I had mentioned in a previous post that I was up for a promotion
at my company. I found out today that
the job went to someone else.
Am I disappointed?
Well, sure…I’m only human. I don’t
believe any educational backgrounds came into play in the decision-making
process. In fact, it wasn’t really
stated exactly why the decision came down the way it did, but in the words of
Ricky Bobby in the movie “Talladega Nights”…”if you ain’t first, you’re last”.
I was convinced that I was perfect for the position, but hey…that’s
the way it goes. Sometimes decisions are
made that affect you and they are completely out of your control.
As I sat at home and stewed about this turn of events (which
wasn’t totally unexpected, by the way), I thought about adult learners, like
me, who are working hard, working a full time job and balancing that with
school, too. They do this to get ahead in
life…to get that great job or promotion at work. The degree, they reason, will help them
accomplish this.
Well, yes and no. I
firmly believe the degree will get you in the door. What you do once you are inside is completely
up to you. For example, somebody with a
MBA who doesn’t have any people skills and rubs all of his co-workers the wrong
way probably isn’t going to get very far, no matter how smart he may be. There are other things that come into play at
the job site other than A. How much
education you have and B. How well you do your job.
I guess the quicker I put this behind me, the better off I
will be. There will be other promotions,
other jobs and other opportunities down the road. If there is one thing I have learned during
my many years of experience in the Real World, it’s that a job is “just a job”…it’s
not your life, and it should not define who you are as a person.