Pursuing Higher Learning, Essay Example

It has been said that the only constant is change, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the worlds of work and education.  As the world of work becomes increasingly more complex, for many individuals the education they obtained as recently as five years ago may be insufficient for them to get or to keep a job.  Furthermore, being passed over for a promotion is a distinct possibility.

Several decades ago, jobs such as a truck driver, a sales associate, a server or a painter required no more than a grade eight education.  Gradually, however, the educational requirement for these jobs has risen to a desired grade 12 with special courses such as“Serving it Right” for servers and also college courses for truck drivers and painters. Most sales associates have to obtain at least a basic knowledge of computers.   Gradually upgrading, GED preparation, and certain trade courses were offered at colleges in the evenings and on Saturdays to accommodate individuals with day jobs.  Employers also gave leave, sometimes paid, for employees to take necessary courses.  For individuals who lived too far away to get the education they needed, correspondence courses increased in availability and quality, as did distance education.  Retraining became almost a buzz words a couple of decades ago.  If a company closed its doors or even if it just laid off workers, retraining programs were offered to the affected so that they could obtain other jobs elsewhere.  Lifelong learning had taken hold.

Professionals are likely affected the most. Some of the surgeries that surgeons performed decades ago required extensive body invasion and weeks in hospital.  An example is gall bladder surgery.  Today, access is almost always gained through the naval button and three small incisions in the upper right quadrant of the body is all there is to it.  Patients go home the same day.  For doctors who did not train in this method, it means refresher courses as it does for operating and recovery room nurses.  The theoretical part of advanced procedures such as this are usually taken online, an ever-increasingly popular method of taking many types of degrees.

Many of these online degrees require a six week summer attendance or even a one year residency.  Although there may exist a few unaccredited universities offering online education, most go through as stringent of a process as do mortar and board universities in order to get their accreditation.  Employers are becoming increasingly aware of this.  As a result, they value graduates of online education.  To succeed in online education, one has to be self-disciplined since, for most aspects, there are no fixed times.  Online education permits people who for various reasons cannot attend regular classes to get an education.  This also leaves more seats available for those want a traditional college or university education.

Various professions now require more education/training.  Decades ago, an LPN was almost the norm and an RN was an enviable degree.  However, then, came the BSN and now the NP.  To obtain these credentials involves lifelong learning for most people who get one degree, work for a year or two and then get another and another.  Lifelong learning is here to stay.