Top Tips for Military Spouses Who Want to Continue School

Being a military spouse, improving your education can benefit your family in a lot of ways. In terms of finances, it can definitely boost your earning power and help increase your career opportunities. On a personal basis, obtaining a higher education can give you a feeling of attainment that enables you to feel more confident about yourself as well as your future. Below are tips for your consideration:

Think about your general personal and career goals.

Concentrate on something that is personally and professionally interesting to you. Go for a career that gives desirable pay, allows for a healthy work-life balance, and satisfies you overall.

Know the job market in your preferred field.

Are there opportunities appealing and readily available? Is the profession or field less lucrative in certain parts of the country? If job opportunities are scarce, getting a degree or certification may not be worth the time and money you have to spend.

Take advantage of financial assistance such as military spouse scholarship programs.

There are plenty of programs that military spouses will find useful as they further their education. For example, the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA)will be able to cover a maximum of $4000 worth of costs if you’re aiming for an associate degree, credential or license. Various state colleges and universities offer in-state rates for tuition, no matter the length of residence. There are also a whole variety of army spouse training scholarship programs that utilize different systems when providing financial aid, including federal loans with very cheap interest. The military also gives financial assistance to those who live in the United States while their spouses are stationed in a foreign country.

Explore online career training for military spouses.

Because military families usually have to relocate, completing local education programs can be difficult. Online Career Training Programs come with flexibility that benefits military families.

Fight for your transfer credits.

If you earned college credits from your old school and your target military spouse school will not give them credit, challenge this position. Schools usually have a process for this process and your advisor will be be able to help you. More information, such as a course syllabus, is often requested. Efforts are typically successful as you provide more details for those grades you have earned. If you end up with most of your credits still unaccepted, you can consider other schools which may be more consistent with your old school when it comes to accreditation and curriculum, and probably have transfer agreements in place (for example, junior colleges with local universities).

Observe good timing.

As you can probably envision, combining the responsibilities of family work and school can be very demanding. However, with proper planning, you won’t have to compromise or sacrifice any of these areas of your life.