Your Headshot - How-to

In Wednesday's post, I gave you a list of DON'Ts for your LinkedIn profile photo, and today, I'll walk you through how I created my last two headshots.

I'll admit, I waited way too long to replace my photo, but, I take horrible pictures. I just never look good in them. But, please, don't let procrastination and a fragile ego prevent you from making the effort to improve your professional image online.

Here is my last headshot:

Don't recognize it? 

How about now?

I did not have the funds at the time to even spring for lamps or good bulbs, so, my choice was between having horrible lighting in my 100 year old apartment, yucky fluorescent lighting in the office (like you saw in my even older headshot in Wednesday's post) or taking my photo outside.
I was crouched down because I didn't have a tripod and had to rest my camera on the windowsill.
Of course, none of that really matters, because it doesn't show in the final image.

Lighting

The above shot was taken outside in evening light. Morning and evening light are the best for flattering photos, because they come in at an angle and aren't as bright and harsh as sunlight in the middle of the day.

My current headshot was taken indoors, late at night, so I had to try something different. I took the table lamps from my son's room and our office and removed their shades, and replaced their normal bulbs with 'daylight' bulbs (which we've recently started using in our ceiling and bathroom fixtures).

What are Daylight Bulbs?
A daylight bulb is mimicking the color of light from the sky, not the direct beam of the sun. These bulbs are often marketed as "full spectrum¨ or "daylight¨ bulbs but there are also bulbs not marketed as "full spectrum¨ that produce the same bluish white color appearance and perceived brightness of daylight. Many of these bulbs also do an excellent job at accurate color rendering.

I chose to shoot myself with my contacts in, because I didn't want to have to worry about my glasses causing glare, reflections, or having to additionally tweak the angles of my face, so that I didn't have a rim blocking my eye, etc.


Camera

Let's face it, the camera is the easiest part of the equation these days. If you don't have one with decent resolution, one of your coworkers probably has one in their pocket. I used a digital camera with an auto-timer for both of my shots, but, if you want to try using your iPhone, there are apps like TimerCam that can help.
You'll be taking photos at the largest resolution possible for your device, and cropping & shrinking it down later to fit the size requirements of whatever you'll use it for.

Angles

If you have someone take your photo for you, rather than using a timer and a tripod, try to use someone taller than you, or adjust the angles in other ways. The photo should be taken from slightly above you for the most flattering angle. Have them stand on a step stool or you can sit/kneel, as appropriate.

Position your body at about a 30 degree angle, then turn your head toward the camera. The shoulder closest to the camera should come down a little and you're leaning slightly toward the lens.
Your best bet for a good headshot is using what they call a 3/4 view for your face. While you don't want to be squarely facing the camera, you do need to be looking at it.

What is a 3/4 View? 
3/4 view is where your subject turns their face just slightly in one direction until you cannot see the far ear any more.

Tripod

I do have a full-sized tripod, but, I did not use it for my headshot. As mentioned, the camera should be higher than your head, so that you are looking up at it. In my case, I used my gorillapod, perched on some furniture, to achieve the desired angle.You could hook it around just about anything you needed to, and adjust the angle fairly precisely.

Shoot, Shoot, Shoot... and then Shoot some more

I took approximately forty photos of myself (~cringing~ I know, it was awful) before coming up with something even halfway decent. I might have taken even more to get a better image, but, alas, my husband and sons were banging on the locked door to the room every 10 minutes asking if I was finished yet.

At first I had to find the right distance for the camera, then I realized my blouse's pattern was too busy and bright and changed shirts, then I had to find the right height for a flattering angle, then I tried a few different expressions (huge smile... oh, no too much gums! small smile, with teeth, without etc).
This requires lot of experimentation and you will not get a great shot on the first try, so don't be discouraged, just keep shooting.

Post-Processing

Remember what I said about having nothing in the background? That's super easy to fix, along with cropping out the excess from the frame... just use a free program like Paint.NET.

Depending on how good your lighting was, you can also lighten or increase the contrast quite easily with Paint.net. I use the erase tool to take out the background of my photo and the autobalance feature to try to correct any bad coloring.
Now, I do have a problem with my current headshot, and I'll try to rectify it next time. If you're *really* good with photoshop or similar, you could correct it here, but, alas, I am not.

I have rosacea, so my color can be horrible at times. Especially when I'm hot, like when I've got two unshielded lightbulbs a foot from my skin for an hour. So, in my photo, I'm actually wearing three layers of foundation on my face (both tinted sunscreen and makeup) to cover up my red spots. But, as you can see, the flushing extends down my chest and makes the image look a bit weird. Next time I do a headshot, I'll apply foundation all the way down to my shirt and play around with more wardrobe choices.

My hair is pretty wavy, but, I straightened it for this photo, to make sure I could crop out the background easily (hard to do with flyaways, without making it look unnatural).

I did also pass it on to my Mom, Peggy, to see if she could help with the discoloration on my chest, but, that's a bit tough without real experience in that realm. She did, however, help me out by trying on a few different background colors for me. I thought I wanted something light, but, she also suggested this charcoal color and I ended up thinking that it looked the best out of all of the options she gave me.

These tips are borne from my own experience, if you're interested in trying this yourself, I'd encourage you to hit Google and see what other advice and tips people have provided. Oh, I've also heard that, the more painful the pose, the better it will look in the photo.

Of course, despite all I've learned about making do, next time, I might pony up and pay to have them done professionally. It is a bit of a pain, doing all of the lighting and having to change the background afterward and constantly get up to check the quality of your shots, when all of the necessary accessories and skills exist in a photographer's studio already.

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Your Headshot - LinkedIn DON'Ts

I initially made a headshot for use with my articles, then my blog, but, almost everyone has a LinkedIn profile these days, and everyone needs a photo there. In today's post, I'll give you some DON'Ts for professional looking photos, and on Friday I'll tell you how to make a good headshot by yourself if you're disinclined to pay someone to do it for you.

In the November 2012 homepage poll, we see that 52% of AUGI members have a LinkedIn profile, 60% use Facebook and 24% use Twitter.
73% of recruiters are checking you out online, even if you don't give them a specific link yourself. You want to ensure you're presenting a professional image when they do find you.

But, I'll just assume we're purely talking LinkedIn, serving as an online resume and a way to stay connected with colleagues, current and past (and potentially, future), though you might use your headshot across a wide variety of sites.
After spending some time on LinkedIn, here are some headshots faux pas that cause me to twitch:

DON'T use a logo or cartoon as your image, that's even worse than having no image at all. Same goes for anything goofy like sideways or upside-down images
DON'T have no image at all, it makes your profile look incomplete and feels impersonal

You're 7x more likely to have your profile viewed from search results, if you have a photo than if you do not

DON'T be a gender-bender. If you've got a gender-neutral name, having a photo with a man and a woman in your shot is probably not going to prevent sexism, it will certainly be awkward and confusing
DON'T have more than one person in your image. This isn't Facebook, no matter how proud you might be of your partner, children, best buddy or pets, a professional site is not the place to show them off. This profile is about *you*, not your spouse, keep that in mind and don't mention them anywhere
DON'T get sloppy on your crop job. The photo is of you and your best bud and you just crop him out, but, we can still see his shoulder. Take a couple of minutes to use a real image editing program to remove any trace of other people
DON'T use a really old profile image. I like gray hair on the fellas, but, I roll my eyes every time I see your headshot from back when your hair was a different color
DON'T use something sexy. I cannot believe I actually have to say this, but, guys... keep your shirts on! And, of course, ladies, come-hither duckface looks are for your OKCupid profile, but not for your resume.

