GPA counts. When I first entered college, I assumed I knew how to study, and I followed the advice of counselors who said they knew it all. They didn’t. Neither did I! My GPA suffered as a result and this altered my path to something other than medicine. It took two years to learn how to study, but my scientific curiosity drove me onwards.
The major I finally chose, molecular biology, led nowhere. I discovered that a Master’s Degree is a “hiring point,” but it’s the “education” which has enhanced my income over the years, regardless of the circumstance. College was not a waste of time or money. Here’s why.
I took dozens of science courses at UCLA, followed by “breadth requirements,” including English composition. These led me to compose written and spoken thoughts well. Computers fascinated me and I took several courses in programming and systems analysis.
First job: grow human skin for burn victims. This career lasted only until we discovered that the practices I was using in tissue culture weren’t yielding any viable skin. Nobody knew why, including me.
That job ended, forcing me to take “the next available job.” “Customer Service” yielded an opportunity to learn about the mortgage industry. I learned and documented all the business rules of home lending and loan servicing. My love of computers and programming led me to something called “a spreadsheet,” (Visicalc) which fascinated me. I observed the a program called “DBASE” and became even more fascinated. I self-taught and absorbed rapidly, quickly learning I could design databases and program business rules to make programs more helpful for my co-workers.
I became an I/T manager and an industry expert; people simply listened as I had the words and the knowledge base. Presentations became a critical function of my job. I became comfortable with the worst fear any human can face: public speaking!
All this came crashing down with the “dot-com” debacle of 2002. I’d formed a small corporation which I closed due to lack of business.
I floated and used my education and hands to be a handyman, leaving California. I bought and built a ranch. The construction industry went south these past few years, leaving me drifting again.
Then, I stumbled upon a rather odd combination of job requirements: (1) must know everything about science and local geology and (2) be able to relate it to large audiences. Read: tour guide.
Now, I conduct tours of the Grand Canyon, using every facet of my scientific knowledge to relate all I see to a diverse audience. This job evolved into management, and now I find myself on the brink of having to write new systems and databases to support a busy tour company.
As I perform this management/tour guide/programming job, I also have found that I greatly enjoy writing and composition, which leads me to this article.
Where shall I go next? Hmmm….Only the wind knows.