{"id":3354,"date":"2009-11-06T06:24:25","date_gmt":"2009-11-06T13:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=3354"},"modified":"2019-08-07T14:30:06","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T21:30:06","slug":"thinking-about-going-back-to-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=3354","title":{"rendered":"Thinking About Going Back to School?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Back
Back to School - by OakleyOriginals via Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A subscriber to the Project Management Career Newsletter<\/a> emailed me that he would be going back to school in a few weeks, and asked me for any suggestions or advice.<\/p>\n

My Story<\/h2>\n

I had attended 1 year of vo-tech school right after high school, but dropped out when I moved to Albuquerque, NM for a job. My studies were in electronics technology, and I found that although I was good with electronics, software was much more interesting than electronics hardware to me. I was a computer geek (still am) and was a self-taught programmer. I moved into training and management roles, and got caught in a lot of layoffs too.<\/p>\n

Even though I had work experience, it was a struggle to find new jobs. I discovered the formal discipline of project management and found out I had been doing it all wrong, and figured I needed a degree anyway to be competitive. I went back to school for a BS degree in Project Management, I think it was in 2005.<\/p>\n

Appreciate<\/h2>\n

I appreciated the education much more than before. When I was 18, I took out loans and didn’t really feel like I was paying for it. I skipped classes sometimes, etc. This time around, it was a degree I was particularly interested in, and I applied myself to the material as much as I could.<\/p>\n

First, I understood the value of the money I was paying (gladly paying) to get this education, and second I understood that the value would come from what I retained and applied, NOT from the piece of paper I’d get at the end or even the grades I received.<\/p>\n

Write, Think, and Apply<\/h2>\n

Starting my blog at pmStudent.com<\/a> was great for me, because I would write about what I was learning in school and how I could apply it in my day job. I also started frequenting many online forums and reading other blogs on the topic.<\/p>\n

I had been a manager and managed some projects in an informal, adhoc manner. Just before going back to school I had taken a job as a developer at the time to get into a company where the environment was good for me to apply project management in a formal way. I was trying to work my way into PM roles wherever I could.<\/p>\n

With my management experience I could have gone for a higher paying management position, but I took a deliberate step back so that I could be part of a project team and learn from the inside. 100% of my job was defining and implementing projects to improve processes, introduce automation, and integrate proprietary systems from mergers and acquisitions.<\/p>\n

Contribute and Go Above and Beyond<\/h2>\n

Contribute in class as much as possible, and see it as an opportunity to learn and better yourself. I tried to do extra research on topics of particular interest whenever I could (much of what I researched was on PM methodologies and various aspects of management\/leadership) It’s all about what you get out of it, not about the piece of paper.<\/p>\n

Another way to go above and beyond is to volunteer. You could start a study group, a PM student club, or volunteer for other organizations. I attempted to start a PM student club at my college, but by the time political pressures would have allowed me to do so, I was graduating and wouldn’t be able to keep it alive. Had I started earlier it may have happened.<\/p>\n

I also joined the Students of PM SIG<\/a> (Specific Interest Group) with the PMI and volunteered there. There are lots of SIGs in the PMI<\/a> that focus on specific topics you can look into. Look into other PM organizations as well, my only experience is with PMI but there are others out there.<\/p>\n

Save Some Money on Books<\/h2>\n

Book swapping, discounted buying, used sellers\u2026.there are many ways to get your hands on great books for personal development or classes without paying the full cover price.<\/p>\n

I kept track of my savings over the university book store price when I was working through my degree in Project Management.\u00a0 I saved about 60% overall<\/strong> compared to what it would have cost me had I purchased my books at the college.\u00a0 That amounted to thousands of dollars in savings<\/strong> over the years.<\/p>\n

Some I was unable to find used, because they had just come out.\u00a0 They were the exception however, and even if something had been out for just a semester, I was usually able to find a good used copy somewhere.<\/p>\n

Check out these sites for book swapping and used books. Four pieces of advice for you:<\/p>\n