Professional Development
In my twenties, I finished a four-year bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting. I thought that was the end of my college experience and my professional development for awhile. But a few years later, I found myself working as a project manager at a financial services company that mandated all project managers must be PMP-certified. So, for the next several months, I found myself reading the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and taking several preparation courses for the PMP (Project Management Professional) exam.
I remember how relieved I was when after studying for several months, taking a grueling three-hour exam, and knowing that passing the exam was a requirement for holding onto my current position within the organization that I saw the words: “Congratulations! You have passed” on the computer screen. What a relief! That, I thought, must surely be the last of studying and exams for a while.
After a few more years, I began to think that an MBA might be helpful to my career development. After all, many of my colleagues were either registered in graduate programs or had already graduated. This became even more important after the economic downtown, so I registered for an MBA program. I am now only four classes away from graduating and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
You might think that by now that would be it? But no, I am already thinking of studying for another exam – the CPHIMS (Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems). This is because after many years of working in the financial services sector, I now work in the healthcare industry. The CPHIMS program seems like a great way to learn more about healthcare IT.
I write about all of this because last week I was talking to my dad and he jokingly asked, “What are you studying for now?” In my dad’s “days”, college seems to have been it for the most part. Nowadays, it seems like there are degrees and certifications for literally everything, even bartending!
The bar is constantly being raised. I’m sure somewhere down the road another “opportunity” for learning and advancement will arise, which I will once again sign on for. But I wonder, is all of this learning worthwhile? Should I be spending more time enjoying life and slowing things down a bit? Learning has been extremely rewarding and enjoyable to me. In my earlier days, I must admit that it did seem like a chore, but as I get older I do it because I want to learn more about my career and my industry.
But I wonder about the future. The current cost of a four-year degree program is well over a hundred thousand dollars. I have two daughters and wonder what the cost of college will be for them and how will we afford it. When is it all going to stop?
Do you share these sentiments or have your travels taken a different path? I’m curious to hear your thoughts on where all of this is going.
Well, I have just realized it myself: learning never ends. The great thing that I also realized: learning can be fun.
I just became acquainted with Prof. Caroline Dweck’s research on the “growth mindset” which is a learning mindset. Check out her talk at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICILzbB1Obg
You bring up excellent points. Both from the perspective of looking back and looking forward.
The most compelling argument to ‘continuous learning’ is that we seek to be in a place (personally and professionally) where we gain knowledge, build communities and apply our learnings to our environments. Ideally, if we could do more ‘teach-backs’ with the knowledge we’ve gained externally, all the better.
Now if we could just figure out how to get the cost of college to go down somehow, without sacrificing quality!