Coping in Tough Times: Job or School?
Recession giving you problems? The Sun Sentinel will find answers to your questions about personal finance. Use the box at the right.
Would it be worth it to go back to school to get a bachelor's degree or just stick it out in the job market until a position opens up in your field?
You can do both.
And here's why you should: Unemployment is what economists call a lagging indicator. The economy will turn around and start thriving one day. But unemployment tends to keep rising even after recessions end.
So you want to safeguard your current position and polish your skills for the next job at the same time.
Your competitors for that job may already be enrolled.
"Historically, when economic times are challenging, students go back and acquire a new credential," Don Graham, chief executive of the Washington Post Co., said in December. The Post owns Kaplan University, which has 44,000 students studying online. Probably plenty of those people are working.
Graduate schools, too, report a spike in applications.
Follow your instincts on this one. It'll be a sort of work-study program to keep you employed.
Would it be worth it to go back to school to get a bachelor's degree or just stick it out in the job market until a position opens up in your field?
You can do both.
And here's why you should: Unemployment is what economists call a lagging indicator. The economy will turn around and start thriving one day. But unemployment tends to keep rising even after recessions end.
So you want to safeguard your current position and polish your skills for the next job at the same time.
Your competitors for that job may already be enrolled.
"Historically, when economic times are challenging, students go back and acquire a new credential," Don Graham, chief executive of the Washington Post Co., said in December. The Post owns Kaplan University, which has 44,000 students studying online. Probably plenty of those people are working.
Graduate schools, too, report a spike in applications.
Follow your instincts on this one. It'll be a sort of work-study program to keep you employed.
Harriet Johnson Brackey, the personal finance columnist for the Sun Sentinel, is an award-winning business reporter. Her columns for 2008 were named "The Best in the Business," a national award chosen by her colleagues at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
