The economy is in a bad state right now, jobs are drying up left and right. Everywhere you look there are closed businesses, the buildings left empty with no one able to fill them. Mass lay offs are a daily fact of life- and the competition for the remaining jobs is fierce. In the general scheme of things, a college degree can give you the edge you need to get a job when the number of applications was in the triple digits. If all things are equal, that degree will be the tie breaker, the something extra that gives you the edge.

A good solid education can do more than help you out on a single job interview. It can prepare you to face an uncertain world without panicking; to know that you will be able to handle whatever life throws at you and land on your own two feet. By solid education, I am by no means referring only to college- that could include technical training, or specialized skills training in your current occupation. Whatever knowledge that you gain could give you the edge over everybody else in your field.

When you start looking into furthering your education, keep in mind that some degrees will be more useful than others. A Bachelor's degree in computer skills is helpful in this day and age; a Bachelor's in Russian folk dancing is not. Consider where the jobs are and which careers actually have a strong future. If you really are interested in learning about folk dancing or Russian literature, then consider pursing that as a minor, but it will not be useful or even reasonable to use that as your major. There is no sense in wasting your time, energy or resources in pursing a degree that is basically not even worth the paper it is printed on. After all, how many local jobs have you seen with the addendum "applicant must know Russian folk dances"?

Once you start, realize there is a funny thing about grades while in school and once you are out. During your time in school, academic success is measured by grade point averages and appointments to the Dean's list. After you graduate however, no one will care if you had a 3.8 GPA or if you barely passed all of your classes. A degree is a degree, no matter how close you came to flunking out. A doctor who graduates at the bottom of his class is still a doctor after all. Good grades might allow you to qualify for scholarships, and if they are high enough and you show that spark of initiative, they may ask you to continue on even further than you had originally planned to. Just keep in mind what your future career goals are realistically. Consider the area that you live in and whether you are open to relocation. If you know that you will never move, and the job market will not bear a position for the higher degree in that field, they why bother? On the other hand, if moving are not an issue, and you think you could move higher and higher up the ladder, by all means go for it. Your education is only limited by you.