Saturday, May 11, 2013

Fortune Favors The Bold - A Personal Update

I've lived by that saying for a while now, "fortune favors the bold", and I believe it. With my time at Milwaukee Area Technical College coming to a close, I have made a few large life decisions. First of all, as some of my followers may know already, I've been accepted to the Milwaukee School of Engineering for the Management Information Systems program starting this fall. Continuing my education at such a well respected college is a step I feel I need to take in my ongoing journey to be a well rounded IT Professional. I will enter the school as a Junior. After talking with a few past students I have learned that the Junior year at MSOE is the most difficult, but honestly, I am excited and looking forward to the challenge.

Second of all, I've been actively seeking employment in the field for a couple of months now, and the road block I continuously run into is lack of experience. In an effort to counteract this, I am forming my own LLC to do contract IT work, and to consult small businesses on social media marketing. This move will have a two fold effect. First of all, holding the LLC shows a level of professionalism to potential clients over other individuals who are just using word of mouth, posting flyers, or Craigslist to seek work. Secondly, I've received two contract offers from small businesses to create, update, and manage their social media presence and I would like to handle that in a professional manner. Now, the LLC is just supplementary work for myself right now, as I am still working full time and seeking full time employment. I understand that there is a chance that when I do finally find entry level IT work for a company, I may face a cut in pay from what I earn currently, so I will maintain the LLC to offset any loss in pay. And who knows, maybe I will have enough success that I can turn my small business into full time employment... Well, a boy can dream, can't he?

Finally, the third, and easily biggest life choice I have made is that I asked my girlfriend of over 2 years to marry me. Without her support, none of this could be possible, and I am grateful to have her in my life. This decision also adds to my motivation to succeed professionally, as now it's not just me anymore, is us.

If you've got any comments, tips, words of encouragement, or anything at all, feel free to leave a comment, or contact me on Twitter: @ExploreVM