Truth - Not TMI!

Okay, sooooo ... the TMI Tuesday questions were ... ehhhhh. They were all about relationships. If you had a whole week to do things with your significant other, what would you do? What is your idea of a long-term relationship? What is a healthy relationship? BLAH ... BLAH ... BLAH ...

I am done talking about my last relationship (at least for now - let's not get crazy here) and I'm not currently in a relationship nor actively seeking one, so TMI Tuesday seemed a little silly for me to participate in this week.

Instead?? I'm going to answer a question that Mike asked in response to my Sunday Stealing post. But first ...

Just to clear up any confusion (or to confuse you more), Mike who comments on my blog is not Mike who I was in a relationship with for six years. Mike who comments on my blog's wife Claudia probably wouldn't have approved of that *gigglesnort*

I mentioned in my Sunday Stealing post that something I was really proud of was getting my Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB) on the first try especially since the average attrition rate for the 10-day event is 80%. Mike asked how I went from the medical field to accounting.

I never realized how odd my job history has been when compared to the majority of those in my generation, but I'm learning that I took kind of an unusual path to get where I am today.

When I graduated from high school I went to Central Washington University to dual major in music and architectural engineering. A few things happened that year that change my direction: (1) Music went from fun, to work. I wanted it to be fun and realized it wouldn't be fun again for quite some time (2) I had an engineering professor give me a D in a class where my coursework was in the B range. He told me that he would never give me a grade better than a D because "women don't belong in this field", and (3) Alcohol, drugs, and sex.

So, after my first year of college, I move back home into an apartment with a high school friend of mine and enrolled in a local community college. I had taken a statistics class at CWU and knew that I liked math, so decided to take an accounting class at the community college.

Once completing my 2-year degree, I worked in some aspect of accounting (i.e. bookkeeper, accounts receivable, accounts payable) for the next 5 years. Then my life imploded and I decided to join the Army. I did quite well on my ASVAB testing, and qualified for any medical military occupational specialty for my E-3 rank. The medical field always interested me (I worked as a nursing assistant while attending the community college), so I decided to enlist as a Preventive Medicine Specialist.

When I left the Army, I found a job that was in that same career area (industrial hygiene), and continued to work in that field for the next 8 years.

Fast forward to when I moved to Chicago (2003) and I decided it was time I finished my bachelors degree. Law was another field that I always found fascinating, so decided on a Paralegal Studies degree, and hoped to eventually go to law school. I worked and went to school and finished my degree in two years. I had a job as a paralegal for only a short time - a little over a year - before deciding that I needed to find a job closer to home so that I could be more active in Cam's education - specifically his autism spectrum diagnosis. Finding a paralegal job in Podunk was impossible - there wasn't a single attorney in Podunk.

I did find an accounting job (branch accountant) in Podunk in 2007, and I've been back in the accounting world since then. The accounting that I do at my current level (accounting manager) is self-taught - a combination of on-the-job experience, accepting additional responsibilities to learn new skills, and google. My only formal accounting education were three classes at the community college level in 1985.

There is the long answer to a short question. Maybe this did end up being TMI after all?!?!