Sunday, March 12, 2006

University Applications...

i have come to an important junction in my life. It was time for me to start thinking about where i would like to be in the next 5 to 10 years.

All these thoughts resulted in me realizing that a masters qualification from a reputed university was of utmost importance. Why? well, this was what i was thinking,

1. i have grown within the organization i work for and have now come to a certain level of seniority. However, in order to differentiate myself from the others, and to improve my value proposition, i need something else. A boost. A different experience. An edge in technology know-how. (this can be challeged though, as people in the industry may actually be the trend setters and the ones who use and evangelize cutting edge technologies)

2. To go back to the books now would actually give me a well deserved break from the stress and high adrenaline lifestyle i now am very much a part of.

3. It would also allow me to view information technology and its usage from a different view point. I'm saying this only because i have been in the same company since i graduated 6 years ago, and my world has been this organization. I think its about time i experienced how other companies tackle the same problems we faced, etc.

4. It will create an environment in which i will be able to meet, form relationships and work with others with similar interests, thus giving me the opportunity to have friends in the industry all over the world.

5. If i am able to excel in my masters (hopefully :) ), i will be able to have the backing of the university and the professors i studied under. This could be important later on in my future endevours.

I'm sure there's more....

Anyways all this thinking resulted in me
- Going in search of recommenders, worrying the life out of them until they provided me with countless recommendation letters.
- hunting down suitable universities which provided the courses i would love study
- Feeling disappointed after realizing that i do not meet the minimum academic entry requirements as i have a second lower honours undergrad degree. (Bloody hell ! They dont seem to care about all the hard work i have put in the last 6 years, and that i have come to a level which is just short of being a software architect. :) ofcourse i need more years of experience to be a really good one !! )
- Filling in many university application forms
- Photo copying and certifying transcripts and other certs
- Studying for a freaking GRE exam which was another saga on its own
- and finally spending an obscene amount of money fed-exing my applications to all parts of the US and UK.

I just hope its all worth it in the end.... (fingers crossed)

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