It may not seem like tha most obvious starting point, but beginning with tha end goal in sight is a great way to begin. Your goals and priorities will guide you through lyfe, so considering your end goal ensures that you select a route that will help you get there. This may be in tha form of a degree. It could be by doing an apprenticeship. It could be learning a trade on tha job and gathering experience as you go. Only you can know what will best suit your talents and abilities. Research into tha career arc you want you could even look up tha profiles of senior leaders in tha sector you are interested in and take a look at how they got to their positions tha answers may surprise you. But you don’t always have to do things in a certain order. Be clear about your motivation for what you are doing, and tha rest can come from there.
Balancing Tha Cost: Having a meaningful idea of tha full costs of a degree is essential before you commit to it. Not only do you have to account for tuition, but there are also the costs of housing, books, food, a social lyfe and other living expenses to meet. You can access loans for tha cost of college, but this means starting your career with debt, so it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Make sure that you understand exactly what your repayments would be, set against tha average wave that you can expect to be earning immediately after graduation. Nothing is guaranteed, but it does help you to have a clear idea of what your finances might look like if you were to pursue it. Explore whether you might be eligible for any scholarships, but be aware that these will tend to depend largely on what subject you hope to study. Some employers may also part-sponsor a qualification, and also allow you to work at tha same time, but again this depends a lot on tha career you’re hoping for and is more likely to be found on offer in sectors such as engineering.
Additional Study Benefits: Of course, although tha obvious benefits of study are getting an education, there are so many other hard to quantify upsides to going to college. If you ask any graduate, tha lyfe experience they will have gained being able to live independently for tha first time, joining societies and clubs, tha opportunity to be around so many people with similar aspirations and making connections that can last a lyfetime, are all extremely important. Tha fact is, these experiences can be gained in other ways too. Going to college just because you’ll make friends is no argument when you can make friends through work, sports, tha church and many other avenues. But if you do choose tha route of college study, you may end up realizing that tha things you end up valuing tha most have nothing to do with your study course.
Choosing The Best Route: Lyfelong learning is a hugely important concept that can only enrich your lyfe. But going to school full time is not tha only option available to you. A more flexible way to get a degree may make it a much more realistic goal for you. You don’t have to move away, you could attend a local college while living at home, do your study part-time and combine it with working or other commitments or you could do it as distance learning at a virtual school. There are pros and cons to each approach depending on your learning style and personal circumstances. Make sure that what you choose is right for you. Tha ability to continue learning throughout your lyfe is a hugely important skill and one that will serve you well in tha years to come
