Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Continuing Education As A Way To Improve Your Marketability

In this stressful employment environment, it is imperative that you take action to improve your marketability. I realize that times are tough and money may be tight, however there are relatively inexpensive options available for enhancing your skills and knowledge.

The local community college is one way I have found of enhancing my skills. Many community colleges offer several different educational opportunities, however a favorite of mine is a program called Education To Go, or ed2go for short. Classes offered through this program typically allow you to complete the course at home on your own computer, and at your pace. I have found that the choice of courses is quite varied as well. You could take classes on career development, computer technology, various software packages and even personal development.

The classes I have taken had a six-week format, with two lessons each week. The lessons were well laid out and the instructors were available in an online discussion area for questions that arose. I have completed various courses on project management and most recently introductory courses in using MS Project and Visio. The format of the software lessons allowed me to get a comfortable feel of how the software worked. It also provided a feeling of confidence that I would be able to successfully use it in a real-world work environment.

This particular program in my district costs around $100 per course with minimal additional costs associated, depending upon the courses taken. I would suggest researching the availability of trial version downloads prior to signing up for software courses, paying particular attention to the length of the trial period. You want to make sure that the software will be functional for the length of the course. Of course, you could also do what I did and purchase the software. This will allow you to continue to use the program after the class and to become more proficient with it.

If you are the type of person that learns best in a classroom environment, this option is also available. The classes are more structured and allow immediate interaction with the instructor. There is also the possibility of making networking contacts, which is definitely a positive in today's job market. However, there are additional time and cost commitments with this method that must be evaluated.


You are the only one that can decide if continuing education is right for you, and if so, which method is best. I personally believe that you get more than enhanced skills out of it. You get a sense of personal fulfillment, keeps you active, and best of all – gives you a positive attitude.