“Somebody said that it couldn’t be done, but he with a chuckle replied
that “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.”
Excerpt by EDGAR ALBERT GUEST
As a child, my friends Mitchell and Mendall always called me a professor. They saw something in me that I did not quite see myself. I loved to tinker with electronics and computers, then share my knowledge with others. In 2010 when I was working for an IT company in Tampa Florida. I was working as a contractor when a position opened up and I informed one of my friends. My friend was hired as an employee and I was asked to train him. While training him he said, “You are good at this. You should become a professor.” As fate would have it, in December of 2010 this company had a Christmas party. I was NOT invited, however, my friend who was recently hired was invited. This is how I found out about the party. Rather than cause any issues in the workplace, I simply started applying for jobs elsewhere.
I decided to try my hand at being a college professor but did not know where to start. I reached out to Michael, one of my fraternity brothers, and he showed me how to create a CV and a teaching philosophy. Michael had been working as an adjunct teaching human resources courses. With everything ready to go, I started applying to local technical schools. The very first school I applied to called me back. I went on an interview, was hired, and started in January of 2011. At the time, I only held a bachelor’s degree and several information technology certifications. As I looked at more and more professor roles, I started to notice I needed at minimum a master’s if I was going to move up in higher education. Since I started an MBA in 2002, I figured it was time to complete it. Within 10 months I finished my MBA.
As I started progressing through academia one thing was certain, I was very good at being a professor and leading a team of other professors. I worked in several positions and noticed to reach my ultimate goal of being a tenure-track professor at a 4-year university, I was going to need a terminal degree. I tried at least 8 universities and various degree programs. I would start out strong and then life would knock me off track. So I gave up. That’s right! I threw in the towel. I withdrew from school and decided to maximize my earning potential with multiple streams of income. I was doing great and earning more than I have ever earned before. There was just one problem. I had traded my time for money and was always exhausted. It was time for a change.
I learned from a co-worker that Middle Georgia State University had a Doctorate of Science in Information Technology. This was it! This was the degree for me. There were other similar degrees online, however, when working in academia degrees from some online schools are not viewed the same as brick and mortar. In 2022 I put together my enrollment packet and submitted it for the program at MGA. I waited and waited AND waited. I did not get accepted. I continued on my multiple streams of income journey until October 2022. Something told me to apply again. I already had everything I needed so I reapplied and was accepted. On May 24, 2023, I started my first doctoral course at MGA and I am looking forward to taking this to completion and graduating. At last, I will have accomplished a goal that has taken me years.
