In the excellent sitcom 30 Rock, the character of Liz Lemon worries about her future job prospects, since she believes her chosen profession as a TV writer will soon be obsolete. She encounters a group who describe themselves as “people whose jobs used to be things”- a travel agent, an American autoworker, and a guy who used to play saxophone solos in (80’s) songs. They invite Liz to live under a bridge with them, but she wisely declines. While of course this is a comedic example, there are a number of professions that are simply no longer needed. You would be rather annoyed if you spent a huge amount of time learning how to repair a VHS player, only to have DVD’s come along a few years later. There are, however, some jobs that will always be in demand, and of course you could become a doctor or lawyer, but what about those of us who want a secure, fulfilling job without having to spend years studying?
The Face
As anyone who has been foolish (or brave, depending on how you look at it) enough to try and give himself or herself an advanced beauty treatment will tell you- it’s better to leave these things to a professional. There will always be a demand for beauty therapists, and it’s remarkably easy to learn the fundamentals via distance education, which allows you to advance up the ladder far more quickly than if you were to start as an apprentice.
The Numbers
The majority of us prefer to leave our tax affairs to someone who knows what they’re doing, and so accountancy is one of those careers that’s basically recession-proof. Even in hard times, people will always want to maximise their financial position, and so the services of a qualified accountant will always be in demand. It’s possible to get accreditation in this field via distance learning, meaning you can study at your own pace.
The Brain
Overcrowded classrooms are an unfortunate aspect of modern education, but many schools have intelligently overcome this issue by installing teaching assistants to work alongside the class teacher. They assist the teacher during the educational process, concentrating on a child’s learning and social development, which gives the teacher more time to actually teach. Becoming a teaching assistant is an ideal career path for those who love children and learning, but don’t necessarily have the inclination to become teachers themselves.
The beauty of distance learning for a new career is that you can move towards your future goals, while still having time to focus on everyday life, whether that’s an existing job or your family. There are a huge number of professions that can be studied for in this way, whether you’re interested in teaching assistant courses or criminal psychology courses. There’s no chance of doing a “guy who used to play saxophone solo in 80’s songs” course, but that’s probably for the best…
