Invest in yourself.

The decision to "go back to school" was a pretty easy one for me. I wanted the additional training and skills, and knew that my career ambitions depended upon further business knowledge. But deciding what program I wanted to study in wasn't so simple.

The debate over traditional grad school and professional part-time programs wasn't much of a debate at all: I wasn't willing to give up the paycheck and benefits for a backpack and a studio apartment.

I'd weighed out the pros and cons of a traditional MBA. Over the period of about a year I looked at a few different options from public and private universities here in my home state. A few friends had taken that leap and provided great perspective on the ups-and-downs of a formalized post-grad business school experience.

And then there were the programs like Kansas State's Master of AgriBusiness. I'd seen advertisements for Purdue's Agribusiness Management Program and the Colorado State program, too. I'd even looked into other graduate programs with an emphasis in agriculture sciences and business. But the MAB option just kept coming to the top of my pile.

My career and interests are well-seeded in the industry, and the idea of continuing my learning specialized in agriculture seemed very appealing. But there were numerous schools offering advanced agriculture degrees, and I wasn't quite sure which one would meet my needs and really benefit me in the long run.

It was a phone call from Lynnette Brummett, the K-State program's coordinator, that tipped the scale. I had filled out the online information request form, and she followed-up. We talked for a while about my background, interests and goals for a graduate degree. She took the time to find out what I wanted from a graduate experience and answered my specific questions about the courses and timeline for completing the degree.

After the conversation she identified some alumni with similar backgrounds as me and setup a phone call and some e-mails to have them provide a perspective of MAB. It was a very personal approach, and showed just how hard the K-State staff worked to make their (perspective) students feel like valued individuals.

I took that as a sign of good things to come, and sent a completed application back to campus to start the process. Now here I sit, working towards the MAB degree with hopes of finishing in May of 2010. And it's truly what I hoped it would be.

The work is challenging, but rewarding. There's little doubt that I'm learning something valuable in each course. I'm able to use the skills in my current job, and it's all shaping my future career plans, too.

My investment looks to be a good one. I'm seeing the returns already. It's two and a half years of nearly constant courses and learning, along with a tuition bill that would buy you a new American-made sedan without too many bells and whistles. But in the end I'll have the advanced degree and the knowledge. To me, it's been worth the time and effort so far, and I suspect it'll pay off pretty well to finish things out and take home the diploma.

I guess that's my point in today's post: make sure your investment is one that will pay off. If you're considering a program like this, choose based on what you need from the degree. Make sure what you want in the learning and where you'd like to be when you're done fit the enrollment you're considering.