Statement of Academic and Professional Goals

Robert P. Smith - November 5, 2002

 In today’s economy, Employee’s are often looking for new jobs due to corporate consolidations.  High numbers of employee’s in the job market with rich skill sets force many employers to closely scrutinize the work experience, technical certifications, and degrees of their applicants.    Work experience and technical certifications are often not enough to advance one into higher positions within a company.  Many companies prefer employees with college bachelor and master degrees.

 My education background started with acceptance into Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida.  I attended Florida State for three years working towards a bachelor’s degree in Music Education.  Increasing education cost and decreasing funds forced my return to Morrow, Georgia during my third year of study.  In Georgia, I worked various part time jobs while attending Clayton College & State University.  I obtained an Associate of Arts degree from Clayton College & State University.  During this time I met my wife, married and started a family.  I switched my major from Music Education to Computer Science for two reasons.  First, I enjoyed working with computers.  Second, I found that IT salaries were much higher than Music salaries.  I accepted a full-time position with Atlanta Gas & Light Company as a mainframe systems programmer.  At Atlanta Gas & Light Company I learned about mainframe operating systems and databases such as DB2 and SQL.

 After two years at Atlanta Gas & Light Company, I accepted a mainframe systems programmer position with a higher salary at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.  The Federal Reserve Bank announced they were consolidating their computer operations centers into three mega-centers located in Dallas, Richmond, and New York.  The Federal Reserve Bank offered to relocate my family and me to Richmond, Virginia.   My Wife and I had our first daughter.  I accepted the Federal Reserves relocation offer and took advantage of their liberal education benefits.  I completed my Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) + Internet Certification by attending evening classes at J. Sargent Reynolds Community College located in Richmond, Virginia and passing 7 tests.  My Wife and I had our second daughter.  I was offered and accepted a position in the Federal Reserve’s distributed computing group.

 I continued to attend J. Sargent Reynolds Community College evening classes taking UNIX, beginning HTML, and advanced HTML (Active Server Pages) classes over the next couple of semesters. I maintained a 4.0 average while attending J. Sargent Reynolds College. During 2001, I upgraded my MCSE Certification to a Windows 2000 MCSE by passing 7 additional tests.  This year, I set a personal goal to learn more about computer networks.  I passed a test to complete my Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification.  I am currently taking the 4 tests for the Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Certification.  I expect to complete my CCNP certification by December of this year. 

 I decided to apply for admission to the Capella University bachelor degree program in Information Technology because of its positive reputation, rich diversity of information technology online courses, as well as its unique undergraduate and graduate degree program selection.    At Capella, The ability to choose and work with a mentor is very appealing to me.  I look forward to working with other learners who are balancing family, work, and educational goals.  I also look forward to participating in workgroups and meeting colleagues from different geographical regions.

 My academic goals include completing my bachelor’s degree in Information Technology with a specialization in Network Technology online at Capella University.  Obtaining the perspectives and viewpoints of others, in an online classroom setting, should enrich the learning process.   It is my intent to complete my future master’s degree in Information Technology online from Capella University with a specialization in Network Architecture and Design.        

My professional goals focus on obtaining higher technology positions that will allow personal and professional growth without limiting the opportunity for further enlightenment and enhanced education.  I desire opportunities to apply my technical skills and experience to support a company in making the best possible technical decisions.   I welcome any challenge and will strive to exceed all expectations.

I hope that this goal statement gives you an overview of my background, skills, and interests.