Is college worth it?

So it shouldn't have surprised me when a friend half my age asked me as we headed back to our Northeast Philly homes late one night, "If you could do college over again, would you?"

Actually, my friend had a good reason for asking that question, for he was about to do just that.

My friend is a late twentysomething who got into a top-drawer university after graduating high school. He never completed his studies because he found his major did not sync with his interests and because he found work that paid handsomely without a bachelor's degree.

Some years later, he decided to leave the corporate life in order to pursue his art. His talent is immense, and his poetry alternately profound and witty, but it hasn't put much bread on the table. So now that economic reality has bit, he is reassessing what he can do going forward to cease being broke all the time.

Finishing that degree is one of the options he is weighing, hence the question.

I told him, "Absolutely! But I would do some things differently this time around."

While I think that we value brainwork too much and manual work not enough, there is no denying that getting a college degree is the best thing one can do for one's career, and getting an advanced degree is even better. Bachelor's degree holders earn on average nearly double what high school graduates earn, and advanced degree holders earn three times as much.

Moreover, thanks to the spread of continuing education programs, it is now never too late to start college, or even start over. For instance, my friend will likely pursue a different major than the one he chose the first time around once he returns to school. Many colleges and universities offer programs that working adults, or adults looking for work, can take on their own schedules, and distance learning programs let them pursue their degrees from the comfort of home, while on the road, or wherever they may be.

What I would do differently were I to do college over is pay much closer attention to the college-career link. Forging that link involves more than choice of major: at the undergraduate level, it also involves things like participating in certain extracurricular activities. Adult learners can mirror that behavior by tending diligently to professional networking opportunities with both fellow students and contacts "off campus."

Going back to school, or going for the first time, can also help keep job seekers focused and disciplined, which helps with staying on the path of the seeker. So maybe that What if...? question might not be just idle speculation - it could be the jumping off point for a successful second act in one's life. If you are thinking about starting over with a new career, you might want to start by exploring the educational options on PhillyJobs.com.

By Sandy Smith