2020 has seen many of our life plans thrown off track. Some of us have been ill. Some of us have lost loved ones. Some of us have lost our jobs. Many of us are feeling extremely lost. This is largely the result of the coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic, which has swept across the world leaving chaos and devastation in its wake. Various factors associated with the virus, and governments’ social isolation and social distancing measures to protect our health, have had a huge impact on day to day routines. If you’ve found yourself in a position where you’ve lost your job as a result of the pandemic, you may be wondering where to go and what to do next. Sure, you could get back on the job market and hunt for a new position. But relatively few companies are recruiting now – across all fields and industries – and competition for the positions that are available is extremely fierce. People with many qualifications and huge levels of experience are applying to much lower down jobs than they usually would in a bid to secure work, which means those of us with fewer qualifications and less experience are really struggling to land positions right now. If you feel in a bit of a rut, want to do something, but are having difficulties securing employment right now, you may want to consider alternatives. One alternative? A return to education. Returning to education could help you in countless ways. Let’s take a moment to look a little further into the subject.
The Benefits of a Return to Education
Let’s start out by surveying the potential benefits of a return to higher education.
A return to higher education is a productive way to occupy your time while there may not be many other options for you. Rather than sitting around not doing a whole lot, you can invest your time into something that will benefit you both now and in the long run.
By studying and completing a course, you will receive a qualification that will help you in your future job hunt. This qualification will make your applications more competitive and can help you to stand out from the crowd when there are many applicants for a position.
You could gain knowledge in an area that you’ve previously been unacquainted with. This means a return to higher education is a great way to start a change of career paths. This is ideal if the industry you previously worked in has been demolished by coronavirus and Covid-19.
Studying something you’re genuinely interested in can supply you with something to look forward to and enjoy in a difficult time where you might otherwise be thinking negatively and feeling listless.
Choosing the Right Mode of Study
You have so many options when it comes to higher education and modes of study. You should look into the different options to make the best choice for yourself and your individual needs and preferences.
Online Courses
The most logical mode of study right now is remote or online study. This means that you can carry out your course from the comfort of your own home, without having to come into contact with others. This helps to minimize the spread of coronavirus and reduces your chances of having to quarantine if you come into contact with someone on your course who has the virus. Nowadays, most institutions offer online teaching and tuition. Suffolk is a great example.
Full-Time Courses
Of course, many institutions are still offering full time, on-campus courses. These are currently socially distanced but do give you the opportunity to learn on a face to face basis with your tutor and classmates. These will see you attend on-site lectures, seminars, and workshops on a full-time basis.
Part-Time Courses
If you want to attend courses on campus, but don’t want to commit to full-time study, or have other commitments that you need to work your study around, part-time courses could be much more preferable. These take the same form as the full-time courses explained above, but you will do half the hours. Of course, it will take twice as long to complete your course, but this could better suit your lifestyle or schedule if you do need more time.
A return to higher education holds a lot of potential. So why not consider it? It could really work for you and improve your prospects and outlook during these difficult times!