If you want some examples of things to DO, check out some of the images of your favorite authors or LinkedIn connections. Before doing my last headshot, I looked closely at a few respected writers in the industry to see how they presented themselves and tried to emulate their poses and styles

DON'T have a busy background. You need a plain background so that you are clearly the focus. Again, this isn't a family photo album or Facebook, the background should be either a solid color, or a simple stage (like a desk or bookshelf, no trees or anything with a lot of detail... not that you have to shoot in front of a blank wall, just that the final image should not contain them)
DON'T have a panorama, even if it's a blue sky or a white mountain. The focus should be on your face... not a miniscule pixel that vaguely resembles a human
DON'T ignore the aspect ratio. Sizes should be changed by cropping or scaling, not by freehand resizing
DON'T brag on your hobbies. Do you like cars and traveling and sports? That's nice, but, bring it up after you're hired. I think more exotic images or expensive toys could potentially make an employer feel like you are out of their price range or more interested in playing than working
DON'T dress too casually or display logos on your clothing or wear hats, flashy jewelry or sunglasses (or too formal... men *might* be able to get away with using a tux shot, if it's done right, but, no wedding dresses or evening gowns, ladies)

DON'T make it look like a mugshot. Okay! having a straight-on shot under fluorescent office lighting in an unflattering color isn't the *worst* thing you can do, but, I assure you, you can do better. Throw in some angles and use decent light to make a big difference

I'll cover how to do headshots solo, and on the cheap, in my next post

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Uni: A retrospective

Was it worth it? 

I think I can hear at least one or two people wondering that to themselves.

I am going to try to give you an honest analysis. I try not to get negative or TMI, especially in print, but, I don't want to be unrealistic and snow anyone by only highlighting my triumphs, and not my stumbles or regrets.

In my computer science classes, one of my fellow students was actually the mother of someone that I went to high school with (not that he remembered me, lol, I was a wee bit invisible, being so painfully shy). She (and others) took me to task a couple of times, because she believed that I shouldn't be going to school full-time with young children at home. Looking back, I feel like I did the right thing. Despite the student loans, I'm glad I only took from 2008-2011 to finish my degree. My oldest son saw me busting my butt studying and working, but, my younger son won't remember it at all. He was drinking formula and eating mushy peas, so the frozen dinners didn't bother him one iota. I envy that my fellow student stayed home with her kids and I respect that she got them to college before going herself, but, I know how fortunate I am that my employer, and my wonderfully supportive husband, provided me that opportunity at a much younger age.

Of the 200 or so people in my department, only two of us signed up for that Bridges to Bachelor's* program initially. Me, and a lovely woman whose children were grown. Since then, we've had at least four more people sign up, all of them newer folks. Our administrative assistant (who was recently promoted to office coordinator) was counting down from the date of her hire to her 1 year anniversary so she could sign up (her kids were also grown). She just found out she'll be graduating in December of 2014! She's also a member of the ASL (adult honors society). Another young mother signed up and is doing great, she works in our call center. Then, a carpenter, a young guy with a lot of enthusiasm. I talked to him before he signed up, and looked over a couple of his first papers.
Now, we've got another mechanic signing up. He was a bit hesitant, as he just had a baby last year, but, I told him to push through now, and his little one won't even remember him being busy and stressed... just successful. He looked relieved to hear from someone who had been there and done that.
I hope someone else out there can take some heart from my experiences the way that he did.

Student loans? 

Oh, yeah, dirty word, erm, phrase. As I mentioned, I hate holding debt. My fiscal conservatism is the reason for my low stress and high happiness in most cases.
First things first... consolidate your student loans. My initial loan payment was nearly $600 a month, but, after consolidation, it's only about $200. Through the FedLoan services site, I can make my payments online and I add extra $ to the one with the highest interest rate, and I'll be paying off that first one on Monday and starting on the next highest (although all one payment, each semester is a 'separate' loan with slightly different terms, so be sure to pay online and get down the higher rates first).

A New Job? 

The point, for most people, of completing an educational goal is improving one's job prospects.
As you see, I have not made any announcement of having obtained a new position.
A raise? Alas, also. My position requires only an Associate's Degree, so I did not receive a raise when I completed my Bachelor's (no complaints, though. I did receive a sizable raise when I finished my 2 year degree, as I was hired as a temp worker with only a high school diploma. I was also allowed to rewrite my job description twice over the years, which allowed a paygrade reclassification each time.).

For the first year after graduation, I applied only for internal transfers. While part of the reason was having to repay educational expenses if going elsewhere, I also wanted to make my best faith effort to stay within the organization that has supported me so well. I did have some promising interviews, but, was finally deemed too inexperienced. Now, I am looking outside of the company. I have to stay in St. Louis for at least the next 8 years and, as any jobseeker knows, competition for jobs is still pretty fierce. Yes, my boss knows I'm looking. I spoke to him before he was contacted by an internal manager about my interviews. He knows there's not room in our small department for my upward mobility and has always encouraged me and told me he'd provide good references when I do make a change. He has always been a fair-minded and even-tempered man and I so appreciate having been able to work under his guidance for so long. He has also taught me a lot about critical thinking and being a fairly inoffensive (yet effectively mind-expanding) devil's advocate.

I had hoped that my role as a project manager on that enterprise project would lead to the creation of a new position as a system administrator. It was proposed, but, hiring freezes at work (no layoffs, though!) have made me realize that option isn't available to me for the near future.

Any regrets? 

No, none at all.

I feel like I grew a lot as a person, more well-rounded and tolerant and with an expanded mind.

While I do somewhat regret the financial sacrifices, it is something we have been able to live with.
Mick's family lives across the pond, and many of mine live out on the west coast, and the sting of being unable to travel freely to see them has been sharp and painful. Not to mention the juggling hassle of sharing one aging vehicle for work and family errands. But, of course, my husband's crazy retentive mind has helped with splurge purchases for toys and clothes for the kids as well as household items, so we haven't really suffered. It's all still luxury compared to my upbringing. We've also got Skype and Facetime and Facebook to keep connected with our loved ones, which is fortunate.

I also sometimes joke about my 'midlife crisis'. When I was 29, I had one of those (please don't quibble over semantics with me), wondering if I had missed out on anything from my youth by never partying or being irresponsible. Anyone who saw me at AU2009 might vaguely remember my straight black hair (normally I'm an unruly wavy auburn). Yeah, that's me, buck wild. lol. It's okay, I got over it in just a couple of months, having realized I did things just fine... then had my hair dyed back to it's natural shade.

What's next? 

With work? Who knows? I'll certainly share with you when I find out, though, since this story isn't really finished until something does change on that front.

Educationally? I would really like to return to grad school and finish my Informatics degree. It was really interesting coursework and I certainly feel a passion for it. I stopped taking classes for this degree in the summer of 2012, due to financial reasons, but, I will return one day. Thank you to my counselors and past instructors who've encouraged me since then that they will be there to support me when I do come back.
Maybe one day I'd even try for a doctorate? As long as my heart is still beating and my fingers can still fly over a keyboard, anything is possible.

