In 2017, I made the decision to return to school to help advance my career. Not having an MBA was preventing me from being able to work with a particular client in a greater capacity. So, that fall, I entered the classroom for the first time in several decades to pursue my MBA with concentrations in finance, and information systems and business analytics. As you can imagine, things have certainly changed!
Aside from being significantly older than most of my fellow students, the technological advances that have been implemented in the university system added a whole new dimension to class preparation, assignment completion, and working on the dreaded “team projects.”
Luckily, most of the software that we’re using is pretty intuitive and easy to navigate. When I was attending the University of Connecticut back in the Dark Ages, there was only one person on our dorm floor—a computer engineering major—who had a computer. The rest of us took our 5 ¼ inch floppy disks to the campus computer lab. That was the extent of our exposure to computers at that time.
Now, my fellow students are more than happy to help me navigate the systems we need to use. The speed at which they pick up new programs is impressive. I like to think I’m pretty computer-savvy, but the majority of those in classes with me are true “digital natives.” They’ve never known a world without computers.
When I started working for TRI Corporation, the majority of the programs we delivered were live classes. We were in a room with the participants, using Excel and the phone to communicate. As digital natives are entering the workforce, we are seeing a shift in the manner and method in which we are asked to develop content. More and more, companies are asking for virtual or hybrid (combining components of virtual and live learning) programs. In response, TRI Corp has recently launched its efficient new Learning Management System (LMS), which allows us to use the internet to communicate with our participants much more easily.
I mentioned above that I am older than most of the other students in my MBA classes. I was pleasantly surprised to find many more “mature” students than I expected. Whether due to career change, self-development, or other reasons, it’s nice to see such a wide variety of ages in the classroom. Learning as an adult, with a couple of years of work (and life) under my belt, is a completely different experience than it was when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree.
If you’re considering continuing your education, whether for a trade, an undergraduate or graduate program, or some other curriculum, there are a lot of variables to consider. It’s not easy. I am in my final semester, and it has been a challenging, difficult, interesting and ultimately enriching experience. Overall, I’m glad I made the decision to do it.
