Why I am at MATC or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dysfunction

I've been in and out of college (twice at UW-Milwaukee and now on my second tour of learning here at MATC) since I got out of the USMC in the Fall of '04. I'd gone from Journalism (UWM) to Logistics (MATC) back to Journalism (UWM) and then finally Computer Support here at MATC last summer. Somewhere in there I also went to PC Pro School for a couple months (don't bother). 

Around spring time last year my wife and I had recently gotten engaged and I decided it'd be a good idea to finally finish some kind of a degree (Y'know, because working full time, remodeling a house and planning a wedding can only fill your day up so much). I wasn't exactly dead set on anything in particular, but I decided that it was going to be something computer related since that's always been my natural inclination anyway. 

I had some classes transfer from prior semesters here at MATC as well as a few from UWM, so I wasn't starting entirely from scratch, but I wasn't getting any younger either. Around the same time I started teaching myself some basic VBA code at work so I could redesign some word forms we used along with customizing some spreadsheets. I already knew some SQL so I figured, given the time, I could hodge podge things together. However, the more I taught myself, the more frustrated I became because I started getting ideas on things to do, but I had no idea how to do them. So I'd pound Google for answers. It's kind of like knowing you want to take the scenic route through the mountains on your way to California; only you don't have a map. 

So, after spending two semesters in Computer Support and taking my A+, Databasing I decided I'm not, nor will I ever be, a hardware guy so I made the dive and enrolled in the Programmer/Analyst degree. 

At work I design Database reports and queries and customizations on our ERP system. So I regularly use the things I learn in class to both code GUI interfaces as well as the SQL knowledge I need to get the data I need.

It's been a long hard road, and the road beyond is tougher still, but with a little luck (and some cooperating program schedulers) I'll have my degree by next Fall. Next stop : Bachelor's degree before I'm 50.