Will Going Back to School Benefit You?
Academic inflation is hitting every generation of graduating high school students harder and harder. While the bachelor degree was once considered a prestigious investment, it now is the new base quota for pretty much every kind of professional job out there. At the very least, students are pressured to attend community college or a vocational school and earn an associate degree in a narrow field that will open doors to their future career. Don’t have a degree? You’re probably going to end up in retail.
But what about adults that find themselves out of a job–or just aren’t interested in their current job–that are now diving into the job market with their high school diploma that was perfectly legit a decade or two ago? Do these adults need to go back to school to get a bachelor degree and keep up with the job market’s current trend?
Yes and no.
If you have years of experience on your resume, you can generally apply for a job that otherwise requires a degree; all it takes it getting your foot in the door and convincing the employer you have what it takes, and a good work ethic to boot. In fact, most college students these days are relying heavily on internship experience and the “foot in the door” is the only effect their college degree is having.
But if you’re looking for advancement–say, management–going back to school might be a good decision. Also, if you’re looking to get into specialized industries like a healthcare job, that college degree is a must. Online master degrees are a common method for adults to move up in the professional world.
You might also want to go back to college simply because you’ll learn something new, and human beings thrive off of exercising their brain with learning.
It’s ultimately up to you whether you should pursue a degree or not. If you decide on going back to school, here are some recommendations:
- Look into all the college options available, not just your local university. There are online colleges and universities that are privately run and offer an extremely rewarding education based off of decades (and even centuries, in the case of places like Saint Leo University) of experience.
- Watch out for financial pit falls. It’s more expensive to go the private school route, but often worth the extra expenses; that’s not so much the concern. The larger worry with going to college is panning it out too long and taking one too many classes/semesters.
- Find a program that’s right for you. If you want to go into criminal justice, then an online master degree in criminal justice is much more focused than the ordinary M.B.A.
Remember that many of your classmates are going “because that’s just what you do,” not because they’re trying to enrich themselves. You can open their eyes to the wonders of education by expressing just how valuable it is, instead of it being the next obligatory step in life.
Also, while the “piece of paper” and the things you learn in class will benefit you, you are ultimately the decider of your future. It will take your personal effort and dedication to jumpstart your career.
