ADULT EDUCATION CHOICES: TAKE THE MOST DIRECT ROUTE TO ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL

The first step in considering adult education is to identify your ultimate goal. What do you hope to gain from a course of education? Does your goal require an accredited degree or specific certification, such as for skilled employment? Or will experience in any form help you to achieve your goal, such as for an artistic aspiration or personal enrichment?

Adult education comes in many forms including public and private college and university degree programs, community college degree and certificate programs, vocational and technical school programs, online courses and correspondence training programs, workshops and seminars, apprenticeships, and local recreational courses.

When possible, take the most direct route to reach your goal. If your goal does not require certification or degree, why pay in time and money for extraneous required classes in a degree program that don't directly support your goal.

Colleges and universities are generally the most costly, followed by community colleges and technical schools, followed by online and correspondence programs, followed by workshops and seminars, followed by local recreational offerings.

State and federal grants are available to qualifying students at accredited colleges. Scholarships are available to students based on focus of study, gender, ethnicity, etc. Online and correspondence schools may offer limited scholarships based on financial need. used books and other materials can be found for additional savings. Some employers offer reimbursement for job training.

Online and correspondence courses offer the convenience of staying home and working according to your own schedule, but they may or may not save you in monetary investment. Correspondence courses may provide a one-on-one teacher to student relationship, conducted via letters or phone. An online course may provide interaction with both a teacher and fellow students.

If skilled employment is your goal, contact appropriate professional associations to ask for their recommendations for career training. For example, aspiring medical transcriptionist can receive from the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) a list of approved and recommended schools including online training programs.

In considering the value of a degree or certificate earned from an online school, contact a prospective employer for their opinion.

Workshops and seminars are often costly, but offer quick training and networking. Training for skilled positions such as barista or bartender are often offered in this form.

Apprenticeships put you right on the job, if employment is your goal. Contact prospective employers for information about apprenticeship, on-the-job training, and compensation for completion of certificate programs.

Local recreational programs provided by cities and counties offer low-cost options for art, writing, language learning, sports, and many other recreational activities.

To discover the most direct route to achieving your goal, find people who have achieved a similar goal and find out how they got there and what they may have done differently.

Learn more about this author, Sara Mcgrath.
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