TOPAZ HORIZON

I was chatting with some mommies from my sons' school the other day. They were asking me about my work-at-home career. One of them was a housewife and the other one was a manager at a company. The housewife wanted to earn money from home while the manager wanted to quit her job so she can spend more time with her kids. We got to talk about how our sons' school was looking for more teachers and we tossed around the idea of getting an education degree and applying as school teachers. I got excited enough to even ask my husband about it later that day.

Me back to school again at 41? If I had an education degree, I can always find a job, to be honest. Here and abroad (fingers crossed!). My husband and I have been wondering about migrating to another country since we don't feel good about what's happening in our country in the last two years but no one's looking for our skills so maybe it's time to learn new ones and earn new degrees. 

I also feel that I'm falling behind because it's a fast-changing world. My boss, the people I work with now, and my mentors are all about a decade younger than me. I've been looking at online courses, distance-education colleges, and workshops so that I can learn new skills to be on equal footing with my younger colleagues.

The problem is going back to school means time. I barely have enough time to get through my day! Plus, a new degree will cost money and we're already pouring a huge chunk of our income into the kids' education. That’s why I'm thinking think long and hard about this. If you're in the same boat as I am, these 3 questions will help you decide whether you should go back to school in later life.



Can You Afford It?
This is the first thing to consider because college is so expensive. An MBA and PhD don't come cheap either. If you can’t afford it, you might end up landing yourself in some serious financial trouble. Think about the impact of 4 years without an income.

If your husband can support you both, you might be ok. But if not, you need to work out how you’re going to pay the bills. If you have a healthy savings account, that might sustain you, but then you’ve to decide whether you want to spend all of that and start saving for the future all over again. You may also be able to get a loan to go back to college but again, think about whether you want to take on that huge amount of debt at this stage in your life.

Is There Another Way?
Thinking about what your motivation actually is can help you to decide whether it’s the right choice. If you’re thinking about it because you feel that your younger colleagues are more qualified than you, that’s not always the best reason. As long as you’re happy in your job and you have the skills you need to do it well, you don’t really need to get a new degree.

However, if you’re looking at moving into a position that requires a certain degree, then you will have to go back into education. But that doesn’t always mean having to go back to college full time. You can do an online msw program in your spare time. Being able to do the degree from home while you’re still working makes it so much more affordable and you won’t have to leave the job market for 4 years.

Will It Pay Off?
If you do decide that full-time college is the right thing for you, there’s one more question you need to ask yourself before taking the plunge: Will it pay off? If you spend 4 years at college, getting yourself into loads of debt, sacrificing time with your family, and you end up in a job that pays the same salary, is it really worth it? Sometimes, if you change career and that was your motivation, then it’s worth doing. But if you’re going to work in the same industry for the same money, it’s not worth spending all that time and money.

Going back to college in later life is a big decision so ask yourself these 3 questions before you do anything. Good luck to us, mamas! So many things to consider now that the world is changing so fast and everything costs so much more!

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