How Continuing Education Can Help Your Career

There are a lot of components that demonstrate the value in continuing education. Further education can provide resources, experience, and connections to others in a given field. Additionally, college education translates to a much higher chance of financial success.

Christopher Rugaber reports for USA Today that the pay gap between the college educated and uneducated is larger than ever before and ever-growing. While your ability to earn is certainly a valuable reason to pursue further education, this reality ultimately points to the truth that the education, experience, and networking opportunities college grads receive culminate in a future that is more fruitful across the board.

Even for those who have already entered their careers, this remains true. Continuing education can become the foundation to achieve goals you never thought possible.

How to Make It Work

The way to make it work is to approach both your education and your current professional life with creativity and flexibility. Working a 9-to-5 and attending college classes on a traditional schedule is unlikely to work.

At work: Because the benefits of telecommuting are being increasingly recognized and embraced by a wide array of industries, it’s more frequently an option for those who need a better work/life balance. Even if you do not work at a company that allows large amounts of telecommuting, it’s very possible you work at one that will allow flexible scheduling and/or some of your schedule to be worked remotely.

If your company does not yet have any policies regarding remote work, consider being the first to suggest it, especially if it’s in the interest of pursuing an education that will ultimately benefit your employer.

Obviously, if you are already running your business, you’ll be able to craft a schedule that works for both you and the company.

At school: Today, there are many educational options that allow students to forego the traditional schedule and achieve their continuing education goals.

As the education experts at the University of Maryland note, “Students have more flexibility to pick and choose an agenda that suits their existing lifestyle. They’ll also likely have an easier time meeting on-campus requirements than enrolling in a traditional, full-time program. Plus, online students are not limited to the higher learning institutions near them.”

Technology has provided the means for professionals and students to embrace options that not only provide elements of flexibility but that ultimately also provide future opportunity and forward momentum. This is true not only in terms of scheduling, but also in terms of the specific program chosen — .you’re no longer restricted to those connected to a school in your direct geographical location.

Excel Where You Are

It may be that you’ve found an organization you’re passionate about. The goals, culture, and leadership all fit who you are as an individual and as a professional, and you can’t imagine leaving. But you may be dreaming about moving up the ranks without being able to list the required education or experience on your resume to move up the ladder.

As we’ve noted before, employers hire individuals because they see potential. But that potential may remain untapped if you’re unwilling to do everything you can to add to your skill set, your knowledge base, and your experience level.

Pursuing continuing education may be just the thing needed to allow you to excel in your chosen organization.

Go Your Own Way

One of the best reasons to pursue continuing education is because it can give you the hand up you need to move on to a professional path that is defined by a sense of agency and clear direction.

For the professional endeavoring to make their career their own, sometimes education is needed before they can truly thrive. Whether it comes as a precursor to striking out on one’s own or in the midst of an endeavor that has yet to thrive, professionals committed to success know that sometimes the best long-term investment is in their own knowledge base.

Define where you want to go: Sometimes, an entrepreneurial spirit is at work, but there is a lack of clarity in how to effectively utilize that spirit. Going back to school can allow you to better flesh out who you are as a professional and where you want to go.

Tyler Fellman, who went back to school so that he had the business and engineering education needed to start his business, Fellman Watch Co., told his alma mater Arizona State University that in addition to his education, taking advantage of every learning opportunity as well as mentorships and workshops made all the difference to his success.

Those different components work together to allow the budding entrepreneur to successfully decide what they want their career and their business to eventually look like.

Supercharge your dream: It’s possible that you know exactly where you see yourself, and how you want to apply your skills and interests, but your company may be lacking the necessary tools to thrive and become a competitive force within its industry.

Not only can continuing education open doors to investors and mentors, it can also grant the needed platform to ensure that your passion is met equally with knowledge.

According to Hannah Whittenly for Idea Cafe, “As your business grows you'll find it impossible, and even foolhardy, to do everything yourself. Leadership includes finding good talent and guiding it to capitalize on their abilities. Accomplished business professionals, especially those who have thrived under an MBA curriculum during their education, may be bringing their own network as well as their skills.”

It's important to recognize that being as educated and knowledgeable as possible isn’t just about creating new opportunities; it is also about protecting your business’s income by ensuring that you have the necessary information to recognize and combat possible threats.

Truly, those who need to expand their knowledge base are the lucky ones. They are the ones who have the privilege of experiencing such growth in their organizations that they themselves also must stretch and grow.

Continuing education is a surefire way for professionals who are interested in either climbing the ranks where they are or pursuing their own endeavor to do so. It brings with it not just more knowledge but the ability to seek out connections with those who have wisdom and experiences that can be relied upon over the course of a career.