In this confusing economy, where we don’t know where the next problem will arise, it is difficult to plot a course for the future. Most of the time, and in times past, most of us would know that to get as much education as possible gave us a good head start in the field of work and of status in the community. It was always a safe bet to go to school to learn something useful; the job opportunities abounded. Today, education is a joke. Firstly, we must define the term "education". Most people think that when a person goes to school that they are getting an education, this is not the case. When you go to school, you get "schooled" in whatever the curriculum presents. Education is entirely different. When a person is educated, that person not only understands the subject matter and its origins, but also the person knows how to apply the knowledge in a practical, common sense way. For example, would you go to a doctor who never had any experience in the field of medicine? Probably not, because he or she may know everything about the body, but they could never apply that knowledge to your body because they had not had any experience. Education is: schooling plus experience.

When we say that we are continuing our education, we probably mean that we are learning (by schooling and experience) more about what we already know. Fine. However, many folks go to school to "continue " their education in a field that they know nothing about. Add to this that the person is probably an adult who is looking for a second career. Learning and education is great and attainable at any age, but how many folks are willing to apply themselves to the ABC’s of a new career. In short, it is more difficult for an older adult to take on the rigors of serious study than it was for that person to have undertaken the same subject when they were younger. There are good reasons why medical school (and other fields) applicants have an upper age limit for admission.

Nowadays it is probably a good decision to stay with what you already know. Sometimes your job has disappeared and you will have to adapt. I wonder how many people shoe horses these days; their job has mostly disappeared. Instead, these same people would do well to learn to put tires on cars. Their "continuing education" would most appropriately be aimed at the automotive industry since the car has replaced the horse for transportation. If a person sticks with what they know, they will most certainly be better able to navigate the job market. The experience a person picks up in the operation of their job accrues throughout their involvement with the field and they become an even more valuable asset to any company who hires them. A good rule of thumb (there are exceptions) is to look back at what you were doing when you were in your early twenties. Whatever that activity was probably stands as your best ability. Continue to educate yourself in that activity (if it is appropriate) to increase your job satisfaction and your ability to be hired.