Why Go Back to School?

In his book You’re Not That Great: (but neither is anyone else), Bachelor Executive Producer Elan Gale argues that a negative mindset is more motivational than a positive one. Many success stories, he contends, are the result of trying to prove someone wrong. In other words, we want to teach the haters a lesson by becoming successful.

In my case, I decided to get a science degree more than 10 years ago when pregnant with my daughter and unemployed. Getting a degree in computer science would be the ultimate way to address a major case of imposter syndrome. Attempting to switch career tracks as a mom in my 30s and 40s was a daunting prospect. People (imaginary haters) might ask, “Who is this old lady telling me about computers, she can’t possibly know what she’s talking about!” Maybe a CS degree would prove them wrong.

Major life choices like getting a BS can be difficult

Why Computer Science

My first degree was a BA in English from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. The youth of today might refer to this as a “chill” program. Not because it is the eighth coldest campus in the United States, but because it was relatively easy. I won a writing award for doing a Freudian interpretation of the 1970s zombie movie Dawn of the Dead. Yes, that’s the kind of thing you win an award for when you are an English major.

To decide on a new degree, I made a list of all of the science degrees I was interested in – economics, life sciences, computer science. Then I looked into the requirements and the career areas for those degrees. After a while, it became clear that computer science would have the most practical application for my career and was a reasonably good investment. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics consistently shows a great median pay and job outlook for computer science.

Why Spend the Money on a Degree

Before being unemployed and pregnant, I had worked as a QA tester in a video game studio full of engineers and designers. A few of the engineers taught me a little bit about coding – which had inspired me to learn more about it. One of them was adamant that you don’t need a degree or formal education to code.

I’m sure he is right. There are certainly many examples of highly successful people in tech without traditional degrees. But research suggests that the financial success can be linked to degrees and certifications.

Conquering Math

For me, the ultimate roadblock in any science degree would be math. I knew a computer science degree would require some math. Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy notes how math competency builds on each previous skill. If you are not solid in Algebra, you will struggle with Calculus. If you have any gaps in your fundamental math skills, those compound each time you try to learn something new.

I spent many of my pregnant days on Khan Academy progressing through the math modules. I started with elementary school math where I found weaknesses in my times tables. Khan Academy took me all the way through algebra and geometry. After that, I took formal online courses through the university of California in pre-calculus, calculus I and calculus II. This process was not easy, I cried on more than one occasion.

An online degree is helpful for non-traditional students

Choosing OSU

It may be harder to imagine now, but back in the day when I began researching programs, traditionalists believed an online degree did not provide quality or legitimacy. For me, the choice was to either get an online degree or to do nothing. As a new mom, the fact that it was online made it possible. Once I decided that doing nothing was not an option, the decision was obvious.

Oregon State University’s online Post-Bachelor’s in Computer Science seemed like a straightforward path to complete the degree. (Of course, it took me a few times to be accepted into the program as I worked my way through the math requirements. )

Was it Worth it

Five painstaking years later, I’m on the precipice of completing my degree and being in the program has allowed me the career change I have been looking for.

While the imposter syndrome is still there, I often remind myself of all of the difficult technical classes I made it through to get here. That confidence is ultimately what my pregnant unemployed self needed to silence the haters.

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2 thoughts on “Why Go Back to School?

  1. Sowjanya

    Well, Going back to school isn’t a completely bad idea. The main issue we are facing in recent times of the pandemic is isolation and less socialization. Many of us may not be able to pursue the basic education due to many reasons but it is never late to go back to school and pursue our dreams.

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