How To Combine A Career And Higher Education

Once upon a time it used to be you finished education, you found a job you were willing to put up with and waited it out until retirement. This model is of course, completely unworkable in the modern world. The world itself is changing into one where it is unacceptable to be standing still, with the rush of technology there has been advances in the workplace at rates previously unseen. The average working person will have to retrain three times in their lifetime, and if you work in a technology industry it can be even more often.

With this in mind many of us are considering educating ourselves further while working. This is usually because we feel that we need to “future-proof,” ourselves or give ourselves alternative branching career paths. There are several ways to do this.

Ways to Learn and Work

Learning and working at the same time could potentially be very stressful, but with more modern and flexible working hours and virtual learning it is easier than it once was. Sometimes it is possible to have your employer pay for your education! Often this will have to be linked to an extended contract (so they get a return of your news skills on their investment).

Virtual Classrooms

There are several ways of learning which can be done online. One of these is the virtual classroom; this will usually be several lectures for you to tackle at your own pace and plenty of material available for you to read. These lectures will usually be in the form of streamed video. The downside of this system is there is little chance to receive face-to-face instruction.

Day-Out Learning

This option requires an employer to be kind enough to give you one day off a week to travel and learn at a university or collage. Many higher-education intuitions offer courses designed for one day a week. This system offers some of the benefits of a full-time degree or course as it gives face-to-face instruction as well as other advantages such as library access and the motivation which comes from working with others.

The Benefits for Businesses of Work and Learning

Any business which allows its employees to improve themselves is likely to see the benefits; these benefits are also likely to be seen before the course is even completed.

As long as the course is relevant and accessible in some way there are very few barriers stopping an employee from attempting to improve themselves.