During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of workers have been forced to continue their careers from home. For those that have been lucky enough to avoid the massive layoffs in many industries, navigating a work from home schedule has been a challenge. One advantage of the quarantine is that you have more time to focus on your career goals. Just because you cannot network and connect in person during the pandemic doesn’t mean that you can’t be working on expanding your career.
Now is the best time to work on new skills, upgrade your education, or even retrain for an entirely different career with the help of fine educational institutes like American International College. Let’s take a look at how you can turn the COVID-19 quarantine into an educational opportunity.
You Have the Time
If you are working from home, you save several hours a day on things like commuting to the office and getting ready for your day. The advantage of working from home is that you are already at the “office,” giving you more time to focus on your work.
When you spend hours driving back and forth to work, you may not have had time to take an online class that will earn you a certificate in your field. Quarantine now allows you to take that extra time and apply it to continuing your education.
Discounted Courses
The pandemic has affected the registration rates for colleges and universities around the world. Many institutions have converted to online learning to keep their students safe during the pandemic, but their new students’ core has significantly dropped. As a result, many schools reduce their tuition fees and offer discounted college courses to bring up their enrollment numbers.
Engagement
Continuing your education while you have the time during quarantine can increase your career engagement. You will be making a proactive effort to remain relevant and hone your skills, making you more valuable to your company.
Learning something new or expanding on your current knowledge is good for your brain and your confidence. Get excited about a new area of expertise and see what lays over that horizon. The feeling of accomplishment and job satisfaction can be increased by continuing your education.
Career Opportunities and Advancement
During the pandemic, many companies are being forced to make tough economic decisions that involve staffing. If you are concerned about your job security, taking the opportunity to increase your value by boosting your credentials. The more indispensable you make yourself by increasing your qualifications and skills, the less chance your company will see you as an unnecessary expense.
You may want to use your quarantine time to explore new fields. If you aren’t happy in your current career, now is the time to explore other options. Sign up for a few courses that interest you and see where it leads. You could end up pursuing an entirely different career path.
The pandemic has changed the way that the world does business. Taking this crisis and turning it into an educational opportunity can help you stay relevant, engaged, and place you in a stronger career position.
Photo: Thought Catalog, Unsplash