Creating My Future

I have been at the same company for almost 7 years now. For most of the time I have been happy and thankful to be part of many teams working on various projects at a fast pace.

All of that rang true until a year and a half ago. Without warning my boss took away my favorite projects and warned other departments not to work with me. I was, and still am, devastated but it has forced me to decide what is next for me. Should I stay with the company or move on to new adventures?

It has taken me a year and a half of thinking about my next career move to decide what is next. The major problem I have been facing is exactly what I want to do since I have many interests and have trouble narrowing them down.

Suddenly it seems as if the skies have opened and I have this new realization that I need to LEAVE and move on to bigger and better things. Not only that, but I have decided to focus on digital marketing.

I have applied to digital marketing jobs knowing I have the confidence that I can do the job, but unfortunately, I am not getting any calls back. It is not surprising since I really don’t have any experience.

What am I to do? How do I get the experience that I need? From reading the job descriptions I know the skills, and experience, companies are wanting but it looks daunting. So many skills and so little time. How am I supposed to gain all that experience while working full time?

That is when I came across an ad for Udacity and their online Digital Marketing Nano Degree program. I explored the syllabus and got excited when I saw that I would be learning ALL the skills that I need for digital marketing in once place. Most importantly, for me, is that I get a certificate, or something similar, to put on my resume to show companies that I HAVE the skills and experience they are looking for.

Another aspect that is important is that it is flexible! The course is online which worked great with my schedule. Better yet, I could finish the course in 3 months! That is basically a blink of an eye. In 3 months I would have a whole new set of skills for a new career path.

I took the plunge. I have signed up for the program because I am done thinking and trying to plan the future. I have to ACT since I want to CREATE my own future.

I am in the midst of the program and I am enjoying it. The program makes me feel confident that I am actively participating in creating my own future and career for myself.