Decisions
Ok, I am faced with a major decision. My new employer offers tuition reimbursement in the amount of 10K per year. They will pay for one advanced degree. I thus have three options:
1) The University of Denver offers a fascinating program. It's a Master's in Data Mining. Data Mining is what I really enjoy and how I want to direct my short to mid-term career goals. Data Mining is (A) essentially the art of going into a Data Warehouse, extracting all of the data and finding associations that nobody else has found. It can also be (B) the practice of using known data to predict what would happen under various circumstances. It is a very statistical based practiced when done right and uses software such as SAS. I have found that I am very good at the former and would love to get into the later. I have NO doubt that I would succeed and enjoy it.
2) One of my long term goals/dreams is to teach. I would love to teach on a college level. I have two problems. The first problem is that I don't know what I would want to get a PhD in. There are so many things that I could see myself teaching... Accounting/Business, History, Religion, heck I'd even be interested in psychology (The post on TCK's got my juices going there.) I also like Ethics and Cultural Diversity... But then there is the second problem, I know that I am smarter than most people. But I don't know if I am PhD smart. I look at some people on here (my wife, Raayat, Fox-C and OUTOTORO jump out at me) and can definately see them having the brains to earn PhD's. But do I? I know that I can work at a Master's level---I've done it successfully on two occassions already. But can I really perform at the PhD level? Does my very asking this question mean that I don't? I know that I'm smart... but I know that there are a lot of people smarter than me... I also know that having a PhD doesn't necessarily mean that you are smart.
3) The third option is one that has faded somewhat. I love tax and law. The University of Denver also has a program wherein you can earn a law degree AND Masters in Taxation. Good money there! I would have been VERY interested in that a few years ago, but my career has taken me away from that route.
What do I do? Do I go after a Master's degree which fills a short term objective, which I know I have the skill to achieve? Or do I go after a PhD, which is a little more of a stretch, but would enable a longer term dream to become a reality?
As you will read in my next posts, us TCK's love to continue to learn... it's almost an obsession.
1) The University of Denver offers a fascinating program. It's a Master's in Data Mining. Data Mining is what I really enjoy and how I want to direct my short to mid-term career goals. Data Mining is (A) essentially the art of going into a Data Warehouse, extracting all of the data and finding associations that nobody else has found. It can also be (B) the practice of using known data to predict what would happen under various circumstances. It is a very statistical based practiced when done right and uses software such as SAS. I have found that I am very good at the former and would love to get into the later. I have NO doubt that I would succeed and enjoy it.
2) One of my long term goals/dreams is to teach. I would love to teach on a college level. I have two problems. The first problem is that I don't know what I would want to get a PhD in. There are so many things that I could see myself teaching... Accounting/Business, History, Religion, heck I'd even be interested in psychology (The post on TCK's got my juices going there.) I also like Ethics and Cultural Diversity... But then there is the second problem, I know that I am smarter than most people. But I don't know if I am PhD smart. I look at some people on here (my wife, Raayat, Fox-C and OUTOTORO jump out at me) and can definately see them having the brains to earn PhD's. But do I? I know that I can work at a Master's level---I've done it successfully on two occassions already. But can I really perform at the PhD level? Does my very asking this question mean that I don't? I know that I'm smart... but I know that there are a lot of people smarter than me... I also know that having a PhD doesn't necessarily mean that you are smart.
3) The third option is one that has faded somewhat. I love tax and law. The University of Denver also has a program wherein you can earn a law degree AND Masters in Taxation. Good money there! I would have been VERY interested in that a few years ago, but my career has taken me away from that route.
What do I do? Do I go after a Master's degree which fills a short term objective, which I know I have the skill to achieve? Or do I go after a PhD, which is a little more of a stretch, but would enable a longer term dream to become a reality?
As you will read in my next posts, us TCK's love to continue to learn... it's almost an obsession.