If you never finished your bachelor’s degree or you’re thinking about grad school, you might wonder if it’s worth it to take time out of your career and take on more student debt. You’ll lose two years of potential experience in your field as well as two years’ salary.
But getting a degree can be the path to a more fulfilling and lucrative career. It may even be necessary for advancement in your current career.
Going back to school can help you earn more money throughout your lifetime, and you may even be able to go back to school online and keep progressing in your career. For many adults, going back to school is worth it.
You’ll Earn More Money with a Degree
If your primary motivation for going back to school is to get a degree, you should go for it. Bachelor’s degree holders earn about $2.2 million over the course of their lifetimes, and master’s degree holders earn about $2.6 million throughout their lifetimes.
By comparison, the average person with just a high school diploma earns about $1.3 million throughout his or her lifetime.
You May Be Able to Offset Tuition Costs
When you’re considering whether to go back to school, you have to consider the many costs involved. There’s not just the cost of tuition and fees, but also the cost of textbooks, devices, housing, and healthcare.
Your student loans may also accumulate interest during your time in school, depending on whether you have subsidized federal loans or not.
If you choose a traditional brick-and-mortar program, you’ll also have to pay housing costs and may have to pay costs to move to your university city as well as the costs of commuting to and from campus every day.
However, many students find ways to offset tuition costs. For example, if you’re going to graduate school, you could find a post as a graduate assistant – these will usually come with a tuition waiver and a stipend to help offset your living expenses.
No matter what kind of degree you’re getting, you should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to see whether you qualify for grants and subsidized student loans.
The financial aid department at your school will also work with you to find other scholarships and grants from the school that you qualify for. You can also apply for outside scholarships and grants to offset your living and tuition costs.
If you decide to keep working while taking classes online for a credential like a Master of Accountancy (MAcc) degree, you may even be able to get tuition assistance from your employer.
You Could Go to School Online and Keep Your Job
Online degree programs have proliferated in the past couple of decades, so that now you can earn any degree you want online with no, or minimal, need to attend in-person classes.
Many of the most reputable universities and colleges are offering online degree programs to students around the world.
If you’re good at managing your time, you could stay in your full-time job and earn your degree on your own time by taking online classes whenever your schedule allows. Many employers will offer tuition reimbursement for employees who want to earn degrees relevant to their fields.
Employers Take Online Degrees Seriously
There was definitely once a time when distance learning wasn’t considered a respectable educational option, but that time is receding in the rearview as more and more reputable brick-and-mortar institutions offer online classes and entire online degree programs.
While some employers may still be skeptical about online degrees, most employers don’t care anymore what format your degree was offered in, as long as it was offered by an accredited university.
And it’s not hard to find a good degree program in an interesting field from a reputable university.
Many employers will be impressed that you were able to juggle the demands of online learning with other responsibilities in your life. Some may wonder about your in-person collaboration skills, while others may wonder why you chose an online degree program.
However, employers may not even automatically know that your degree was earned online unless you bring it up yourself or spell it out on your resume.
Are you thinking about going back to school as an adult?
It’s usually worth it to earn a degree, especially if you can get one online without sacrificing work opportunities. Take the next step in your professional life, and enroll in that degree program you’ve been considering!