Nov 04, 2021 04:19 PM EDT By Ernest Hamilton, UniversityHerald Reporter

Once you're working and you've finished high school and obtained your degree, is there actually ever any point in going back to school and studying once more? Surely there is no need to get another degree or any other qualifications; once you're working and moving along in your career (or not, as the case may be), isn't that enough? 

The answer is that there are many reasons why you might want to go back to school, and if obtaining another degree is a process that you want to undertake or that you feel would benefit you too much to ignore, then you can return to your studies at any point in your life. With online learning, this is even easier, since you can study while you work. 

So, going back to school is possible, and it might be beneficial, but why? Read on to find out and you might be tempted to go back to college and make some big, positive changes in your life. 

You're Ready For The Next Level 

What do you want out of your career? Do you want to stay where you are until the day you retire, or do you want to rise up and get a better job, gaining the promotion that you want and finally become the head of your department or a similar level? If it's the former, then an additional qualification might not be of much benefit; you can simply stick with what you're doing. If it's the latter, however, then you need to make yourself stand out from the rest of the people who are looking for the same promotions and the same opportunities; one way to do this is to get a second degree (or a first one if you had not attended college initially). 

Many of the jobs that pay well and are in specific niches will require certain qualifications for you to even get started, and when it comes to getting ahead, they are absolutely necessary. You might have all the experience needed, you might be the ideal candidate for the job, but if you're missing out on that vital qualification and everything else it brings with it, then none of that will matter-the degree is what any hiring manager is going to look at first. Therefore, if you want to do well in your career and get to a high level, then going back to school-digitally or in person-will certainly help you. 

You Want To Finish What You Started 

As already said, there are plenty of reasons why someone might choose to go back to college at a later stage in life-whether it's a few years after graduating high school or 30 or more years later. One of these reasons might not have much to do with their career and where they want to get to, but it may give them peace of mind and closure. 

If you went to college but dropped out for any reason, whether it was because you didn't feel it was for you, you couldn't see the benefit, you didn't like the course, or there were personal reasons to do so, then you might feel as though you have left an important part of your life unfinished. Perhaps it didn't impact your life as such, but having half the learning done and nothing to show for it can be frustrating and a big regret in life. Therefore, going back to school to finish what you started, even if the reason is nothing more than that it would make you feel good, can be a good enough reason to apply. 

It might be possible for you to transfer any credits you did earn during your original time at college, but even if this isn't the case or you want to try a new subject and change direction, if you don't like the idea that you never completed your degree course, there is nothing to stop you from going back and getting it a second time. Now that you have more wisdom and life experience and you know what you want to achieve, you might find you are better suited to studying. 

You Want To Take Advantage Of Online Learning 

It could be that one of the reasons you didn't attend college in the first place, or didn't finish your degree if you did start, was that attending a physical college every day was too difficult. Whether this is due to access issues, commuting times, money, family obligations, or anything else, this would have meant that getting a degree was simply not possible in the past. Or, perhaps you did get a degree or some kind of qualification, and you want to get additional certification, but now that you're older, attending a physical college is not possible due to the reasons stated above, or others that haven't been mentioned. Whatever the reason, technology has now made it possible to study at college no matter where you are or how little time you might have. This is due to online learning. 

Online learning is a hugely progressive idea that means you can take a degree course from the comfort of your own home. You can learn at a pace that suits you, and because your physical location doesn't matter, you can search out the best online public policy masters (or another degree that might help you in whatever you are planning to do in the future) without any restrictions. 

If you have a family to take care of you work full time, it would be hard to attend a physical school to learn. It would be costly, and inconvenient, and in many cases, no matter how useful the qualification would be, the idea just wouldn't be workable. With an online degree, this is far from how the situation would play out; you can work early in the mornings or at night when everyone else has gone to bed, or you can study during your lunch hour, or even read up on texts on the train journey to your office. It won't matter; all you need to do is turn in your assignments and the rest is down to you. 

