What Kind of Education You Need to be Investing into to Make More Money

by mandyythomas4, posted in Make Extra Money, Money Mindset

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What Kind of Education You Need to be Investing in to Make More Money

People graduating and throwing their grad hats in the air

If you are looking to increase your income, I want to share a viewpoint that you may not have considered previously.

 

Many women I talk to, want to go back to school or take higher level education because they say that they want to increase their income. I think it is wonderful when I hear that people are wanting to increase their income!

The problem I see with this is that people often think that by increasing their education, that it automatically equates to more income, which in our society nowadays, is not the truth.

If you would have asked me twenty years ago, I would have agreed that it was a smart decision to go back to school or further your post-secondary education, to increase your income, but we live in a different time now, we live in the information age, which is different than the industrial age.

Previously, if you would have upgraded your education, received a certificate, a diploma, degree, masters or Ph.D., the chances of you being able to get an increase in wage, was much higher.

But the society that we live in now is very different, we are more of a skills-based society. It really is about learning to solve problems, that equates with being able to increase your income. You could go an get a degree, but that doesn’t mean that you will for sure get a job, or even if you get your masters, that you will earn more money.

First off, I want to say that I am not against education, not one bit, I have completed post-secondary education and I have no regrets, but there is so much more to the conversation that needs to be had, than just, “go to school and get a good job.” That really is something of the past that no longer is fairly standard to our society.

Why Our Parents Don’t Understand This Change

The education that one can receive nowadays to increase their income, is different than what our parents are used to, which often means that our parents discourage and simply, just don’t understand why we would choose a “different” type of education versus going for a degree in the past.

Our parents grew up in a different time than us and they see things differently than us, so I often see that they are not supportive or understanding when their children say that they want to do something that their parents consider “different” for education, versus going for a degree to “get a good job.”

What Kind of Education Will Help You Make More Money

I am writing this post because if you are wanting to go back to school to get a piece of paper so you can earn more money, I want you to see the bigger picture and be able to make a more informed choice.

What really matters for making more income now is your skill set and your ability to solve problems.

When I say your skill set, I am referring to the things that you can do, the real skills that you have that can benefit an employer, a company or even yourself if you choose entrepreneurship. I have nothing against formal post-secondary education, but some of the classes that you take, are actually not ones that even directly relate to what it is that you want to do when you graduate and many employers know this and recognize this now. That is where your actual skills come into place.

There are more and more businesses and employers who are hiring people, not based on what their degree or formal education is, but the skills that they have and what problem they can solve for the business.

When you have skills that can solve specific problems, that is when you are able to really start to make more money.

Click here to download my Realistic Budget template! 

Increasing Your Skills Versus Conventional Post Secondary, Gives You Flexibility

Most of the women that I talk to that want to increase their income, also want flexibility, they don’t want to have more specific hours and to drive to another job. That is why I believe that increasing your skills, is the key to earning more income, in the way that you want to.

When you focus on increasing your skills to match what people are looking for, that is when you hit the spot of opportunity and increased income.

We live in a society where you truly can work from your laptop and be location independent, you can live in multiple places and work from where you choose for many careers nowadays. This is where it is a huge benefit to focus on your skills, versus increasing your post-secondary education.

When you are able to be flexible about where you are working from, that means that you have so many more opportunities, you don’t have to move to that city that is really expensive to live in and would make it really difficult to get ahead, instead you can choose somewhere more affordable and work from home or another location.

Freelancing is a great way for you to be able to increase your income, do something that you are passionate about and be able to choose who you are working with. There are many online programs that you can take that will help to increase your income, you can take a course to learn how to become a virtual assistant and you can work for different businesses or entrepreneurs doing a variety of different tasks. You can learn how to do graphics, design work or tech-related skills. You can take the skills that you have learned at your career but have hit the ceiling for what you can earn, and you can be your own boss and work online with companies and now have no upper limit to what you can earn.

If you want a great book that talks more about bringing in more income through freelancing, check out Rich20Something, I loved this book about freelancing, entrepreneurship and how we have more options nowadays!

You can write about many different topics and work with companies being paid to write for them or you can even be a ghostwriter and write for other business owners.

There are many courses that you can take online that aren’t specifically a “certificate” program, but will teach you skills that you can use when working for someone online or for yourself online, freelancing or running your own business.

