I learned a few things over the course of the last eight weeks that go a bit beyond communications and collegiate at 30. I learned to come to terms with a few quirks, to really find the reasons behind my delayed graduation. To answer hard questions about myself and use those answers to help me drive my way forward. Don't worry this won't be a wishy washy post about self discovery.
I've been diagnosed more than once with ADHD but i've never done anything about it. Frankly, I was too immature and proud to think that I needed to do anything about it. In hindsight and with honest observation from a professional i can see how i've basically maneuvered myself all my adult life to follow paths that worked well with my shorter attention span and need to find more stimuli. I moved into positions that encouraged frequent interaction with people, had rotating goals, and gave me control of my schedule. I was thankfully able to find a good niche and found success in it. There is problem in success sometimes.
I figured that since i was able to be successful in that environment i didn't need to address any issues with ADD. Being unemployed, as i've addressed in this blog a few times, changes things. I thought i'd just focus on school, it would be a piece of cake. But my cake never really included focus in the ingredients list.
I had too much time, too little stimulis and I easily lost track. Here are some sites i've used to define my next steps and try to improve myself along the way:
www.totallyadd.com- a site based on a documentary called ADD and Loving it. It helped me see what i had to address without letting me wallow in self deprecation and stress.
www.teamtreehouse.com- in order to keep my creative juices running while learning something new. I realized i enjoyed being creative and could pursue a career that gave me flexibility i would need to be successful while still experiencing new challenges regularly.
masscis.intocarreers.org- helped keep me focus on my new path for education and a career. I would normally find myself switching from idea to idea but after going through the evaluation on the site I was validated in my choice. It helped me lock down on a career and education path that worked to my needs and desires and proved to be a growing field.
Well, dear reader, I suppose this is farewell. Tomorrow I graduate and move on the phase two of my reinvention. I will not be actively adding to this blog but I will keep it open and active. Shoot me an email if you have any questions or just want to chat. I'm also on Twitter @msantiago508
Friday, May 11, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
So, you're back in the learning game...
I've had to learn a few things besides my standard course work over the course of this semester. For beginners, the word "laid off" always sounded like a compound word to me but is actually both words separately. I also learned that it is simply a euphemism with little of interest in its etymology. The rest of what i learned was slightly more complicated.
Better off working
If someone would have told me 6 months ago that I could simply avoid dreading monday mornings and get paid 60% of my income to study full time I would have said count me in. To be completely honest, there where times I secretly hoped to be amongst the 30 thousand planned layoffs at my company.
You know the saying though, "be careful what you...". I'm not complaining too much though, at least I'm in school and have the next year or so planned out with school.
I've been working in some form or another since i was 14 years old. I don't sleep in and I constantly crave movement and purpose. That and the fact that I haven't been a full time student since I was 17 years old led me to feel like a hamster on caffeine on a blocky tread-mill. I would start projects up around the house, making myself useful but i just couldn't get traction.
Even in school, after receiving encouragement from my professors I found it hard to settle into a routine around my school work.I thought to myself that i'd rather take a deeper pay cut to take a low paying job and have something to do rather than stay home on unemployment.
Stay busy, find yourself
When I was still working I had plans for how the next year of schooling would go. I would graduate from WSU, finally completing my bachelors degree. With that personal milestone behind me I would finally pursue my own interests.
I'm a technology geek and have always been so. It's almost a joke that I'm thirty one and haven't worked with tech since I was in my teens. Even when I worked in wealth management, I tended to be the go-to-guy for tech questions (those IT guys can be a bit off-putting).So, now i'm home trying to get this "student" thing down again and i'm deciding how i want to go about my second degree project.
Originally it was quiet simple. I selected a decent looking program that allowed me to work full time and achieve a tech oriented second degree. It would get me moving in the right direction while compromising the extent to which i could move into that field. It was like a watered down bachelors in IT.
This is the point where you start to ask the harder questions. What do you want? No, really, what do YOU want to do with your life?
Who do you want to be? How do you want to feel on sunday evening? Understanding that work is exactly that, work, what does your dream job look like?
I googled, I spoke with neighbors and acquaintances in various fields. I spent time really trying to decide what I wanted to do. Then I figured out how to get there.
I'm graduating in 5 days and I will be starting at Umass Lowell one week after that. I'm going to be moving forward, full steam ahead and I wont stop until I'm who I want to be doing what I want to do.
Better off working
If someone would have told me 6 months ago that I could simply avoid dreading monday mornings and get paid 60% of my income to study full time I would have said count me in. To be completely honest, there where times I secretly hoped to be amongst the 30 thousand planned layoffs at my company.
You know the saying though, "be careful what you...". I'm not complaining too much though, at least I'm in school and have the next year or so planned out with school.
I've been working in some form or another since i was 14 years old. I don't sleep in and I constantly crave movement and purpose. That and the fact that I haven't been a full time student since I was 17 years old led me to feel like a hamster on caffeine on a blocky tread-mill. I would start projects up around the house, making myself useful but i just couldn't get traction.
Even in school, after receiving encouragement from my professors I found it hard to settle into a routine around my school work.I thought to myself that i'd rather take a deeper pay cut to take a low paying job and have something to do rather than stay home on unemployment.
