Your Job Search Has Stalled: Back to School?

When you’ve graduated from college, or perhaps just from high school, the job search is on. Some people are lucky enough to secure a good job before they’ve officially graduated, so they can walk straight into well-paying (or, at least, fairly-paid) work. However, others can struggle, so they’re left working a low-paid job or even unemployed. You might continue to look for a job that’s more suitable, but looking for work can get you down. It’s perhaps starting to look more tempting to go back to school. But it is really wise to abandon your job search and go back into education? Here are some of the reasons you might want to make a choice to ditch the job searching and get back into the classroom.

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You’ve Realized Your Degree Isn’t in Demand

You’ve completed at least a couple of years of college to get a degree. You chose your major or a specific course for perhaps a few reasons, from it being interesting to hoping it would improve your career prospects. But now that you’ve graduated, you discover that no one is really interested in the qualification you have. Some employers might be looking for graduates with any kind of degree, desiring the skills you learn at college, rather than knowledge of a particular subject matter. But you’re not interested in them. If your degree isn’t in demand, do you go back to school to try something different? It would be odd to do another bachelor’s degree, but perhaps changing course with a further qualification could work. For example, a teaching qualification could lead you into education.

You’ve Realized What You Want to Do Requires Further Education

When you’re 18 or 20, knowing what you want to do with your life, or even for the next few years, is pretty tough. You can start to develop a better idea of what you want to as you get some more experience in education or of the “real world.” But when you’ve completed your planned education, you might have chosen a career path that you’re not yet ready for. For example, maybe you love books, so you got a literature degree. However, now you’ve decided you want to be a librarian, which requires information science and technology skills. Going back to school to take an online Master of Arts in School Library and Information Technology degree would make a lot of sense. You’ll top up your existing qualifications and learn a lot of new things to open up your desired career path.

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You Have a Job, But You Hate It

When you finish your education, you can’t spend too long hanging around without a job. Eventually, even if you can’t find something you really want, you need to take something so that you can eat. Of course, this can leave you stuck in a job you hate and still trying to search for a job that will suit you better. Looking for work when you’re working an exhausting job isn’t easy, and you might be missing the slightly less stressful days of school. But does going back to school make sense in this case? If you do go back into education, how is it going to help make your job search easier next time around? And are you going to have to keep working a less-than-fun job to support yourself?

You Miss Academia

While there are some things about college you might not be in a rush to repeat, maybe you’re missing some aspects of it. If you wish you could spend your days discussing Freud or doing lab experiments again, maybe you’re thinking about going back. Working in academia could be pretty cool, right? If you have a passion for your subject, returning to do a master’s degree or even a Ph.D. could mean you can stay forever in the bubble of your favorite things to do and discuss. It’s not an easy career path, but it is one that allows you to use your education.

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You’ve Changed Your Mind About Your Career

A lot can change after you choose your degree course, major or first job. What might have seemed a good idea at the time can suddenly feel like a bad fit for you. Fortunately, you don’t have to be locked into one career for your whole life. If you’re looking at jobs that you were aiming for a few months ago but now feel totally uninspiring, maybe a return to school is for you.

Going back to school is sometimes the right choice. But other times, you should try to push on with your job search until you find one you want.