2 of 25

Write now Article Tools

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report that "Young Baby Boomers" (those who were born between 1957-1964) will average between 9-10 jobs from the time they are 18 years old until they are 36. It also reports that the average adult will change careers more than three times over their lifetime. With downsizing, outsourcing, and over-saturation of the work force, people are forced to change jobs more often.

By the time we reached the 1980s, businesses were changing the way they were run to save money. Job stability and job loyalty became a pipe dream to many American workers. A great divide in the economy was growing between the dwindling number of blue-collar jobs and the rising number of white-collar jobs. Manufacturing companies were sending the products Americans used to make overseas to be made at half the cost to the company, while selling it at the same price or more to the people who no longer have jobs.

At one time in this country, an eighth-grade education was adequate to find a job. Then it became insufficient to the demands of the work force: a high school diploma was needed. Soon we were all told that we'd need a bachelor's degree to make a decent living. However, when millions of young people were receiving bachelor's degrees, the market became over-saturated with degree holders. Now, you must have a master's degree to distinguish yourself. With all of this over-saturation, many college graduates, who have accumulated thousands of dollars in student loan debt, cannot find jobs in their field. These college graduates are stuck with a dilemma: they have a bachelor's degree, but no experience, and therefore they are often over-qualified for lower paying jobs; or they can take extra classes in another field, and possibly work towards another certificate to distinguish them towards a job they want, or a job that's available. Between the high school graduate who needs more education to get ahead, and the college graduate looking to find a job to fit their level of education, the majority of adults will take some kind of adult education in their lifetime.

Adult learners fall into two major categories: those who are taking courses because they want to (i.e. the housewife learning flower arranging, the twentysomething learning French because she wants to go to shopping in Paris); and those who are taking courses because they have to (i.e. learning a new computer program for work, you want to know how to start your own consulting business because you were downsized

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Adult education 101?
We want to hear your view. Write now!