Continuing Education in a Hard Economy

During economic down turns there is always a tendency to reassess our situation and improve.

Most often one of the first places we start is education to advance in our career and see a raise in pay.

We have been told for quite some time now that education is a good investment.

‘April 2009’ the unemployment rate nation wide was estimated  to be  8.9% as reported by the ‘Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor’

In July 2008 the population nation wide totaled 304,059,724.  With these numbers we know that a little more than 24  million Americans are unemployed.

To bring this into perspective, in 2003 the unemployment rate was at 6.1% or about 9 million Americans unemployed, adjusting for population growth.

We have not seen these kinds of numbers since the depression.

Is continuing education a good idea for massage therapists?

Yes, if you can answer a few questions.

• Can I afford this?
• Will this further my advancement in my field?
• How long will I have to wait until I see a return on my investment?

Lets start with affordability.  There are the few diligent ones among us who set aside money for continuing education and they should be applauded.  That is the best way to approach this.  For the rest of us we are looking at loans.  Student and small education loans are good and offer a way to further yourself and not incur the expense up front.

Even credit cards will work if the cost and time investments of the continuing education are fairly small and if the course will give you a new marketable insight, tool or skill, be sure to watch the interest rate and not get caught off guard by a low introductory rate that triples after 3 months.

When choosing massage therapy continuing education, always pay close attention to the details and assess how the course content applies to you.

Home study CE courses can give you a way to check into a new skill area for a small investment of time and money and give you a clearer sense of whether attending a larger, live workshop in that topic would really serve you or not.

Will this further my career?  This is the big question.  If it doesn’t then it was a waste.  We are lucky to be in a field that while the economy suffers, it continues to grow and advance.

How long will I wait for a return on my investment?  In this field we can see a new modality become the hot new thing and during our training we learn it has fallen out of favor.  Most often it remains favorable and we can see a return on our investment in a matter of weeks.  Our field offers freedom to choose what modalities we wish to practice, or just what’s popular, and take only those.  That makes it much more affordable.

Let’s look at what is happening in this area.  at the University of Massachusetts there are above 20,000 full time students, grads and undergrads on the Amherst campus. There are nearly 15,000 students taking courses through the university’s continuing and professional educational program including those who are strictly online.

We see these kinds of numbers across the board in fields like ours.  We can advance ourselves in so many different areas.  The possibilities are endless.  This is a good time to further yourself as long as you can answer the questions.  Pretty simple in the abstract I know.

It is always a good time to improve ourselves.  Sometimes a nudge from the economy is all it takes.

“Choose each day to be blissful and complete,a whole person well cared for by you.” Punkie