I started slowly getting back into studying a few years ago. I started in 2007 with a Project Management evening program at the local University. Last year I prepared and took the GMAT (interesting trying to relearn basic concepts like prime number series, triangles, probability, etc.) and I'm now taking a preparatory course for the PMP examination. I might even go back to university for a Masters degree in 2011, a plan still being defined... This is exciting but a lot of hard work too while doing my best in a full time job and trying to keep some balance enjoying time with friends and family.
All this ramp up has reminded me of the positive and negative parts of being a student. I don't particularly miss exams, weekends full of homework, late night papers, knowledge cramming and all the stressful things that come from taking six or seven courses simultaneously. But I definitely miss the feeling of growth and achievement, both personal and professional, that comes from learning so much every day. The feeling of frequently connecting dots mentally that allow you to understand the world a bit better every day. I have always been intellectually curious: the main issue I had was not being interested in learning, but focusing on one topic when there were so many that seemed interesting and worth exploring.
Once our professional life starts, this learning process slows down and stagnates somehow. One learns new things but at a lower pace and sometimes seems stuck on repeating same tasks over and over. This "taylorism" might increase our productivity but definitely not happiness for many of us. Getting a promotion or changing positions usually creates a learning curve that keeps us busy learning new things for some time, I would say around a year or two, but this is usually transitory. Even some jobs that on the surface might not seem so monotonous, since employees are exposed to new situations every day, are usually based on repetitions of similar situations. I think probably doctors, sales, police, etc. fit in this category.
It would be interesting to find somebody who has a job that doesn't fit this learning curve pattern description. I think I don't know anybody. Maybe a career in Academia? But that usually means extreme focus to become an expert in a very narrow subject. Or maybe there is no such job and the trick consists on changing focus every once in a while. This is what serial entrepreneurs and some politicians seem to do. Or be so immersed and interested in your work (in "flow" as some authors describe this) that everything else seems less interesting...
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