Online learning is flexible and achievable no matter how hectic your home life might be. Therefore, if you feel that gaining another degree will help you in some way, or even if you simply feel that additional learning would be interesting, if you take an online degree in a subject that fascinates you or that will allow you to progress in your career, you won't have to make any sacrifices; you can have it all. 

You Have A Point To Prove 

Sometimes going back to school to gain your degree has nothing to do with anyone else, whether that's a current employer, a future one, or even your friends or family. Sometimes, it's all about you and what you want to do. In some cases, you might not have thought you were capable of obtaining a degree or studying at college, or maybe you put it off and always told yourself you would go one day but never quite got round to it. In this situation, going back to college might be a way to prove to yourself that you can do it and that you are indeed capable. Whether or not the degree is going to help you in the future, the fact is that you can go back to school when you choose to and you can finally do what you thought you could never do. 

When you are studying, and certainly once you have obtained your degree or other qualification, you'll have definitively proven to yourself that you can do whatever it is you set your mind to. Perhaps this study and achievement is only the first step; what else could you do with your life if you put your mind to it? Once you've gone back to school you will boost your confidence hugely, and this means you will have bigger and better future prospects in your life, knowing that you are fully able to handle whatever comes your way. 

You Want To Increase Your Earnings 

Although you might not like to admit to it - money is a contentious subject - often the decision to go back to school a little later in life will come down to the fact that you want and need to earn more. The truth is that, although there are some jobs in which experience and skill far outweigh anything else, the vast majority of positions that pay well will require a college degree, and sometimes a masters degree. 

Therefore, if you want to increase your earnings, it makes sense that you should go back to college and obtain another qualification or enhance your skills in some way. Once you have done that, you'll have a lot more choice. One option would be to stay in the job you're in now, but show your employer that you are taking steps to better yourself, and applying for promotions as they become available. The other option is to look for a job elsewhere that pays more, but that requires that all-important degree. In either case, this is your chance to earn more money not just in the short term but well into the future. Although you'll need to pay for your new qualification, you should look on it as an investment in yourself; once you find a much better-paying job that you wouldn't have had access to originally, you'll be able to make up for the money you needed to spend and then continue earning more. 

You Want To Start A New Career 

Do you enjoy your job? If so, that is a positive point. We spend much of our lives working, so unless you actually enjoy what you're doing, you will be making yourself unnecessarily miserable, and there is no point in that-there are so many career options available to everyone in the 21st century, with more being created all the time, that there is no reason at all why you might choose to stick with a career that you don't like, especially when you know exactly what it is you do want to do. Even if you don't yet know what you want, if you are sure you dislike what you're doing now, that's enough reason to consider change. 

The only obstacle that will usually be standing in your way-apart from the courage to make such a big change, no matter how positive the outcome will be-is your education. If you want to enter a specialized area such as teaching, medicine, law, or technology, for example, then you will need the right qualifications to get started. The only way to do this if you don't have them already is to go back to school and earn them. Again, online learning is the ideal solution here, as it will mean you can continue bringing in an income from your current job and still study for a new qualification that will lead you to an entirely new career. 

You Want To Improve Your Interpersonal Skills 

Being successful in your career-and by extension, in your life-means more than simply having the technical ability and knowledge to carry out your job. If you want to be truly successful and progress in your career, you'll need soft skills, too. These include communication, punctuality, organization, research, empathy, and other similar traits. Although many of these will be learned as you move through life, there is nothing like a college degree to give you a much better insight into how to achieve success and what additional skills you need in your life to enhance it. 

Interpersonal skills are always going to be important. No matter what kind of work you do, you'll need to be able to talk to people and put your point across, and you'll need to be able to communicate effectively. Studying for a degree, even an online one that doesn't necessarily mean you are in the same room with other people, will enable you to learn more about how to connect with other people. You can network, make friends, and generally broaden your ideas and perspective on life. As you can see, going back to school can give you so much more than you might have thought possible. 

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