Getting more education or developing your trade skills or taking courses to upgrade never hurt. Life is life long learning. Most positions in management in Health Care now need a Masters Degree. The only problem I have is it a real degree? There are certain standards that come with higher education. Your literary skills must improve. Your critical thinking that combines many different disciplines should be sharpened. It is not just a piece of paper. A colleague recently finished a degree. Initially the statement was it could be done in 3 months. It actually took the person 2 years and 3 months. Yes! Higher education must come with effort and time to let the process happen and new real learning to occur. Some workplaces help to pay for courses towards a degree. If one does it solely for the sake of trying to get or keep one's position but hates the process than what is the use. Retrospectively when I was studying for my Masters at the University of Toronto, it was a real accomplishment because even being accepted to the program took time and effort. At that time there were 1000 applicants for 100 spots. In the first year, 15 students were counselled out and 85 of us continued. It meant there were standards and expectations that needed to be met. One did not just show up and get a degree. Since earning my degree, I have taken many courses where one must have a Masters to take the course. Again adding knowledge to the base degree continues. All regulated professionals belong to a College so each year it is a requirement to attend courses, read, present, write papers or do whatever is needed to continue to develop your competence in one's field. Learning continues or revisiting old texts or course material to refresh one's memory is good. However, one of my life long goals has been to read in other disciplines. I bought a popular book on Physics two years ago to try to learn and understand other concepts. Reading business books that actually use many psychology concepts learnt in my undergraduate courses prevail in marketing and planning. Of course one of my first loves- history continues. I love current events so always look for the historical context. So when a new immigrant from another country tries to say something about their "superior" history, I can dialogue and put it in a universal context. Let's be real- many areas of the world changed hands many times and borders changed. Different armies and ethnic groups mixed and mingled. Many different influences changed areas of the world. So knowledge teaches us there is no superior country or race or religion! No real pure people! With DNA it could be proven that most humans have a mix! Hum! So higher learning brings some humility! Teaching us to learn, think, listen and continue to be aware of the world around us. So if you are beginning a journey of higher learning-feel honoured that the opportunity has come your way. So what are you planning to study? Or are you in a position to mentor or teach students in your field? Are there family members that could learn from your life?
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