5 Reasons Why Continuing Education Is Important for Your Career

Advancing your career in the workplace sounds like a simple enough concept: work hard, stay loyal, and the job will come to you.

Even so, while your employer may be familiar with your willingness and work ethic, they’re looking to promote a highly-skilled candidate. These opportunities only come up on occasion, and you’re up against colleagues who are equally qualified. How do you stand out amongst the crowd?

Enter: continuing education.

Key Takeaways

• Boosts Career Potential: Continuing education increases earning potential, provides access to new job opportunities, and helps you stand out in a competitive job market.
• Expands Professional Network: Advanced courses connect you with professionals from diverse backgrounds, fostering valuable insights and career growth.
• Enhances Skills and Creativity: Lifelong learning builds confidence, sharpens decision-making abilities, and nurtures creativity to tackle workplace challenges effectively.

What Is Continuing Education?

Continuing education is an ongoing commitment to your professional development—even after you’ve embarked on your career. This might mean completing a degree program or certificate through a college or university. However, it can also look like workshops, conferences, micro-credentials, online education, and professional certifications.

No matter what they are, continuing education programs are a win-win for both employees and employers. By upgrading your knowledge and skills, you remain competitive in your organization. More than that, you also help your company achieve long-term viability. This is a benefit that businesses recognize. In fact, many of them partner with online universities to offer tuition assistance programs for their employees—and yours may be one of them.

Why Is Continuing Education Important?

Maybe you’re looking to advance in your current position or competing for a promotion. If so, then pursuing continuing education can benefit you in numerous ways. Let’s take a look at five reasons that continuing education is important to your career.

1. Continuing Your Education Will Increase Your Earning Potential

As the U.S. labor market continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, one constant remains: education boosts earnings and reduces unemployment.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current median weekly earnings for workers who hold bachelor’s degrees ($1,493), master’s degrees ($1,737), and professional degrees ($2,206) are significantly higher than those who only hold associate degrees ($1,058) and high school diplomas ($899).

2. Continuing Your Education Will Strengthen Your Connections

Partaking in continuing education courses can help widen your social and professional networks by compelling you to interact with your peers—many of whom come from various professional backgrounds.

This network will be a wealth of insight as you advance in your career, providing opportunities for you to gain information about your industry, hear tips and advice, and learn important news and upcoming changes in your field.

3. Continuing Your Education Will Provide You with More Opportunities

Rather than remaining stagnant in learning — which can stymie opportunities for promotions—lifelong learning shows your employer that you have the willingness to grow and develop.

By adding new skills and abilities to your resume, you’ll be prepared to meet any required qualifications when facing a career transition, which can be the difference in landing new opportunities as they become available—especially when competing with your peers.

4. Continuing Your Education Will Boost Your Professional Confidence

The best decisions are backed by knowledge and data. When you have a thorough understanding of your business or subject area—as a result of education—you’re in the best position for confident decision-making. By acquiring the necessary skills to advance in your field, you’ll feel more prepared.

Taking on new tasks and opportunities will allow you to utilize your transferable skills such as organization, time-keeping, and problem-solving. What’s more, by continually receiving advice and support in the classroom, you’ll learn to react positively to constructive criticism in the workplace. This will build trust between you and your supervisor while also setting you on a pathway toward career advancement.

5. Continuing Your Education Will Jumpstart Your Creativity

As humans, we learn to be creative by experimenting, exploring, questioning assumptions, using our imagination, and synthesizing information. By learning about subjects outside of your normal discipline, you’ll encounter new concepts. These can help you brainstorm innovative ways to handle related tasks and challenges—an important trait when you’re looking to advance in your career.

Plus, studying as a full-time employee will allow you to immediately apply your creative learning to the workplace. This way, you can directly contribute to your organization’s competitiveness and profitability.

Who Is Continuous Education Right For?

You might be surprised to hear this, but continuous education can be an excellent choice for anyone! At the beginning of your career, it helps you build your skill set and become more employable. Alternatively, if you’ve been in the workforce but are looking to transition to a new field, continuing education can assist you in making that leap.

What about seasoned professionals? What can they get out of continuous education? Individuals with years of experience can benefit from these opportunities, too. Pursuing additional education in your field helps you stay on top of industry trends and best practices. And if you’re looking to rise through the ranks or secure a raise, continuing your education demonstrates your commitment to constant growth—no matter where you’re at in your career.

What Can the University of Cincinnati Offer You?

As the #1 Best Online College (study.com), we know first-hand that more education equals more opportunities — which is why we created the UC Online Business Partnership Program. With programs designed to provide full-time employees and their dependents with tuition scholarships, this partnership offers over 100 fully online programs and flexible scheduling for students to balance personal and professional responsibilities.

Not sure if your employer is a UC Online Partner? Speak with your supervisor to find out.

Ready to learn more? Explore our Business Partnership Program or take the first step in advancing your future by beginning your application today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the benefits of continuing education?

Continuing education offers many benefits, such as increased earning potential, a broader network, professional advancement, and more job opportunities. Additionally, many individuals  find that continuing their education improves their professional confidence and creativity.

What are some ways to take advantage of continuing education?

You can take advantage of continuing education through traditional degree and certificate programs. However, you can also explore opportunities such as workshops, conferences, and micro-credentials.

Why do people choose to continue their education?

You might choose to continue your education to earn a raise, secure a promotion, or expand your professional tool kit. By learning new skills, you also become a stronger asset to your current company.