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Uni: Finally! The End.

Part of me really thought that the day would never come. I wrote this post after I'd graduated, but, I was still attending Grad school. I've since taken a break from that, for financial reasons, I'll touch on that more tomorrow, if you're interested.

Originally published on January 10th, 2012:

Finally!

The Non-Traditional Billiken blog was started two years ago, if you’d like to take a trip back in time and relive part of this SLU journey with me:
[these links lead to the posts which I shared here on my blog last week]

• Getting Started – what derailed my education and what got me back on track… despite a little surprise
• Eureka! – when I discovered I no longer ‘hated’ school, reviewing my first few ‘core studies’ classes at SLU
• Climbing the Mountain – picking up steam and enjoying being on the downward slope of my educational journey
• Let’s talk turkey – A quality education comes with a price, here’s how I dealt with it
• Burnout – I feel my success is primarily due to keeping a positive attitude, but even I have felt the overwhelming agony of burnout during my time at SLU

So, here I am, fresh after a welcome holiday break, which snuck up on me while I was hustling to finish up final projects at the end of my last semester. I am still basking in the glow of the midyear commencement, which occurred on December 16th. I keep fighting the urge to pinch myself and see if it’s really, really real, if I have honestly reached the goal held in my heart since graduating high school in 1998: the completion of a bachelor’s degree.

It meant a lot to have my husband and sons share that day with me, since they are the ones I did this for, and since they are the ones who have eaten way too much pizza and canned pasta sauce over the past three years. Also, my Mom and big sister were there. I didn't get to attend my Associate's graduation ceremonies, having just given birth to my oldest, so that graduation passed almost unnoticed.

Hearing the inspirational speeches during the ceremony, and watching hundreds of driven and successful adults walk across the stage with pride while the names of their degrees were read out to a stadium full of family and friends, really touched my heart.

So, what’s next?

Right now, I am enjoying the break after having been a full-time student since 2009. The downtime has been really refreshing over the past two days. Having no homework to do during this lunch hour makes me want to grin with pleasure.

But, there is something about being busy and having a goal that drives you to make the most productive use of the little time you have. Something tells me this feeling of relief at being finished after finals will wear off within a couple of weeks…

You know what? I don’t think I’m finished yet. SPS has taught me how much I still have yet to learn. A year ago, I signed up for the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Program and am looking forward to more classes in the Organizational Informatics program.

The classes I have taken so far were extremely interesting, and I do not mind all of the writing that is required at this level because it all delves into the details that fascinate me. I am hungry to see what the Informatics classes have in store.

Good luck to you all, as you read the stories of your fellow (or future) students here on this blog. We may not be ‘traditional’, but, we are willing to work hard to achieve our dreams, so, just be sure to dream big.

* all opinions expressed on this blog, and anywhere else I write online, represent my own opinions and not those of my employer nor it's affiliates.

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Uni: Burnout

I don't know if it was Donnia, or someone else, who first told me, 'if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.' But, even for those of us who relish always staying busy, and who can't tell the difference between work and play because we're having so much fun immersing ourselves in all of it... it can be overwhelming in certain moments.

I may have mentioned a certain billion+ dollar project my campus* is beginning to work on now? Well, it isn't just starting now, it's actually been going on for years. The past three years have involved me, as I've given out extremely detailed information on all of the buildings on the chopping block (400,000+ sq ft, dating back to 1924), plus fairly detailed systems information for the spaces that were being renovated in other buildings to accommodate the employees and services displaced by the impending demo (including my own offices) and the underground utilities servicing the above. I inserted myself into some design-team meetings to ensure the BIM goodness happening was structured in such a way that we could use it afterward, many props to HOK and OWH and BR+A for welcoming me and my input and working together for the maximum long-term benefit.

Also, I was working on the project management team spec'ing out a system-wide enterprise* CMMS implementation, also involving servers and pricing for mobile workforce implementation (none of our equipment rooms have wireless coverage!?!? Ghastly.).

Those were on top of my normal workload, so, obviously, things had been FAR more stimulating for me at work during the time that I was in school, not a lot of spare processing power available in ye olde noggin. And, of course, I continued to work as a technical editor during this time, though I took a break from almost all of my freelance writing.

I digress, back to my writings, Originally posted on November 8th, 2011:

As positive as I may be about my experiences here at SLU, and as grateful as I have been for the opportunity to study and grow here, I would be completely kidding anyone if I claimed it was not stressful.

I’ve experienced burnout!

During my first year in the School for Professional Studies, I took one class at a time. I was nervous going into it, but I felt my confidence grow with each project and course successfully completed. I admit I resented the late nights and the homework. I woke up at 5:45 AM to go to work. After work, I would grab a rushed bite to eat and spend 5:30 to 9:30 in class, then drive back home to the county, where I would be lucky to catch my husband still awake, unwind and fall asleep by midnight.
[Seriously, I sometimes ate three meals a day in the cafeteria at work. No offense to the fine folks in Food & Nutrition, but, this right here is cause enough for burnout! lol. Oh, and I quickly discovered that while a dinner of funyons and mountain dew may have been fine when I was a teenager, it's a BAD idea for an adult. ;) ]

Not wanting to disturb my family’s routine more than I already did, I tried to do all of my homework and studying during my lunch breaks. As an introvert, my lunch breaks have always been a time for me to recharge. Having to give up my quiet relaxation time, the occasional walks and leisurely meals in favor of intense concentration and online discussions got old.

This can lead to what we commonly call ‘burnout.’ According to Handbook of Occupational Psychology, burnout is actually “a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job,” which can lead to a decreased ability to function.

In 2009, I began taking two classes at a time because I was unable to stand the idea of going through this new routine for eight years. I was determined to do it in four instead. Of course, it got worse after that. The first semester I took two classes while feverishly questioning the wisdom of my decision. But, like I had been doing from the beginning, I repeated to myself, “I can do anything for nine weeks.”

There have been some late nights and some missed social opportunities. I will also confess that there have been some conflicts with my husband. Although seldom, he has occasionally become resentful of my lack of availability when I closet myself away to take a test or finish a paper. Although the biggest supporter throughout my schooling, he has had to work hard at some odd hours in order to keep our house running smoothly.

The point of this blog is not to scare anybody, but to be realistic. My hard drive failed when a paper for school and a major magazine article were due.

I cried.
Then I redid the work over a few sleepless nights.

There are certain coping mechanisms available for the expected strains. My family eats packaged foods so we do not spend our weekday evenings cooking. I take time to read recreationally every night right before bed to relax myself. Every now and again, I have scheduled a day off work and spent it in the [county] library, which brings me home a little early, giving my husband a break. We laugh often and take time out to give thanks. And those are just a few of the ways we stay sane.

Photo Credit: Shine.com
* all opinions expressed on this blog, and anywhere else I write online, represent my own opinions and not those of my employer nor it's affiliates.

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Uni: Paying for school

Oh, yeah, here's the elephant in the room. My fellow student bloggers never really touched on the massive cost of going back to school, especially at a really expensive place like St. Louis University.
No offense intended to the school with that remark. Believe me, the quality of education I received from the instructors was extremely high (not intending to diss my community college teachers at all, but, you could tell the difference, sorry).

