Back to School: Who's Going Back?

BACK SCHOOL TO THANKS IN PART TO THE RECENT RECESSION, MILLIONS OF WORKERS ARE RETURNING TO COLLEGE OR GRADUATE SCHOOL TO FURTHER THEIR EDUCATION AND SEEK ADDITIONAL TRAINING. WHO'S GOING BACK AND WILL THEIR INVESTMENT PAY OFF? WHO'S GOING BACK? College enrollment of adults 30 and older has surged in the past few decades and will continue rising, according to expert projections. 5.5 MILLION 6,124.000 ADULTS 30 AND OLDER enrolled in higher education, 5,539,000 5,002,000 a 322% INCREASE SINCE 1970 5,002,000 4,673,000 4312,000 4334,000 4376,000 4460,000 4,449.000 4,513,000 4,219,000 4.030,000 4.123000 3806,000 3.932,000 3748,000 3,505,000 3,329,000 2947000 3,009,000 3,047,000 3.112,000 3,105,000 3.049.000 3,101,000 3103,000 3.179,000 2,664,000 ADULTS 30 AND OLDER ENROLLED BY YEAR 2,050,000 1905.000 1,607,000 1,650,000 1496.000 1310,000 L199000 1230,000 1328,000 1361000 1345,000 1333,000 1344,000 1,077,000 1,023,000 1.076,000 858,000 234,000 433,000 1970 1980 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2014 2019 Enrollment Full time Part time 350,000 PEOPLE 55 AND OLDER enrolled in colleges and universities WHERE WILL THE JOBS BE? The number of people seeking advanced degrees is expected to see the largest increase among all educational pursuits by 2020. But some degrees will be more valuable than others in the long run. PERCENT CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT, BY EDUCATION CATEGORY, 2010-20 WILL IT PAY OFF? NEW JOBS, BY EDUCATION CATEGORY, 2010-20 20% | 877,000 DOCTORAL OR PROFESSIONAL DEGREE 22% 431,000 MASTER'S DEGREE 17% 3,656,000 BACHELOR'S DEGREE 18% 1,440,000 ASSOCIATE DEGREE 17% 1,101,000 POSTSECONDARY NON-DEGREE AWARD 18% |142,000 SOME COLLEGE, NO DEGREE 12% HIGH SCHOOL 7,576,000 DIPLOMA OR EQUIVALENT 14% LESS THAN 5,246,000 HIGH SCHOOL DOES IT REALLY PAY OFF? Whether seeking additional education will pay off directly in increased earnings depends largely on the jobs and education workers pursue, but the bottom line is it probably can't hurt. RETURN ON INVESTMENT 22% 12% FOR NON-TRADITIONAL STUDENTS BY SUBJECT AREA 53% 49% 43% 36% Average return on tuition dollars for Average return for TRADITIONAL adults who have a STUDENTS Engineering IT Business Nursing job while ENROLLED IN COLLEGE PAYING FOR EDUCATION With the cost of college soaring seemingly out of control, non-traditional students are in the same boat as younger students when it comes to paying for their education. But educational organizations and employers are viable options for workers who want to retum to school but find they can't afford it. 10,000 BABY BOOMERS EXPECTED to be trained for new jobs in education, healthcare and social services thanks to national certificate and degree programs planned by members of the American Association of Community Colleges 85% EMPLOYERS that offer tuition reimbursement programs Companies that offer tuition programs: Deloitte. LOCKHEED MARTIN Offers up to Will reimburse up to Up to $10,000 $7,500 $5,000 a year to some of its employees. a year. a year of your tuition. MMcAfee SecurityAlliance Raytheon Will reimburse Between $5,250 Full-time employees can receive up to $500 $10,000 and worth of tuition $1,000 per year. per calendar year. to put toward tuition. 10% MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED RATIO DEPOT Will reimburse about half the cost of tuition, up to $2,500 Of gross income devoted to STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS a year. SOURCES http://nces.ed.gov/ • http://www.nea.org/ • http://www.bls.gov/ • http://apolloresearchinstitute.com/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ • http://www.prweb.com/ top10onlinecolleges.org