As the responsibilities of home and children build up later in life, many adults find it necessary to re-train and enter a new profession that can better accommodate their unique situations. Or for women that are planning on having children in the near future, a new career is necessary to ensure they don’t lose their job during maternity leave.

Such a move can improve your income, give you greater freedom in your personal life, and provide a higher level of job security or other benefits.  They can lead to a better retirement at an earlier age, lower stress, and greater job satisfaction.

Of course, it includes the risks associated with a new career and the thought of starting over.  It’s a choice many working women find themselves making these days.

When you’re the one facing that decision, there are some key elements to consider to make sure you are minimizing the risks you undertake.

Train for a Marketable Skill

As much fun as it might be to learn about important political cartoonists of the early 19th century, it’s not a knowledge base that’s likely to pad your purse very well.

You need to look at the skills that are most likely to help you land and keep a job.  And when that’s your situation, you can never go wrong with health care.

How are you feeling today?  Maybe a little achy, or given to a sneeze here and there?  If you feel that way, you can safely assume that everyone you meet on the street has a touch of something that’s not quite 100% healthy.

That can mean just one thing:  A good number of those folks are headed somewhere to somebody for some kind of medical treatment, and that somebody will get paid.

As long as there are people, there will be a need for trained health care professionals. The ebbs and flows of fickle economies almost fully insulate these careers from financial downturns.

Get Your Education from a Credible School

For years, there has been a separation between prestigious universities and those that were viewed as “diploma mills”.  Do your background work and find out the history of the institutions you’re considering.

Quality teaching environments like Sanford Brown work with their students to provide the hands-on instruction they need on a schedule that works for them.  If all the school seems to want is your money, look elsewhere.  If they’re bending over backwards to help you succeed, you have found the right place.

Make Good Use of Online Learning

Online education has become a huge benefit to people in a variety of circumstances.  Those with demanding careers, busy family schedules, health issues, or long travel times to physical campuses are more capable than ever of acquiring training and degrees to improve their lives.

Whether it’s after the kids are in bed or during their time at school, any free moment you have can become productive as you seek an online degree.  You can take care of “book and paper” learning from wherever you are, then make arrangements to get on campus for the practical learning needed in fields like health care. Take the extra step and plan your online college route to success.

These days it’s easier than ever to learn something new for a new career.  Do some quality background work, and let your background get you some quality work.