Why I'm Going Back to School at 54 for a Master's

Who Would've Thought?

Kim Doyal

Nov 06, 2024

I used to jokingly say that I was the “California State transfer student.”

Right out of high school, I went to a junior college and completed the first two years without a problem.

The last two years took a little longer… twenty years, to be exact. 😉

I didn’t grow up talking much with my parents about college, but we were expected to go.

Which was fine. I didn’t have any other grand plans, and all of my friends were going to college too (about half went away, and half stayed and did the local junior college, too).

We all worked and went to school, which was more or less the standard for most middle-class kids in the area I grew up.

I had applied to Washington State and been accepted, but then I got cold feet as it got closer. I didn’t want to be that far from my family (says the girl who up and moved to Costa Rica, having never even visited).

So naturally, like any wise 20-year-old, I went to Sac State (Sacramento, California), where my friends were.

Even though I lived with 3 of my best friends from high school, Sac wasn’t for me.

After that, I went to San Jose State and Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay). I lived at home and worked full time, and work kind of took over.

School was put on the back burner.

Fast-forward (or we’ll be here all day), and at 38, I went back to finish my degree so I would have more options. I graduated with a BS in Psychology and got my degree at 40.

At the time, I thought maybe I should have gotten a marketing degree, considering I had started my online business at the same time, but as is often the case, there was a divine plan in the works.

So, why have I decided to go back to school and get a Master’s degree at 54?

First and foremost…because I want to.

So much has come full circle for me.

When I started my business, I was very adamant about supporting women in business because, like so many other industries, the “internet marketing” space was dominated by men.

I didn’t stick with women as my audience because as I grew my business (The WordPress Chick), I had a mix of women and men and took the path of least resistance (which is my favorite path these days).

However, over the last few years, particularly when Roe v. Wade was overturned, something in me woke up.

And the fire I had within me to focus and amplify women was reignited.

Initially, I thought I would do a special series about women and money for my other podcast. Still, the more I dug into the psychology of money for women, the more I realized I wanted to go deep, and it warranted its own show (and newsletter).

There are many places to go deeper with this on my own, but I started considering moving into the financial planning space (i.e., getting the required licenses, etc.). I did my homework on several companies and realized it wasn’t for me.

However, I still wanted to go deeper… beyond just reading books.

That’s when I went to my trusted friend, ChatGPT, and researched Master’s programs that specifically focused on the psychological and practical side of money.

That was the first time I had heard of “behavioral finance.”

“Behavioral finance is an economic theory that studies how psychology influences financial decision-making. It's a subfield of behavioral economics which studies irrational behavior in financial decision-making.”

Behavioral finance tends to focus more on investors, but I knew I was on the right path.

My interest is more on the psychological side than the finance side, but I was still happy to find the program I’m enrolling in (I applied and have already registered for my first two classes).

It’s a Master’s in Financial Planning and Financial Psychology from Creighton University.

There are more finance classes than financial psychology classes, but that’s OK.

Who knows? Maybe I’ll invest in a doctorate afterward, where I can customize my own plan to focus primarily on women and money.

Besides just “wanting” to do this, I deeply desire to serve women in some capacity with their beliefs around money, finance, and changing the narrative.

I don’t quite know what that looks like yet, but I know that by writing this newsletter and having conversations on the podcast (I have a handful done now, so I’ll launch soon!), I’ll get clearer on what that looks like.

Did I need to get a Master’s degree to do this?

No, but I don’t know that I would have had the discipline to educate myself on the financial foundation side of things otherwise.

Structure and accountability work for me.

I’ve also fallen in love with learning as an adult in a way I didn’t have when I was younger.

So here I go.

My classes start in January, and I’m excited to invest in myself through this avenue.

It’s a two-year program (unless I want to double up on classes, but what’s the rush?), and each class is eight weeks long, and it’s all online (I don’t think I’d do it otherwise).

And naturally, I’ll be sharing that journey with you here.

Women You Should Know

Dr. Jessica Wade - London Physicist

How many women in STEM have been left out of history?

Thousands. Dr. Jessica Wade, a London physicist, is on a mission to change that. In her 20s, she began writing Wikipedia biographies for overlooked women and minority scientists.

Now, she spends Sundays nominating top female and minority scientists for major awards. Frustrated by the lack of recognition, she hopes her work will inspire the next generation. Her efforts earned her a British Empire Medal at Buckingham Palace. “There’s a whole community of proactive voices working to change academia,” she says. “And it’s big.”

A Few of My Favorite Things 🎶

I’m a bit of a sucker for the holidays… Like I mentioned last week, I’ve already started listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies.

One of my favorite Christmas albums (beyond the classics) is Harry Connick Junior’s “When My Heart Finds Christmas.”

Of course, the best version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is Judy Garland.

This is from one of my favorite Christmas movies, Meet Me in St. Louis. I'm sorry if you’re now singing, “Clang clang clang went the trolley…”

And if you need a fun family game for the holidays, look no further than Rummikub (I’m seriously addicted).

I know this feeling 😂

I don’t know about you, but the time change has made me a little extra sleepy this week.

As much as I enjoy this time of year's coziness, I miss the light later in the evenings.

I saw something that said, “November doesn’t have afternoons. It’s just morning until 2 pm, and then it’s night.” 😂

Have a wonderful day,
Kim

Virginia Graham

Nov 14

Awesome news Kim!! I can’t wait to follow your journey. I hope there’s a podcast too. I love listening to your podcasts even when they aren’t related to anything I know about but this is fascinating and something I know well. So excited!!!

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