I find myself in an interesting position as a new student of IST. On the one hand, I'm embarking on a new path that could lead me to a multitude of potential career options, and which I find incredibly fulfilling even in my current role as a student. On the other hand, I'm in a mid-career position at a university and I absolutely love my job, even though my work has very little to do with instructional technology beyond writing good technical documentation. My mother was a life-long academic, getting her Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and later teaching at a university. She took the semi-traditional track (which would be traditional had she not graciously taken off fifteen years to raise my sibling and me). I find, after working in higher education as a staff member, I prefer the practical applications to the faculty side. I do like teaching, and offer courses I've created through a local non-profit when I have the time and mental fortitude to do so, but I don't love it as much as I love what I do in my job. Teaching also led me to entrepreneurship: in 2020 I made my tiny virtual consulting business an LLC, and I take clients about half of the year. I love consulting. I love the new information that comes with each new client meeting, the agile nature of my work and the contextual and creative problem-solving I engage with. This, possibly, is the closest I come to IST in my professional life at the moment.
The question I often ask myself is what do I do with this Ed.D. in IST once I've achieved it? How will it impact the future I've been diligently building? To be completely honest, those answers aren't entirely clear. I recognize that my future might not transform my career path, but enhance it. Knowledge learned is never a waste, and the combination of my experiences and my education give me a rather unique skillset. Perhaps someday my side hustle consulting will pay for my children's college funds. Perhaps I will incorporate more training work into my current employment. At this point in my studies, I'm not sure where my future path will lead, but if it doesn't look significantly different from what I have now I won't be disappointed. I'll have folllowed my passion while providing for my family, and that's a valuable outcome in my book.
Hi Susannah,
After reading this final reflection, now I am so curious about your past and current jobs! They all sound very interesting, designing learning experience in higher education or writing good technical documentation. I also started to really see what led you to IST, and with this reflection, I definitely think an IST EdD would give you more opportunities in your current and future career. I was curious though, about what you meant by "the practical applications to the faculty side." Did you mean teaching? I don't know exactly what you do and like in your current job, but it sounds to me that you could also be a teacher trainer considering all that experience and what you enjoy…