Sep

4

Discussion Question from School

Filed Under General, School | Leave a Comment

Q: Why do you want to earn a college degree? What obstacles will you need to overcome to complete your academic journey?

A: The idea of earning a degree has always been a silly one for me, which I have discussed with a few people before. I always thought it was silly that companies want their employees to have a degree in order to do their job, but I think that is poor rationale on my part. In my case, the job market and my learning abilities have allowed me to coast through life so far without the aid of a degree. Why work towards something that I haven’t needed to get a job so far? That perception shifted this year when I decided I was going to do everything I could to force my employer to rate me as high as possible for our yearly review, so perhaps that was the driving factor behind me starting back. I reasoned if I take on a huge workload, and then complete it all with at least some degree of success - surely they would be forced to give me the nod for the high rating. The old cliché is true though, “You reap what you sow”, and I am certainly reaping it all now - 60 hour weeks at work, while trying to maintain a huge school load.

This is where I believe my two biggest obstacles come into play, Motivation (more so, the lack of it) and Arrogance. It is hard to care about getting on the computer to write/post school work after putting in a 12 or 13 hour day at the office - I just want to relax, watch TV, and surf the web. I think the other contributing factor towards my procrastination would be my arrogance, the belief that I can always put it off until the last minute and still get it done in a successful manner - That is arrogance or over-confidence, right? I suppose that it will bite me in the butt one day, and maybe I will change, but I doubt it.

Anyway, the few classes I have taken have offered much more than I ever thought they could. Despite my best efforts to say I don’t need to learn anything new, the knowledge has slowly implanted thoughts and ideas into my head, helping reshape the “critical thinking filter” that I utilize everyday. When I look back, I can see the small changes adding up over time.

P.S. I am also trying to be the first one in my family to receive a degree, which would shut up those smug bastards!