What are your professional goals?

[Chancie]

What have you set out to accomplish?

How will you know when you have been successful?

[Kobi]

I knew I was successful the day I walked away from a prolific career.
My health, well-being, and peace of mind was more important.

[Chancie]

I am thinking of this thread as a place to share professional goals and successes.

My goals, which I hope to accomplish by the time I turn 50 in May

1. To earn a CAGS in Math, Science and Learning Technologies
2. To begin a viable robotics program at the public high school where I teach math
3. To complete the requirements for my professional license

[Linus]

My professional goals:

1. Get my company's highest certification (means doing full paper and defense of that paper)
2. Write at least one technical book.

[moxie]

My goals:

• To be accepted into National Health Service Corps this fiscal year. I'll be able to work in a Health Professional Shortage Area and be free of my student loans.
• Get back into working with the clients I enjoy the most.
• Have my own office again (sounds silly but long story)
• Always be learning. Once that is gone I will know my passion for my career will be gone and I really don't want that to happen.

[citybutch]

Professionally I have many goals... but the one that is on top of my list for this year has to do with Charitable Giving. I have worked long and hard for many years in the Non-Profit world.... and I am finally setting up my first Planned Giving Program for a local Non-Profit where I once served on the Board... My goal is to have accomplished this effort for three different Non-Profits in the San Diego area. I love working with charitably minded people... a LOT... and I love doing work for these types of organizations. To be known as one of the top financial planners for small Non-Profits is a goal of mine... and one that is within reach!

[turasultana]

oh gawd, just had an hour long "development" meeting last week. we need to submit goals in another month I believe.

I do think if they'll reimburse the cost, I'll get a digital marketing certificate at NYU. Not sure if they'll cover non degree work and since I already have an MBA I think I'm done the official school stuff.

[Laerkin]

Great thread. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone is working on and striving for! I'm always shocked at the huge range of professions and accomplishments.

Personally, I have quite an ambitious list that I'm excited to tackle:

1. Complete my degree (December 2011, baby!) in Business Leadership and Management - hopefully with a 4.0 GPA.

2. Finish the Management Succession Academy that I was selected for at work and move into an upper management position within the next year.

3. Take the GRE and enroll in a Masters program within 2-3 years (hopefully in Communication or Public Policy).

4. Take over the world.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by citybutch

Professionally I have many goals... but the one that is on top of my list for this year has to do with Charitable Giving. I have worked long and hard for many years in the Non-Profit world.... and I am finally setting up my first Planned Giving Program for a local Non-Profit where I once served on the Board... My goal is to have accomplished this effort for three different Non-Profits in the San Diego area. I love working with charitably minded people... a LOT... and I love doing work for these types of organizations. To be known as one of the top financial planners for small Non-Profits is a goal of mine... and one that is within reach!

I hope you don't encourage annuities for their 403(b)s. ;-)

<---thinking about certified financial planning for a new career, so all into learning about it (but admittedly still learning!)

[Blade]

I had professional goals for a very long time. Now after aging and maturing and wasting the best working years of my life for a company that has a "boys club" mentality, I need to rethink the rest of my working life which is only 20 more years and set some new goals.

I met most of my professional goals several years before I had intended to. The one goal I didn't achieve, I realize now was because I am "nonpenile". Being penile is an unspoken requirement to achieve supervisor or management status in my company or even in sales. We have no female bodied people in outside sales.

Sooo I'm kicking myself in the ass for wasting so many years of my life being loyal this company. I'd like to go into something in the medical field but either there is a long waiting list and I don't test well on written test anyway or there are no schools close to my hometown that offer what I'm looking for that probably doesn't have a waiting list. So maybe before I'm 50, I'll have made another plan.

[Michi]

I am 42 years old. I had a very bad upbringing because of my gender identity and my parents lack of acceptance.. As a result, I was denied a good education to the point of where I dropped out of school because of the stresses at home and because of bullying.. I got my GED in 2000.

This year, I am starting classes to go for an AA degree with a main course of study being on the Japanese language. If I can go to a 4-year college, I will pursue East Asian Studies and Journalism or Mass Communications.

One of my professional goals is to work in Japan which would be a double challenge for me considering that I am over 40 and transgender. There's a lot of discrimination in Japan still, mainly around age and gender but things are getting better.

Good luck to everyone and I hope you all achieve your goals! (*^u^*)/

=m

[katsarecool]

I went out on Disability in 2005 when it became obvious trying to work was killing me. I was an accountant for years and before that office manager/accounting. Because of injuries to my lower back and discs it was so painful and degenerative. I was accepted on the first round without an attorney and 120 days after submitting my application. Managment experience was extremely helpful in preparing my case and collecting the documentation needed.

