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It seems the two greatest long term values generated by the college experience are opportunity and relationships. Neither is on the brochure, but both form the foundation for the future of the student. These same principals apply to continuing education for individuals who are making a career change.

College provides young people with many benefits; a good education, skills and training in a chosen field, and a final change to party at their parents expense. Yet, each of these things is temporary. The education will be outdated for forgotten within a few years. The skills and training are often obsolete before the classes begin, let alone when they actually apply them in the work place. The parties are great for the time, but the student will eventually grow up and become a productive member of society.

Why do we pay big money for college educations? The answer is very complex, but one thing justifies the expense. Individuals with an education beyond the high school level make more money. Why is often contested, but there are two things most experts agree on.

• The motivation required to complete any education plan is desirable to hiring managers.
• The relationships formed in college will lead to increased opportunities in the future.

However, college is not the only way to gain these two major advantages. The same is true for continuing education through community colleges, peer learning networks, or certification courses. Sometimes, these approaches can be even more successful than pursuing a degree. Most importantly, they give job seekers an opportunity to demonstrate self-motivation, to expand their education, and their network.

Self-motivation – Pursuing continuing education that relates to your target job demonstrates that this is an area of dedication and interest that motivates you to act on your own with no direction. This type of self motivation is very appealing to hiring managers. This is never truer than in a time of economic slump. As managers try to squeeze more productivity out of every worker, they are inspired to find individuals that walk in the door motivated to work hard and make a difference immediately. Self motivated continuing education gives you that desirable edge.

Expand your education – This benefit is obvious. Attending continuing education courses expands your knowledge of specific topics. However, the risk is not as apparent.

• First, make sure you are not paying to attend a course you could teach on your own. If you have been employed as a CPA for the past decade, accounting 101 is probably not for you.
• Second, make sure the education is or will be relevant to hiring managers. Compare the course description to jobs you are targeting. Make sure the things being taught in the course are desirable to hiring managers, or it will have little to no impact on your candidacy. In some cases, it may even make a hiring authority pass on your resume. For instance, the 10 year CPA who brags about taking accounting 101, doesn’t look like a very experienced CPA.

In the next article in this series we will cover the ways continuing education will expand your network, the services continuing education providers offer in addition to classes, and how continuing education can lead to your next job. Don’t sign up for those classes just yet.

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