Well, I guess i will take the plunge...I am married and have a young family. In the mid 90's I graduated from a very good 3 yr. Computer Science program at a local college. Here in Montreal, the equivalent would be getting an associate's degree (technical degree), with several of the courses eligible for university level credit. I started in year 1 with 60 people and 7 of us remained for graduation in the last term. The program was tough, but if you survived you were pretty much guaranteed a job if you didn't want to go to university. After working for 5 years I decided to go for a Bachelor's degree and was doing ok until I had to halt due to fatherhood. Another 5 years go by and I decided that I was beginning to stagnate at work (I have been with the same company in its various forms for the last 13 years - the last 5 as a technical Lead). Step 1 I decided was to work at getting my PMP certificate (Project Management Professional) by taking Villanova University's Mastering PM as preparation. I start course number 2/3, on Weds. and am excited to get going again. The next thing I had in mind was to complete my bachelor's degree, but then it occurred to me that taking courses at that level was pointless with my management and technical experience. I decided that going for a Master's Degree was what I really wanted to accomplish. And I also really didn't want to travel downtown all the time. I was accepted into Liverpool University's Online in the MSc of Information Systems Management and start in September. I am pleased to be in this program as it is a mix of MBA and technical courses that apply to the field (IT) I have dedicated myself to since the age of 14. I am hoping that by getting a PMP and MSc that I will give my career a bit of a kick-start and also look forward to learning a great number of new things. I am also an amateur astronomer and own an 8" Newtonian Optical tube assembly that is on a computerized mount. I played very competitive ice hockey growing up, but mainly these days play soccer (or football depending upon where you live). I also really enjoy watching the Premiership, Serie a and La Ligua as well as any quality match that comes on when not working or taking care of family responsibilities. I consider myself a bit of a consumer advocate, so am watching with interest the the ongoing discussions/debates/tussles with the diploma-mills. Eventually, once I become a bit more knowledgeable about the field of DL I'll become a bit more involved. Its sad to see some of the stuff that's being sold, and that people will pay for degrees that they haven't earned.
Hi Kizmet. My favorite (though i suffer for it) team is Bolton wanderers. Though, I secretly support Chelseafrom time to time.