enough time getting to know the customer. Of course, that is what I'm there for - to work with the customer. Not to say that I wouldn't change my mind at some point and want to work in risk - but even if do change my mind, the MBA in Accounting isn't a requirement, I would still be qualified for the job without it.
IF I decide to just cut it short to a plain ole' MBA, my last class would end November 5th. With Baby G arriving at the very end of December, that would give me 7 solid weeks of nothing being able to relax through the holiday season after work before our first child is gobbling up my attention.
So - why do I feel guilty? I want to be done and finished, but I feel like I'm letting someone else down. Will my children look down on me later in life for not having the accounting title strapped to my degree? Will husband and I buckle under the financial stress of having my student loans come due again in January instead of May?
My potential last class starts tomorrow - I better make up my mind, and fast! (although I feel like I have already made up my mind to just make this class the last one...)
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On a side note, I start my new Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) today. My company is awesome, and has rolled out a company wide initiative to allow for flexibility in scheduling. It has always been available, really, but they have officially rolled it out and training everyone on how to use the program. I was looking at doing 4x10's (four 10 hour work days with a 3 day weekend) but that would have been a bit much for me, and a bit of a strain on my team with one already out on maternity leave. For now my schedule is 9x9. I work nine 9 hour days, and then I have every other Friday off. My first "off" day will be October 3rd, along with the 17th and the 31st! Hooray for having Halloween off! Yay!
I think a masters in anything is an accomplishment. I was working on my masters in religion when I realized I needed to stop and focus on my real life at the moment. Congrets for making it! Whether you decide to continue or not, you've already achieved a lot. It does sound like you've made your decision though. Be at peace with it knowing you're doing what's best right now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Vicki a masters is a real accomplishment. I finished my MBA and was very proud of myself. Have faith in yourself that you will do what is best for you and your family.
ReplyDeleteI am sooooooooooo behind on my blog reading. Forgive me.
ReplyDeleteSo many things here...
First of all, I enjoyed visiting your state, vicariously, on Saturday night. The ASU players were friendly--saw a lot of high fives and hugs after the game ended, and it makes me happy to see competing teams get along. And I'm sorry y'all lost...really...I have nothing but love for ASU...'cause they're not Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, LSU, etc. Ha!
Baby Name? Come on...I'm dying to know.
Are you loving Sarah as much as I am? I want to be her friend. I asked my husband to marry her so that I could be her friend and help take care of Trig and the new grandbaby. HA!
I don't have my Master's...and my kids don't care. You gotta do what you gotta do, though. Don't stress...just enjoy your final months of pregnancy. Above all, don't feel guilty regardless of what you decide. NO STRESSING! November 4th will be stressful enough.
p.s. Don't cut your hair until after the baby's born. 'Cause once he's about 3 months and doing more than just sleeping lots, you'll be wanting a change...and that's a good time to do it. Trust me!
Vicki - thanks for the insight. I thought I would struggle with this a lot more, but I'm really ok with the decision to just wrap it up with the MBA. Husband and I talked it over and he agrees that it is silly to stay in school for the purposes of deferring loans.
ReplyDeleteDebateur - Thanks for stopping by and giving your thoughts. I checked out your blog, and I think it is a great concept! I look forward to the next debate!
Lula - Long time no see! It is always a pleasure to have you comment on my blog here. And, I must say I had you on the brain on Saturday. It was NOT so much fun for me and my pals. Our section was right in the middle of where all the GA fans were sitting. So many of you guys showed up to support your team, it was overwhelming!
My favorites about Georgia? Many of the women were wearing dresses. Red dresses. Ok, the ASU girls wear dresses, but they are usually made up of oversized shredded up ASU T-Shirts.
All the barking was a little off putting, but ASU fans are seriously loud and obnoxious so it was just extra loud and obnoxious that night :)
Oh, and a Georgia fan fell on me when she was trying to scoot past to make her way to the concession stands. She apologized for 10 minutes or so, lol. Even if your team won, I'm glad they were polite and mostly civilized ;)
I can't be too mad about GA. Husband and I still have hopes of moving across the country and working in Atlanta some day (probably living in Marietta) so someday they may be the home team we are rooting for. But I'll have to check with Husband first - for some reason I think I'm supposed to like Georgia Tech???
I am amazed that you are able to continue school... I don't want to be discouraging but the late months of pregnancy can be pretty tough. At any rate, my advice is to be proud of yourself for completing an MBA and try to relax and prepare for baby as much as possible. Although I now do have desires to go back to school, the first couple of months were pretty chaotic and I'm glad that I was able to just focus on survival. It was kind of refreshing in a way because life was stripped back down to just the essentials- eat, sleep, ocassionally shower.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, I'm sure you will make the best decision for you guys, and you will be able to balance the financial end of it. :)
Liz! Hooray! I forget sometimes that you read my blog :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the great advice. It really helps to hear from someone that has just had a baby herself. I am just glad to be finishing before Baby G gets here so I don't have to worry about pushing myself after.
We need to meet up after work again soon!