Enrolling in degree programs at accredited postsecondary schools can help you to do more than gain a balanced education in one or more disciplines or specialty fields (e.g. computer science, chemical engineering, nursing), when you obtain college degrees you may also increase your chances of getting hired and staying employed.  Furthermore, the benefits of advancing your education are evident even during economic downturns.

In fact, the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that American civilians aged 25 years and up who didn’t have a high school diploma showed a 15 percent unemployment rate.  High school graduates who didn’t have any college education showed a 9.3 percent unemployment rate as of July 2011. The unemployment rate for adults aged 25 years and up who had completed some college education or earned at least an Associate’s degree was 8.3 percent as of July 2011.

However, it was adults who had Bachelor’s degrees or higher (e.g. Master’s, Doctorate) who showed the lowest unemployment rates.  In fact, having at least a college Bachelor’s degree appears to have helped American civilians keep their unemployment rate at significantly less than half that of adults who didn’t graduate from high school and more than four percent below adults who did go on to get their high school diploma.   As of April 2011, the unemployment rate for people with Bachelor’s degrees or greater was at 4.5 percent; by July 2011 these same college graduates showed a 4.3 percent unemployment rate, a number that is four percent lower than that reported for Americans who only earned an Associate’s degree or less while in college.

When you make a commitment toward improving and advancing your own education you may motivate your children and other family members to continue their education as well.  As technologies, business practices, learning methods and customer behaviors transform in the industries you’re employed in, you can enroll in college courses and stay abreast of cutting edge and innovative changes impacting your job.  You might even gain the skills to manage a large department, lead an organization or start your own company.