Thanks to his civilian job with the U.S. Navy, cost really wasn鈥檛 a factor for Mike Taskoski when choosing a school to get his master鈥檚 of business administration.
鈥淟uckily, the government paid for it, so I had my pick,鈥� says Taskoski, who was accepted to all five MBA programs to which he applied.听
He chose UMass Lowell鈥檚 Manning School of Business based on its 鈥渧ery good reviews鈥� and the flexibility of getting the degree online through the .
鈥淚 travel a lot for work, so there鈥檚 no way I could do it in the classroom,鈥� says Taskoski, a technical program manager for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I., since 2002. He also serves as a naval reservist.
鈥淥nline was the big thing. I could do my work in a hotel room on the road,鈥� says Taskoski, who grew up a 鈥淣avy brat鈥� living all over the world. His first visit to campus was with his wife, Raylean, for the Hooding Ceremony and Commencement.听
This is actually Taskoski鈥檚 third master鈥檚 degree. He earned a master of science in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2001 and an M.S. in engineering acoustics from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2008.
鈥淭his time I decided to go a nontechnical route with business,鈥� says Taskoski, who had to take six foundational business courses before starting on the MBA curriculum. The entire process took him about five years.
Thanks to his engineering background, Taskoski did 鈥渞eally well鈥� in data analytics courses.
鈥淏ut I also stepped out of my comfort zone and tried to concentrate in more financial and managerial courses,鈥� says Taskoski, who believes his MBA will help him at work.
鈥淚t gave me a bigger perspective on leadership skills,鈥� he says. 鈥淗ow do you lead different types of personalities and people? That鈥檚 what I learned most.鈥