What first opened my mind to skills versus formal education, was when I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. I grew up in a household where I was told daily, “Mandyy, go to school and get an education so you can get a good job.” So this is what I grew up with but when I read this book, I realized that what I thought was the truth, was not the truth in fact. My father grew up in a different time era and he just wanted what was best for me, but he didn’t understand because he didn’t go to school himself, that just going to school and getting an education, does not equate to being able to live a life of purpose, fulfillment and joy. Often we do what our parents tell us and we don’t look around to see if that is congruent and supportive of the time we live in now, with our dreams and the life that we want to live. I have two post-secondary educations and even though I would still go back and take them again, that that is not true for many people I talk to.

If you are in a job that is sucking the life out of you and doesn’t serve you or make you feel truly happy, filled with joy and like you are doing your life’s work and purpose, consider working with a financial coach that will help you to set yourself up financially to be able to leave your soul-sucking job, to do what you are most passionate about. The money that you will spend to work with a coach, will pay off 10x+ more because of the emotional, mental and physical stress that has been reduced in your life and your quality of life improving because you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. This means you will see your stress levels reduce and your relationships drastically change because deep down inside, you are truly happy and that makes you show up as the person that you want to in your life.

Click here to download my Realistic Budget template! 

Student Loan Debt is at an All-Time High

Student loans are at an all-time high and the cost for traditional post-secondary education doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. It isn’t uncommon for people to have $250k+ in student loan debt, for a job that pays $50,000 a year and the payments that they are making towards their student loans are more than many people’s mortgages, which means that these people are struggling to get by, let alone get ahead.

You can take courses online for $200-$5000 that you can actually make back your money very quickly and then provide you with an adequate-incredible income going forward. But yet these programs didn’t cost you $30k+ for an education.

How to Choose What Online Programs to Take

First of all, think about what you love, what are you passionate about? What do you actually enjoy doing? What makes you excited to show up every single day? What puts a smile on your face and makes you feel purposeful and fulfilled?

Just because you make $300,000 at a job, does not mean that you are successful. If you hate that career, it doesn’t matter how much money you are getting paid, because that is the ultimate failure, when you are doing something that sucks your soul and makes you dread going to work every single day.

So, don’t just pick whatever you think is going to be the most profitable. Yes, money is important, but happiness, fulfillment, joy and purpose are so important and need to be included in that equation for evaluating what is right for you.

Start by brainstorming a list of topics that you love, skills that you already have that you would love to expand upon and monetize. Start with that list and then start Googling, start searching on Pinterest, asking around in Facebook groups, if anyone knows of anyone who has a successful career in that area or knows of any online programs that can help you to further develop those skills.

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I know people who have taken courses and programs to learn how to become speakers and they now speak to audiences all over the world, I know women who have taken courses to become virtual assistants who are able to stay at home with their children, but bring in a full time income and having flexibility in the hours that they work so it fits their lifestyle, I know women who write for companies and are able to be flexible with where they live now, I know women who have become full time travelers and are travel bloggers and work with different companies and they are able to see the world, I know makeup artists that are freelancers that make a full-time income doing something they can’t wait to wake up each day to do. The options are truly endless, only to the extent of your imagination. If there is something that you dream to do, I bet there is someone else out there if you look hard enough, who is monetizing that same passion.

I am not saying that online education is the only way to go, I am not saying that at all, but I would be doing you a disservice to not write this post and point out another perspective about the day in age that we live in now and how you should be evaluating whether or not you should increase your education traditionally or in a different way.

If you find a program that you can take that is the traditionally post-secondary education and you can ensure that it will indeed increase your income, then all the power to you! Go for it! But I just don’t want any more women to think that increasing their education in the traditional way will, in fact, guarantee an increase in income, and that there may be more affordable options, that they can make their investment back sooner, doing something that offers more flexibility and something that they in fact love.

If you want to build an online business that is in the health, wellness or life coaching field, you will want to check out the post I wrote about the Top 5 Programs & Courses for Female Health, Wellness & Life Coaches

Click here to download my Realistic Budget template! 

Frequently Asked Questions about Financial Coaching

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I am very active on Instagram, follow me here for more financial tips & tricks: http://instagram.com/mandyythomas (@mandyythomas)

 

Is having a location independent business something you would love to do so you can have more flexibility and freedom? Leave me a comment in the comments below and I will respond back to you!

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