There was a time when a high school education was enough to get you a good job that could feed and support your family throughout your life. With raising costs and most factory work being outsourced or taken over by robotics, this is no longer feasible. Iowans have a responsibility to themselves to succeed, and part of that is getting the education and training required. Many higher-ranking positions require a degree of some sort, which is why furthering your education is so important.
The Future Ready Iowa Alliance has recently committed to increasing Iowa’s educated workforce (those who have education or training beyond high school) to 70% by 2025. You, however, don’t have to wait for their initiatives to come to pass. Instead, you can increase your education on your own time, by doing any of the following:
- College or University
When you don’t have job or family commitments to contend with, one of the best places to get an education is directly from a college or university. This is mainly due to the extra facilities that they offer, the networking opportunities, and the ongoing support of your tutors. You can focus your energies and attention on the work at hand. Attending college or university, however, isn’t the only avenue you can take.
- Night School
Once you have a career or a family who you need to provide for, getting a tertiary education is difficult. That is why night schools exist. These schools are very similar and can even occur on college or university classes, but class hours are during the night-time to not conflict with your work schedule.
- Online Education
If getting to an actual classroom is difficult to you, there is also online education, right up to the level of courses like Concordia University online MBA. There are so many different options and avenues for you to choose from when it comes to formal education, and the benefits of getting these qualifications are numerous. Only 3.5% of graduate degree holders are unemployed as opposed to the 8.3% of those who only have a high school diploma. You need these qualifications to advance in your career, to stay qualified for your job, or to change careers entirely.
- Certifications
Another way you can further yourself is to get certifications. There are a lot of skills that you can learn on the job, through an apprenticeship or otherwise, but until you have a certification you cannot sell these skills. Certifications can be achieved by taking a course, a test, or completing a program. Once you have them, you can use them to market yourself more effectively.
It doesn’t matter if you’re getting your first qualifications or you want to improve on those you already have, all avenues of perusing further education are beneficial. Certain degrees, however, are more financially viable than others, so if increasing your wage or pursuing a better paying job are your goals, ensure that the degree or certification you’re working towards will help you get there.
