Yes, you can do it!
Posted by debi on May 31st, 2007 filed in Gedunk, Scuttlebutt, Lovelines
Credential:
1 : Something that gives a title to credit or confidence
2 plural : Testimonials showing that a person is entitled to credit or has a right to exercise official power
3 : Certificate, diploma
Merriam Webster Dictionary
If you’re like me (a really nosey so-and-so), you are downright lost in the need to know and know and KNOW. Which is precisely the reason why I decided to take a chance on myself five years ago. I decided to burn the candle at both ends simply to earn some serious Credentials.
Let’s face it, those of us who are married to military members and haven’t earned bona fide credentials of some sort by the time we’re 35, profess to be happy (at the very least, tolerant) of our own career choices as cashiers, daycare providers, retail clerks, secretaries, cooks. Or we’re busy trying not to kick ourselves too hard for not doing more with the free time we had when we had it to elevate our income-producing potential.
It was a mighty big chance I took all those years ago, one that swiftly resembled a pricey risk to the tune of several thousand dollars.
Should you dare take such a chance on yourself while raising a family? Sure, you should, as long as you are willing to work a truckload of overtime hours at your “day” job - in my case, one full time and two part time jobs – to offset the expense. Content, in the meantime, to buy sleep in a gift shop downtown every other Thursday.
According to College is Possible, a public education campaign launched in 1997 in conjunction with the Department of Education and 1200 higher education institutions, 40 percent of American college students (or almost 6 million people) are 25 or older.
Further, the U.S. Department of Education estimates that 90 million individuals participate in some form of adult education each year, including training and basic education offered outside traditional higher education.
The truth is, those of us who want credentials have no option but to achieve them by studying our butts off and paying for them. Dearly. But once we’ve got ‘em – boy, have we got ‘em! Ask our family and friends who will readily attest that we are busy driving everybody crazy with our hard-won knowledge and expertise nearly everywhere we go.
Having enough education is the key to future financial security and prosperity. And don’t say that because you have kids or refuse to work outside the home that you can’t still manage to get more education.
Many are doing it through the computer or via correspondence course. Some have been able to parlay that education into genuine careers - good paying careers - they are able to do strictly from home, if they choose.
Myself, I am continually finding all sorts of new ways to use my education and have even found ways to make money in the process from home. Once my children are raised and out on their own, I’ll go into my field full time. In the meantime, I am able to use what I’ve learned in all sorts of ways right over the home computer.
Socially, I find myself constantly bombarded with questions as a result of my new background as a board-certified nutritionist and holistic health practitioner - questions I can now answer accurately and professionally. Plus, I find there are opportunities all over the place for professionals who choose to earn their degrees from home.
If you’ve been thinking it’s time to get more education, why wait? You owe it to yourself and your family to get started. Even if it’s just a class here or there, a semester or two as time and funds allow, you are still working toward a real goal. And a real future.
And in case anyone is wondering: Yes, we wives and mothers do deserve to better ourselves, personally and professionally. Sometimes we put our own needs so far behind our families’ needs that we don’t realize our own true potential until after our children are grown and gone - or our marriages end in divorce or through unexpected death of a spouse.
For information on education programs and benefits to get you started, click Here
May 31st, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Yeah, I went to college after I graduated. Managed three semesters before we got transfered and the money went elsewhere. It’s a shame I left it, as I was on the Dean’s list. That’s another benefit to going to college a little later in life, Debi, and paying for it yourself.
You REALLY value the lessons, the need to do the homework and the importance of staying awake in class. I was a dream student, according to one professor. I paid attention, asked relevant questions, studied for and passed the tests, even did the extra point work. And, yes, I bored hubby with the stuff I learned. He really got tired of hearing me say “did you know . . . ?” I thought it was fun to be in the classroom again. Maybe one day, I’ll go back. (wistfully)
Good on you and others like you who have made the grade (pun intended).