What You Need to Know About Lifelong Learning
Photo by Goran Ivos on Unsplash
Many people view education as one straight path. You enroll, attend your classes full time, graduate, and move on with your life. And for a lot of people, this path seems to work fairly well, but that's not the case with everyone. In fact, it can be really easy to forget that education can occur in many different forms, and take place at any time in your life.
I was 35 years old when I decided to go back to school to get my undergraduate degree. I was working part-time, had two little kids at home, and was absolutely terrified I would be the oldest person in the class. But before I knew it, I had my degree in one hand and a master's acceptance letter in the other.
The mother of one of my classmates from nursing school used to say that “time will pass anyway,” which became something I held close throughout the entire time. I realized how important it is to take a look at your time and work it to fit your life, not the other way around. So I did just that. I would often only take one class at a time because that’s all my schedule would allow (two if I had a little extra time on my plate), I would carry journals with me wherever I went: piano lessons, drum lessons, ballet class (I even worked on a graduate paper while away at my daughter’s dance competition during the intermissions), and I would wake up very early when the house was quiet and my family was sleeping to get stuff done.
Lifelong learning can feel overwhelming or cumbersome, so let’s take it back a step. Have you ever worked at a job that required some sort of additional training? Regardless if you've been doing the same job for years, many employers require some sort of training to either brush up on an old skill or to learn something new. This is because it would be utterly impossible to know everything about anything. There are always new studies, information, and evidence coming out that we often need to learn to keep up in our field. Lifelong learning at its core simply means that you’re willing and open to learning new information for the rest of your life (which is likely something you’re already doing to some extent).
However, let’s look at it from one step higher. Instead of solely learning new information that is directly required by your current day job, what if you were to also spend time learning things you were interested in? The most cost-effective way to expose yourself to new information is through things such as podcasts, blogs, and free workshops. This can be a great way to expose you to a topic, but be mindful of who you are taking information from. This sort of content isn’t regulated and can quickly provide misinformation or fake news, so just make sure you do your research.
Lifelong learning can also look like going back to school to finish a degree you started years prior or starting a new career path altogether. There is no set timeframe for when you need to go to school - if you are wanting a change in your life, then you are worthy of going back to school. The reality is that life can sometimes get in the way, and there are several reasons why someone may be unable to complete their education at the time or choose to switch careers later on. Many schools even have an allotted time to go back and finish your studies. Just because something wasn’t completely in the traditional manner does not mean it isn’t worth completing eventually.
Finally, another piece to note about lifelong learning is that it can look like furthering your knowledge on a particular subject on your own. For example, this can look like doing certificate programs (which are often fairly cost-effective), or completing your master's or doctoral studies. Plus, not only can additional education benefit your career, but there are also a lot of employers who will be will to pay for it, too. The cost of going back to school can feel extremely overwhelming, so it’s worth talking with your HR department to find out what type of opportunities exist.
Trust me, I understand how scary and overwhelming it can be to go back to school, especially if you’ve been out of school for quite some time. But if I had let the fear hold me back from going back to school, there would have been a ton of doors in my life that I would have subsequently left closed, without even realizing it. Along the way, I also realized that many employers will acknowledge when someone is progressing towards a certain credential (for me, it was specifically with my masters). This can mean that in certain circumstances you may even see the benefits before you’re done.
For me, the fear of going back to school felt large and encompassing, but it was immediately followed by reaping the rewards of my decisions. I know how overwhelming this time can feel, but I also know how much it benefited my life as well as my family’s, so I wanted to support others with their own decision to go back to school. I coach people who are in this season of life to help them know they are not alone. If you need someone by your side during this season, please reach out. This is your life, and your dreams are worth going after.