Education and the Economic Downturn – An Opportunity

Everyone is beginning to feel the effects of the economic downturn.  For the younger generation it is the first real recession they have experienced.  To these new comers my advice is to fasten your seat belt and ride it out.  The business cycle goes through these ups and downs.  It will get better, just be patient.

I have noticed quite a few news articles discussing the prospects of education in the light of this economic uncertainty.  Many people are turning to education in these uncertain times.  Why does education seem flourish during an economic downturn?

Here are some of my personal thoughts.  There have been a number of people laid off at my employer.  These people are re-evaluating their situation and quite a few of them are looking at taking classes to increase their knowledge in specific areas.  Others have thrown it all up in the air and are looking at going back to school for a career change.  Even those who were not directly affected by the downsize are taking inventory of their skills and are talking about classes or education.

I have always been a proponent of education, and my beliefs about it are reinforced by the current circumstances.  Education has a number of qualities that I believe are timeless.  Actually many of these qualities are shared with money but education is different.  If you lose your job money will become scarce, but education and educational opportunities won’t.

Money can be lost in an economic downturn, but your education and skills you have learned cannot be lost due to economic circumstances.  People generally agree that an education gives a person options and freedom similar to money, but again education cannot be taken away or lost.

These timeless qualities of education come to the forefront when economic uncertainty hits.  Increasing your skills in your current field may help you keep your job.  An employee with many skills is and employee who may make it through the layoff cycle.  Then again the loss of a job may be a chance to set off to something completely new and different.  These trying circumstances produce opportunity for all.

I have done quite a bit of “career counseling” in the last few months.  I have pointed people at educational opportunities both online and through the traditional classroom.  I have become somewhat of a resume reviewing expert.  I have even pointed some people to my network of business contacts to find possible employment.  I have become somewhat of a “go to guy”.

It has been an interesting journey, and I hopefully have helped people along the way.  This relationship building is my favorite and most rewarding part of being an Education Professional.

Good luck on your current endeavors.  I will see you online!

-Loren
http://theteachingbox.com

Tags: economy, educational, Engineering, networking, online learning, Online Tools, Teaching

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 at 8:08 am and is filed under My Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.