The Calling

Before I move forward explaining what Mike and I have done with the big answers God shared with us I want to step back and explain why we are even pursuing grad school in the first place.

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In a little less than three weeks I will hit the five year mark on my career. It truly seems like a few days ago that I was preparing to graduate and choosing my first job. Fast forward to this summer and I began to think about what God might have planned for the next several years of my career. I began praying and seeking God, asking him to reveal to me what he desired from me and my career.

In the past I have wondered whether or not I am where God wants me to be. I have practically begged God to remove me from "Corporate America" and to let me work in non-profit or the "mission field." But, time and time again God has clearly reminded me that we cannot remove all of the Christians from the corporate workplace. Corporate America is my mission field.

As I prayed and discerned God's plan for me and my career I felt Him leading me toward a specific role within an organization. God keeps bringing me back to the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO). For those of you unfamiliar with CIOs they are the ones who lead the technology and information management organizations within most corporations.

Why CIO? Because God said so. Because over the past several years I have found a love and passion for technical project management. Because God needs Christian leaders in the world's top companies. Because God said so.

So how does the path toward CIO include an MBA? Well, after feeling called toward becoming a CIO I, of course, began researching the position. I have worked with several CIOs in my consulting gigs but I had not yet spent much time understanding the ins and outs of the position. I spoke with people who have gone down the path ahead of me, I spoke with people who chose to not go down the path even though it presented itself to them, and I did a lot of Googling.

I reverted to my analytical side and determined what skills are required to be a successful CIO, compared the skills to my current skills inventory, and realistically thought through what additional skills I will acquire in the next fifteen years. I also looked at CIO job postings on job boards like Indeed.com. What I determined is that I need to beef up my skills in operations management and financial management if I am going to successfully fill the role of CIO. I also determined that an MBA is not required to become a CIO but it is often preferred by recruiters and it would help me to beef up the skills that I know I need to work on.

Mike has been incredibly supportive and encouraging of this entire adventure. I have to take a moment to brag on my sweet husband - I am so thankful that my husband truly wants me to be all that God wants me to be. Since Mike and I have been together I have noticed that I have become more confident and that I feel the freedom to be all that God is calling me to be.

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Come back soon to pick back up on our MBA journey.