I have thought often of doing this for a living and it is legal and very lucrative. But it would require a lot of sit down work, following through with clients and a great deal of stress. So I just gave that up and began working on my artwork which I love.

Great topic!

[daisygrrl]

What an inspirational thread!

My current professional goals:
* Continue to hone my pedagogy to reach and help diverse student populations
* Publish my dissertation, which is very dear to my heart (about confession and trauma)
* Earn tenure and work in administration
* Balance my professional ambitions with love, health, and happiness

[MsTinkerbelly]

My professional goals have changed as I have aged (whose haven't)...I actually did all of the being in charge of everything that I ever wanted to do, and now I would settle for playing Blackjack professionally for the rest of my life.

A girl can dream....

[JustJo]

Originally Posted by Blade

I met most of my professional goals several years before I had intended to. The one goal I didn't achieve, I realize now was because I am "nonpenile". Being penile is an unspoken requirement to achieve supervisor or management status in my company or even in sales. We have no female bodied people in outside sales.

I hear you on this...I can remember sitting at breakfast with my best friend and saying "If I'm ever going to get beyond where I am now...I either have to grow a penis, or get my Masters degree."

I chose going back to school.

Seriously, I have achieved many of my goals. I got my MBA and have a wonderful job that lets me work from home and have great flexibility in my life.

I'm enjoying project management work tremendously (it lets me use my pushy side to great advantage), and will be working on getting my professional certification in that field as well...especially since my company will provide the course work for free.

Other than that, I have always wanted to publish...and possibly teach...and that's next on my list.

[EnderD_503]

-Finish my second BA

-Masters

-Phd

-Open my own gym, or at least enter a position at a more welcoming gym that would allow me to focus on training/providing an athletic/physical outlet for LGBT youth. Gyms are not always the most welcoming places for those who don't fit the norm, and fitness is so important in our age that I'd honestly like to provide a more welcoming physical space.

-Find a way to balance my love for academics, physical culture and incessant, sporadic travel

[proximitywithoutintimacy]

I want to get my degree in Social Work and start working on my dream to get homeless youth off the streets, permanently

[diamondrose]

I am being pulled to Accounting.

[Lady_Di]

Originally Posted by Blade

I had professional goals for a very long time. Now after aging and maturing and wasting the best working years of my life for a company that has a "boys club" mentality, I need to rethink the rest of my working life which is only 20 more years and set some new goals.

I met most of my professional goals several years before I had intended to. The one goal I didn't achieve, I realize now was because I am "nonpenile". Being penile is an unspoken requirement to achieve supervisor or management status in my company or even in sales. We have no female bodied people in outside sales.

Sooo I'm kicking myself in the ass for wasting so many years of my life being loyal this company. I'd like to go into something in the medical field but either there is a long waiting list and I don't test well on written test anyway or there are no schools close to my hometown that offer what I'm looking for that probably doesn't have a waiting list. So maybe before I'm 50, I'll have made another plan.

As I am inspired here, reading everyone's professional goals and aspirations. I wanted to thank everyone yet again

But this I had to address and publically as I know others might benefit from this as well.

I am working on my Master's to be able to teach online, which means I can work from home. Or anywhere on the planet I would like to be. I had one nursing professor I talked to while at the University of Phoenix and was very impressed with what she has been able to do.

The bottomline is you can get health degrees, including nursing via the online universities out there. There are many many programs, with many different focuses.

I have a mad passion for medical infomatics and love addictionology, gerontology, amoung other things I have been recently reminded of. I intend to go for a dual degree. Why not, eh?

And if you choose to work in an under served area, your complete student loans can be repaid. Also a lot of scholarship money for many diverse folks, such as us~ There is a dire shortage out there in some fields... like nursing. And one of the biggest problems is the lack of Nurse Educators, willing to work for less money, but help foster and form the next generation of nurses. Something I am also mad passionate about. I love the history of nursing, and will probably go all the way to a PhD. Between my love of writing and forensics, the sky's the limit!


On track and highly motivated,
Di

[Tawse]

Hmmmm

I enjoy being able to shift and evolve with my job. It's gone from being a glorified supervisor to data analysis / statistics and being a super user for our maintenance software. And yeah - I still have the supervisors hat as well.

I used to want to run a garage - but I've watched the people in that position and there's no way in hell you could pay me to run a garage now. Nu uh. And the Directors have their heads on the chop block and have a definite life span so I have no interest there.

No at this point - my goal is to learn as much about statistics that I can without going to school for it and to leave work at work. I refuse to become the person who is called at all hours of the day / night. I don't need to feel or be that important.

So yeah - I want to stay below the chopping block and still maintain an important seat beside those who ARE on the chopping block. I love being the right hand (left hand in my case) guy...