When Is It Worth It to Go Back to School?

The decision to go back to school is never an easy one to take. Going back to school can mean taking years off of full-time work or juggling the demands of an online program with those of your full-time job. It’s a big commitment – it takes years to finish a degree, especially if you decide to go back part-time.

Whether or not you decide to go back to school will depend on where you want to go in your career and what you hope a degree will allow you to achieve. There are certain times when it’s definitely worth it to go back to school for further training. Maybe you already started a degree but needed to take a break from your academic pursuits for whatever reason. Maybe you need further credentials to advance in your career. Maybe you want a bigger salary – or maybe you want to do something you’re truly passionate about for a change. Let’s take a closer look at when it’s worth it to go back to school.

When You Need Further Credentials to Advance in Your Career

There sometimes comes a time in your career when you need further credentials to keep moving up the ladder. Maybe you’ve gone as far as you can in your field without a degree, or maybe you have a degree but you need a more advanced degree or professional certification to move up.

It’s not uncommon to get several years into your career only to discover that you need a little more schooling to get where you want to go. Maybe your career goals didn’t really crystallize until you spent some time in the workforce – that’s normal. Maybe you thought you’d do fine with an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, only to find that your field is changing and a higher credential is now needed for many positions. Online degree programs like the bachelors in business administration from the University of Arizona are perfect for adult students who are already working in their career fields.

When You Want More Financial Security

Perhaps you didn’t get the chance to go to college when you finished high school, or you went but didn’t get to finish, and now you’re stuck in a low-paying, dead-end job. Perhaps you did finish college but your chosen field isn’t that lucrative and, now that you’re actually out in the world and trying to make ends meet on your own, you’re getting more interested in bigger paychecks.

Education is one of the surest pathways to a more financially secure life. Just make sure you study the job outlook for your new chosen field and choose the right degree program so that you can get a good job after graduation and not find yourself in the same financial position, but now with a bunch of student debt.

When You’re Ready for a New Career

Maybe you already have a degree and a career and you’re doing fine financially. You don’t even need to earn any further credentials to advance in your field. You’re golden, right?

Not if you’re feeling like starting a new career. Sometimes, working long hours at a job can be enough to kill any passion you may have felt for your career. Maybe you’re burnt out, or you’ve discovered a new academic interest that you want to see through. Maybe you studied what your parents pushed you to study, but you don’t like working in that field and you want a career you can be passionate about. Going back to school can help you build the skills you need to successfully change careers, even if you’ve already got a degree or two under your belt.

When You’re Ready to Finish Your Degree

Let’s say you started college years ago but never actually finished your degree. It happens to a lot of people, but it’s not a waste – at least it doesn’t have to be. You could transfer those credits to a new school and start as a junior or senior. If you’ve been thinking of going back to school to finish your degree so you can finally work in your desired field, you should do it. There’s never been a better time to return to college.

When is it worth it to go back to school? Whenever you need further education to reach your professional and personal goals! Education is almost always worth it – you’ll never regret an investment you make in bettering yourself, and your degree will prove to be useful to you in unexpected ways.