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It's been a while...

It's no surprise I received my MBA from the University of North Carolina, but what might surprise you is how long the process took.

Folks, this is what winning a Case Competition Looks like 😉

It's 2006 and I am staring at the US Patent Office Job Boards...

I had plans to be a Patent Attorney, so I majored in Computer Science and Philosophy at Pitt. I was fascinated with Intellectual Property - especially the thought of defending the rights of inventors. I was furious at patent trolls, and I felt like my calling in life was to defend the Little Guy.

Nope. 

I recently finished a Programming course where I built a Messaging App for a Palm Pilot. It was exciting creating my own thing that I stopped looking at Jobs at the USPTO almost immediately. I also noticed a lot of IP Lawyers worked for Big Companies...so I would probably end up squashing the Little Guy. 

As a side note, my Philosophy degree helped me tremendously, so if you're thinking about Law as a career don't hesitate to take a few Philosophy classes around Logic and Ethics.

It's 2010 and I am at an impasse with my career at Vanguard...

I was a mid-level programmer, but I didn't know if I wanted to continue down the technical career path. So I looked at jobs on our internal job board (See Why Here!) and noticed something common with all the roles above my current pay grade: if I wanted any type of Promotion, I needed a Professional Degree.

I was not really passionate about Computer Science / Software Engineering in 2010, so earning a Masters in that was a Large Cost for possibly something I wasn't a huge fan of -- that was a non starter. More on this later.

I've already decided a Law degree wasn't for me at this point too, so I decided on the MBA. In my research an MBA offered me 2 tangible benefits:

1. Ability to Learn about how to Lead a Team of Professionals
2. Ability to Learn how to a Run a Business

Next steps - GMAT, In House Vanguard MBA, 2 years of Free Tuition, then have an MBA by 26...

Nope.

I never took the GMAT, I never made it into the Vanguard MBA Cohort, but I did learn I was going to go outside of Vanguard if I was get an MBA.

It's 2015 and I'm being Taunted by an On-line Ad...

I was eventually promoted at Vanguard, but again, I wasn't going to go much further without a professional degree. I went and did the same thing I had done 5 years earlier, but this time I was expecting to get into the MBA program through Vanguard.

Nope. 

But something was different this time, I forced myself to take the GMAT by purchasing a Test Date before I opened the Test Prep. I found out I'm self-motivated went it comes to $$ So in the summer of 2015, I sat for a 4 hour exam - something I hadn't done since my SATs, nearly 15 years earlier.

My personal life was different this time, I had a mortgage, a dog and a girlfriend...I couldn't just uproot my life for 2+ years. So I started looking at the local Universities, Wharton, Nova, Drexel, etc., and during my research I came across some very interesting Click-bait

The Ad...

I was skeptical of an On-line education because I didn't know if I could motivate myself or if the education was of good quality. I talked with the MBA@UNC representatives, and soon realize not all programs are the same.

It offered me a full-time education at the comfort of my home, I never had to even step on the Campus if I didn't want to (I went 2 times, 1 immersion and 1 Graduation). So at this point in my life I realized I needed flexibility and quality - my program offered that.

It's 2017 and I am looking at my Loan Payoff Date...

One last area that's a sore subject is around Financial Aid. My tuition bill would be nearly $100k, and it took an old High School Teacher's words to make me reconcile with that:

"If my kid got into an Ivy League school, I'd pay for it no matter what." Luciano, 2003

In other words, don't stop yourself from getting a quality education just because of money. Now, I realize I didn't get a Masters in Photography or go to a Non-profit, but if I had, there are many quality Loan Programs that offer Step-wise Paybacks, Loan Forgiveness, and Income Based plans.

DO YOUR RESEARCH though, there are still some shady businesses out there. And remember, a High School teacher's salary would pay for an Ivy League education, so you should too!

It's 2018 and I have no regrets...

Listen, the Graduate Degrees aren't meant for everyone, and not everyone knows which degree they want right after Undergrad. But you lessen your risk in that investment if you prioritize what's most important out of the education you receive. I wanted a High Quality Business Degree, but eventually I needed one with Flexibility.

If I had started my Career at Comcast instead of Vanguard, perhaps I would have fell in love with Computer Science or Engineering and received a Master's degree in that. But I live my life without regrets!

I don't even regret getting my face painted in South Africa

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