The question is going back to college attending De Anza College 2009-2011 worth it? My answer yesterday was time will tell earning an AA degree in Accounting pays off for my next career. My answer today is a waste of time because the jobs I worked the degree was useless. My answer tomorrow is unknown.
There were two reasons I choose to attend De Anza College during the great recession. The first reason was to correct my mistakes when I attended San Jose State University. I failed to experience a good college student life. San Jose State University was a commuter university. Students came to campus, went to classes, and leave to go home. Some of the mistakes I corrected attending De Anza College were making new friends, making life mistakes, seeking new adventures, experiencing new experiences, watching a lot of movies, studying half-ass for some classes earning a high grade, and reading more fiction books. The second reason was increasing my knowledge for my next career. Companies laid-off people during the great recession. Companies were not hiring. I used my indefinite free time earning a degree instead of sitting around watching TV and playing video games.
There were life mistakes I committed I failed to correct while attending De Anza College. The first mistake was I didn't job searching at the minimum casually. I might have struck a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow landing a job. Two friends found jobs in 2009. One of them still works at the company. The second was laid-off; fortunately, he found another job two months later. The second mistake was I didn't devote time to learn new job skills and refresh existing job skills outside the classroom. I spent most of my free time having too much fun.
On the other hand, I'm the best person I have ever been in my life. My time at De Anza College, being unemployed multiple times, and my two contract jobs allowed me to find missing puzzle pieces to become independent:
*Ballroom dancing. My sister was an amateur ballroom dancer. She introduced me to ballroom dancing in Jan 2009.
*Wake up call after failing an interview Excel test. I started learning new job skills and refreshing existing job skills while working at my first job in June 2014. Some of the new job skills I learned were Oracle, Python, VBA, and forecasting. Some of the existing job skills I reviewed were Excel, Salesforce, and SQL. I continue learning and refreshing today.
*I dated alien cat. We shared new adventures and new experiences. Some of her knowledge and wisdom I use today such as expanding my genre in books, hiking new trails, playing new board games, and patting myself with a towel after a shower. I watched some of her old recommended good television series.
*Podcasts. I listen to four podcasts: Sex With Emily, Awesome Etiquette, Freakonomics, and Car Talk which is rebroadcasting reruns.
*Anime retirement. I retired from anime in Sep 2014. It was time to close the anime hobby chapter.
*Best physical health. I workout at the gym 4-5 days a week. I was last sick on May 2014.
*Life lesson no cancelling out good and bad. For example, I minimize eating out. Working out at the gym 4-5 days a week doesn't cancel eating processed foods, going out to restaurants, drinking soda, and eating sweets. I also minimize eating junk food.
*Mahjong (Riichi). I have improved my skills playing Mahjong (Riichi).
*Zion National Park. I backpacked and camped for the first time on Oct 2015.
*First consulting job. A cousin hooked me up with a retired banker who's doing consulting work. I helped him with his assignments. He gave me a portion of his consulting fee.
*New emotions. "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path" is a common cliché life lesson. I experience new emotions being there and experiencing them: not giving up backpacking at Zion National Park; willpower hiking at Mission Peak in Sep 2015; courage spending less time with most of my friends because they're holding me back and I'm not contributing to them; nothing to lose attitude while job searching since Apr 2015 because I'm done with data entry jobs.
*Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. The biography is one of my all time favorite books. A lesson I learned is building a good and long lasting company. The money is going to come. Similarly, I work intelligently to become a good person. The opportunities are coming. Independence is coming. The money is coming.
I'm hoping my answer going back to De Anza is a good choice tomorrow. The late Steve Jobs said we connect the dots looking backwards. We can't connect the dots looking forward. Maybe my Accounting degree helps me for my next job. I'm waiting patiently for the rewards. The journey continues.
Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com
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