It was tough being an older student and raising a family with two children, but I was tired of being ruled out of some jobs because I didn't have a college degree.
I was working in the HR field when I was laid off, and that helped me to decide to go back to school. I did great, and I think I had a better appreciation for what I was learning compared to the younger kids.
After I graduated, I looked at online job postings and used headhunters but I couldn't even find temp work. At first I was looking for HR management or director positions, but as the months went by, I opened it up to general HR jobs. They weren't all that different from my last job, but had a much better salaries.
I've probably sent 300 resumes since December. Headhunters say I'm overqualified --that employers might be shying way from higher degrees since they have to pay you more. Still, I think school was important.
I actually put less information on my resume, and I finally got an offer from an interview for a HR generalist position last week. It'll be about a $10,000 pay cut from my salary before I got my degree. But what can you do? Eight months out of work is a long time.
