Go Back To School | USA

You have a university education. And a good job. But the wheels turning in his head about the opportunity to go to school, perhaps driven back for the liberation of our best graduate schools rankings. Is it time to win a title

The decision to go back to school is not easy, especially if you have a steady income, which is more than many Americans can in this troubled economy to say. But think how education is protected by the most educated members of the workforce out of recession. In February, the unemployment rate in the country was 8.9 percent, workers with a bachelor's degree or more face a lower unemployment rate by half to 4.3 percent.

"There is no doubt that people with more education earn more on average and are less likely to be unemployed," says Michael Greenstone, director of the Hamilton Project at the Brooking Institution, a nonpartisan center. "Education is the classic way for people to invest in themselves."

But here's the catch: It's an investment. Advanced degrees can be expensive and time consuming, and often means winning a pace of life that you have created.

So, when is the right time to exit a degree to continue their work? Or, to start the evening or online classes in addition to their daily work? If you already have a degree, more training is really necessary?

Regardless of the type of degree you are considering, this is what you should, if you have the option of returning to school to ask yourself:

What I do?
Go back to school can be an effective way to promote in their area or start a career change to be. In both cases, the decision to go in meeting their goals. Do you have a special work you have to aspire to? A company you want to work? A salary you would make? Finding what you want can be the hardest part, but it is critical to your success; if you know what you want, you can easily figure out how to get there. from

A college degree is actually the best way to get there? Know the answer to this question requires an understanding of the field you work in and with a series of practical experience, if it want a paid job, an internship or volunteering. For some professions, a degree will increase your market, but not a necessity. For others, such as certain health or education, an academic degree is required.

"Take a step back and make sure that is really what you need," said Emily Westerman, Associate Director of Career Services at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at the University of New York. "Very often, people [in training enrolled] prematurely and then they find out that not the right direction for them." One way to avoid this situation, it is people who do the job you want and ask how they got there to achieve, she says.