In the midst of completing my final project for Sales Promotion this past Sunday, I took a few hours off to fete my friend, Sarah, who completed her second bachelor?s at Virginia Commonwealth University May 17. With top honors in forensics science (total career shift from her English background)!

Believe me, it was no small effort to leave the party early and head home to write that last section of the project. Chalk it up to senioritis, as I enter the final IMC Campaigns course.

For the past couple of years, Sarah and I have been cheering each other on as we returned to school as, well, older students. (It?s safe to say we?ve left our 30s behind?me, a little longer than Sarah.)

Stir Crazy: Mary, Virginia, and Sarah

Our good friend, Mary, who had been pulling for us from the sidelines caught the bug and decided to pursue her teaching certification?on top of a master?s in English/English Education. She?s about three-quarters done with the post-graduate teacher licensure from Mary Baldwin College, which has a campus here in Richmond, Va.

As for me, the IMC master?s at WVU offered a promise of a career shift after 20 years on the magazine publishing treadmill. Building on my undergrad degree in journalism, I hope to expand?with degreed credentials?into PR and marketing.

After being in the workforce for 23 years, I see a master?s degree as a definite advantage in the job market and our current economy. It?s one more face card to play in the game of change management, which requires knowledge, experience and flexibility.

Although I believe there are rewards ahead, working on a master?s while juggling family and work life isn?t totally fun. Still, I?m reminded of an adage Prof. Creely shared in my first IMC course: ?If it were easy, everyone would do it.?

In doing a little research on Virginia.gov, I discovered that, nationally, 6.9 percent of the population has a master?s degree, 2 percent has a professional degree and 1.1 percent a doctorate degree.

Pat yourself on the back IMC-ers. You?re in an elite group.

The Commonwealth of Virginia web site also makes another key point: ?Education not only prepares individuals for the tasks required by a job, but also enhances an individual?s ability to adapt to new working environments.?

Truly, that?s why Sarah, Mary, and I are back in school.

As the first finisher, Sarah is exited about the opportunities ahead. ?I know this change seems radical to other people, but it just made sense to me to try and align my career with my values and interests. Forensic science offers both an intellectual challenge and an opportunity to serve the community. Now that I have completed my degree, I am looking forward to more training, actually. Entry-level positions in this field typically involve intensive training in a specific area like drug analysis or firearms. I hope to build the kind of subject matter expertise that makes me a valuable resource.?

After Mary finishes up her coursework, she will have to figure out how to fit in the final requirement of student teaching for one full semester in a public school classroom. ?I?m in no hurry to do that,? she says, ?because I?m still working full-time and can?t afford to lose my income; even the salary I will make as a new teacher will be lower than my current salary, though there is a strong likelihood that my current position (and salary) will be done away with in the upcoming company merger.?

I relate to Mary?s self-assessment that she still doesn?t quite know what she wants to be when she grows up. But especially since turning 40, Mary says she leaned that it?s good to discover as many options as possible. ?Regardless of what type of work I end up doing in my ?next career,? I believe this training (and the experience in general) has made me more marketable in a number of fields. At the very least, it?s gotten me in touch with a number of realities about the present and future, of which I was only dimly aware. In this way, it?s made me both younger and wiser.?

So, IMC-ers. What?s your story? Old or young?what put you on this master?s track? The comment line is open.

P.S. I promise to write more about the capstone course next week. Our project is the City of New Orleans?and the entire course will be devoted to developing a professional IMC campaign to help the city reclaim its tourism cachet.

I?m excited about the project, as I?ve visited New Orleans several times but not since Hurricane Katrina. Why haven?t I gone back? What will make me go back? That I must ponder as I start developing campaign ideas. It?s going to be jam-packed, all-brain-cells-firing nine weeks, let me tell you.