X Close
(ARA) – News of the economy prompts many to lie awake at night worrying about how secure their jobs are, or whether they’ve got enough education to keep their job in a highly competitive market. With diminished retirement funds and uncertainty about the future, people are trying to navigate through a suddenly different world.
Whether you are working or looking for a job, there are steps you can take to help improve your prospects in the marketplace. Many adults are going back to school with an eye toward bolstering the chance for promotion or studying to enter a new field altogether, and many career schools across the nation report that enrollment numbers are rising as people of all ages seek to gain additional skills.
"We’re finding that our student population comes from several sources," says Denise Choquette, president of Brown Mackie College – Tulsa. "Many families can’t make it on a single income anymore."
For these adult students, program flexibility is an important consideration. "They want to see the kids off to school in the morning, and get back home in the afternoon to meet the kids at the bus," continues Choquette. "A flexible schedule helps."
Others enrolling in school are those who began an academic career earlier in life and postponed it, while some find they can’t advance in their job without more education. "We’re also seeing more high school graduates who are looking for non-traditional academic programs," says Choquette. "People are looking for ways to send the kids to school without totally destroying their retirement funds. Many find non-residential career schools to be an appealing option."
Enrollment is growing at Brown Mackie College-Tulsa in the health care and technology programs, with the greatest enrollment growth in the medical field programs. This coincides with government projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of higher employment growth in health care than in any other industry in the coming years. As the baby boomer population ages, the health care industry offers many different career options.
Inspiration to join the medical field comes in different ways. "Some of the population is dealing with an aging parent that received good care. Or they’ve had someone in health care reach out to them and make a difference, and they feel they want to become involved," says Choquette. (SentinelSource.com)
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!