Continuing Education Options for Working Professionals

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Rapid tech­no­log­i­cal changes and automa­tion are reshap­ing the job mar­ket, mak­ing con­tin­u­ous skill devel­op­ment essen­tial for job security.
• Con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion empow­ers pro­fes­sion­als to stay com­pet­i­tive, meet employ­er expec­ta­tions, and access pro­mo­tions or new career paths.
• Work­ing pro­fes­sion­als have flex­i­ble edu­ca­tion options—including online degrees, cer­tifi­cates, micro­cre­den­tials, and cor­po­rate training—to fit their schedules.
• Finan­cial sup­port for con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion is wide­ly avail­able through employ­er reim­burse­ment, grants, schol­ar­ships, and low-cost platforms.

Look around you and see that, indeed, the job mar­ket is under­go­ing rapid changes. Automa­tion, tech­no­log­i­cal inno­va­tions, and glob­al eco­nom­ic shifts are behind these changes. Data ana­lyt­ics, arti­fi­cial intel­li­gence, and green tech­nolo­gies are also shap­ing the job market.

Job dis­place­ments and loss­es are on the hori­zon because of these fac­tors. Dario Amod­ei, Anthrop­ic CEO, warns AI could cut half of entry-lev­el white-col­lar jobs. Finance, con­sult­ing, and law jobs are at high risk for it. By 2030, the glob­al impact of automa­tion will put 400 mil­lion jobs world­wide at risk, too.

But it isn’t all doom and gloom either. About 49% of com­pa­nies expect AI to gen­er­ate new jobs, and so do 65% of com­pa­nies for big data.

What do these changes in the job mar­ket mean for work­ing pro­fes­sion­als today? First, con­tin­u­ous skill devel­op­ment is a must to stay rel­e­vant. Indeed, skills-based hir­ing and upskilling ini­tia­tives are becom­ing more com­mon among employers.

Sec­ond, career advance­ment through edu­ca­tion isn’t just a buzz­word or a trend. Instead, it’s an excel­lent path­way to achieve long-term career goals. You’ll learn new skills for your cur­rent job or, if you want, for a dif­fer­ent career.

So, do you want to stay rel­e­vant in the fast-chang­ing job mar­ket? Read on and explore the best options for con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion for work­ing professionals.

Relat­ed:

• Data Sci­ence Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions for Work­ing Professionals
• 10 Most Request­ed Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions by Employers
• What Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions Can Get You A Good Job With­out A Degree
• Best Pro­fes­sion­al Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions for Lead­ers and Executives

Why Continuing Education Matters for Professionals

Even if you believe that you’re a respect­ed author­i­ty in your field, con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion is still a must. Here are the rea­sons why:

There is an imperative need to stay current in today’s fast-paced and competitive job market.

Learn­ing, unlearn­ing, and relearn­ing are essen­tial to stay com­pet­i­tive in the dynam­ic job mar­ket. This is where con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion comes in.

What you know and what you can do today may not be use­ful tomor­row. But if you learn, unlearn, and relearn, you’ll always have rel­e­vant knowl­edge and skills. Career advance­ment through edu­ca­tion becomes part of your work DNA.

Meet employer expectations for upskilling and lifelong learning.

Many employ­ers offer their employ­ees for­mal upskilling oppor­tu­ni­ties through train­ing pro­grams. Many com­pa­nies also expect their employ­ees to engage in upskilling activ­i­ties. Regard­less of the cir­cum­stances, con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion address­es the need for upskilling and life­long learning.

Check with your com­pa­ny if it offers adult learn­ing and work­force devel­op­ment pro­grams. Google, IBM, and AT&T are exam­ples of com­pa­nies that offer these programs.

Enjoy salary growth and promotions in your current job or a successful career change. 

Con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion is avail­able in var­i­ous forms, includ­ing cer­ti­fi­ca­tions, advanced degrees, and micro-cre­den­tials. These cre­den­tials demon­strate exper­tise in the field and a com­mit­ment to life­long learn­ing. As such, these open doors to lead­er­ship roles (i.e., pro­mo­tions) in your cur­rent work­place or to a new career.

Online Education Options for Professionals

The beau­ty of con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion for work­ing pro­fes­sion­als lies in its diversity.