I will have some follow-up commentary on dealing with student loan debt in a unique summary post I will share after my existing posts have gone live.

Originally posted March 1st, 2011:

Since this blog was launched, we’ve been telling you about our experiences, in school and in life, and given some information as to how we’ve coped, or what we’ve given up, and what we’ve gained.
But, one thing we haven’t delved too deeply into is… how we’ve been paying for it.

Compensation
I’ll start first with the value of compensation for a job. I work for a non-profit, and I’ve been faced with the fact many times over the years that I could be earning a higher salary in private industry. Of course, my desire for higher wages has been balanced by job security, a decent amount of vacation and other benefits… such as educational support.
My employer* allows all employees (as long as they’ve not received corrective actions in a given calendar year) a certain amount of annual educational support to the institution of their choice, as long as their major is approved as applicable to the organization (so, my degrees in Drafting Technology and Computer Science were quickly approved, whereas a degree in Aeronautical Engineering probably wouldn’t be).
Though my employer* is generous, the organization cannot afford to pay for all of my classes. So I’ve had to supplement with other methods.

FAFSA
The free application for federal student aid is your first and foremost help, so start there. You provide information from your tax return and other personal information and – voila – you’ve applied to programs such as the Pell Grant and 8 other federal student aid programs, as well as state and institutional aid.
This will also be your gateway to student loans to cover the rest of your expenses.

Scholarships
Private scholarships are another method to obtain funding for your university education.
There are many resources offered by Saint Louis University.  I will warn you that these scholarship applications can be quite time-consuming. Most of them will also require letters of recommendation from multiple people. I’d suggest lining up a handful of folks who really, really, really like you and would be willing to pound out a ton of these, because each program will be requesting different information.

With that said, there are specialty scholarships that you might qualify for that others do not. I’ve seen scholarships for left-handed people, for single mothers, for women in computer science, those with disabilities… just about anything you can imagine is used as a criterion for some specialty scholarships. It may seem like a lot of work when you look at the applications, but, ask yourself if writing a 500-word essay and filling out a form is worth the chance at a $500 scholarship?

Books
In order to pay for my books, I have worked on Amazon.com’s crowdsourcing program, Mechanical Turk. I can either receive my payments in cash, or use them for purchases on Amazon.com. As students, we’re eligible for a free year of the Amazon Prime program, which gets us free shipping on many orders.
[I believe that after a year of free Amazon Prime, you can also get 1/2 price annual fees for so long as you're a student. They didn't have the amazon streaming video service back then, but, my house uses it now, streamed through a Roku box, it's great for free older movies and tv shows, and for renting new movies.
There are also more crowdsourcing programs available, even for mobile devices, such as iPoll and GigWalk, check them out if you need to earn a few bucks.]

Paying the Piper
I’m sure there are other programs and options out there to help us keep our costs down, and to help us drum up extra support, so we’re not paying so many out-of-pocket costs for our educational expenses. A bit of up-front effort can really pay off, so be sure to do your research and fully utilize the resources your employer and the school provide.

When I graduate, I will have student loans. I’m not thrilled about that [I hate carrying debt of any kind.]. But, these loans are only a fraction of my educational expenses at SLU, due to the support I received from my employer and the grants that I have received.

Photo Credit: http://www.123rf.com/photo_2983021_blackboard.html
* all opinions expressed on this blog, and anywhere else I write online, represent my own opinions and not those of my employer nor it's affiliates.

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Uni: On the downward slope of the mountain

Continuing to share posts from my educational journey at St. Louis University.

(photo of Mt. Rainier in Washington, from the back yard of my Gram's house. I took this in 2005 on my last trip out there.)

Originally posted August 30th, 2010: 

I always wished I’d been able to complete my Bachelor’s Degree. I’d even gone as far as requesting degree and class details from different schools over the years. [edit: even ones that couldn't tell the difference between Engineering and English when sending me information on the requested degree program. ~eyeroll~]

But, once I sat down and counted up the credits I needed and thought about how long they would take me, I was too discouraged to seriously consider starting. It didn’t seem even remotely feasible.
Then I heard about a new educational initiative at work. At the kickoff, they held some informational sessions explaining how the program worked. They were going to partner with SLU’s School for Professional Studies, and we would take five compressed classes per year in order to get all of our prerequisites out of the way. That sounded far better than taking one class per semester at a traditional school, which would only get me three classes per year.

I was more than a bit scared at the beginning, because I’d never done all that well in school before. But, being able to take one class at a time with my coworkers seemed much less intimidating than striking out on my own. I told myself that I could do just about anything for nine weeks, so I could get through the class.

I spoke with my husband and told him this program would last a couple of years and would only get me part way, but we agreed that I’d never be able to finish if I didn’t start.
So, I signed up for the program through BJC*. Then, I got through the SLU paperwork. Then, everyone’s favorite…we took Math and English tests to gauge our skills.

And I got through the first class…then the second one…and by the time I was close to the end of my first year, I’d realized I could do it. I could take classes at the University and even manage to do well.
Of course, then I realized that if I only took five classes a year, I’d be in school a lot longer than I really wanted.

Time to speak to my husband again! I told him I wanted to increase my course load. That meant a little less ‘me’ time to help out with the house and the kids, but it meant I could finish school in three or four years, rather than seven or eight, and he said he was willing to take on more of the load at home.

So, I filled out a FAFSA. I got a Pell Grant and arranged student loans (to cover the additional classes, which were not covered by my employer).

Then, I went in to schedule my courses. I wanted to take two at a time. But, I only scheduled two at once when I could take one on the campus and one entirely online. Some semesters I only had one class, but the remainder I was taking two at once.

That’s a lot harder, I’ll admit it.

The terms when I have two classes are more tiring, more stressful and sometimes overwhelming, but I still feel like I’ve managed to process and retain the information. It’s not easy, but, it’s attainable. I take my quizzes or tests online at night after the kids go to bed. I write discussion group posts and papers during my lunch hour at work. And one night a week I’m in class with my peers.

Now, here I am, two and a half years into this experience. I’ve just started my 19th and 20th classes at SPS, and I hope to graduate with my Bachelor’s in Organizational Leadership and Technology at the end of 2011.

Looking back, I remembered how daunting the task in front of me seemed.
Along the way, I remembered how tired and occasionally frustrated I got.
Approaching the end, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I can read job postings I’m not quite qualified for and think how much closer I am to meeting their qualifications.
I can look at my kids and think of them watching me graduate and completing this great goal.
I can look at my husband and think how my greater income will improve our quality of life.
But, mostly, I can look at that mountain I was so daunted by a couple of years ago and realize that I’m on the downward slope, all as a result of having taken that first step.

* all opinions expressed on this blog, and anywhere else I write online, represent my own opinions and not those of my employer nor it's affiliates.

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Uni: Core classes are a boring waste of time

Continuing to share the posts I made as a student blogger at Saint Louis University.

(In this post, I mention some more of the classes I took, if you'd like to see a complete page describing all of the courses in my degree programs, they can be found here on my blog.)

