Change Is Good: Academic and Career Goals

Academic and career goals can change. Mine did.

Years ago, my academic goals included graduating high school and then going straight to an accredited university to graduate with a bachelor's degree. I did that. Over the past few months, I've changed my academic goals and am looking to further my education and receive a master's degree.

This ties into my career goals. When I was in middle school and high school I wanted to be a news broadcaster. I took a trip in middle school to CNN where we were able to tour the building and see the backend of how the news is aired. It was my first time learning about a green screen and a teleprompter. I remember we were able to stand where the newscasters stood and read from the teleprompters that they read from. I remember I just fell in love.

During my senior year of college I applied for a Spring Break Immersion trip in LA with my university, and I was selected among a number of other students. The two-day trip exposed us to different aspects of the media and entertainment industry. I remember going to CBS Studio Center for a live show taping of "The Talk", and a discussion with the “The Talk's" producer.

We also visited the Television Academy Foundation and Creative Artist Agency, and were presented with a chance to network with alums working in the entertainment industry. The immersion experience reinforced the feeling that I wanted to work with TV and media. Soon after graduation, my career goals begin to change.

My first job out of college was in the marketing department for a company that sells outdoor power equipment. I have been at that company ever since and I thoroughly enjoy what I do. There are multiple aspects of my job that excite me and that I would like to expand upon because I could see myself doing this long term. I did not know much about marketing or advertising, graduating with a degree in English and an interest in news and media.

I’ve built relationships with members from radio and TV stations, individuals associated with sports and others associated with charitable events, and I’ve found happiness with all of that. I was grateful for on-the-job training and for the opportunity to continue to learn and grow in different areas. I have fallen in love with the marketing world and that was part of what prompted me to reevaluate my career goals.

On the other hand, there are multiple aspects of my job that annoy me, that caused me to extensively research other jobs in marketing. After years of looking for new employment and numerous rejections, I began to contemplate going back to school. I figured I was missing something as a candidate and that missing element could be more education. I'll never know the reason for being passed up on the jobs I applied to, but I speculated that an additional degree would make me a more marketable candidate.

To stay on this marketing path and grow professionally, I decided to pursue a master's degree in business with a concentration in marketing. Interestingly enough, I have never taken a marketing class before but I have worked in marketing for seven plus years. The longer I'm in my role, the more things I come across that spark my interest like social and email analytics, Google Ads, AI elements, etc., that I want to learn more about.

I've tried to learn new things related to marketing and advertising in my free time but that was hard for me to maintain. I've read articles, watched videos, and researched marketing/advertising certifications to achieve. My interest in marketing continues to grow so going back to school doesn't seem as far fetched now as it did when I was still in undergrad.

I've read through a couple of universities' sites to learn about their master’s programs and what they have to offer in terms of a marketing concentration. Through reading, I know there is much more in the marketing world for me to learn and I'm ready to learn it so that I can continue to not just excel in my role, and grow and develop more as a marketing expert so I can advance in my career and take on new challenges with a new company.

Once I receive my mater's I'm looking to move to a position where I can grow because professional development is really important to me. Especially since I hope to take on managerial roles and responsibilities in the near future.

I applied to Wayne State University and the University of Michigan (my alma mater), and received an acceptance from both schools. I decided to attend U of M, not because I attended the school in undergrad, but because their master's program requires less credits to complete. I'll be starting school again in January, something I never thought I'd say, so wish me luck in my future endeavors.

I hope you all know that academic and career goals can change. Know that change can come at any stage in your life and it's never too late to start something new. Here's to everyone getting what they want and deserve from their academics and their careers.