Was it Worth it?

A year and a half ago, I attended a wedding of a dear friend and randomly had a conversation with an older man who was pretty successful in his career and on the verge of retirement. To the best of my memory (and actually there were others there who can attest to the fact that this is actually accurate) the conversation went a little something like this:

Man: So what do you do?
Me: I just finished my MBA and am a marketer at a small company.
Man: Oh congratulations! Where did you get your MBA?
Me: USC.
Man: Really! Now tell me, what rank is USC business school these days? I mean, is it even worth it to go and spend money for a school that's not even in the Top Tier?
Me: (Literally LOL.) Well, USC is ranked about 21 these days, but I don't think ranking is the most important thing when you're choosing a school! And besides, people go to business school for different reasons. I was an English major in undergrad so I thought it would be a good idea for me to broaden my horizons and learn more about business!
Man: Psssshhh...English. Now that's a useless major!
Me: (Literally LOL...again.) Well, it's not so bad. It helps people with their communications and writing skills!
Man: Oh, I suppose. What did you study as an English major? I assume you read the Classics like The Iliad and The Aeneid?
Me: PUH-leeez! I translated those from Latin to English in high school! No, as an English major, you study the English writers such as Chaucer, Milton, and Shakespeare! But I focused a lot on women Romantic writers because I liked that the most. Oh, hey! My drink is empty! Please excuse me!

Fast forward to 2010...this weekend, I attended an online marketing lecture, given by Lorrie Thomas (if you Google her, she's the Marketing Therapist - not the accused murderer) at UC Berkeley extension, as part of my ongoing efforts to expand my horizons. Before the class we went around the room and gave brief introductions of ourselves and it turns out about 30% of the class was unemployed - I suppose a sad sign of the times. During a break, I was chatting with a few people and the conversation went something like this:

Girl #1: So you went to business school? Where did you go?
Me: USC.
Girl #2: So how's that working out for you?
Me: Ha! Apparently not that well, since I'm sitting here right now!

Anyway, since then, I've been thinking about the fact that I did indeed go to business school and really have nothing but my diploma to show for it! I took out a shitload of loans (thank goodness it was only 2 years, not 4 like medical school) and I haven't recovered even half of it! Not to mention my forgone salary from my old job and all the on-the-go job experience I would have accumulated!! I'm no financial analyst, but it doesn't take a genius to put these facts and my blog together to realize that I'm not optimizing my ROI for this particular investment!

However, when it's all said and done, right now I'm still glad I went. It was a great experience to get out of the industry I was in, work on a diverse set of projects, and in general learn more about leadership from smart people with different professional backgrounds than myself. Although I do have to say, when my little bitch of a friend, Sallie Mae, comes calling once a month, I do get pretty annoyed...but to answer some questions..."Was it worth it and is it working out for me" to have gone to business school? It's debatable...but as my career is a marathon and not a sprint, ask me again in another 10 years. :)

Do I really need money?

I think I've become a little desperate in my attempt to find meaningful work. Case in point, I recently applied to a job that offered no money and no benefits. Um...what? I even had an interview with the CEO of the company. Actually it wasn't really an interview, it was more of a phone call where the guy tried to sell me on himself and his buddy and their start up company idea. I guess it sounded pretty interesting, and both of the guys had some pretty impressive stints in their career, but really? To work without getting paid? I haven't done that since I was 19 years old and interned at Soap Opera Digest! At least back then I got to watch soaps all afternoon and then Oprah at 3pm while getting free lunch everyday!

These days, my expenses are WAY greater than when I had that unpaid internship. I mean, I just spent a shitload of money on graduate school tuition! Well, fine I borrowed it, but that's even worse because I actually have to pay that money back!! Gone are the days when the only reason to work is to get an LV bag and at the rate I'm going now, I'm lucky if I can even afford this trash bag!



Hmmmm....Ok, after much consideration, I just don't think I can do it. Sorry folks...the reality is, I need to get paid so that I can start paying back Sallie effing Mae.