http://www.flickr.com/photos/photomishdan/ / CC BY 2.0

School started yesterday for Florida colleges and universities.

Not for me.

I’m not going to school this semester, because I need to prioritize. I was supposed to take the semester off to get my grad school application in order. While I have plenty of time to do this (and I halfway intend to do it), there are so many other priorities I need to organize. (Organization: the theme of 2010)

I need to find the motivation to search for a job that will give me the type of experience that I want.

I want to work for…

• A company that encourages team work and promotes morale  (I want to be a part of something!)
• A company that supports higher education and can [occasionally] be flexible with their employees schedules in order to accommodate the pursuit of higher education
• A company that provides a service that enhances the lives of real people
• A company that not only encourages communication between peers and upper management, but requires it
• A company that can justify major decisions with sound logic
• A company that listens when employees have something to say
• A company where upper management actually has an open-door policy and they make a point to make you feel comfortable so that you will actually use that open-door policy when you need to

Since I graduated with my Bachelor’s, I have learned a lot about myself and about the kind of environment that is not good for me. What I’m looking for in a company is a direct result of what I have experienced over the past two years. Fear is not an effective form of management. Instant gratification is no way to accomplish long term goals. When morale is lacking, so is hard work

Maybe once I find this [possibly fictitious] company, it will be easier to pursue higher education knowing that my employer fully supports this. Though it pains me to put off school, this is likely the best choice for my sanity.

But before I can find my perfect company, I need to find my motivation.

P.S. If any of my former college professors are reading this, I would really appreciate a letter of recommendation for my graduate program. I’ve been calling and emailing you to no avail. I will make it worth your while! (Cookies, cornbread, spanakopita, whatever strikes your taste bud’s fancy!)

I am a bit humored as I report to you that the only thing on my list that I actually followed through with was looking fabulous. I exercised (we got a Wii and the Wii Fit and the Biggest Loser game!) and bought new clothes that make me feel great!

On a less enthusiastic note…

I have been reading magazines, instead of my book. More on this later.

I did not finish my grad school application. I must admit, I chose a bad time to request letters of recommendations from professors. Take my advice: don’t start your grad school applications at the end of a semester. Professors enjoy their time off just as much as you do.

I found this article, with suggestions about how to approach professors about writing letters of recommendation and after the first of the year I plan to put these suggestions to good use!

I was eager to get back to school this semester…simply for the sake of being in school. However, I am going to take these next few months to finish my application and look for a job that is more closely related to event management. I thought it would be wise to get some career experience and a better understanding of exactly what I am getting myself into, before investing more time and money into my life as a career student.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/ / CC BY 2.0

I know it’s quite a jump to go from considering a Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology to a Master’s in Hospitality Management, but there was a logical process by which I have [almost] decided that this is the course I want to take. (P.S. It was also quite a jump to go from a Bachelor’s in Marketing to a Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology.)

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. I am generally unfulfilled by this world of emailing people I will never meet and meeting people I will never email. I am just not excited about this.

Now, I considered Speech-Language Pathology because I have a passion for language. Everything about it fascinates me and everything I learned in my Language Development class this semester fascinated me. But language isn’t the only thing that fascinates me. As you can tell from my recent posts about fashion and apartment gardening, I am multi-passionate.

But I digress

This post was why I am applying to the Rosen School of Hospitality. And here is my list of Pros

• I don’t have to spend 3 years taking prerequisites, because it’s related closely enough to Marketing. (This is a big one, because it reduces the number of years that I have to spend in school by half AND that reduces the number of loans I will have to take out by half.)
• The one aspect of my current job that I really love is event planning and this degree gives me a lot of opportunity in this department
• I am incredibly sociable and hospitality will put this character trait to good use
• I love fine dining, traveling and big events, I have lots of experience with all three.
• The classes that I will have to take are SO exciting. (More on this later)
• I love school. I did well in business school and hospitality is a little bit like business school but a lot more fun.

More details on what to do with a Master’s in Hospitality Management coming soon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fncll/ / CC BY 2.0

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a respectable online Masters program? If you know the secret, please share it in the comments.

I’ve considered an online degree program because of it’s convenience. However, if I were to be accepted to Cornell’s Master of Management in Hospitality program (I think I have officially decided on Hospitality as my Master’s…more on this later), I would probably pack up and move to Ithaca. I mean, who in their right mind would pass up an Ivy League education. I have to wonder if it’s worth the $70 application fee just to say I applied and was rejected by Cornell.

but I digress

An online degree program gives me the freedom to move when I want to, to work where/when I need to and just seems like a more convenient way to pursue higher education at this point in my life. However, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I can’t seem to find a program (I’m currently exploring hospitality management programs…more on this later) that I am comfortable with.

