“One thing remains: economics. You must confront economics. Then, only then, an MBA will you be.” Well, I’m not pretending that a master’s degree from Western Governors University compares with the trials of becoming a Jedi Knight, but I confess it has been a slog that I’ll be glad to be through with. Which I almost am: as of today I’ve completed nine out of the eleven courses in the MBA program: after economics, only the capstone course remains. And then I’ll be done! Yay me!
For all its other shortcomings WGU does fantastically well at allowing you to go at your own pace (“competency-based education”), and mine is blazing-fast indeed (luckily for me, since I get bored quickly and easily…). By the one-month mark since I started, May 3, I should be well into the capstone project; by the end of the first week of May I may well be all done, a pace considerably quicker than I anticipated going into the program (if I recall correctly, I was originally projecting the middle of May).
I already know a lot about what’s covered in the economics course, and the capstone is, as its name suggests, a synthesis and application of previous competencies, so I’ve gotten a pretty full view of going from zero to MBA level. My favorite courses were honestly all the way back when I was amassing transfer credits with Sophia: specifically Art History and Project Management. My favorite course by far at WGU itself was Principles of Management way back in undergrad. I liked it whenever the courses touched on anything entrepreneurial or strategic, especially at a more theoretical level. Weirdly enough, I actually also kinda liked the human resources material, even though I don’t have too much interest in it.
My least favorite courses? They generally fall under operations, data, and accounting, all of which I found to be very tiresome. What does all that mean? I’m not sure. Maybe I should eschew anything too quantitative and detail-oriented and do something entrepreneurial at a high level in the arts? Which just confirms the track I’m on already with my dance-instructor training! Funny how that works.
It’s breathtaking to look at, my degree plan; 9 check marks, with only 2 courses left to go. I almost can’t take it in; I’ve almost made it all the way through to my ultimate goal of becoming a Master of Business Administration.
What will I do with the MBA after I graduate? Uh…that’s the hazy part. My current track is not the sort that requires any kind of a degree, much less an MBA, but you never know what sort of doors you might come across that a graduate degree might open, and now that I’m going to have one, I need no longer worry about having less credentials than all the other smart and well-educated people out there. That’s a big thing that will no longer be working against me.
And it will be a personal accomplishment that’ll always give me solace and encouragement: I completed a fully-accredited bachelor’s and master’s degree program in 9 months total (and less than 100 days of actual work). It’s been a slog, yes, but it’s been so, so worth it. Just gotta keep plugging away for that home stretch, and make it to the finish line.