How would you react if your husband or wife came home from work and told you that they intended to quit their job? Your first reaction might be to assume they just had a bad day at the office. Now, what if your significant other was not only completely serious, but did this in the midst of one of the most prolonged recessions in recent memory? Most people would feel surprised, confused, or even worried. I am sure this is what went through my wife's head when I told her I wanted to quit a job I had had only for two years—after spending the previous four earning a degree in mechanical engineering.

Luckily for me, my wife of less than a year happens to be a school-based speech-language pathologist and has had some experience in counseling and dealing with people in difficult situations. She sat me down very calmly and stated, "So I hear you saying you would like to quit your job." I explained that although my current job wasn't bad, it left me unsatisfied. I was lacking something that I had always held paramount in my life and practiced as often as possible—helping people. My wife was happy with my explanation but, being the level-headed person she is, reminded me that she was in the middle of her clinical fellowship, and we still had student loans from undergraduate school.

I went on a mission to find a career that would engage me, challenge me, and, most importantly, allow me to have a positive impact on other people—while at the same time not waste the past four years and small fortune I spent on tuition. When everything was said and done, I found that audiology's unique blend of science and its ability to help people gain and restore their sense of hearing was exactly what I was looking for. The ability to hear and understand dramatically elevates a person's quality of life and allows them to enjoy many of life's joys they lost with a decline in their hearing.

I enrolled at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in the fall of 2011 to earn my doctor of audiology. The overlap between mechanical engineering and audiology has appeared often throughout different courses. The Fourier transform in a hearing science class, force vectors in a balance course, and circuits in a hearing aids course are examples of concepts I was exposed to as an engineer and in my audiology courses. I have enjoyed all of my courses and the clinical experience.

At the beginning of my clinical experience, I met a gentleman and his wife for a follow-up appointment to ensure that there were no problems or concerns with his new hearing aids. I can still vividly recall the smiles across their faces. The feeling of satisfaction I had is exactly what I was looking for in a new career. After just two semesters of courses, I have no doubt that I have made the right decision.