Education can open employment doors for you

But you still have to find those doors

Proving your potential can secure an initial job

However its only the beginning of your career

To forge a successful career

Continued learning is essential

Combined with hard work and dedication

Plus a healthy dose of ambition

You might need to change course a few times

Be open to new opportunities

Take some measured risks

Accept your failures as learning experiences

Looking back on my own academic education

It was totally focussed on preparing me for the workforce

Giving me the technical skills to solve engineering problems

Plus the communication and organizational skills to do business

I do not remember attending any classes about being a good citizen

There was never a class on how to establish good relationships

No classes on parenting or bereavement

No classes on how to cope with your own aging parents

I never reached for an old schoolbook

When one of my kids was sick

Or if they were having problems at school

There were no standard formulas for solving those problems

No academic classes prepared me

For my own relationship failures

Or for dealing with my divorce

The schoolbook on all that was nowhere to be found

I have learned a lot outside my academic schooling

Informal classes from my own dedicated wonderful parents

Combined with advice and guidance from friends and family

This was and still is my school of life