I am 50 years old.
I’m not going to lie: My reasons for getting a master’s degree at my age are primarily motivated by greed. In short, I want a better job with a higher pay check. It’s also true, however, to say that I’ve always wanted a master’s degree, and there were always reasons why it wasn’t possible. Finances, family, work: There were always reasons.
As the years increased, those reasons decreased. My employer contributes to my tuition. My husband is extremely supportive. My kids are now in college.
Most of all, UO offered this program, which I find irresistible: A chance to further explore the ever-changing roles of communication in a technologically advanced, social media landscape. New media has changed how we communicate and how we think about the world. The opportunity to better understand how media has changed, and how to better utilize its potential, is exciting. We are living, if not making, communication history like never before. I want to be an active participant in the revolution.
So, after almost 15-plus years in print journalism and another 10 in corporate communications, I’m heading back to the classroom. I’ll admit to being nervous. But, as I mentioned earlier, I’m mostly excited to have this opportunity.
Hi Melissa — Like you, I have worked long enough and in both aisles (PR and journalism) to live through the changes in media technologies and to see how the world shrank and is still shrinking in the (usually friendly) clutches of entities like Google, Facebook and the folks at Huffington Post. A big question for me is whether this has, on the whole, expanded our horizon as individuals — as media consumers and content creators — in terms of being more respectful of other points of views and feeling a real sense of community with people who don’t necessarily share our culture, creed and ,yes, color.
Hi Melissa,
I easily related to your post, and thank you for your honesty -not a lot of people will come out and say what their motivation is, or at least mention the word ‘greed’ and ‘higher-pay’ after revealing a more altruistic reasons, first. I recently turned 39 and I feel that the time is right (although I am expecting my first child on Thanksgiving).
I, too, am excited and nervous. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve taken a credited college course. I wish you all the best of luck and I look forward to sharing this experience with you.
Question: If you would have known about this Masters program, say, 10 years ago, do you think it would have piqued your interest?
Hey Jamie!
“Life” would have definitely gotten in my way 10 years ago, so the short answer to your question is no. Not because I wouldn’t have found the program appealing, but because 10 years ago, I had children in the 8-11 age bracket and a less-than-supportive husband. All grad school programs became more appealing when my kids turned 18 and 21 and my then-husband became the “ex” husband.
Hey Melissa,
I find your path from print journalism to corporate communications to back in the classroom interesting. What made you decide to switch from journalism to corporate communications? What did you find more fulfilling, professionally? I, too, am excited to see how the landscape is going to change. I was thinking the other day about how I was in middle school when the internet really became something, and that was when pretty much everyone was on dial-up. It really doesn’t seem like that long ago. It’s hard to even picture what it will look like in the next 10 or 15 years. Do you think newspapers will have found a way to adjust to the changes by then? Will actual ink-on-paper newspapers still even be around?
Hey Kevin!
Actually I’m still in corporate communications at OHSU. I got out of journalism because I had two children and my (now ex-) husband was a newspaper photographer. Two parents in print journalism – with unpredictable hours and low paychecks – just didn’t work for us. After nearly 15 years as a journalist, I was making less that the state (Wisconsin) poverty level. And, of course, in journalism, I was working nights, weekends and holidays which didn’t leave me much time to see my kids, particularly once they started school. So …
I, too, wonder if ink-on-paper will survive. Online may be the only publication on the horizon.
Melissa,
I am in the same boat as you in hoping that communications work will pay better than journalism. However, I am so driven to mission-driven communication that I fear that unless I go the corporate sustainability/governance route, I won’t be making a ton more than a journalist. But we shall see. I am looking forward to being in class with you.
Natalie
I left that whole money piece out of my post. Kudos to you. It’s not greedy to want a better paying job to support a family. That’s why so many people immigrate legally or illegally to the US every day – we all want to give the best life we can for our children. I left TV when I got married because, like you, my wife and I both worked in TV and together still barely crept past the poverty line. I knew if I wanted a family, a home and the ability to put my eventual kids into sports/art/music/whatever their passion is, I would need a job with more of a return.
How do you see this program changing your career path? Where do you hope to go I guess is my question?
Melissa I loved the honesty here it’s refreshing in this day in age where it seems like everyone has a different agenda. What is oddly similar is that we have similar reasons for entering the program, we both have wanted Masters degrees, and honestly we both want higher paychecks. Right now I think it is hard to blame anyone for wanting that.
What do you see this program doing to your current job? Do you see it helpuing you make a transition into the new medias easier or almost hands on training in what has become the future of journalism?
Hi Melissa,
I share your nervousness. But I think its awesome that you are getting your master’s degree at 50! I am always trying to encourage friends and family that its never too late to do what you want. And I even have to remind myself of that from time to time. I too want to be an active participant in the revolution that is taking place. It inspires me to hear you say this, because a few times that I have expressed similar feelings to colleagues older than myself I have been met with cynicism, or they write it off as me simply being young and naive. As if optimism is reserved only for the young. Well I’m not that young, and I have been around and seen a lot of hard times, and I still feel optimistic and think there is a lot we can do in these current times of change. It really excites me that everyone in our program seems to share a lot of the same feelings. I can’t wait to see where the next year takes us!
Hi all,
We’ve only just begun our journey together I am already so excited to have a diverse range of ages, backgrounds and years of experiences all coming to the table in this program. While the readings, assignments, projects, etc. will expand all of our skills and knowledge I really look forward to learning from the breadth of knowledge that we all carry and will be sharing with each other.
I think it’s so interesting that we are all (likely) coming into the program at the right time and have had just the right bits of experience to both launch from and add value to each others learnings. I started studying for the GMAT’s maybe 8 years ago with the anticipation of going into an MBA program but instead I decided to start two businesses (likely the craziest thing I’ve ever done!) because while it wasn’t necessarily a practical move, it was what felt right. I could have never dreamed of what I was able to experience, learn and accomplish during that time and because of that choice, as Jamie said in her intro post, I’ve found myself HERE where it feels so good and right! Nervous, eager and excited to be on this journey with you all!
Especially coming from a less traditional background I’m incredibly nervous and excited about
I appreciate the candidness on this thread about the desire to increase our marketability to receive higher pay in our work.