Final work post

I love my job. That's really what it all comes down to. I got this job because I had graduated. That really makes it all worth it.

Money, money, money..

It's kind of ironic that it's taken me a couple weeks to update this because the reason is I've been too busy at work. The reason this is ironic is because this post is about how getting a degree gets you a better job. Since I am really busy again today this probably isn't going to be very long. :)



I am pretty solid proof that getting a degree gets you a better job. I have been with the same company 4 years. I love the company, love most of the people I work with, and love my current job. I started here right after I finished my Associate's Degree. I found this company through the job placement office at my school. At the time, it was the best job I had ever had. I was given the job because I had my Associates.



Two months after I completed my Bachelor's degree I was promoted to a much better position. Exactly a year later I was promoted again (doing the same job). I love my job and it just makes it so much better that I actually am getting paid well. It is really all because I have a degree.

Sweet Release

We'll now move on to why school is worth it. For those of you interested in instant gratification...it may not be. If nothing else, though, graduating is the best feeling EVER. Ok. Maybe not ever, but damn close. I'll obviously give more reasons later but for now I'm going to bask in remembering the feeling of being done. I'm contemplating going back for my Master's right now so I think I need to remember this feeling.

Also, here's a couple of pics:

1. Graduation Day - technically I still had one class left...

2. My friend Rachel kissing U of P goodbye :)

Sacrifices

The previous posts are pretty much all about avoiding the sacrifices but obviously the truth is there are some. I still don't remember what I used to do with my free time. Not having any for years makes it hard to keep up with hobbies. Even if you're at one job less than I was you will still not have much free time (and really, there's never enough anyway).

You won't sleep enough, you won't see your friends or family enough, you won't have enough "me" time, you will take homework camping, and you will become boring. These are the harsh truths. It sucks. Sorry. Since I have come out the other end, I can tell you it's worth it.

Play Hooky

Sometimes, you just need to be irresponsible. At U of P, since it was an accelerated program and each class was only once a week for 5 weeks, we could only miss once or we'd fail. I made sure to take my one class every other "term" or so.

Sometimes you just need to say "screw y'all, I'm laying on the couch watching reruns all day". It saves your sanity. Do it.

Take care of yourself

Duh, right? This will be short since it is so obvious, but somehow, people forget to take time for themselves when they get busy. Expecially women.

Women tend to want to do everything for everybody and feel guilty if something doesn't get taken care of because they didn't have time. The problem is when you just go go go eventually you'll go right past something without even seeing it. Also, if you don't take care of yourself, you get run down.

I spent a lot of my college years sick. Sometimes very sick. I caught every virus that went around and some that were apparently just special to me. It didn't help that I worked with the public (dirty people) so I was constantly exposed to the latest diseases making the rounds, but it was mainly because my body didn't have the energy to fight anything off.

Main point for the week - take a nap. Seriously people.

Keep your friends close

I started my Associates at Pioneer Pacific in 2004. For 15 months I went to school 4 nights a week. I also worked an 8-5 job on weekdays and 3 shifts per week at a restaurant. In 2005 I finished my Associates and started my Bachelors at University of Phoenix. There, I only went to school 1 night a week but I still had two jobs.

There are two specific times I remember involving my friends. 1. I had just started my first class at UP and was up doing homework around 10pm when my boyfriend came home with a fractured ankle. I made him wait until I finished the homework before I took him to the hospital. 2. In May of 2007 by best friend sent me a myspace comment which mentioned she hadn't seen me since Thanksgiving.

Looking back now, the first example is just flat out unacceptable. Though, in my defense, he was walking around on his ankle, just limping. The second example I think is probably fairly common among people with the schedule I had. However, as I hear at work often, there has to be some sort of work/life balance. I assume this includes a balance with school also.

I consider myself lucky that I still have any friends. I think this is mostly due to the fact that I have amazing friends (love you Angie :)). In case you're wondering (or don't know my life story) I don't have the same boyfriend anymore. I'm pretty sure us not being together anymore isn't directly related to the above example....

I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that when you're schedule goes crazy and is completely over booked as mine was the best thing to do is one thing you think you shouldn't do - schedule in more stuff. If the only way to ensure that you maintain your relationships is to put them on your calendar, do it. I wish I had. I'm nowhere near as busy as I was while in school now but I do live about half an hour from most of my friends. I now have Angie scheduled in for at least one night a week. I also probably should have scheduled in specific times to do my homework rather than doing it last minute at 10 at night...

numero uno

Here is my first foray into blogging. As an accountant, writing a bunch isn't really my thing, but I'm going for it anyway. The first three months of this will be for a project for work. Time will tell if I will continue after that....

For the work project I will be writing about finishing school while working. It has been just over a year since I finished my Bachelors and I still wonder how I did it. For the majority of the 4 years it took to complete I went to school full time, worked full time, and worked part time. In short, I had no life. Beginning with next week's post I will share some of the life lessons I took away from this lovely experience. :)