Why Education is More Important Than Ever

Coming through school, college and even University we’re told about how important it is to pay attention to the teacher, get our homework in on time and to fully commit to our studies. As a student, it’s easy to respond saying how we’re never going to use certain skills in our future because we already have our careers mapped out, but even the most direct motorway routes are blocked by obstructions and we’re forced to take diversions or even whole new routes.

The job market is even fiercer today than ever before, with a study from July 2013 revealing that there are – on average – around 75 applicants for every vacancy, with only a handful of those making it through to the interview stage. Those looking for new careers either through recruitment agencies, websites like http://www.jobstoday.co.uk/ or by following social media accounts are now forced to find new ways to stand out from the crowd, but one of the key elements remains – your educational history.

It’s a common misconception that the school you attend plays a major part in your future success, with many parents encouraging their children to work hard at school in order to gain entry to the “better” schools, colleges and Universities further down the line. In actual fact, it’s more about the grades you manage to obtain and the courses you choose than the location.

For instance, a state school graduate with ten GCSEs at grade C and above will stand just as good a chance of getting into a college as someone who achieves the same grades at a private school.

The underlying factor is, however, that education is more important today than ever before. Competition for vacancies is fierce, and people are being encouraged to find any kind of “X factor” that they can in order to get their CV moved from the ‘applicants’ pile on the HR manager’s desk, to the ‘for interview’ pile. If you start your educational journey with determination and head to independent education providers like Cognita Schools, then you will be thanking yourself further down the line when you are in your dream career.

If you’re still in education, it’s certainly time to knuckle down and put in the long hours in order to achieve the best possible grades. Saying that you know what you want to do when you’re older is great, but not everyone is fortunate enough to achieve that dream. As mentioned earlier, there are often obstacles in the way that throw even the best-made plans right out of the window. In a job search scenario it might be that someone else is more qualified or more experienced and for that reason you never quite achieve that goal.

If you’ve finished your education, however, it’s going to be much more difficult to improve what’s already on your CV, but it is definitely not impossible. There are Open University courses, for example, that allow you to study at home to achieve all kinds of qualifications, while night classes are put on at colleges around the country for people to attend after work or whenever is suitable for them to add another qualification to their resume, or even improve an existing grade.

It is never too late to start working towards a degree if you have not decided to go to school yet. No matter how old you are or what your current occupation may be, as long as you internet access and a computer, you can apply for online programs at American.edu. This is an online university that ranks highly amongst others of its kind. Earn your Masters in Economics, Nutrition Education, or a number of other fields. Simply applying to one of these schools or taking a look at their course offering could effectively change your life for the better.

This article was written by Amanda Walters, an experienced freelance writer and regular contributor to Huffington Post. Follow her here: @Amanda_W84