The Decision

I mentioned yesterday that I've made a decision on my concentration. I've decided to concentrate within my MBA enrollment on the field of Information Systems.

This was definitely not an easy decision for me, as it means I'm completely changing my career path instead of developing along the path I've taken for the past eight years.

I've been mulling it over ever since I started this journey last Fall. In the end, it really came down to what I would enjoy more in the long-term. While I enjoy working in tax anf finance and banking, I'd been getting the feeling over the last couple of years that conventional opportunities might be somewhat limited, both within the department at the time and within the industry as a whole.

It also seems that all of my interests/hobbies over the last few years have had some technical bearing. Between blogging here, developing websites for APO, designing flyers/graphics for other reasons, or other non-poker related endeavors, I always seem to keep coming back to technical interests in my spare time.

It's been a looooooooong time since I've done any sort of hard-core programming, so it may take me a little while to get up to speed within those classes. I'm scheduled for my first CIS class in the Spring, along with several other classes. I'm not sure how many hours I will take next term - it could be anywhere between 9 and 18 credits. I have 36 credits to go, so if I take a full load in the Spring, I will probably be DONE by the end of 2008, a semester ahead of schedule.

Regardless, I think there will be much more of an opportunity in this path than there would be along the Finance path.

Besides, what's one more major life change?

I just hope I don't screw it up.

As for my classes this term - I might come out of this with anywhere from 3 A's and a B+ to 2 A-, 1 B and 1 C+. I think three of my classes are pretty much set and will all be either A or A-, but one exam today could put me anywhere on the map. The grading style has been a bit harsh for everyone in the class, so it's hard to pinpoint where it would go. I've been studying for a week solid now (which most people know is unique for me) and I'm still quite nervous about it.

In a worst case scenario, I have a 3.3 GPA this term. Considering how poorly I did as an undergrad, I'll still take it. I'd much rather hit a 3.8, if I do well on this exam tonight and my exams Monday. I'm expecting around a 3.5 for the term, which is pretty good for my first full-time semester in eight years.