As job seekers head back to classrooms, which degrees more likely to lead to employment
Story Created:
Sep 4, 2009 at 3:50 PM EST
Story Updated:
Sep 4, 2009 at 5:18 PM EST
(WKTV) - With the local unemployment rate at just over 7%, many people are returning to campuses in an effort to find a new profession.
But what kind of degree will reward you with a job?
Mark Barbano's job at the Division of Research and Statistics at the New York State Labor Department is to look toward the future, and see what jobs show the potential for growth, no matter how unstable the economy is.
"If you look at those projections, the ones that are going to grow the most or the fastest are mostly in the healthcare industry," Barbano said. "There is also a lot computer type of technical occupations as well."
Healthcare and computers are two degrees that Janet Visalli says adult students are looking to get at MVCC. Visalli, the Director of Adult Learning says adult enrollment is up over 25% at the community college, with many people looking to get a new job.
"They work very closely with the Working Solutions offices that are here locally, and try to find out what the trends are, what are they projecting for the future," Visalli said.
The economy is playing a key role in many people's choice to give it the old college try again, Visalli said. However, she says the decision to go back to college as an adult, or start college as an adult, is tough enough in itself. She says once you are back on campus, it could get even tougher.
"They are looking at all the different pros and cons," Visalli said. "Is this going to work for me? I'm juggling family, I have a mortgage, now this will take me out of the work force for two years. I am going to be on unemployment insurance. How am I going to make all this work?"
However, the Director of Adult Learning says most who do commit to coming back, find a way to make it work.
"For most of our adult students, they are very, very successful," she said. "I think it is because they have been in the world, they know what it is like, they know what they need to do."
Unemployment numbers are the highest they have been since the early 1990s, Barbano said. And Visalli said adult enrollment is up 28% at MVCC from the previous year.
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