MBA/Job Musings

When Aaron was at Carlson for his interview, he chatted with the Negotiations professor in the lunch line. After they got through the line, she started to walk off, then turned around and said to him, "Ask for money!" Well, Aaron figures it can't hurt. He's going to call up the financial aid office at Carlson and ask.

If he doesn't get any grants or scholarships, we would have to go into extreme debt to do it. Neither of us is up for that. It would take too long, at this point in our lives, to pay it off. We were prepared for him to come out of MBA school with a lower initial salary than he is getting right now. With $70-$80K in student loan payments, it would not be worth the time it would take to recover.

We just found out that BYU isn't an option. So, to quit Microboards, it's down to Carlson or a new job.

Aaron came up with something that might help with the job search: Certifications. Tech companies are wary to hire Aaron because they are worried he might not catch on to their technology quickly enough. Maybe if he had some programming certifications on his resume, it would demonstrate his technical ability. Since it makes sense to Microboards to have him learn Java right now, they authorized him to buy books on it. One of the books he chose is aimed at people working toward the first certification test. Once he learns it, it can't hurt to be certified, can it?

In the meantime, Aaron is sending resumes all over the place. On Saturday, he put in his resume with a company that does Flash storage. It is the technology that is replacing optical (which he tried to get Microboards to start developing a few years ago, and which is now inching their way into Microboards' market). They have a marketing position open right now. Hopefully, they'll recognize his value to taking over the optical market, and he'll get an interview.

I don't like not knowing what the future holds. I am much easier to motivate if I have something to work toward. If I knew Aaron was going to Carlson next year, I'd be searching all of the stores for penny-pinching savings on canned vegetables or toilet paper so that I could stock up enough for two years. If I knew we were preparing for a move, I'd be reducing in every possible way, buying new curtains and blinds for the rooms that need them, and putting our money in very different places. The two ideas don't completely mesh, and I'm at a standstill.

So I blog.