“More adults are going back to school”

Posted: 20 Sep 2010 01:12 AM PDT

MIAMI — For the new school year, Ramil Anonuevo got a new backpack on wheels. He borrowed books to get a head start.

And he found a study buddy: his 11-year-old son, Aaron, who joins him at the dinner table.

Anonuevo, 42, just started an accelerated nursing program at Miami-Dade College. In a year, he should have his degree — and a new career.

Adults in their 30s, 40s and older are heading back to the classroom in the hopes of changing career paths. They are sales managers, firefighters, research consultants and journalists. They hope to become nurses, priests, lawyers and teachers.

For some, going back to school is a chance to meet a personal goal, reinvent themselves or answer a spiritual calling. For others, like Anonuevo, the extra education is a way out of the recession.

In his native Philippines, he earned an accounting degree and worked in government administration. Soon after he arrived in Miami in July 2008 with his wife and two sons, the economy cratered and left him looking for jobs in Publix grocery stores.

He had no luck and considered going back to the Philippines. But his wife didn't want the family separated, and his son Abraham, 17, was winning math awards in school.

So Anonuevo decided to hit the books and become a nurse — like his wife.

"I decided I should enroll in a field that is recession-proof," Anonuevo said.

Health, computers are hot job areas

At Miami-Dade College, one of the nation's largest institutions, a third of the students are 26 years old or older. Rene Garcia, director of enrollment at the college, said there is a link between the economy tanking and people going back to school.

"It's 'Gee, I got whacked from my job. Now I have the opportunity to do something else,' " Garcia said.

Hot job areas include nursing and other health programs, business, education and computer technology, Garcia said.

University of Florida economist David Denslow said community colleges in particular see increased enrollment because they can quickly hire faculty to teach in-demand fields and offer late-night and weekend programs.

But does going back to school pay off in the long run? That depends on the field.

"If you go back for additional training in literature, it does a lot of good intellectually and personally, but not necessarily financially," he said. "If it's in an area like math or technology, science or nursing, those pay off."

Those areas can yield pay increases on the order of 15 percent to 20 percent, Denslow said.

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Monday, September 20, 2010