My Hopes and Dreams

Well, that title might be a little melodramatic... But it got your attention, didn't it?

During my (second) adventure in Germany, I realized what I would like to do with my life career-wise. Working with and learning languages has always been fun for me. It's like putting together a complex, multi-dimensional puzzle. As someone who has enjoyed a good puzzling session or two in her life, that's right up my alley!

In Germany, there are a number of schools belonging to the Euro Akademie organisation. They aren't typical universities. I would equate them to a career college. At these schools, there are a number of programs to become a certified something. Many programs have something to do with international relations (European Management Assistant, Hotel and Tourism Assistant, International Administration Manager, etc.) or foreign languages (Foreign Language Correspondent, Foreign Language Secretary, Translator and Interpreter, etc.). Others are for those less interested in languages and foreign relations (Marketing Assistant, Personal Management Assistant, Sports Management Assistant, etc.). Some studies can be furthered at partnering European universities, if desired. If you've paid attention, I'm sure you can guess what I want to do!

The translator/interpreter program is a three-year program, which is much more affordable than any program I've found in the US. Depending on which program, it can cost up to about $16800 (by today's exchange rate) in total. Considering I put myself into about one fourth of that amount into debt after just one semester of college, that sounds pretty good to me!

However, that's not chump change. And since the German government requires foreigners to be able to prove they have upwards of $9000 either on a German bank account or through scholarships (or through parental support, in some cases) in order to be granted a student visa, I've got my work cut out.

As such, my plan for the next four to five years looks like this:

Year 1/Years 1 & 2: Get two or more part-time jobs and save, save, save!
Years 2-4/Years 3-5: Return to Germany and attend the Euro Akademie; Become a certified translator!

I haven't yet decided what I will do after that. My skills will probably be more in-demand here in the US, but no one can tell for sure what will happen in the next years. All I know is I have my goal, and as long as I have that, I can handle whatever life throws at me!

Bis dann!
Jaymee