This article will discuss the impact of education on one's economic and professional life. The article will be targeted towards the working professionals mentioning how they can advance their careers by pursuing higher education.

1. Benefits of Continuing Education
Are you stuck in a rut at work, doing the same job year after year with little or no hope of moving up the
ladder? Do you constantly wish you could switch gears midway through your career in pursuit of that
dream job? Are you the idealist who believes education is a continuous process and has an undying
thirst for knowledge or the realist who just wants that promotion and the consequent increase in salary?
The situations described above may be different, but the solution to all of them is one – continuing
education. The term continuing education, which includes degree credit courses amongst many other
types of learning activities, is generally used to refer to education that is imparted to students who are
older than the traditional age of university-going students.
According to a national survey of students in continuing education, the adult learners in both two-year
and four-year college degree programs were considerably older than traditional students.
Rising Numbers:
In its latest higher education projection, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for
Education Statistics reported that the total enrollment of students who are 35 years or older in degree
granting institutions is expected to increase 7 percent between 2005 and 2016.
One of the important reasons for continuing education could be the state of economy. According to an
annual report by Sloan Consortium, a group of organizations dedicated to quality online education, bad
economic times often have a good impact on education. It pushes working professionals to enhance
their skills not just to retain their current jobs, but also to improve their chances of advancing as well as
increase their employability.
Some of the common benefits of continuing education are:
• By enrolling in advanced or graduate programs in their field, adults improve their chances of
climbing up the corporate ladder and an increase in salary. There are certain specialized roles,
such as nursing administration, which usually require professionals to obtain advanced
degrees.
• Many people pursue an education to enhance their skills and position themselves favorably in
the job market.
• Sometimes, continuing education becomes necessary if you want to switch careers and you
don’t have the qualification, training, or experience to enter the new profession of your choice.
• Some adults pursue education because they have a hunger for learning. For them, education
is a lifelong quest. Some purse college degrees related to their professions, while others
choose fields that they are interested in, which may or may not be related to their professions.
• For some, the reasons for continuing education have nothing to do with learning or earning.
They look at it as something which will improve their image amongst friends and family.
• Successfully completing continuing education courses is known to have a positive impact on
people’s self-esteem and quality of life.
Education may be a necessity for some and a passion for others. But the fact remains that for many, it
may not be possible to give up a full-time job for continuing education. That’s where distance learning

2. and online degrees programs are helpful – as they allow working adults to learn and earn at the same
time.
A wise old man (or woman) once said that it’s never too late to go back to school. The greatest tribute
to that age-old adage is being paid by the working adult population of our country that fights all odds to
go back to school!