Why it is Worth considering going Back to School after a Layoff
Going back to school after you have been laid off may give you long term benefits later in your career and for the rest of your life. You may just have to clarify first your personal goals. In order to do so, you may have to start imagining more clearly now that you're being rewarded with better choices as you start going back to school. As they say, cleverly: "it all starts in your mind." But, realistically, of course, "to go back to school after a layoff" may not be among the most acceptable trails you may want to follow, as we normally prefer to "take the path of least resistance." "Going back to school" has its built-in difficulties to face, but those who pursue this path may encounter valuable lessons that are necessary in later stages in life.
It may also be best to go back to school for the newly laid-off, so as to gain quality time and better chances to think more clearly about his / her options. We may have heard from experts that when one has just been recently laid off, the next best thing to do is not to make big decisions at all. As such, for the next 3 to 6 months, the laid off employee is advised to coast along life's ebbs and tides just to be able to acquire again an internal sense of order. In the meantime, while coasting along, one option, in order to do something productive, is to study, an activity that may be best relearned again in a formal setting with classmates and teachers to help you around, especially when you have lost your gears.
The labor market continues to evolve and change according to the dynamics of supply and demand forces. Given such, you need to be aware constantly of which jobs are in demand and highly paid by the market - the conditions behind these are normally beyond your control. You cannot depend only on the news (which is mostly stale by the time you read or heard of it) to feed you the most up-to-date information, critical on how you will work on your sources of livelihood. As you decide which information is critical and important to you, you can draw your own conclusions about the labor market where your job prospects depend.
In addition, unstable labor market conditions have become very difficult to predict, and have been affected strongly by international market conditions (i.e. what's happening in businesses in China, India, Russia, the European Union, among other factors largely impacting local market conditions), such that it may just be the best idea for an employee who has been laid off to go back to school. This will open avenues to the going-back-to-school-formerly-employed person to learn lessons in a fresh, non-threatening environment that can better equip him / her to face changes out there.
One reliable source of data that may impact on your employ-ability chances is that figure on the number of fresh graduates joining the labor force each year. More and more fresh graduates add up to the numbers of available labor force, such that employers have more choices in the pool of prospective applicants, new employees, or even only as trainees or interns. You may, thus, end up competing directly against them (even if you are more experienced). These days, employers, will try to squeeze more savings from direct labor costs, such that they may consider fresh graduates, even those with no experience. You, then, may continue weighing your options given this development.
Going back to school may actually mean facing troublesome changes for some, depending on one's life situation. But some ideal situations exist and can be identified or modified according to your needs and resources. For example, if you have been unable to finish a degree just because you got yourself so loaded with work in the past years, then there is now a very good reason by way of having acquired some available time that suddenly is on your hands.
If you are getting waylaid or being ignored by prospective employers with whom you have sent out hundreds of applications, and have been not getting responses for some unclear reasons, then an option that may be open to you is to go back to school. Your course may have been considered not that valuable or useful. As such, you are being deemed under-qualified, or even, over-qualified by recruiters.
If you are seeing that the market has been bad in most sectors, and that this situation may probably continue for the next 2 to 4 years based on your studies and hunches, then you may consider going back to school. Let the economic and political forces that are usually not in your control spread more widely their strength and influence. Under such situation, an option for you then is to go back to school, and subsequently finish a degree.
If you have the extra cash, some savings, or if there is someone willing to help you, then consider going back to school. If you spend your money on your own needs, specifically education that is seen to have long term benefits, your investments will certainly pay off in time. You get something valuable in return and gain in the process, some type of certification that is formally recognized by the government. This can be shown to prospective employers when you go job hunting again. You gain entry to a new environment (you are actually working while studying, but may not be getting paid in the meantime), a new set of contacts to be added in your network (friends, classmates, acquaintances), and a fresh outlook in looking at your options as you venture into something different again at this time of your life.