Stay busy, find yourself
When I was still working I had plans for how the next year of schooling would go. I would graduate from WSU, finally completing my bachelors degree. With that personal milestone behind me I would finally pursue my own interests.
I'm a technology geek and have always been so. It's almost a joke that I'm thirty one and haven't worked with tech since I was in my teens. Even when I worked in wealth management, I tended to be the go-to-guy for tech questions (those IT guys can be a bit off-putting).So, now i'm home trying to get this "student" thing down again and i'm deciding how i want to go about my second degree project.
Originally it was quiet simple. I selected a decent looking program that allowed me to work full time and achieve a tech oriented second degree. It would get me moving in the right direction while compromising the extent to which i could move into that field. It was like a watered down bachelors in IT.
This is the point where you start to ask the harder questions. What do you want? No, really, what do YOU want to do with your life?
Who do you want to be? How do you want to feel on sunday evening? Understanding that work is exactly that, work, what does your dream job look like?
I googled, I spoke with neighbors and acquaintances in various fields. I spent time really trying to decide what I wanted to do. Then I figured out how to get there.
I'm graduating in 5 days and I will be starting at Umass Lowell one week after that. I'm going to be moving forward, full steam ahead and I wont stop until I'm who I want to be doing what I want to do.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Things Change... Thats why I'm back in school.
So a funny thing happened on my way to getting to where I wanted to be in life. When I wrote my first post for this Blogg I was gainfully employed and wrapping up my bachelors degree (finally) at 30. Well along the way, life did what it does so well and threw a good o'l curve ball. I am now unemployed.
But don't mistake my current assessment of my state as despondent ranting. No sir (or madam), this is not self pity, it is my opportunity to share my experience thus far. I am genuinely turning a negative into a positive. I'm finding that proverbial silver lining.
First things addressed where my classes and how much time I had to address some of them. I was able to turn one of my independent studies into actual class time. Dear reader, if you have ever wondered if there is still value left doing in-class time let me assure you there is. It might be easy to fall back on the convenience of online learning. The complete openness of many syllabi given out by professors that rely on your own desire to complete the course successfully. The reason for that may simply be because of the attention that needs to spent on students sitting in classrooms.
I am thankful that I was able to convert half my courses into traditional sit downs. It simply has given me more context for the materials being learned. And i've found all of my professors at WSU to be both sympathetic and encouraging to my newly acquired freedom from worker bee life.
While going through the process of unemployment insurance I also learned something important. Something that will change the course of my life, and I am not exaggerating. Section 30.
Did you know that if you are laid off and desire to truly engage in bettering your chances at future success the state will assist you? Basically a section 30 removes the stress of seeking for work in liue of perusing some valid training or education. They are letting me finish school and make myself marketable again!
Having gone through two layoffs in the same sector i couldn't have prayed for a better opportunity to avoid this self deprecating experience again. Besides finally finishing my first degree at WSU, i have enrolled in a second degree program at UMass Lowell to attain a second bachelors in Database administration in IT. I will hopefully be prepared for a market that has more work than qualified people to fill it.
One thing I can't stress enough to those of you still in school is simply to finish. Finish while you can, don't chase the quick dollar, unless you're in dire circumstances. Even then, my wife managed to finish her degree in five years while working full time. Stay focused and be prepared to keep learning beyond your first four years. It's a tough world out here but with the support of experienced faculty willing to back you up you can get by just fine.
I know I will.
But don't mistake my current assessment of my state as despondent ranting. No sir (or madam), this is not self pity, it is my opportunity to share my experience thus far. I am genuinely turning a negative into a positive. I'm finding that proverbial silver lining.
First things addressed where my classes and how much time I had to address some of them. I was able to turn one of my independent studies into actual class time. Dear reader, if you have ever wondered if there is still value left doing in-class time let me assure you there is. It might be easy to fall back on the convenience of online learning. The complete openness of many syllabi given out by professors that rely on your own desire to complete the course successfully. The reason for that may simply be because of the attention that needs to spent on students sitting in classrooms.
I am thankful that I was able to convert half my courses into traditional sit downs. It simply has given me more context for the materials being learned. And i've found all of my professors at WSU to be both sympathetic and encouraging to my newly acquired freedom from worker bee life.
While going through the process of unemployment insurance I also learned something important. Something that will change the course of my life, and I am not exaggerating. Section 30.
Did you know that if you are laid off and desire to truly engage in bettering your chances at future success the state will assist you? Basically a section 30 removes the stress of seeking for work in liue of perusing some valid training or education. They are letting me finish school and make myself marketable again!
Having gone through two layoffs in the same sector i couldn't have prayed for a better opportunity to avoid this self deprecating experience again. Besides finally finishing my first degree at WSU, i have enrolled in a second degree program at UMass Lowell to attain a second bachelors in Database administration in IT. I will hopefully be prepared for a market that has more work than qualified people to fill it.
One thing I can't stress enough to those of you still in school is simply to finish. Finish while you can, don't chase the quick dollar, unless you're in dire circumstances. Even then, my wife managed to finish her degree in five years while working full time. Stay focused and be prepared to keep learning beyond your first four years. It's a tough world out here but with the support of experienced faculty willing to back you up you can get by just fine.
I know I will.
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