Fall Semester 2011 is finally done. During the course of this semester my wife (who is wrapping up her Master’s of Public Administration while working full time) and I came to some conclusions. Our current lifestyle is not healthy for us or the kids. We’ve set in motion some changes that will begin next year. Even though I love mathematics, I don’t have the mental ability to continue such an intensive program that requires time I can’t commit to with 2 young kids.
The first big step was my wife’s new job that came with a healthy pay increase that takes some financial pressure off us, and puts us back on track to buy a house so we can stop living like nomads. She’s making more than my top pay when I was a Manager with the state, which is awesome considering her education. More importantly she loves what she’s doing and her colleagues….I’m a little envious about going to a job that you love each day. This lead me to break out a mind-map and re-think what I want to be when I grow up. Kind of funny considering I’m working on my second career. Things that trip my trigger – Creativity, technology, programming & logic, mathematical patterns, a field that is constantly changing/evolving, freedom (i.e. being my own boss.) I’ve always had a deep love for web development and started creating web pages back in the late 90′s. Web technologies have since evolved into full blown server side applications where a GUI sits on a database with an amazing level of interaction. BSU nor any of my local community colleges have a CIS or web dev program. (CWI has something close but not enough to merit going.)
The next step was getting accepted into a new program at Devry University — CIS in Web Development. All of my General Ed classes transferred & are covered. The work load is such that I can work while taking their online courses.
Which leads to the third step — me bringing in an income. Ultimately I would like my own web design/development business to be my job…until we get there I’ll be doing something more traditional in the IT field. I have a good friend who is a talented graphic designer and we’re starting up our own freelance business which you can see here.
There’s my update for now. Happy Holidays!
