I have decided to pursue an MBA at the age of 50. Well, I actually started four years ago, took a course in human resource management that was too easy and then I took an accounting course. Well, that experience in itself threw me for a loop so I took a year off. I am now back at it. As of Augsut 23, I will have completed 6 of the 18 courses I need for my degree. I am just ticking them off as they come along.
Right now I am taking Statistics. I have never pleaded with God so much nor have spent so much time stalking my professor and taking advantage of every extra session I can take. It’s hard — really hard. And I have the nicest, most understandable professor in the world. She is organized, helpful and genuinely seems to want every person in our class to not just succeed, but excel.
I am still freaked out.
I am a very right brained person. I work with just about every file and shred of paper I have scribbled on sitting on top of my desk. Order does not appeal to me. Sequence doesn’t really excite me. I enjoy watching a problem or two be worked on and solved correctly. But after that I am bored.
So why the MBA? Put aside the quantative courses and I have a pretty good business head. I spent years working with the senior management of a financial services company. My English degree does not give me enough of a credential to move along. And since I have left the corporate world to work at a university (free MBA), I think the universe is delivering me a really big message that it’s time to get this degree and move on in my career.
It’s hard though. I am a single mother of a 16 year old girl who is more social than academic. She needs supervising still. I have a house, a dog and two cats. I have a social life and a job that his pretty demanding. As of tonight, I have spent about 24 hours focused on the first three chapters of my statistics book. I am bone tired. I have a whole load of stuff due next week including a mid term.
This is hard work. But it’s also good work. I am exercising a part of brain that rarely gets used right now. And I am hoping that my life’s purpose will unfold because I am still waiting to figure that out.
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i use a combo of shea butter and aloe vera moisturizer. Works great. I use shea butter on my lips, around my eyes and nose (dry areas), My father swears by vasoline.
p.s. I dropped your name on Gina's post, Barb. ;)
Hey, sweetie: I am in school at aage 63!! I won a scholarship when I was 61, but it wasn’t academic; it was because of what I wrote about my life. I was always a C student in high school, but I got a 4.0 in my last class (social work); I worked like a dog….sheer panic and fear did that, LOL
You are my inspiration!
I am 51 and heading back for my masters this fall. I actually have to go , move to school which will add to the experience. To do this I had to take statistics also. I am taking it on line which means I am self teaching myself statistics in a an accelerated course this summer. No teacher assistance, no help. I now understand why college kids drink so much, this is hard, very hard. I had no idea online meant on your own….completley. I didn’t even know how to use a calculater when I started and my last math course was in 1975! I just want to get through it. I hope the next few courses are easier, at least they will not be on line. Good luck with school, I am nervous and excited to do this this fall, now if I could just find a place to live in Boston I can afford I will be all set.
Thanks Kats…Good luck to you too. I started an online course and found it really hard too. I grew up outside of Boston. I hope you find the place of your dreams at the perfect price.
Betsy
I’ve no doubt you will get through this and succeed because you obviously know who you are, you know what your strengths are, and you are clear about your goal, why you want this and how it all fits.
Having this clarity doesn’t make statistics any easier, but without it one can flounder and really fall prey to doubt. Congrats on being 1/3 of the way to your MBA – that is substantial progress!
Hang in there, get a passing grade in stats and then put it behind you. The rest of the MBA will be great….trust me. And when you go for your doctorate (afterward this course) you are allowed to hire a statistician to crunch all those numbers needed in your dissertation. As far as being alone online, reach out to the online class rooms and tutors that are available. My doctorate course was my first online experience, and I honestly have to say, I’ll never go back to traditional classroom as a student or a professor.
I’m 54 and plan to finish writing my dissertation by March and look for a position as a professor. I’m so glad I went back to school in my late 40′s. It rewired my brain. Without my planning, I was given a research position that paid for my PhD.
Do your best and things you never imagined will happen.