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My Education vs. My Passion as an Administrative Assistant!

Lately I am have doing a lot of thinking about school and the same does for work. It was a friend who thru a serious of her ignoring questions that I had to put somethings into perceptive regarding the two.

Now I got a few hobbies that I really enjoy doing with my friends.  There is going to different restaurants to eat especially to Copper Hawks. Going to that favorite Mexican restaurant for a good margarita and a plate of nachos with the works including a side of sour cream and guacamole. Going to the movies with their children, going shoes shopping, and weighting in on the pros and cons of what is going on in our lives.  Reading mystery books, learning about and doing my social media, writing some pieces for my blog, and watching Korean soap operas are my hobbies that I like to do by myself.

But my passion is learning about and improving my Administrative skills for work, and I will discuss that a little later.

Now as I was thinking about school, it has not occur to me as to how long I have been in school but the time consumed while being in school. I went back to school to complete my associate degree in 2008 and finished at the end of 2009. In 2010, I started and finished my master certificate in telecommunication. I started my bachelor in 2011 and finish it at the end of 2013. And I started on working my Master in 2014 and I currently have a huge ass question mark as to when I will finish it in 2017!!

See, upon returning from Turkey, I knew I wanted to finish my Associate and I did after being out of school for 17 years. I got the master certification in telecommunication because I was selected from some 5000 applicants who applied to this program that ex-Mayor Richard Daley (Chicago ex-mayor) put to together a program that retrain those who were out of work to be put to work in areas that needed people. And since my grandmother was nagging at us grand kids to go to college because she wanted to see at least one of us graduate with a college, degree, and me being the oldest grandchild made it happen for her by continuing that education that I learned from my master certificate and getting that bachelor. Made Anna Johnson very happy and very proud!

But my Masters in Information System is a major pain in my ASS!!, While on an occasion, I like some pain in my ass, but the classes I was taking for this degree . . . .(sigh!)

As I look back, I started drinking wine to stay objective as I was writing my papers for my English classes during my Associate degree.  I increase my drinking to Sake and large bottles of Cosmopolitans just so I clearly understand the logistics of CISCO's infrastructure, let alone how to do, sorry calculate subnetting using one IP address and understand how to read Linux language.

But for my Master degree, I can not consume enough alcohol to stay sober to understand anything for SQL and write psuedo code to coincide with the flowchart to create a database. For those of you who did not understand that, please go get a drink.  Get a very strong drink!

But what does all of that has to do what with my passion of being an Administrative Assistant?  After all Administrative Assistants are to know and have excellent organizational skills, be proficient and sometimes current (there are some offices that are still using MS 2007 and some using MS 2010) in Microsoft Suite especially in Excel; have strong people, writing and communication skills; quickly learn new software and occasionally work some miracles for those troubleshoot situations that the boss man\woman can not either deal with or do not have a solution themselves for them.

Administrative Assistant, Executive Assistant, Executive Administrator, etc, we are the magicians that support our team\department and see them forward to accomplish those company's goals in record time. We take care of things that are not asked us and we really don't mind taking care of or handling the smallest of office favors.

But did I really need all that education that I describe earlier in this piece? I guest that would depend on my up and coming permitted position.  But I will say this: today's Admin, regardless if she\he is an Administrative Assistant, Executive Assistant, etc, beside being that admin who writes correspondences, answers a few phone calls and create budget reports, we now wearing several other hats in our position that would include that front line in IT Help desk in the office. Sometimes we have to be a psychiatrist to a few co-workers while for others and some clients, we, the Admin, provide some consultants for minor issues.  Just to name a few hats and it really depends on the company and or the department as to how many hats the admin would be wearing at any given time..

What is relevant to my educational background is what I have learn in my 14 years as a Administration Assistant. I have work as a contractor for most of those years and that in itself has been my education. All that IT crap that I learn I used it to scared the shits of out of son and some family members.

Now that can be a new passion!






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