Friday, November 5, 2010

Can I Get a Bite?

I have never been much of a math person, but I can wade my way through it when needed. That being said, I took many a business course where they started throwing out all sorts of statistical terms (even though statistics was not a prerequisite course) which confused me. After approaching multiple professors during office hours to ask questions about material that was recently presented, I was generally brushed off. The professors generally tried to push me to their TAs. What is the point of having office hours if students aren't welcome during them?

I get the whole idea of teaching a man to fish vs. feeding a man with a fish. I found it frustrating though when I would come with basic (to them) questions that would help me to identify fish, but my instructor would not give me the time of day to answer my question. It was almost as if the lecture was the end-all of their job. They spouted out the information, and I was to take notes and fill in the gaps without any assistance.

And this happened on multiple occasions with multiple teachers.

Needless to say, I quickly soured at the thought of taking business classes. I took just what was needed, and escaped slightly scathed.

After getting a job, I found that I was in a business environment where people helped you out. They had a job, but they were happy to help you understand your own. Queen M was one such person.

Queen M is a very proper woman (she kept a bone china tea cup and saucer at her desk for when she needed a pick me up) that I learned a lot from. She is the perfect professional—smart, perceptive, level-headed, thorough, personable, and many other things.

Because the current position we were in was a contract position, she found another position with a company that hired employees instead of contractors. It was quite a blow to the agency I work for, but they were able to find a great replacement from another contracted agency. While I was glad I didn't have to train someone new, I wasn't glad that the impact of Queen M leaving was greatly dismissed because of her replacement.

I got an email from Queen M today asking me if I was still looking for a position. I (of course) said yes. The company she works for is looking for a business process analyst. She provided me with a brief description of the position, and it seems like something I would enjoy. I never thought that I would consider working in a position whose title contained the words business and analyst, as I REALLY didn't enjoy any of my business courses in college. I learned from them, but I didn't really like them. I think that most of this spite came from the teachers, but a bit from the subject matter as well.

I guess we will have to see if being a business process analyst will be as bad as my my mind has made it out to be. I am thinking that I might be in for a pleasant surprise. Now, just to get an interview. With Queen M referring me, I don't see how I won't.

1 comment:

Kaylene said...

I'll say it again, fingers crossed!!