After 7 years working through the management track with Costco Wholesale, I found I was moving through a career path of least resistance, not a career I had chosen.  I started with Costco in 1992 as a part-time job to finance my BA.  The job paid well, was close to school, and provided an environment with many students in a similar situation.  As I progressed on to pursuing my MA, the company provided scholarship opportunities, flexible working hours, and comfortable pay and benefits.

When I graduated with my MA in English in 2004, I was looking for teaching positions at colleges and universities.  The only opportunities being offered were temporary or short term contract positions, which I was not in a position to accept.  At the same time, I was approached with an offer to move into a management track with Costco.  I took this opportunity, thinking I would continue pursuing teaching positions while I worked full-time.

Economic factors resulted in reductions in college intakes, and new teaching positions were very few, and nothing permanent.  After 3 years, I had been promoted to a Senior Department Manager running the customer service operations of the Langley Costco, and my time out of academics was beginning to impact how I was viewed in post-secondary teaching opportunities.  Around this time, I realized my summer job from 1992 had become my career in 2008.

I was excelling in my position, well-liked and respected by my seniors, peers, and employees.  I was regarded as the “go-to” guy for answers on anything from operations to customer service, and enjoyed mentoring and developing the diverse staff under my management.

Despite this, I would often have employees who had known me for long periods ask, “What are you still doing here?  You could be doing so much more”, the same questions I often asked myself when speaking with the many students I had hired and talking about their long term goals.

After management changes, a position rotation to Operations (Receiving), and a discussion with my spouse about my long-term satisfaction with my current career, I started to explore options which would permit me a career change.  I considered completing a PhD in English, but knew I wasn’t attracted to regular research and publishing in the field.  I started exploring Accounting programs, and came across the Sauder School of Business.  The MBA program caught my attention, and I attended a Spring information session for the part-time and full-time studies.  During the presentation, I was impressed by the structure and expectations of the full-time program.  I did more in-depth research after and quickly decided this was the path I was going to follow.

And so, after writing the GMAT, completing the interviews and referee’s letters, I was admitted to Sauder, and in January 2013, I advised Costco I would be voluntarily leaving my management position in August.  The support I received from all levels of the company was tremendous, and I thank them for that.

Now, as an MBA candidate approaching 40, I am looking forward to challenging myself in new ways and to think about business and business operations in terms I never have before.  I am excited to share my experience with the diverse experiences of my classmates.  In the end, I am eager to find a career in a new field where I can apply my skills in an industry I find engaging, and that I have chosen to pursue.