Steadily climbing up the career ladder

Everyone in the meeting is staring at Ron. A few months ago, he sat in this room, pretending to know what everyone was talking about. Now, he’s citing recent trade policies in a discussion about potential global operations with the vice president of international and the head of dairy economics.

“How exactly do you know all of this?” his co-worker asks, perplexed at how much this engineer knows about international trade.

About six months earlier, he decided he wanted to become one of the people responsible for moving the company forward.  Ron knew he could help expand the company globally, but he needed more training than his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering provided. He wanted to expand his knowledge in the latest research and methods in management, finance and strategy.

Purdue University
Ron began looking online for a master’s of business administration (MBA) degree programme. The first options he found would have required him to stop working for two years and cost a fortune. Leaving work wasn’t an option as he had two young girls and his wife to support.

So, he started looking for online degree programmes instead. They found one offered from Purdue University and the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University (IU). In 27 months, he could earn two degrees, an MSc from Purdue and an MBA from IU, without having to quit his job.

“Two years will pass whether or not I join this programme,” Ron said to himself. “In two years, I’m going to be sitting here with the degrees and putting them to use, or I’m going to be sitting here without them. Do it or don’t do it, time is still going to pass.”

With help from Luanna DeMay, MSc-MBA programme manager at Purdue, he enrolled in the programme with 19 other students who were just like him – at least three years into their careers at a food or agricultural company and ready to advance.

He quickly learned that this distance-delivered programme was more than “send us your money, and we’ll send you a textbook.” The programme manager and faculty had experience and were passionate about his success. He was a student in every aspect; he just wasn’t on campus.

“This isn’t a joke,” Ron tells his wife, a few months into his first classes. “There’s only one way to learn what they’re trying to teach me, and that’s to work hard and study.”

Results that speak for themselves
His co-worker impatiently waits for a response, as everyone continues to stare at him in the meeting.

“Seriously. Where did you learn all of this?” 

“In the literature I read and discussion I had with my trade professor,” he replies, thinking that enrolling in the MSc-MBA programme is one of the best decisions he has ever made.

A few months into the programme, Ron accepted a promotion and moved his family to Wales, UK. As director of international operations in technical services, he reviews production performance, capital strategy and technical innovation opportunities at plants across Europe.
     
By maximising time on airplanes and in hotels, and sacrificing quite a bit of personal time, Ron balanced his class work, job and family. He graduated from the programme in November 2008.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this programme gave me the tools to be a mover in the company. It’s timely. It’s relevant. It’s leading-edge of current thinking.”

Two years have passed. Ron has his degrees. And he’s definitely putting them to use.