Is now a good time to take a break from work and return to education? Careers expert Eoghan McDermott puts you in the right direction.
By Eoghan McDermott
If you have a job and it’s not under threat I’d be very cautious about leaving it. Forecasters are predicting unemployment to rise some more. And the length of the downturn is still unclear at best. Lose a job and you may find it difficult to find one again for a number of years. Particularly, at the level you left.
On the other hand, if you are doing a relatively low-skilled job and you really don’t like it, getting yourself a degree, or similar, which may put you in a better position to get the role you really want.
Having said all of that, some organisations allow very flexible and secure career breaks, or sabbaticals. Ones that allow you to head off and do something else for a year, or a number of years, with the guarantee that you can return and take your job back.
Others actively encourage their people to get themselves further educated and then return to work. Some even pay the costs of the course, but there usually are provisos that go with it. For example, a client from a biotech company is currently studying for a Masters, the company is paying for it but it restricts him from moving for five years.
Evening classes and adult education courses run by universities and VECs for example are an option too. Another client for example is dedicated enough to study at night and on Saturdays in a field completely unrelated to his current job. And he hasn’t had to leave his job.
Going back to school will always be of benefit to you. You just need to be sure the time is right.
Eoghan McDermott is Head of The Careers Clinic in The Communications Clinic and is the author of The Career Doctor- How to Get and Keep the Job You Want.
Contact Eoghan at [email protected] or if you have a question for Eoghan please send it to [email protected]
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