"If you have been out of college for years and are thinking of going back to school, should you? You certainly should not-not unless you know exactly what you are doing and why." Harragan, Betty Lehan

Off to College?

So, you want to make a career change. The first thing you should do is enter college, right? Women are entering colleges and technical schools in droves. Women who are currently employed, as well as those reentering the job market, are taking courses and studying, confident that this education is their eventual ticket to success.

As an adult, earning a degree requires making enormous sacrifices to your financial, social, and emotional well-being. Sometimes, additional training or education is just what we need. Other times, however, our reasons for going back to school are not valid. Learn to examine your reasons for returning to school, just as you examine your reasons for acting and reacting in other ways. You might find that your reasons are a result of female conditioning, rather than logical, appropriate decisions.

Maybe you are interested in returning to college for one of these reasons:

You believe a certain education will bring you opportunities that you don't have now.

You think a degree will help you gain a level of confidence or competence that you don't have currently.

You don't know what you want to do, and you want to go to college to find out.

Someone recommended that you go to college.

You want to be in college.

Let's take a look at what's behind each of these reasons.