I went back to University to do a Graduate Diploma in Computing in my late 30s. I didn’t need to pay much, but it meant that I wasn’t earning for a year, so it felt a little risky.
I don’t know what Mind Blowing Decisions is about – romance I suppose. But I’ve often found career decisions a little mind blowing 😀.
I had three “careers” before that. I remember a man on the Late Late Show back in the 1980s saying that in the future people will have multiple careers throughout their life. It sounded a little scary, but that’s precisely what I ended up doing. My first career was in the field of mechanical engineering. I remember going to a computer exhibition in Cork City back in 1980. I saw little practical value in computers back then. Then, when I did teacher training around 1984, we did a little bit of BASIC programming. All we did was a mathematics calculation that you could do much quicker with pen and paper. I didn’t really see the point in computers. Of course, in the 1990s, I had my own PC, and I started to take an interest in the wider field of computing.
I don’t regret my decision because it lead me into the field of eLearning. I spent about 20 years developing eLearning courses. I would have liked to have had a career in actual software development, but I did a little, and I touched on many interesting areas of IT in my eLearning development. So, it was a risk worth taking. It felt awful stressful at times, but now I’m pretty much retired and I can reflect on all the happy times. And I still like to take online computer courses. It’s so much easier nowadays.
I did spend time in full-time Christian work too. The Apostle Paul was a tentmaker by trade, and he worked in that field to support himself in Christian work, though he did sometimes depend on others for financial support. My own philosophy is that if you’re extremely gifted, perhaps it’s worth being full time for your whole life. But I was happy to use the experience gained in Christian work to play my part in church life and to support myself by earning a secular salary. I never saw myself as greatly gifted, but I did my bit. And I did cherish the years I spent in full-time ministry in London and here in Ireland.
So, what hymns will I finish this post with? I’ll choose one about guidance and one about work:
1 Thessalonians 3:7-10 (The Apostle Paul speaking)
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
Colossians 3:20
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
Hibernia Gospel 