Originally Posted May 20th, 2010:

I always thought that I hated school. But, in later high school I was able to schedule some specialized classes and really enjoyed them. When I started college, I felt the same way. The general education courses were ‘boring’ and ‘hard’ and ‘pointless’, since they weren’t what I was going to school to learn, but the specialized classes were fascinating because they appealed to me.

I drudged through and completed my Associate’s Degree with that viewpoint firmly intact.
As I mentioned in a previous post, BJC* started a ‘Bridges to Bachelor’s’ program that would allow mid-career professionals to take all of their core classes to get them well on the road to completing their degrees. Even though I thought those core classes were a burden, I signed up because I realized what a great opportunity BJC* was offering.

Our first class was ‘Learning Strategies and Processes’ (PST 100). We re-learned how to do all of those things we’d been used to years ago as students. We analyzed our own learning styles, practiced writing and speaking, and basically got back into an academic mindset while learning to cope as ‘non-traditional’ students.

As I moved into ‘Approaching the Arts‘ and ‘Origins of the Modern World‘, I wasn’t all that thrilled about getting started, as I’d taken art history and world history in high school and college. I thought they’d be boring.

Okay, I confess, I was wrong. There!
Sure, there was a lot to cover, and we had a ton of work to do, but, we debated, we discussed, we compared. The classes, helped by the professors and the other students, were INTERESTING.

By the time I’d moved into ‘Introduction to Philosophy‘ and ‘Theological Foundations‘, I’d noticed a certain continuity. I felt that each class really prepared me for the one after it, and with each successive course, I was able to learn more and more because I had a better base to draw from.
That brought me through a full year of schooling, and I decided to increase my courseload.
My summer classes last year were really the tipping point where I made the full conversion from someone who disliked school to someone who absolutely LOVED IT.

I took American Politics, which I was certainly never interested in before. There was SO much material to cover with regard to the many layers of society and government. I was a little embarrassed that most of the other students seemed to know so much about the subject already, so I did every suggested reading from the teacher as well as those mentioned by the other students.

The following term I took Survey of Economics and Ethics. I had felt the same way about others knowing more than me, so I kept Wikipedia open almost all day long.
Every topic, every historical reference, every law, every CEO opened up a whole new world of understanding. Suddenly, I was understanding topical references in watercooler conversations that had flown over my head before.

Now that I’m into my Organizational Studies and Information Systems classes, I’m constantly being reminded of things I learned in those core classes. I’ve been able to speak up in Organizational Foundations about things I learned in Ethics and Economics and that feels really good. I know that I’m contributing to my classes the way I’ve seen other students contribute… and it’s starting to be reflected in my office as well.

I had to thank my instructor because I was recently chatting with some of my peers (although they were a step or two up the ladder from me in organizational structure), and someone brought up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs… which we’d JUST studied in class. I was able to fully participate in a higher-level conversation with some really brilliant people as a direct result of my horizons being broadened by the curriculum that I thought I didn’t even ‘need’.

It really hit me after that point that I wasn’t just here at SLU to learn a trade. I wasn’t just here to improve my career prospects or make myself more marketable.
I’m here becoming a more well-rounded person who is better able to connect with even more people in the world around me.
Conclusion being, core studies must not be a waste of time after all.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/2442045767/
* all opinions expressed on this blog, and anywhere else I write online, represent my own opinions and not those of my employer nor it's affiliates.

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Uni: Getting Started

When I attended St. Louis University, I was part of their Adult Student Blogging team. I see that no one has posted since my last semester and comments have been turned off, so I assume (eventually) that blog will disappear.
This week, I am going to be sharing the posts that I made there, if you'd like to know how my adult journey back to school went.

Originally posted March 20th, 2010.

I completed my Associate’s Degree in 2002, but, just so happened to be pregnant with my first child at the time. I wasn’t able to immediately continue with my education as I’d planned due to many constraints… we’ll call them ‘life’ for short. I always wanted to return to school and complete my Bachelor’s Degree, but there just never seemed to be enough of me to go around.

In the spring of 2008 my employer, Barnes-Jewish Hospital*, announced a new program to help mid-career professionals further their education. We were partnering with SLU’s School for Professional studies, which brought SLU instructors to our campus one evening a week for some intense, but short, general education classes. We could take one class at a time, five classes per year, and slowly earn the credits we’d need.

I couldn’t pass up such a great opportunity to go back to school. I have been working in my current job since 2000, and while I love what I do, I’d really like to be promoted and advance in my career at some point.

Of course, nothing ever goes quite as planned. Two weeks before my first class was supposed to start, my husband and I found out we were expecting our second child. Well, I thought about it, and informed him that I was NOT going to be derailed this time. He really stepped up when my typical first trimester exhaustion was compounded by one really long day per week and homework, he even learned to cook! Our older son helped me a lot, too, and even read books to the baby while I rested.
My instructors definitely ran challenging courses, but they were always willing to allow me to make up or reschedule work to accommodate doctor appointments and time off.

Before my second son was born, my husband and I realized we wouldn’t be able to afford the cost of quality infant care, so he officially became a stay-at-home Dad. This move did necessitate a few sacrifices in the family budget, but the convenience allowed me to increase my course load after a year. I’m currently trying to take two classes at a time, in the terms in which I can take one online class along with one on-ground class.

I’m currently taking my fourteenth class through SPS, and it looks like I should be able to complete my Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Technology at the end of 2011. Wish me luck.

Photo Credit: http://www.123rf.com

* all opinions expressed on this blog, and anywhere else I write online, represent my own opinions and not those of my employer nor it's affiliates.

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I am moved

Anyone who might happen to follow me on Twitter or who has befriended me on Facebook or circled me on Google+ knows that I've been preoccupied with an office move recently. Really, it's a project that has kept me occupied over the past three years, as our department was one of the last to be decanted from 400,000 square feet of buildings on the chopping block. Finding temporary homes for all of the displaced functions was, luckily, the job of the project management and real estate teams at the corporate level. But, I did have to provide documentation from the current and proposed spaces for each of these moves, depending on the adaptations needed for each.

I was just reading a post from Life of An Architect's Bob Borson this morning. He's starting a new job, but, his post about what was in his office, and what it meant to him, reminded me that I wanted to share with you a reflection on how my work has changed here over the past decade+, but, mostly over the past five years (since my last office move).

I'm currently in an office, but, I'm certain that our next move will take us to a cube farm, so, these observations the engineers and I made as we moved are a good thing.

First things first, the drafting table. I was tempted not to even bring this along during our move. It's not been used as a drafting table since maybe the early 90's, about half a dozen people before me. (If you notice the legs are a bit short, it's because the Director used to have it in his office about 20-30 years ago, and cut it down to be the same height as his desk, so that he could scoot between them.)
My facility has not accepted paper closeout documents (record docs, as-builts whatever you call them) since 2001 or 2002, but, yet, people still insist on sending multiple copies to the Engineering team (when my boss only asks for one set, because he gives them to the mechanics). I keep them, until I can verify that I've got the DWG or RVT files from that project (many times I do not, but, that's a separate rant ;) ).

The engineers used to use this table for plan reviews all the time, but, they've gotten more and more comfortable with reviewing plans on their computers, or on the workstations I set up around the campus, which have larger monitors.
This plotter is on the chopping block, too, because we just don't do all that much printing anymore.

