After hearing countless news reports on the troubled job market, you had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before you were personally affected. Not surprisingly, your company recently decided to downsize and reduce its workforce by almost 40%. Unfortunately, you were not among the lucky few who were able to keep their jobs. Although you realize this decision was made to keep the company afloat, you can’t help but feel depressed and betrayed. To make matters worse, there are very few employment opportunities in your chosen field. Since you don’t want to wind up manning a cash register or flipping burgers, you’ve determined that the wisest course of action is to return to school and earn a new degree. However, finding the time to pursue higher education can be difficult when you have a family to take care of. Fortunately, while this may be challenging, it is by no means impossible. The following tips will help you earn a degree without sacrificing time with your nearest and dearest.
Consider Online Education
With families to support, jobs to go to and bills to pay, many returning students have packed schedules. Regretfully, this doesn’t leave them a lot of time for pursuing degrees. This is where online colleges and universities come in. These convenient schools enable students to attend classes online and complete coursework and exams at their leisure. People of faith on the hunt for a fully accredited online Bible college are sure to love Grace Bible College. With an impressive array of courses, degrees and traditional Christian values, Grace is the online school of choice for students who want to maintain a special relationship with God.
Get the Support of Your Spouse
In many households with children, one of the parents invariably winds up doing more of the work as far as the kids are concerned. If you happen to be the one who does the majority of the parenting, returning to school is liable to seem downright impossible. So before committing to going back to college, sit down with your spouse and have a frank discussion about what this decision will entail. Let him know that he’ll need to take on some extra childcare-related responsibilities while you’re earning your degree. If he seems less than amenable to this arrangement, make sure to stress how much going back to school means to both you and your family.
Enroll in Evening Classes
Raising a family is a full-time job in and of itself. Depending on how old your children are, they may require around-the-clock care. Between changing diapers, reading stories and putting the little ones down for naps, your days are packed to the brim with parenting chores. Realizing this, many higher education facilities offer evening classes for busy parents and students who work during the day. So after sending your tots off to Dreamland, you can load up your knapsack and go into full-on student mode.
As the job market continues to decline and the number of available positions steadily shrink, having multiple marketable skills is more important than ever. With an increasing number of adults returning to school, you can take solace in the fact that your situation is hardly unique. Even with a family to care for, going back to college is a very manageable undertaking.