If life is a highway, then college is an exit. For some, it just happens to be an unexpected exit.
Certainly Ed Kienholz, 55, never expected to be back in school. Then his company of 35 years shipped his job to Missouri.
"What do you do?" Kienholz says. "I mean, it's too early for your pensions, it's too early for your 401Ks."
So Kienholz signed up for classes at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC). He's learning to repair heating, ventilating and air conditioning units.
He also had to take a five-credit Algebra class, which wasn't easy for someone in his 50s. But in the end, Kienholz feels he made the right choice.
"They're not going to ship your jobs out," he says. "You've gotta be here. And I don't want to go through that again."
The economy is driving people of all ages back to school. MCTC says overall enrollment is up six percent this spring and new student enrollment is up 11 percent.
"We had lines out the door before Thanksgiving and typically, at an open-enrollment institution such as ours, the lines don't start that early," says Kerri Carlson, MCTC's director of admissions.
MCTC is certainly not alone. Minnesota's Office of Higher Education says enrollment numbers are up at community colleges, technical colleges and private career schools throughout the state.
"You want to be in college now so that you're ready for a job when the economy comes back," says Susan Hammerstrom, vice president of student recruitment and career services at Rasmussen College.
Nationwide enrollment at Rasmussen has increased from 8,000 people to nearly 10,000 in just one year. According to Hammerstrom, many students say they couldn't get the jobs they wanted because they didn't have degrees.
That's what drove Jason Rudenick back to school. When the housing market collapsed, his construction company failed, leaving him few options.
"I applied for a couple positions and they were asking me, do I have a bachelor's degree?" Rudenick recalls. "Owning a company wasn't enough, it was actually a piece of paper they were looking for. So I felt the need to go back to school."
Career counselor Donna Bennett hears these stories a lot right now. When someone loses a job, she says, "the first thing they want to do is go back to school."
School appeals to many because it's something tangible in these scary times. But Bennett says it's also important to do your homework.
"I like to work with people so that they're making more of an informed choice, rather than a reactive choice," Bennett says. "So it doesn't make sense to me to just start going to school."
She asks her clients to do a career assessment and answer the following questions:
What field are they going into?
Is it a good fit?
Does that field have a good future?
Experts say health care is a popular field with a bright future. Technology, education, business and the food industry are also considered strong fields.
"I suggest they go out and talk to people who are doing that work and do informational interviews," Bennett says. "Maybe do an internship."
Bennett also advises talking with family to make sure prospective students have time for college. Perhaps you only need to get certified in something, she says. Or maybe you can start by taking just one or two courses.
Online courses are making things easier for students. At Rasmussen, more students now take online classes than traditional ones.
"The real advantages to online education for students is the flexibility," says Rasmussen's Hammerstrom. "I can go to school when it works for me."
Finally, make sure you can afford school and get enough financial aid.
Normandale Community College is offering a special deal for unemployed workers. The school is offering free tuition this semester -- up to eight credits -- to Minnesotans with unemployment insurance.
About 250 students are taking advantage of the offer, including Connie Winston, who lost her job in October.
"Obviously, you can't fork out a lot of money for schooling, so it was perfect timing for me," Winston says. "I got really excited."
For Winston, it's a foot in the door. She's taking a psychology course now, with dreams of finishing school and becoming a nutritionist.
"I'm hoping to continue on after this," she says. "I don't plan on stopping."
Going back to school has already paid off for Jason Rudenick. He graduates this summer but already has a job working for Rasmussen College. He thinks now is the perfect time for others to go back to school.
"I would suggest the economy's going to pick up in a couple years, and at that point you'll be a graduate and be ready to rock and roll," he says.
(Copyright 2009 by KARE 11. All Rights Reserved.)
