Second Chances
For those who read this journal, I apologize for being so quiet. I hope I haven't worried anyone by disappearing for so long.
I'm VERY happy with how school has turned out, though it's been a rocky road.
In the fall quarter, I started in RIT's Print Media graduate program, but I completely withdrew from the program in mid-October - largely because of inadequate foundational knowledge - at a total loss of almost 12 thousand dollars. I stayed on as a Teacher's Assistant for a course in digital asset management, and did the same in the winter quarter, which ended at the end of February. As a result, fall quarter was a bust, but I took several courses as a non-matriculated grad student in the winter quarter.
Years ago, during my first stint in grad school before grandma fell ill, I had begun work on certificates in Technical Communications, but never finished them. I picked up where I left off with these during the winter quarter and will complete the first certificate after spring quarter, and then after one additional course in the summer, will complete the second certificate. These are bona fide undergrad-level credentials and are pretty valuable as bargaining chips in the computer job market, so I'm glad I've had the opportunity to finish them up.
I also took a grad-level course on the history of animation and learned a heck of a lot about a handful of people I was previously not familiar with, so that was a really enjoyable course. I originally took the class because I was considering going for my MFA, though that doesn't seem to be in the cards right now. I can still use the course credits, however. Which brings me to the reason why I'm so happy.
I met with my old graduate program coordinator the day before yesterday to get a few final questions answered about resuscitating my old IT Master's degree. I had thought about doing so even before I went into the Print Media program in the fall, and after thinking on it long and hard, I decided that I could go back into IT and simply work in an area other than network administration, which tends to be - as I have expounded upon at length in this journal - astonishingly obnoxious work. So, I decided to go back and study Human-Computer Interaction, Game Design, and Learning and Knowledge Management Systems.
My program coordinator actually remembered me and we met for about 45 minutes. Because I just applied to RIT in the fall, I can get back into the IT program without formally reapplying, so this is a big shortcut. On top of that, a few of my old courses are still good (i.e., taken less than 7 years ago), so I can use those towards my new degree. She also exempted me from several courses I was either going to have to repeat after taking them previously and watching them expire because of the 7-year rule, or that repeated material I already learned as an undergrad about 10 years ago, so I have a lot more flexibility in my program of study and can more easily complete the degree. My History and Aesthetics of Animation course is also usable as part of my IT program, so in addition to simply being a fun and interesting course, the credits will not be wasted.
As a completely unexpected bonus, when I withdrew from my program in the fall, my GPA was reset to its undergraduate level, which was a 3.7. This was a far cry from my atrocious graduate GPA, which was so low I was almost put on academic probation the first time around. With no more serious illness in the family, this time through should be far smoother sailing, and if I'm given a clean slate with my GPA even after re-matriculating, then my GPA will no longer be in the dumps. I won't know about this part of it for sure until the end of November, which is when my fall quarter grades will be issued.
And as the piece de resistance, I was awarded a 30% scholarship, so that saves me over $10,000 in the first year alone. I also applied for an assistantship, which given my huge body of work experience, I have a real shot at receiving. If I get one of those, school is completely free, plus I get a stipend on top of it. I'm not sure when I'll find out if I will be awarded an assistantship.
Because of the way the course offerings are laid out, it may actually be feasible to complete two degrees at one time. There is a new Master's in Human-Computer Interaction (as opposed to just a concentration offered as part of a more general IT degree) that I am interested in, and will figure things out as I go along.
So, there we have it. School is coming together, and hopefully it's something I enjoy. There's enough flexibility in the degree path that I can make changes mid-stream without too much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Just being back in school (as opposed to being fairly idle and engaging in futile searches for IT work) has made me quite a bit happier and helped give me a lot of perspective on things. I've really managed to cut through a lot of the fog.
I'm trying to find work for summer and might be working out of state. Details at 11!
I'm VERY happy with how school has turned out, though it's been a rocky road.
In the fall quarter, I started in RIT's Print Media graduate program, but I completely withdrew from the program in mid-October - largely because of inadequate foundational knowledge - at a total loss of almost 12 thousand dollars. I stayed on as a Teacher's Assistant for a course in digital asset management, and did the same in the winter quarter, which ended at the end of February. As a result, fall quarter was a bust, but I took several courses as a non-matriculated grad student in the winter quarter.
Years ago, during my first stint in grad school before grandma fell ill, I had begun work on certificates in Technical Communications, but never finished them. I picked up where I left off with these during the winter quarter and will complete the first certificate after spring quarter, and then after one additional course in the summer, will complete the second certificate. These are bona fide undergrad-level credentials and are pretty valuable as bargaining chips in the computer job market, so I'm glad I've had the opportunity to finish them up.
I also took a grad-level course on the history of animation and learned a heck of a lot about a handful of people I was previously not familiar with, so that was a really enjoyable course. I originally took the class because I was considering going for my MFA, though that doesn't seem to be in the cards right now. I can still use the course credits, however. Which brings me to the reason why I'm so happy.
I met with my old graduate program coordinator the day before yesterday to get a few final questions answered about resuscitating my old IT Master's degree. I had thought about doing so even before I went into the Print Media program in the fall, and after thinking on it long and hard, I decided that I could go back into IT and simply work in an area other than network administration, which tends to be - as I have expounded upon at length in this journal - astonishingly obnoxious work. So, I decided to go back and study Human-Computer Interaction, Game Design, and Learning and Knowledge Management Systems.
My program coordinator actually remembered me and we met for about 45 minutes. Because I just applied to RIT in the fall, I can get back into the IT program without formally reapplying, so this is a big shortcut. On top of that, a few of my old courses are still good (i.e., taken less than 7 years ago), so I can use those towards my new degree. She also exempted me from several courses I was either going to have to repeat after taking them previously and watching them expire because of the 7-year rule, or that repeated material I already learned as an undergrad about 10 years ago, so I have a lot more flexibility in my program of study and can more easily complete the degree. My History and Aesthetics of Animation course is also usable as part of my IT program, so in addition to simply being a fun and interesting course, the credits will not be wasted.
As a completely unexpected bonus, when I withdrew from my program in the fall, my GPA was reset to its undergraduate level, which was a 3.7. This was a far cry from my atrocious graduate GPA, which was so low I was almost put on academic probation the first time around. With no more serious illness in the family, this time through should be far smoother sailing, and if I'm given a clean slate with my GPA even after re-matriculating, then my GPA will no longer be in the dumps. I won't know about this part of it for sure until the end of November, which is when my fall quarter grades will be issued.
And as the piece de resistance, I was awarded a 30% scholarship, so that saves me over $10,000 in the first year alone. I also applied for an assistantship, which given my huge body of work experience, I have a real shot at receiving. If I get one of those, school is completely free, plus I get a stipend on top of it. I'm not sure when I'll find out if I will be awarded an assistantship.
Because of the way the course offerings are laid out, it may actually be feasible to complete two degrees at one time. There is a new Master's in Human-Computer Interaction (as opposed to just a concentration offered as part of a more general IT degree) that I am interested in, and will figure things out as I go along.
So, there we have it. School is coming together, and hopefully it's something I enjoy. There's enough flexibility in the degree path that I can make changes mid-stream without too much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Just being back in school (as opposed to being fairly idle and engaging in futile searches for IT work) has made me quite a bit happier and helped give me a lot of perspective on things. I've really managed to cut through a lot of the fog.
I'm trying to find work for summer and might be working out of state. Details at 11!