I\’m trying to figure this out. Education.

I have two bachelor\’s degrees. Liberal Studies and Accounting. I\’m an engineer by profession, having started as a technician and worked my way up. If I want to progress beyond this stage it\’s not required to have a degree, but it\’s unusual.

I might have written about that before.

Anyway, I\’ve been trying to help someone close to me, who has no degree, and in many ways doesn\’t seem apt to get one. This person is trying to figure out a career and I\’m trying to help them. But I\’ve stressed to them that it doesn\’t matter what your credential is. It matters what you produce. So why, then, do I want to pursue further education?

Part of it, I know, is that it\’s expected in my field. I can\’t even take the professional exam for engineers due to my lack of engineering education. It\’s irritating.

That said, I know I\’d flunk said exam. I\’m not ready for it. I\’m way more ready than I was two years ago, but not there.

The \”entrepreneur\” pipe dream rears its ugly head regularly. It\’s hard to say, \”No, I\’m an employee and I\’m OK with that for now.\” It really is. I think I\’ve got a decent amount of ambition, but I really feel like engineering is where I\’m…called. That\’s who I am. That\’s what I want to be. Science, technology, and being a nerd in the best possible sense is the guy I want to be. It\’s who I identify with. I can fake it in some other realms, and recognize that I have abilities that aren\’t strictly in the typical \”nerd\” pantheon (I.e., writing). But still, that\’s where I find myself wanting to be. That\’s where I find myself being successful. And that\’s where I should remain.

But the question, still, is what do I do educationally? I\’m enrolled in an ABET certified online college in EE. I can take classes. Do I want to? My employer will pay for it entirely. I\’ve paid for the part I need to; they\’ll pay for the rest. But when push comes to shove, and the need arises, I\’m going to need to study. But I have seven kids. And a lovely wife. And other responsibilities. Grrrrrr…. Life is complicated.

I think I\’m going to take the classes and see what happens. May as well try!