Back to School…At Forty!
With the insane growth of online colleges, folks going back to school has become an increasingly frequent occurrence. My personal case is no different. In 2011 I sold my company and while my Wife quickly returned to her previous profession as an English Teacher, I found myself cast out into a career wasteland. Since then, I have worked as a Private Investigator, mate on a dive charter, substitute teacher, web developer, and most recently a freelance content writer. See what I mean? A wasteland! Perhaps this is something that someone goes through in their early twenties, but surely not a man in his late 30’s.
A Port in a Storm
Given that I have spent the past couple of years honing my craft as a content writer, PR specialist, and self-proclaimed WordPress expert, I think I’ve finally found what I want to do for the long term. With that in mind I signed up for school in pursuit of a Communications degree. With this I think I’ve fallen in love with a profession once again, something I haven’t experienced in well over a decade. Of course, there’s a weird catch.
The Culture Catch
When I research the companies that I would love to work for I find that most don’t think I’m a good fit with their “culture”. You see, I’m entering a largely millennial profession at the ripe old age of 40! To make matters worse, I really don’t like coffee(a right of passage proudly displayed on the websites of most branding agencies as a live statistic), of course I’m always up for a nice Diet Coke over ice! Yes, I get it….if I was 25 and hip, I wouldn’t want to work with an old fart like myself! Yeah, yeah, I sound like I’m whining but I’m not…it’s more of a casual observation. I know there’s an agency out there for me, it’s just a matter of finding it.
Sitting in Class
Where were we? Oh yeah! School! Honestly, while I find my coursework challenging, I also find it fulfilling. So much so, that I have even upped my class load in order to graduate by May and head right into Grad School in a quest for my Master’s and perhaps Doctorate. Despite many complaints about the recency of a New Media degree, I am finding that many of the concepts that we discuss in class are exactly what I’m seeing in the real world of content and social media. With that in mind, I have to give snaps to my school for actually teaching courses that will prepare me for the real world.
To sum it up, yeah I’ve been floating aimlessly for a few years now and I’m sure that I’ve had my family and friends wondering about me. I just want them to know that I have this, and the future couldn’t look better!
