We all feel jaded from time to time, especially when it comes to our careers. Maybe you’re tired of the same routine day in and day out. Perhaps you feel like you are not being challenged enough. Or maybe you know that you could be making more money in a different career field altogether. Feeling like you are stuck in a career rut can take on many forms, and therefore, so can the tactics that can help you climb out of it.

One of the ways that you can help yourself escape from a career rut involves continuing education. In this instance, you don’t have to think of continuing education as necessarily going back to school; rather, you are continuing to learn new skills as you advance in life and your career. Here are a few specific ways that continuing education can help if you find yourself stuck in a career rut.

• You can regenerate interest in your current position. Feel like you’re bored with the job you’ve been doing for years? By enrolling in continuing education courses, you can perhaps re-spark the interest you once had for your career by getting up to date on the latest ideas and technologies circulating in your field. You may be surprised at how your industry has evolved over time, and you might feel like your job is less mundane by pursuing a new and relevant skill.
• You can advance in your career field. If you’ve been in the same career position for a while, it may be time to move on. If you make the move toward earning an advanced certification or seek a specialization in your field, it will put you in a better position to be able to move up the ranks and advance to a higher and more prestigious position within your company. In other words, get certified for a specialized skill via continuing education, and your resume will receive a boost.
• You can get a raise. Along the same lines, there’s no better way to get out of a career rut than to get a little extra compensation. The certification or specialization you pursue via continuing education is an investment back into yourself—one that can literally pay off. If employers see you as being more qualified, then you can justifiably charge them more for your hard work in exchange.
• You can change careers entirely. Perhaps your career rut is pointing you down a new path entirely. Instead of paying exorbitant amounts of money to go back to school on campus for an undergraduate degree, consider continuing education as the less expensive and easier option. It is possible to start from scratch as an adult and end up with a certification as a dietician, for example, all through self-guided online continuing education courses. Online courses especially allow you to flexibly work classes into your busy schedule.
• You can discover a new passion. Is there a topic you have always been interested in, but you’ve never had time to delve into it? If you are stuck in a career rut, continuing education can expose you to a new career passion that will leave you much happier in your daily routine. You may not necessarily know that you have a love for horticulture until you take that initial introductory online course. You’ll never know until you try!

Don’t waste another minute languishing in your career rut. Consider continuing education today! It’s as easy as browsing our course offerings and registering for the courses you are interested in. You do not have to be a UWA student to apply! Check out our courses at www.uwa.edu/ce.