This fall, yours truly, will be starting a Masters program in Education, almost seventeen years after graduating with my Bachelors of Arts. That’s a hecking long time between finishing one schooling and starting another!
And that alone is quite intimidating. Do I have enough brainpower to do assignments anymore? Can I juggle my time between my family, my job, my writing, and my schooling without falling flat on something? Will it even be worth the price tag? (I’m largely paying for it out of pocket, so it’s gonna suck).
Scary.
But the reality is that more and more adults are embracing the benefits of returning to the classroom. With more online classes, more flexibility, and the fact that for the foreseeable future the job market is going to be… weird, going back to school to try to prepare for all the potential changes is certainly tempting, even if it is also scary. If you’re on the fence about returning to school, what are some of the benefits of going back to school as an adult?
Career Advancement
Why am I pursuing an M.Ed seventeen years after getting my BA? Ignoring the fact that I rather like school and have been craving some new learning, getting an M.ed opens the doors for my career. It allows me to do things like do program development on the government level, teach at public colleges if my family ever moves away from the town where I currently work, or work for school districts (though my focus will be on adult learning). It will hopefully give me more clout if I want to pitch programs and curriculum that are meant to help other adults succeed.
You will probably find that going back to school helps your career advancement opportunities too or lets you branch into something brand new. It can open paths to promotions, new career paths, and more opportunities that may have been closed off to you. It is also usually tied to a significantly higher income: my husband’s income doubled when he got his bachelor’s degree a few years after graduating (from making $20.00 as a security guard at a local casino to $40/hour, with overtime and better benefits, as an archaeologist working for a global firm). He currently has a lot more room to grow too; as a security guard, he had basically capped out unless he wanted to be a supervisor (which he did not); whereas right now, he is on the lower middle end of his ladder and has plenty of room to grow.
Now this is just as well since most people who go to school take out some kind of loan to do so and thus will need to pay it back, but since Canadian student loans are interest free and have low monthly payment options, it’s not too onerous.
Networking
The classroom gives you plenty of room to network which in this job market, is absolutely key. You get the space to further develop soft skills like time management, (juggling work, school, kids, and book writing is absolutely going to test my time management skills!), problem solving, communication and stress management. A larger network of diverse people can also lead to some great job opportunities; remember that the vast majority of jobs are found in the Hidden Job Market and the more diverse your network is, the easier it is to tap that network.
It’s also just beneficial to be able to work with a larger group of people and get all kinds of viewpoints.
Personal
Going to school and completing assignments and passing exams also gives you a great sense of accomplishment and confidence boost. It lets you be a role model to your kids (my oldest is certainly going to be paying attention to what I’m doing as he stares down post-secondary school options in a year or two), and it can lead the way for other friends and family members to go back to school as well. (I have been teasing/prodding a friend of mine to go back to school at the same time as me, different programs of course, because we can support each other through it).
Health
Learning has been proven again and again to just be good for your brain, helping to stave things off like dementia, Alzheimer’s and other health conditions. You’re never too old to learn – there was an over sixty-year-old woman in my history program! The classroom lets you be more sociable and connect with other people, which is also good for the brain and your self-confidence.
Common Challenges
Of course, this path is far from easy. I’m worried I won’t be able to keep up with the schoolwork or get good grades (my husband is scoffing at me and pointing out that as an adult, I will be less distracted and have more experience to draw on which will help. He’s right, but still). I’m worried about the price tag of course; getting a student loan is more difficult as I’m going to be a part time student doing online classes and anyway, I’d rather not go into more debt if I can help it. And of course, while I do pride myself on my time management skills, it’s still a rather big thing to add to my plate.
These are common barriers for many people and give a lot of them a serious pause for thought or even deciding not to do it. Common challenges include:
- Cost of course. Post-secondary isn’t cheap at all and while there are student loans, scholarships, bursaries, and even a few programs where employers help pay for your schooling or government bursaries, it’s still a significant cost. I plan to only do 1-2 classes a semester to make it as cheap as possible, doing it online which cuts my costs, and saving as much money as possible to pay for it. If I have to, I’ll look at getting a small student loan. My program isn’t covered by a lot of scholarhips and bursaries as it is a masters, so that kind of sucks, but it is what it is.
Definitely look into scholarships, bursaries, grants, employer help, savings programs, and student loans.
- Time Management and Responsibilities: I am good at time management and juggling multiple things. My brain can ‘partition’ itself to some extent so that part of my brain is working actively on something, and the other part is thinking about something else. And I have plenty of experience in juggling several things all at once. But even with that, I’m kind of nervous! Juggling school, work, hobbies, family obligations, writing projects, and who knows what else is a lot.
It’s important to have a good plan for yourself and set clear goals and priorities. Ask for help from other people if you need it, use efficiency apps, and don’t be afraid to do things like order your groceries for delivery, practice ahead of time meal prep, and block out your tasks. I’m only doing my program part time so that I don’t get swamped with assignments on top of everything else. Yes it will take longer, but I’ll hopefully be less insane by the end.
- Dealing with the changes. Did I mention it’s been almost eighteen years since I graduated with my BA? Yeah, in 18 years, a lot has changed. I’m used to hitting up libraries to do research and doing face to face discussions. With this program being online, I will have to get used to online forums, paying with my credit card (ugh), doing more online research (thankfully I am well versed in that), uploading assignments, and listening to lectures on videos which is not my ideal learning type. Deep breaths.
You might have your own changes you need to deal with. Maybe you’re not used to being so heavily immersed in technology. Maybe the way textbooks are written have changed. Maybe you will need some new technology to make sure you can do everything (I will need a new laptop). If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it!
- Self-doubt: Am I excited to go back to school? Absolutely. I love school. Am I terrified that I will be too dumb? Absolutely! I have been doing curriculum and program development for a long time, but there’s that worrying feeling that somehow I’ve been doing it wrong all along…
Again, it’s important to ask for help, but it’s also important to grit your teeth and start. Honestly, starting is the hardest part; once you get into it, you’ll find that it gets easier to set those anxious feelings aside. Deep breaths, eyes on the prize.
The final point about going back to school is making sure to take the time to choose the right program and setting for you. Why am I doing an online M.Ed? The M.Ed is obviously an extension of my career as an educator and program developer and it simply cements my experience on paper for other schools and organizations to trust. Why online? Because I need a level of flexibility around my family and work schedule and the online program was a lot easier to get into compared to a classroom based one in my local university that would have required a lot more hoops to jump. The school I chose has a good reputation for delivering online programs, it’s still within my province, and it’s affordable (enough anyway).
Why did my husband do archaeology? Because he loves archaeology and has ever since he was a kid. Why face to face? Because he needs a level of oversight and firm deadlines to get work done. If you leave him alone to do it with no deadlines or external push, it probably won’t get done. Plus in order to get into a good job, he needed some field experience and his degree provided that. Yay different brains!
As an adult learner, you have the advantage of already having a pretty good idea of how you learn and what you want to learn, making choosing the right setting a bit easier. Make sure you assess your goals and priorities, that you know what kind of time and money you can put into it, and do your research from there. You’ll often know if a program is a good fit. (seeing the online M.Ed was like being struck by happy lightning for me: it was perfect).
There are lots of benefits to returning to school as an adult and more programs and courses than ever before. With the job market being a bit weird right now, it might be a good time to shore up your education and networking while learning some new skills. Good luck!
