I have been contemplating getting a higher degree for a long time and just within the past few weeks, I have decided to make it a reality. At first, it was Sports Management, then Journalism, then Accounting, and finally an MBA.
So, on November 1, I will start my MBA at Western Governors University. Right now, I am waiting patiently for October 15 and that is when I can do my orientation. Since the first week of September and repeating once a week, I have had scheduled calls with my enrollment counselor. She has been very helpful with the process and makes sure I understand everything.
I am excited and nervous, but confident that I can do it extremely successfully. Ultimately, it will help me achieve more responsibilities and more money. It’s been a long time since I graduated college and earned my BBA.
To be honest, that degree hasn’t helped me in my career. I really thought that after I graduated in May of 2000, I would land a full-time position immediately. Well, that didn’t happen as it took me almost 3 years to get a full-time job. During that time, my savings account took a significant hit every month. Yes, I was living at home with my parents, but I still had bills to pay. I was down to less than $500 left in my savings account and was almost ready to work anywhere doing anything for any amount of money.
One day, I visited my Dad at his office; we were probably going to have lunch because that’s what we did the majority of the time. I can’t wait to do that with Niko when he gets older. It just so happens that my Dad’s Secretary has a daughter who was one of the Managers in Customer Service at the San Antonio Express News. And, that is how I landed my first full-time job. I didn’t care that it started at 6 am; it was a job and I was glad to be employed rather than unemployed. I was the Employee of the Year in my first full year at the newspaper in 2004.
In 2007, I left the newspaper for Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU). The pay was a lot more. The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that I would be tethered to a phone as my job was at the Field Help Desk; we assisted branch employees on policies and procedures and had to know everything from IRA’s to business accounts to legal questions to decedent accounts. Also around this time, I was and still am dealing with a voice condition called Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia. My vocal cords have involuntary muscle spasms which I can’t control and I have difficulty with certain letters. I was diagnosed in 2006 and did a year of speech therapy and have had many Botox injections since then. I am actually doing really good and most of the time, you won’t even notice my voice. Some people with this same disorder are much worse than me.
I really didn’t want to work in a call center and had to be motivated by my parents to just to take my drug test for WAMU. Looking back, I am sure glad I did because a lot of great stuff happened at WAMU. One of my co-workers at the newspaper was in my training class at WAMU. My wife started at WAMU on the same day I did, but in a different department. My current manager was also in my training class at WAMU in 2007.
On September 25, 2008, WAMU collapsed and was seized by the FDIC. The FDIC then sold WAMU to JPMorgan Chase Bank. That is where I was during the financial crisis of 2008; smack dab in the middle of it.
My biggest fear was job elimination. I really had no idea what would happen and I was kind of hoping that we would be kept on during the transition and then let go; that would’ve likely involved a nice severance package. But, around Thanksgiving, we were told our jobs were safe! I was relieved and one of the first things I did was, I moved to a brand new apartment complex very close to work.
One of the benefits of Chase bank is employee tuition assistance; basically, they are going to pay for it. I may have to shell out a few hundred dollars and that is easier than taking a student loan to pay for the entire thing.
I am not at all concerned about finding time to study as I will be motivated to study. It will likely be in the evenings after Niko is sleeping and also on the weekends during Niko’s nap.
I am still planning on writing something every Sunday, but it may be less about dad stuff and more about school stuff.