Accredited Online Degrees

If you’re a work­ing pro­fes­sion­al, achiev­ing a good work-life bal­ance is a chal­lenge. Add aca­d­e­m­ic stud­ies, and it seems impos­si­ble. But thanks to online edu­ca­tion for pro­fes­sion­als, it’s possible.

Bach­e­lor’s and mas­ter’s online degree pro­grams are avail­able. These offer qual­i­ty instruc­tion, flex­i­ble learn­ing for­mats, and robust sup­port ser­vices. Stu­dents can also choose between struc­tured and self-paced formats.

Online Certificate Programs

If you want to com­plete your pro­gram in a short­er time, con­sid­er online cer­tifi­cate pro­grams for pro­fes­sion­als. Time-to-com­ple­tion ranges from 6 to 12 months. Choose from diverse areas, such as project man­age­ment, data ana­lyt­ics, or dig­i­tal marketing.

Many pro­grams also offer stack­able cer­tifi­cates. Earn col­lege cred­its for every cer­tifi­cate that, in turn, can be applied to a col­lege degree. Cer­tifi­cates are a great way to test the waters if you don’t want to com­mit to a degree yet.

Microcredentials and MOOCs

Cours­era, edX, or LinkedIn Learn­ing offer afford­able micro­cre­den­tials in a wide range of fields. Explore the cours­es and cer­tifi­cates avail­able, from tech­ni­cal top­ics to soft skills devel­op­ment. If you want to gain tar­get­ed skills quick­ly, MOOCs are the best option.

In-Person and Hybrid Continuing Education Programs

If you thrive on face-to-face inter­ac­tions, in-per­son and hybrid pro­grams are avail­able, too.

Evening and Weekend Classes

Full-time work­ers seek­ing in-per­son instruc­tion should con­sid­er evening and week­end degree pro­grams. You’ll attend evening and week­end class­es, allow­ing you to con­tin­ue work­ing dur­ing the daytime.

Ask your local com­mu­ni­ty col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties about these programs.

Hybrid Programs

These blend­ed pro­grams com­bine on-cam­pus and online ses­sions — the best of both worlds. In-per­son ses­sions occur occa­sion­al­ly, say, 1–2 times per semes­ter. Stu­dents com­plete their cours­es online. 

As such, hybrid pro­grams offer flex­i­ble learn­ing options for full-time work­ers, sim­i­lar to online programs.

On-Site Corporate Training

These pro­grams are usu­al­ly offered in part­ner­ship with employ­ers and deliv­ered on-site. Aca­d­e­m­ic insti­tu­tions and train­ing providers are the usu­al partners.

Ask your employ­er about the com­pa­ny’s in-house train­ing pro­gram. You’ll receive train­ing that’s not only free but, more impor­tant­ly, aligned with your job.

Fur­ther­more, the cus­tom train­ing aligns with indus­try needs. You can then apply your train­ing to oth­er jobs with­in the industry.

Executive and Professional Development Programs

The terms “exec­u­tive edu­ca­tion” and “pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment” are often used inter­change­ably. But these are two dif­fer­ent types of con­tin­u­ing education.

Executive Education

Busi­ness schools usu­al­ly offer exec­u­tive edu­ca­tion pro­grams for mid- and senior-lev­el pro­fes­sion­als. Exec­u­tive edu­ca­tion encom­pass­es non-degree pro­grams, includ­ing cer­tifi­cates and cours­es. These pro­grams run from a few weeks to sev­er­al months.

Stu­dents pre­pare for exec­u­tive posi­tions, such as C‑suite roles, through top­ics in:

• Strate­gic thinking
• Lead­er­ship skills
• Finan­cial acumen

In con­trast, pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment cours­es are aimed at all pro­fes­sion­als at every lev­el. These cours­es enable pro­fes­sion­als to:

• Be updat­ed on indus­try trends and regulations 
• Improve their skills
• Advance in their profession

Sem­i­nars, work­shops, and online cours­es are com­mon forms of education.

Continuing Legal or Medical Education (CLE/CME)

Attor­neys, physi­cians, and nurs­es are among the pro­fes­sion­als required to take CLE or CME cours­es. These cours­es are part of the renew­al require­ments to main­tain their licenses.

Leadership and Management Courses

Pro­fes­sion­als seek­ing to tran­si­tion into more advanced or lead­er­ship roles should con­sid­er these cours­es. Lead­er­ship and man­age­ment cours­es are non-degree cours­es. But these have a sig­nif­i­cant impact on career advancement.

