Wondering...

At a Christmas party, I was talking to my dear friend Emily. Emily's really good at so many things & I'm really fond of her. She started my beloved book club and was my pal in grad school (which she completed and I have not). 

She mentioned (as an aside, I might add) that a friend of hers from college makes $160,000 a year working as a grant writer for an educational supports company. I was floored. I would LOVE to make that kind of money, but mostly I was floored because one of my bucket list items is to become a full-fledged successful grant writer. 

I either asked with my shocked look or the actual words,"Over $100,000 a year as a grant writer!?!" 

Emily replied, "Oh, she writes grants to help schools who want to use her company's products find the funds to purchase them." 

Emily's offhand statement about her friend got me thinking: My job is to find community needs and gaps in services and then work to fill those gaps. My job requires seeking and procuring grants. I love to help people find solutions to their desires & needs. Heck, I could DO a job like THAT!? I know that there are no jobs like that in Muncie, but what about in Indy. Could I set my sights higher than where I am.

And then I've been approached recently about several grant opportunities locally. I've been planning, strategizing and gap-filling in all my free time. I'm working to learn more about non-profit work and once again asking myself if I want to go for the degree that I've half-completed-- what I call "An MBA for non-profits" or if I would actually like to complete an MBA from a REAL business school. 

As I work on my "40 before 40" list (inspired by Heather Sari Miles), these issues really come to the front of my mind. Completing my Master's Degree AND writing successful grant applications are two on my list.

This former Career Counselor keeps asking career questions, but not finding any answers.