As I moved, I dumped sets and sets of reference drawings that I used to be asked for constantly (when asked for a common set in B or D sized, I'd run off multiple and keep them handy for the next person coming through, it was a brilliant move that saved me loads of time, I assure you). However, it's been years since I've been asked for a paper set of drawings. Most of the (non-engineering) folks that want to do markups on a set, just ask for PDF from us. ~recycling the remainder~ I think I can also comfortably dump the set of riser diagrams that were always kept in the engineering department's file room (getting in the way, but, luckily on a wheeled rack), because, the engineers and lead mechanics that usually need to reference them are now doing so electronically.

Inside that drafting table is a little something special...

Until just a couple of years ago, there were also some slide rules and other engineering templates resting within this time capsule. Those belonged to my Great-Grandfather, who was a Civil Engineer in Southern California. He came to live with us as he and Great-Grandma got older. After he passed away, my Grandfather kept his things in a box in the garage. And, after my Grandfather passed away, my Dad took over the garage. After my Dad moved out, I took over the garage and have kept them since I was a teenager. Obviously, I never did manual drafting professionally, myself, but, I kept them as a connection to my G-G. And, as a 'wanderer', I left them here in my office, which has stayed fairly constant for 13 years, while I changed personal addresses quite often. Now that I'm settled down in a nice house in the burbs, I've brought them home and showed them to my sons, who can inherit them from me one day (if they ever want to open a museum, of course ;) ).

Now, my desk doesn't show much outward change, but, when I moved into my last office and took this furniture (we scavenge okay, we don't get a big move budget like the money-making departments), I filled up these 5 file drawers and 8 smaller drawers and had loads of paper organizers on the work surface, too. 

I had binders for each of the projects I had managed. I had markups from the projects the engineers ran, markups from mechanics for changes they'd made or noticed in the field, tons of cd's and disks people would submit or find for me, and (this is my favorite) a paper copy of every work request made to me between 2000 and 2009.

Now that we've got more reliable IT backup, I no longer worry about files disappearing (which they'd done before, unfortunately), I can let go of the paper backup copies. I never open these binders.

It was fun running across some things, like the directory printout from when I started and there was NO filing system on the server yet, because no one was in charge of it (I had IT lock it down so only myself and the ME could write to it).

So, all of those drawers? They're now filled with equipment. Cables and cords, a couple of laptops, a projector (which I need to replace with something newer, by the way ~note to self~), my toolkits (for computer and plotter repairs) and sundry.

I'll admit that many of the binders remaining in my overhead storage could disappear. All of my AU handouts there on paper are now available in the AUGI forums, so I really don't need them on paper, nor some of those project binders I inherited when I took on various roles (from our Cabling Coordinator and Programmer when they left), but, I still have a hard time letting go.
And I don't need too much space to store CD's/DVD's anymore, since most of my file distributions are done via FTP or similar.

I even have a folder full of the furious notes I took at a meeting back in 2003 when I first heard of CAFM and Archibus and the whole world of data management gloriously opened to me.
For the past few years, I've taken notes electronically on my laptop, and in the last couple of years, I take the notes or work requests electronically on my iPhone and email them to myself, or access them from Evernote or Google Docs as appropriate.
There is a challenge in explaining to some of the luddites that I'm not 'texting' or playing games, I'm taking notes, and that's slowly overcoming the prejudice I initially encountered.
But, everyone else in the office has been switched to iphones recently, so there are a lot more multi-media notes from site visits, which is great. Also, during our own office renovation, no one thought to bring copies of the plans with us, so I pulled up the dwg file I'd emailed to myself on AutoCAD WS (now Autodesk 360 for mobile).

And so...
I started working with CAD very young and have felt like I was dragging my company kicking and screaming into the light. The move from paper to CAD, now the move from CAD to BIM (expect about 15 years for each technology shift, that's how we roll in a company this large, no matter the department). Five years ago, during our last move, things had improved slightly, but, since then, things have progressed more rapidly.
I look forward to that trend continuing.

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Play a Game, Learn Some Software, Win a Workstation?

We're competitive.

We may say we're not, but, let's face it, we like to have motivation. Anyone who is familiar with Khan Academy can see how successful this method of learning is.

Autodesk is running a contest right now, for folks who download a trial version of The AutoCAD Design Suite and play a game to win a prize pack consisting of a standalone license (it is upgradeable, not NFR) of AutoCAD Design Suite Standard 2013, a Lenovo S30 workstation and an iPad® worth over $6,500.
The suite includes AutoCAD®, AutoCAD® Raster Design, Autodesk® Sketchbook® Designer, Autodesk® Showcase® and Autodesk® Mudbox®

You can see Shaan Hurley's writeup on the contest here:
http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/2012/11/the-apocalypse-trigger-the-gamification-of-the-autodesk-software-trial-experience.html

And you can sign up to participate here:
http://proc.autodesk.com/apocalypsetrigger/
(this is not in any way tied to your Autodesk login, it's a separate site)

Personally, I'm downloading the trial right now, and I will be giving it a try. I have not reviewed any of the missions ahead of time, and I'm only familiar with two of the five software packages in this suite... so, it should be amusing to see how poorly I will do. Let's see who can beat my scores. I'll tweet my scores later, once I've run a couple of 'missions.'

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OT: Blackout Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

http://www.cadablog.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-take-on-sopapipa.html

http://www.blog.cadnauseam.com/2012/01/18/dark-times-dark-sites/

And, of course, being as this blog focuses a lot on Autodesk software, here's a pointed statement reminding folks that, despite their appearance on crowdsourced lists, Autodesk does not, in fact, support SOPA.

http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/2012/01/autodesk-does-not-support-sopa.html

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Do people still feel that way about technology?

This post isn't cad/bim/fm specific, but, I feel the issue encompasses those fields so I'll go ahead and post my little opinion piece here.

As I've noted, I have been a student at Saint Louis University since 2008. I'd originally wanted to complete a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but, there were no engineering degrees offered through the night school. Instead I opted for a coursework in computer science and management. Half of my classes came from the computer science track, the other half have been organizational studies.

In the Organizational Studies courses I have had, I am used to helping out a little with the technology side of thing, either setting up the projector for the teacher or giving the other students advice on what tools to use and how to use them. It's sort of what I do in school, and, heck, even working in an office full of engineers, I'm called upon to do it.
Even in the Computer Science classes, the majority of students are women and the average age is probably 45.
At 28-31, I've definitely been on the younger end of the spectrum, just like I am at work and in my social group in our neighborhood. In other words, I don't have many friends my age or younger, except those that I've had for more years than I'd care to count, which should help explain my sense of shock.

I must have some misconceptions about the world today.

For my final course, I am working on an extensive group project that accounts for our grade. I suggested that we use Google Docs, for sharing efficiency and for breaking down the papers into manageable chunks, which we could divvy up amongst ourselves. I did not think it was a big deal that 3 of my 4 group-mates hadn't ever used it before, since Google Docs is so simple to use, if you've used a web browser and MS Office.
Evidently I was wrong.
I ended up bringing my laptop to class to demonstrate the use of google docs and make changes to our papers during class.
At one point, the oldest member of our group asked me if I could fix her computer. I advised her to take it to a professional since I hadn't taken apart laptops before.
Then, the youngest member of our group commented that I'm obviously one of those techy people, and how she hates it at work that all of the old people assume she understands how to use computers and software just because she's young, and went on to say that she was too busy being outside playing when she was younger to care about computers.

