At any age and at any stage in life, committing yourself to earning a college degree is a big deal. It takes incredible persistence, motivation, time management, and deep-rooted determination.

While there is certainly no one-size-fits-all approach to earning a college degree as everyone’s situation and circumstances in life are unique, there is a route that will place you in your dream career and help you start earning a higher wage faster. This is the route of continuous enrollment.

Keep reading to discover why it’s worth it to stay in school – as opposed to taking one or more breaks – and finish your degree in one fell swoop:

1. Start your career faster.

While there are several reasons why college students put their studies on hold for a semester or more, one of the most common reasons is that students work while in college, and many even work a full-time job or have multiple part-time jobs. Additionally, some students also have a family to take care of.

While the need to work when in school is unavoidable for some students, pressing pause on your education and stepping away from your degree program for any amount of time can:

• Only delay your career growth
• Require you to remain at a job you don’t like or that is not advantageous to your future
• Cause you to lose any scholarships or financial aid you may have acquired
• Dismantle your motivation
• Result in your degree never getting completed

As one study out of Florida State University notes, when it comes to taking a break from college, “stopping out leads to dropping out.”¹

With the right plan and support system, you can work, care for a family, attend school, and jumpstart your career – no breaks required. Once you reach this milestone, you will be in a career you love, making more money, and able to pursue a bachelor’s degree down the road.

2. Save money.

It may seem like a financially sound decision to earn your degree in small increments and take breaks when needed to work and earn more money. However, this route to a degree won’t necessarily help you save money on college and can actually cost you more in the end.

Why?

The more time you spend as a student takes away from time you could be spending in your career, working toward promotions, and earning a higher salary.

It’s also important to note that college tuition continues to increase. Ray Franke, a professor of education at the University of Massachusetts in Boston notes on CNBC.com that, “If you look at the long-term trend, [college tuition] has been rising almost six percent above the rate of inflation.”² This trend doesn’t show signs of slowing down any time soon, either.

Bottom line, remaining continuously enrolled in your program can help you earn your degree on time and save you money in the long run.

3. Become a more desirable job candidate.

Taking a break from your college academics and career training can lead to regression – the loss of learned skills that usually occurs after breaks in instruction. Regression can show in job interviews and even in those early days and weeks on the job.

As the job market grows more competitive, employers seek to hire the best of the best, and it’s up to you to set yourself apart and prove that you deserve a position. One way to do this is though continuous enrollment.

When you stay locked into your degree program and attend classes semester after semester until graduation day, you’re more likely to have acquired and retained vital skills and industry knowledge. This will make you a stand out employee, more marketable, and an expert in your field.

 

At Ohio Business College, we understand how demanding college can be on busy, working adults. That’s why we’ve designed a multitude of flexible, top-rated, hands-on business and healthcare career training programs. Focused on your real-world success, and with day and evening classes available, we work hard to provide you with the support you need to stay enrolled and complete your degree on time.

Unsure how to pay for college? We can help you there, too. Get in contact with us today to start your path to a new career.

Resources:

¹ Weston, Liz. Reuters. “That break from college? Stopping out leads to dropping out.” Accessed June 5, 2017. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-weston-collegedropouts-idUSBRE9B80EB20131209.

² Schoen, John, W. CNBC. “Why does a college degree cost so much?” Accessed June 5, 2017. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/why-college-costs-are-so-high-and-rising.html.