The nation’s labor force includes 54 million who do not have a college degree; and in that, 34 million have never been to college at all.  With technology growing at the speed of light, it is challenging to keep up with the educational qualifications necessary in the job market.  Without adults having the minimal requirements to secure a job, they can easily be passed up for someone who is significantly younger with a college degree.  America’s adult learners who do decide to go back to school, say in their mid-forties, are much more likely to get more out of their college education than eighteen year old students, right out of high school.

When I was in college, I choose to work with adult students in group projects, rather than “traditional students”, who didn’t want to do their share of the work.  I knew the older students were excited to be in class and amongst all their challenges, they appreciated the fact they were able to learn.  Whether enrolled in a traditional college, community college, online school, or trade school, kudos to you adults who have gone back to earn a college degree.  The workforce will be a much better place and it surely cannot hurt the economy.

http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/ReturntolearningApril2007.pdf