Industry-Specific Training and Certifications

These are tar­get­ed path­ways toward career advance­ment through edu­ca­tion. This is because indus­try-spe­cif­ic train­ing and cer­ti­fi­ca­tions result in spe­cial­ized skills.

Technology and IT Certifications

The tech­nol­o­gy indus­try is among the few indus­tries that empha­size tech­ni­cal skills. Many entry-lev­el jobs even demand pro­fes­sion­al cer­ti­fi­ca­tions. Mid- and senior-lev­el posi­tions require in-depth tech­ni­cal exper­tise and expe­ri­ence. In short, cer­ti­fi­ca­tions are a must for career pro­gres­sion in the tech­nol­o­gy industry.

The most promi­nent orga­ni­za­tions where tech­nol­o­gy cer­ti­fi­ca­tions are offered include:

• Comp­TIA
• AWS
• Cis­co
• Google
• Microsoft

Tech­nol­o­gy pro­fes­sion­als must also con­sid­er pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment cours­es to improve soft skills.

Finance and Business Credentials

Finance and busi­ness cer­ti­fi­ca­tions high­light exper­tise in spe­cif­ic areas, too. If you lever­age them, you’ll enjoy greater cred­i­bil­i­ty and more opportunities.

Exam­ples include:

• CPA
• CFA
• PMP
• Six Sig­ma
• SHRM-CP

Healthcare and Education Programs

Health­care and edu­ca­tion are among the most heav­i­ly reg­u­lat­ed fields, in addi­tion to being peo­ple-focused indus­tries. Con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion is then a must to keep up with the chang­ing tech­nol­o­gy and regulations.

Funding and Financial Aid for Continuing Education

The cost of con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion for work­ing pro­fes­sion­als ranges from free to thou­sands of dol­lars. Google, for exam­ple, offers its free Fun­da­men­tals of Dig­i­tal Marketing.

How­ev­er, cer­ti­fi­ca­tions can cost upwards of $3,000 (exclud­ing prepa­ra­tion costs). The CPA, CFA, CISSP, and CISA cre­den­tials are prime examples.

It’s then cru­cial to find afford­able con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion options. Explore the fea­tured options below to reduce your out-of-pock­et costs.

Employer Tuition Reimbursement

Ask your com­pa­ny about its tuition reim­burse­ment pro­gram. Dis­cuss your options with the human resources man­ag­er if there is no for­mal pro­gram in place. Advo­cate for it, if nec­es­sary, so you and your peers can enjoy its benefits.

Under IRS guide­lines, employ­ers can pro­vide up to $5,250/year in tax-free edu­ca­tion­al ben­e­fits. Terms and con­di­tions can include min­i­mum grade and a ser­vice obligation.

Ask about employ­er part­ner­ship dis­counts, too.

Grants and Scholarships for Adults

File your FAFSA if you’re enrolled in a Title IV-eli­gi­ble col­lege. Explore your options in grants and schol­ar­ships, too, from:

• Your col­lege or department
• Cor­po­ra­tions and local businesses
• Non­prof­its and char­i­ta­ble organizations

Work with your col­lege’s finan­cial aid options to max­i­mize finan­cial aid.

Affordable and Low-Cost Education Platforms

Look into com­mu­ni­ty col­lege cer­tifi­cates and online degree pro­grams. MOOCs are also excel­lent sources.

Choosing the Right Path for Your Career Goals

In con­clu­sion, work­ing pro­fes­sion­als have numer­ous oppor­tu­ni­ties for con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion. But these won’t fall into your lap, either. You must be proac­tive in choos­ing the best oppor­tu­ni­ties that align with your career goals.

• Clar­i­fy your career goal in rela­tion to con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion first. Is it to fill a skill gap, for a pro­mo­tion, or a new career?
• Com­pare the time and finan­cial invest­ment vs. the long-term ROI. If you’re a busy pro­fes­sion­al, look for flex­i­ble learn­ing for full-time work­ers. Con­sid­er the career growth and earn­ing poten­tial that comes with earn­ing the certification.
• Always check the pro­gram’s accred­i­ta­tion and reputation.
• Match the pro­gram’s for­mat and out­comes with your learn­ing style and job demands.