:-/ Really?

That's what techy people are? Adults who used to be kids who sat inside all day and didn't play outdoors?

So, the reason I am shocked here, is not because people in general have a misconception of those with technical skills, but, really, because someone around my age has those misconceptions. I mean, I can understand it from my Mother's generation a little, but, I really thought the world was more enlightened and accurate these days.
I posted about my guidance counselor back in high school advising me to put my math and logic skills to use as an accountant, but, again, she came from a different generation with the ideas of gender roles and as I had no real strong opinions myself ~shrug~. In the 10 years that the AUGI Salary Survey has been running, female participation has stayed steadily near 15%.

But, gender issues notwithstanding, I am really shocked to hear a young person imply that techy people aren't normal. I thought techy was mainstream enough these days?

But, no, computer geeks and engineers et al are evidently basement-dwelling oddballs.
~sigh~

Obviously, WE know that's not true, don't we, faithful reader?
We see the foursquare checkins from our fellow geeks at exotic locales and admire the flickr streams that show where they've been hiking, biking and boating, and follow the progress of their marathon training on facebook and google+.

We know that we're not just good with tech because we sit at home with nothing better to do, we are good with tech because it's something we're passionate about, just like all of our other fascinating hobbies.

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OT: Lord of the Rings Pickup Lines

Undeniably, the most popular post on my blog is the one entitled Geek Pickup Lines. Strangely enough, one of the top searches that brings people to my little corner of the interwebs is "Lord of the Rings Pick up Lines". Due to my mention of the books in my profile. =>

Yes, that is sort of sad, given that this blog is dedicated to the serious and the professional... ~pause~ Okay, maybe not entirely. One reason I take so much pleasure in my work is that my colleagues enjoy a good laugh (see also: "You Might be a CAD Diva if...").

So, I think to myself... "Self, give the people what they want!" And, the people obviously want some Lord of the Rings Pickup Lines! So, I hit Google and found that, while there might be much innuendo, there were few one-liners of the type for which I was searching.
At the bottom of this post, I pasted in some of what I found, but, first, I'm going to try my hand at crafting a few original Lord of the Rings pickup lines:

• You don't need One Ring to find me.
• Baby, you're hotter than the cracks of Mount Doom.
• Your rejection would destroy me like an Ent destroys Isengard.
• So, hey, how about that Weather... top?
• My love for you is deeper than the lodes of Mithril in Khazad-dum.
• Speak, friend, and enter... your number in my phone.
• I'll be your Isildur and you can be my bane.
• I couldn't help but notice all of these losers circling you like Nazgul... why don't we get out of here and go back to my Mathom-house?
• No, we haven't met, unless you count in the Mirror of Galadriel.
• Your beauty has pierced my heart like a Morgul Blade.
• I'm not usually this forward, but, you've broken down my barriers like Grond.
• ~offering the Red Arrow~
• Was that a Middle-Earthquake? or did you just rock my world?
• I've heard about a great new club... want to go There and Back Again?
• You've got beautiful eyes, they sparkle like the Mirrormere.
• I'd climb the Endless Stair to be with you.

Well... what do you think? If you can do better (and I am sure you can), please leave a comment below.

http://forum.barrowdowns.com/archive/index.php?t-12304.html

• "If you are not Luthien, then you walk in her likeness."
• Sauron: "I've only got Eye for you"
• "Pardon me, but are you elvish? You've been running through my mind without pause!"
• "If loving you is El-Rond, I don't wanna be El-Right!"
• Thorondor: Going my way?

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13200722300

• If you were an orc, I'd be sting. When you're near me, I glow!

http://people.rit.edu/kjm7425/iweb/midterm/bookLOTR.html

• If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it, precious.
• Are we in Lord of The Rings? Cause I swear you're my precious... 

http://www.dorkly.com/article/15910/6-lord-of-the-rings-pickup-lines

• You shall not pass... without giving me your number.

http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090601184318AA4iGsL

• Certainty of death, *small* chance of success... What are we waiting for?
• "Why couldn't Tom Bombadil hear the telephone?"
• "Because the ring had no effect on him."
• "Give me a ring later."
• "What's a nice elf like you doing in a place like this?"
• "Didn't we meet at the orc siege the other night?"

http://www.minastirith.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=000054;p=

(/\ please note, this thread contains a lot of innuendo, only click if you don't mind that sort of thing)

• Sauron: "I've had my eye on you for a long time, baby."
• Gollum: "Want to see my precious?"
• Denethor to guard: Come on baby, light my fire.

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OT: School Update redux

In the Summer of 2009 I gave you an update on how my continuing education was progressing, and I thought it was time for another.

Returning to School
I started attending St. Louis University in the Spring of 2008 (coincidentally, we found out we were expecting our second child about two weeks before classes began... yikes! I decided to stick it out, though, as I'd already taken a brief ~cough~five year~cough~ break from my studies after my first son was born and didn't want to be deterred again).
I joined the School for Professional Studies (which has evening, weekend and online classes) because of a special program at work. They actually brought SLU teachers to one of our buildings on campus and the other students were all employees. I only stayed with this program for a year, after that, I started scheduling my own classes and attending on the University campus.

I wasn't sure what the demographic was going to be. It turns out that a majority of the students are female (yes, even in my Computer Science classes). Also, a majority were in their 40's and 50's (many of whom have children in high school and college). There were some folks in their 20's and 30's, but, not all that many.
Of course, we have all felt a certain kinship, despite any age gaps, because we had something pretty major in common... we were all balancing full time work in addition to school.

Declaring my major was somewhat difficult. In the summer of 2009, I made my decision and signed on for the new (at the time) Organizational Leadership and Technology program (it's a combination of two programs, the Computer Science and Organizational Studies coursework). I thought it would give me a more well-rounded education over a straight Computer Science degree.

Although, if they had offered the Informatics degree back then, I probably would have signed up for that instead (:sadpanda: seriously, when did they add that? Sneaky little so and so's.).

Fun Fact:
The AUGI Annual Salary Survey reveals that, in 2002 27% of responding members had a Bachelor's degree or higher. By 2010, this percentage had increased to 41%.

Handling the Coursework
The program I'm in operates on a compressed class schedule (a class only runs for nine weeks, allowing students to complete at least five classes in a year, one at a time), but, don't let that fool you into thinking it is easy. Almost all of these classes will still cover an entire textbook in that time. The class meetings are four hours long, we still have tests, papers to write, chapters to read in our books, as well as a host of multimedia supplements (darn the technology!!!). It is VERY intense and you have to stay on top of it.
But, it's doable. I have told myself so many times since I began, "you can do anything for nine weeks".

As an applied sciences type of girl, I thought that the core studies would be a boring waste of time, but, I've found that I actually really enjoyed them. I suppose maturity and perspective might have had something to do with that change of heart?
Something a few students don't care for is the fact that many instructors require us to get up and speak in front of our classmates...  
Seriously, don't spend time worrying about public speaking. Just pick a topic you're familiar with and trust that you know what you're talking about, it will get easier every time you have to do it, and an increased comfort level in front of an audience will benefit you at work, guaranteed.