I know that thousands of working adults get degrees from accredited online universities every year. I would not want to insult anyone pursuing any sort of education. I am a firm believer in seeking any sort of education, whether it be a trade school, on-the-job training or an Ivy League school. But I have to wonder what a potential future employer would think if I attended a four-year university, graduated with flying colors, scored above average on the GRE and then proceeded to go to University of Phoenix.

You can’t even get any information from the University of Phoenix unless you give them all of your information (address, phone number, etc…). Compare this to this. It makes University of Phoenix look like an internet scam. Ashworth also requires your entire identity before giving you any information on their degree programs.

Imagine…future employer goes to check out your “school’s” website and there’s nothing there!

I would never discourage someone from getting an education. If you have to go to University of Phoenix, because it’s the only way to better yourself, I support you. I know that my criticism of these psuedo-universities could be controversial or condescending–or both! The fact is that I have held myself to a very high standard academically and an online degree program, as convenient as it may be, does not uphold my standard.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yngrich/ / CC BY 2.0

Just kidding!
(about the 15 minutes, not about the career search)

I would be fulfilled if I could write about my never-ending quest for higher-education and hobbies and get paid for it for the rest of my life. (I wouldn’t even ask for a raise as long as I could pay my bills–honestly!) However, I understand that blogging is not a career that yields instant success.

I’m having trouble deciding what I want to do with my life…or re-deciding what I want to do with my life. I have toyed with the following career choices:

speech-language pathologist
linguist
event-planner (more on this later)
magazine editor
florist
blogger
famous writer

As the list grows longer, the career choices become more and more unrealistic. I mean seriously, who wakes up one morning and decides they are going to be a famous writer? Oh wait…this lady did.

But I digress…

To balance my fun and games apartment gardener chronicles, I still start the career search chronicles– an in-depth look at reasonable career choices for indecisive girls with too many hobbies.

I am hoping to ask my father to do a little guest-blogging for these career search chronicles (though he does not yet know this). You see, my father seems to know a lot about everything and he is awesome at everything he does. I think that indecisive girls with too many hobbies around the world might learn a thing or two from Dad.

Stay tuned!

TIME Magazine Annual Blog Index

If you’ve read about me, you know that I want to be a real freelance writer. I want to quit my day job and work from my bed. There are three major reasons for my burning desire to bid farewell to my life as a “Marketing Manager,” and start my new life as an employee of the world wide web.

1. I love to write

2. I need a flexible work schedule if I’m ever going to finish my Master’s

3. My current job will surely steal my sanity and my soul if I don’t escape it soon (more on this soon)

In my quest to learn the in’s and out’s of writing web content, I’ve done a lot of research. I’ve read a lot of blogs and I have to admit I have the tiniest bit of blog envy. You know by now that I have a ridiculous bit of an internet crush on Deb at Smitten Kitchen. She always has the words and the images to keep my occupied for hours. But today I have some new blog envy to share with you.

Blog Envy #1

Darren Rowse knows so much! He’s been making his living by blogging for 5 years. How fantastic is that? As soon as I have an extra $20 31 Days to a Better Blog will be on my reading list. The first lesson from Darren that I will put into action is from his post 13 Things I’ve Learned From Blogging. “Blog over the long term and blog regularly,” Darren says. I must admit that I have been an inconsistent blogger. I blogged about my life and I blogged about studying for the GRE. But I never blogged consistently.

Blog Envy #2

Lifehacker has everything I didn’t know I needed to know. This is what blogging is all about–making yourself useful! Sadly, I didn’t find any information on the site about how long it took to establish this award-winning gem. I am thinking I have years of hard work.

Blog Envy #3

Hey Lady! Watcha Readin? stirred up a great deal of excitement in my world. Check out books read in 2009! Need I say more? I think not!

If you’re looking for more blogs you can adore and envy, check out TIME.com’s First annual Blog Index.

I had a rude awakening when I finished my Bachelor’s in Marketing, got a job in the field, and realized that only a special kind of person finds fulfillment in the business world. That person is not me. I spent four years and my parent’s pretty pennies only to go back to the drawing board; I’m using my own pretty pennies this time.

Recently I realized that college is not for everyone and that Education is whatever you make of it. Real world education–Full Sail University’s motto which is surprisingly contradictory– is even more important than a college education. You’re dead in the water if  you’re clueless in the real world!

I’m starting this blog to share what I learned during my failed career in Marketing what I will learn  in my journey through graduate school, the importance of education (in it’s academic and real world forms) and to learn from your experiences.

Now tell me…what do you want to read, what do you want to see and what do you know that you think the rest of the world should know too?