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    What do you all do outside of HES?

    tokomontokomon Posts: 30
    in Harvard Extension School General Discussions
    I'm just interning for now. How many of you are already well into your careers? Military? Career changers after your bachelor's degree? etc

    Comments

    • bejacksonbejackson Posts: 31
      I'm a mid-career software developer (23 years in, the last half of which has been in the aviation field) who abandoned completion of my undergrad many years ago. Priorities and values change in middle-age -- my goal now is as much or more about setting an example for my 3-year old son as it is about gaining knowledge. More and more these days I discover him to be the newfound motivation behind my pursuits rather than my own ambition.
    • EddEdd Posts: 59
      I'm a mid-career (25yrs) R&D manager / product designer for a sporting goods company. I've always had one foot in physical product design, and the other in digital/web production. In addition to my day gig in sporting goods, I've maintained a side business in web consulting for over a decade.

      My hope is to transition my career entirely into the web space. Like bejackson, my kids were the main motivation for me returning for my Masters. I'm finishing my Capstone for my ALM-IT in Digital Media now, and will concentrate my efforts on a career switch.
    • jcaudilljcaudill Posts: 26
      I suppose I'm still relatively early, 9 years, into my career as a Business professor. I already had my MBA and PhD when I came to HES and came specifically for a certificate program to do professional development. What I hoped for, and certainly found to be true, was that being a student in HES courses would expose me to some of the best teaching in the world and I would leave as a better professor in addition to learning more about the subject. That was the case and I think I'm much better for the experience.

      A little bit of ivy, even though it isn't a degree, on your vita is also very good for an academic. I've heard from others around HES that the value of a Harvard credential is directly proportional to your distance from Cambridge. In East Tennessee even a certificate gets a good bit of attention from people and is valuable to me professionally.
    • GratGrat Posts: 293
      I'm definitely jealous of you guys with 20+ professional years of experience in the same field. I'm in the midst of a career change into the IT world. I started out with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, but by the time I was finishing that degree I realized I enjoyed the programming side of electrical engineering a lot more than the physical electronics side. However, I was also interested in studying theology and pursuing pastoral ministry, so I got a M.Div. After following that path for a while, I felt like I didn't have enough of the extroverted nature and leadership skills necessary to succeed there.

      I really was encouraged to find HES and to gain a solid foundation of Java programming, data structures, and PHP/Laravel. After that, I found that I especially enjoy web application development and the Digital Media program. Thanks to this forum, I've been able to meet some quality individuals who have really been a major blessing to me, and that's been just as great as the HES courses themselves :) I feel way behind in the game of life and would really like to work hard and catch up, but don't want to neglect my wife and 4-year-old daughter either any more than I already do.
    • jcaudilljcaudill Posts: 26
      There's no getting behind Grat, just a question of where you go next. It isn't unusual for me to have people in their 50s or 60s earning their first undergraduate degree. I never wonder why they didn't do it sooner, I'm just glad they're moving forward and finding the career that makes them happy.

      Also, based on my minimal and basic work with digital media in the past (one of those "oh you know IT" things as a faculty member...) that M.Div. will come in handy, if not for prayers that the stuff works then for a deeper knowledge of how to repent for the horrible things you say while making it work :)
    • GratGrat Posts: 293
      @jcadill haha - thanks for the encouragement ;)
    • survivedyesterdaysurvivedyesterday Posts: 45
      edited December 2015
      After graduating from High School, I was a Krishna monk for many years - never went to college and traveled extensively through North and South America in addition to Europe.
      I'm also a little bit behind in life - but I don't think I'd do it another way! No regrets here.
      I'm now doing my undergraduate at Extension, plan to get a PhD eventually, and teach at the college level.
      Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Sanskrit and Indian Studies, and American Government are my fields of interest. If the academic career doesn't work, I might just move to Washington then!
      I had no credits to transfer so I've started from the scratch.
      I'm also packing one full year of Greek, Latin, French, German, and two full years of Sanskrit into my undergraduate degree, so that there's no surprise when I apply to Div School or GSAS at Harvard.
      I'm definitely shooting for the stars!
    • tokomontokomon Posts: 30
      survivedyesterday said:

      After graduating from High School, I was a Krishna monk for many years - never went to college and traveled extensively through North and South America in addition to Europe.
      I'm also a little bit behind in life - but I don't think I'd do it another way! No regrets here.
      I'm now doing my undergraduate at Extension, plan to get a PhD eventually, and teach at the college level.
      Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Sanskrit and Indian Studies, and American Government are my fields of interest. If the academic career doesn't work, I might just move to Washington then!
      I had no credits to transfer so I've started from the scratch.
      I'm also packing one full year of Greek, Latin, French, German, and two full years of Sanskrit into my undergraduate degree, so that there's no surprise when I apply to Div School or GSAS at Harvard.
      I'm definitely shooting for the stars!

      That's quite unique!
    • nancymicnancymic Posts: 185
      edited December 2015
      Very cool. I don"t think "behind in life" is at all apropos...to either of you! Sounds like a lot of amazing experience to me!
      If you take world religions with Queen, id like to hear your opinion...
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