I do most of my homework during my lunch hour at work. I am fortunate enough that I have an hour break, and my own office. So, I shut my door, eat at my desk, and catch up on class discussion group posts, read articles, listen to any online lectures and write my papers (I'm so sick of APA formatting guidelines).
Although, since the university upgraded their online classroom platform (Blackboard), I have been able to check into content and discussion posts from my iPhone, so I can use the time normally wasted waiting in line at the DMV, etc.
I might read textbook assignments while watching a movie with the family, or driving around on our weekend errands (obviously, I'm not the one driving, my husband is... I'm riding).
I tend to take my quizzes online after dinner or at some point during the weekend.
~looks around conspiratorially~ Okay, I confess, sometimes, I just can not get everything done in the time I have allotted... so, typically toward the end of the semester, I will schedule a day off of work, and spend it tucked away into the corner of our local library (which is much quieter than the university library). I use this time to finish up any major projects and study for my final exams.
I also try to take my notes in an electronic format as often as possible... when you're cramming for an exam, it's a lot easier to do a search for a specific term, than to have to flip through an entire notebook in a vain attempt to locate a single piece of data.

Paying for Classes and Textbooks
Obviously, cost was a major consideration in my education. I'd only pursued an Associate's degree as a youngster because it was all that I could afford at the time (although, I was pleased at finishing that without owing anyone any money). I wanted to obtain a Bachelor's degree, but, I just wasn't sure how I could pay for tuition and books and fees, etc.

My employer will agree to reimburse a set amount of tuition (and fees and books) per year, once a degree program has been approved by our educational benefits department. That is something for which I am extremely grateful, of course.

I wanted to take more classes than they were able to pay for, though, so I completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is the first step for obtaining grants and loans to help with the expenses. The financial aid office also links to resources to find specialty scholarships.
Unfortunately, I will have some student loans when I graduate, but, I wanted to complete my degree in four years, rather than eight, so I bit the bullet.

I don't buy my books from the school bookstore, I buy them from Amazon. You have to keep an eye on the class information and try to purchase your books as soon as possible... if you wait until two weeks before the semester starts, you'll notice the prices jump as the book sellers realize certain books are in demand. Sometimes, you just cannot find used books at a reasonable price, so, I've actually rented them.

In order to pay for the books, I've done some work through Amazon's crowd-sourcing program, Mechanical Turk. Most of the gigs (hits) don't pay diddly, but, you can sift through and find some that are easy enough to do while you're watching TV, and, if you get fast enough, the earnings can add up.
Also, I like to do some usability studies with Autodesk. Some of their longer studies provide an Amazon gift card as a 'thank you'.
While my employer finally added the benefit of reimbursing for textbooks (last year?), I'm the one purchasing them up front, and I'm not going to be wasting funds.

What Now? 
Last night... ~pausing for dramatic effect~ last night I received written confirmation of my application to graduate. It is official, I will be completing my coursework (with all classes already scheduled) in 2011.
~waits for applause to die down~
I'm happy to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sure my family is, too.

I really think that, given my tendency to do most of my work during my lunch hour, I've minimized the impact on my family as much as humanly possible (although that effort may not have been as noticeable, as I was still freelancing a bit during this time)... but, we will all appreciate my extra energy, when I no longer have to get up early, stay up late and come home from work worn out because I didn't have a single break during the day.

No. I'm not entirely sure how I will put this degree to work. Over the past couple of years, I have become more involved in Project Management roles for our department's technology initiatives, which enables me to use my experience with 'that computer stuff', as well as my experiences with the details (scope, specifications, bidding, budgeting), so expanding on that might be the logical way to get some use out of my education. I obviously love my coworkers and believe in the work that we've been doing together for over a decade, and it will be nice if we are able to put our heads together and find something for me to do. ;-)

I will also be continuing my education and pursuing a Master's (MS) in Informatics. Thanks to an accelerated program at SLU, to kick start things, I've already taken one class toward this degree and will have another this Fall.


I hope that, in recounting my experience here, I can give others an idea of what it has taken to complete a goal like this (answer summary: stubbornness, time and having superman for a spouse).

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If Poe did CAD...

Recently I trotted out the old favorite poem "Abort, Retry, Ignore", based of course, upon the classic literary work, The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (I find the rhythm of trochaic octameter quite engaging).

In response, a friend posted his own composition, and granted me permission to repost it here (although, you can find it on his own blog - http://antmansclone.wordpress.com/ )

Cad upon a midnight dreary, bloodshot eyes welled up and teary
Revising a project that had changed a thousand times before–
There I sat, not even blinking; into slumber I was sinking
Pots of coffee I was drinking, drinking to stay off the floor
“How long will this last?” I wondered, gazing at my office door–
Had been there since the night before

Though fuzzy now, I still remember the hour of which my comembers
Abandoned me to alone dismember these drawings — What an awful chore!
Against all hope to hold back sorrow, vainly trying time to borrow
To finish that job before the morrow, tomorrow when I would sleep once more
Bed with pillow, couch, chair or floor–
Tomorrow I would sleep once more

Where was my undo command? I thought I had them all at hand
I looked again, and there it was, where it had not been before
Decided then to abdicate some recent work, I undid eight
Aghast, I realized my fate — I only meant to undo four
Stupid mistakes like this I invariably deplore
Forced again to redraw more

To make that wall a little longer for to make the shearwall stronger
I had to change the roof slope and eliminate a door.
Architect would not allow for that, there for the moment I just sat
Waiting for him to come back with a design he could adore.
Nary a sound I heard as he entered, returning through my office door
Red ink upon the paper more

Upon my check plots peering, as I stood there, knowing, fearing,
Before he even gestured I knew he had changed the plan some more
Finally the silence broken, as he started to betoken
The words from his mouth hardly spoken uttered changes I knew to abhor.
“Flip the plan and change the elevation of the second floor.”
Merely this and nothing more

“Can’t you just a button press to make more sense out of this mess?”
I said OK to appease him and send him from my space once more
Back to my workstation turning, anger towards him stronger burning,
Sure my next paycheck I’d be earning not only just a little more–
This shock to my system must be worth not only just a little more–
Started coffee pot number four

Music streaming from my speakers, helping me from growing weaker
Screaming songs to match the feeling of the hairdo that I wore
Nodding off and half awake, suddenly a double take
I pinched myself for dreaming’s sake; what now do my eyes absorb?
Everything was in its place, it appeared I had to do no more
I stood and breathed; a pallid countenance I no longer wore
I felt as though on sunny shore

And as I felt it, a glint of light shone in to aid me from my plight
Dawn’s radiant hues had lifted my soul — I could feel it in my core
But to chagrin my heart’s elation {Unhandled Access Violation}
“NO!” I screamed, “Not my creation!” I paced around my office floor
In desperation tried to get my drawing back to where it was before
Audit or recover, ultimately my file I could not restore
My drawing file was no more

Though the morn was shining brilliant, and I thought myself to be resilient
My keyboard could not withstand the shock of my mouse hitting it with force
It was over, I conceded; by the deadline it was not completed
And I sat there, felling defeated, rejected and forlorn
I looked at my computer, letting sink in the horror of that wretched morn
I turned my back, went home to sleep; trudged out my office door
And there I pledged it, “Nevermore”

- Anthony Mason - 2002

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