Education, for the most part, is a respected institution. In some countries of the world it is the pillar of the society and nothing else comes close to touching it’s godliness. In some other regions it’s less important and more of “the motions” and not taken as seriously. Well needless to say, working in academia and in education, I am a firm believer that it it at the top of priorities.
Having said that, when it comes to translating education into careers and/or employment, in the past few years it’s been kind of dicy for me. I left my job that I was very unhappy with a few years ago, subsequently had a major physical sports injury that hampered my happiness and health, and then went back to school for further education. What does this all mean?
Well, for starters my previous job was an irritating position that I carved out for myself and protected in many ways. Essentially when I shockingly left, three people were needed to be hired to do the work that I did. Did my company do anything to retain me? No – and for this reason the corporate culture was very negative and it wasn’t what I was looking for professionally. Where was I able to grow? Where was I able to move up? The answers to these questions was nowhere; so I opened a new chapter in my life.
And for the first time in my life I was in debt due to student loans. How I felt about this was anxious at best, but there is something that I have learned that is very important. I essentially went into debt for 61% of my yearly income at my previous job (by the way, the salary for that job was below the poverty line despite being full time). I was nervous, stressed and discouraged.
After going in debt for that amount, and being freshly hired in my new career profession (yes I’m not a professional), my salary has increased 261% of the previous. The debt accrued amounts to a roughly 23% of my new starting salary. Starting out at this salary means that my student debt will be reduced to a potential 0% in the first year, with minimal interest paid, and everything thereafter is banked. This extra year of education has paid dividends in comparison to my previous employment.
Needless to say the message of this post is clear: education is extremely important.