Words On Wednesday

I am finished with my Master of Science degree in Information Technology from Southern New Hampshire University as of December 1, 2023. Thank goodness. This has been a very roundabout journey. I first started seriously entertaining the idea of a master’s degree back in 2017. I was becoming eligible for my employer’s tuition reimbursement policy and I wanted to take advantage of it as quickly as possible. The longer you wait to start, the longer until you’re able to finish. I didn’t want to wait another year, two, or even longer before I got started. My uncle has a philosophy that it never gets easier, so you may as well do it now. Figured I had better get the ball rolling. As of October 2017, I was finishing my first term . I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and much less weathered than I am now. Things looked positive, and I was pretty confident about my ability to finish on schedule and with little difficulty. Things got rocky with that employer and I went on an indefinite...

  Information Technology and the Capstone My experience with the capstone class and Information Technology program as a whole has been enlightening and reflects observable personal and professional growth. When I began working toward this degree in 2017, I was far less confident in my ability to engineer software solutions and I lacked the experience to properly market myself. After pausing my education temporarily and enduring a job layoff with several subsequent career changes, I found a position that I like with an ambitious company and resumed classes to completion. Although it took me six years to finish a program that was intended to take two years, the experiences along the way have helped me grow and develop, and encouraged me to take on challenges that I would never have considered before. I have gained enormous confidence in my skill as an IT professional, and I now know how to market myself with my storied background and natural talent. The Information Technology pro...

As I come up on the end of my first term at Southern New Hampshire University, I figured it's as good a time as any to give an update on my progress so far. First and foremost, I'm doing remarkably well in class. For IT-510 Advanced Information Technology, I have 386.9 of the 395 possible points so far, resulting in a 98%. For the first few weeks, I read the textbook like a good student should. Lately... I've just Googled things as I needed them. Concepts that I didn't understand, I look over the first few Google results and wing it. Clearly, it's worked well for me so far. The only points that I have lost through the entire term have been based on formatting, since I didn't adhere strictly to APA style. Did I mention that I hate formatting? On the other hand, I feel like the people that I'm in class with are surprisingly ignorant for a master's program. The spelling and grammar errors in discussion posts are prolific. I figured people that would pur...