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Speaker 1: Oprah Winfrey once said education is the key to unlocking

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Speaker 1: the world, a passport to freedom. Jud Apatow said college

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Speaker 1: is the reward for surviving high school. In twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: the total undergraduate enrollment at a degree granting post secondary

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Speaker 1: institution in the US was fifteen point four million students.

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Speaker 1: That's according to the data from the National Center of

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Speaker 1: Education Statistics.

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Speaker 2: That's a lot of people rewarded for surviving high school.

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Speaker 1: While enrollment is expected to increase by nine percent in

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Speaker 1: the next eight to ten years, the number of new

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Speaker 1: college students in the fall of twenty twenty one was

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Speaker 1: about three percent lower than twenty twenty enrollment and fifteen

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Speaker 1: percent lower than the enrollment numbers for fall of twenty ten.

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Speaker 1: Perhaps that's because a traditional four year college doesn't have

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Speaker 1: to be the path for everyone. In fact, while enrollment

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Speaker 1: in college declined, some trade schools have reported seeing an

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Speaker 1: increase in enrollment during that time. Based on data from

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Speaker 1: the US Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Speaker 1: of the three hundred and ninety one thy twenty to

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Speaker 1: twenty nine year olds who graduated between January and October

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Speaker 1: of twenty twenty two, with an associate's degree, seventy two

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Speaker 1: point six percent found employment isn't employment the biggest reward

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Speaker 1: of them all? The ability to have financial freedom to

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Speaker 1: miss Winfrey's point, education in any form greatly improves our

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Speaker 1: chances of gaining employment opportunities and our chance to learn

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Speaker 1: and explore the world around us. In our last episode,

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Speaker 1: we talked about the many ways to save and pay

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Speaker 1: for college, like opening a five to two nine savings account,

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Speaker 1: But how do we know of going to a four

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Speaker 1: year college after high school? Is the best path for

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Speaker 1: us or the students in our lives In a culture

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Speaker 1: of gap years and rapidly advancing technology, the options are

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Speaker 1: limitless for anyone graduating high school. But are some directions

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Speaker 1: better than others? And if it's an associate's degree instead

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Speaker 1: of a bachelor's degree, will something like a five to

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Speaker 1: two nine still cover that? We'll find out together, So

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Speaker 1: start taking notes because this is stuff, Hey everyone, this

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Speaker 1: is grown up stuff. How to Adult the show where

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Speaker 1: we make sense of the many parts of adulthood, one

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Speaker 1: topic at a time. As always, I am Mollie and

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Speaker 1: I am joined by my co host and college graduate Matt.

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Speaker 1: I want to welcome you all back for a special

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Speaker 1: Part two on continuing education in partnership with the Michigan

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Speaker 1: Education Savings Program and Edvest in Wisconsin. Matt, last episode,

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Speaker 1: we talked about how to save and pay for college,

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Speaker 1: but this week we are going to take a look

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Speaker 1: at all of the ways you can continue your education

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Speaker 1: beyond high school. So, Matt, I want you to close

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Speaker 1: your eyes and I want you to imagine the future

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Speaker 1: you are now. Papa Matt and your ten babas are

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Speaker 1: Beabase nombour and some of them are torn about what

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Speaker 1: their future holds post high school.

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Speaker 2: And I know.

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Speaker 1: You have a lot of thoughts about college looking back

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Speaker 1: at your own career and your time at school. Will

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Speaker 1: you advise them to seek out a bachelor's as you

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Speaker 1: have done.

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Speaker 3: You had to make it ten. You couldn't have just said.

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Speaker 2: You know what, because I think you'll be a great father.

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Speaker 3: Okay, So my eyes are closed. There's definitely not to

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Speaker 3: have ten servative number. There's maybe one, but I think

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Speaker 3: it'll ultimately depend on what kind of person they are,

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Speaker 3: you know, like if they're super driven and they have

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Speaker 3: a clear idea of what they want to do that

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Speaker 3: requires school, I'm thinking, like, you know, a doctor or

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Speaker 3: a lawyer, you know, go to school or you know,

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Speaker 3: take a gap year, I trust you. If they're someone

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Speaker 3: who needs guidance and maybe structure will benefit them, you know,

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Speaker 3: community college until they have a better idea of what

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Speaker 3: they want to do. If they're super passionate about a

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Speaker 3: field where a degree isn't entirely necessary, like the arts,

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Speaker 3: and they have a good head on their shoulders, I'd say,

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Speaker 3: maybe just go do that for a while until you

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Speaker 3: can find your footing professionally or or learn as you

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Speaker 3: work your way into an industry. I'd maybe tell them

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Speaker 3: that you can have a really stable and long career

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Speaker 3: by going to trade school and learning something in incredibly useful.

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Speaker 3: So I'm really conflicted, and I do think it would

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Speaker 3: entirely depend on the person.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, You're right to be conflicted and feel complicated, because

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Speaker 1: I think it's such a tough thing to predict, right,

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Speaker 1: Like you want to be supportive and you want to

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Speaker 1: but you also want to help put somebody on the

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Speaker 1: right track, like on the best path forward for them.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: For me, I went to undergrad for one thing and

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Speaker 1: then completely changed careers. And in that case, grad school

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Speaker 1: really helped me change careers and I don't regret growing

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Speaker 1: to grad school at all. We have a colleague who

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Speaker 1: did trade school for audio engineering, and y'all she is

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Speaker 1: Emmy nominated.

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Speaker 3: Emmy nominated Sierra Spreen.

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Speaker 2: So you know she's doing great.

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Speaker 1: We're going to talk about all of these options today

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Speaker 1: with some familiar voices.

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Speaker 3: That's right. We are excited to welcome Robin Lott and

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Speaker 3: Jackie James back to grown up stuff. Last episode, they

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Speaker 3: taught us about our options when it comes to financing

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Speaker 3: higher ed and introduced us to the five twenty nine

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Speaker 3: Savings Plan, a savings account designed to grow your savings

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Speaker 3: for higher education.

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Speaker 1: Today day, we're going to ask Robin and Jackie how

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Speaker 1: important higher education is, how we determine which option is

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Speaker 1: right for us, and if a five two nine will

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Speaker 1: cover some of these alternatives to a bachelor's degree program.

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Speaker 1: Jackie and Robin, thank you both for joining us again

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Speaker 1: for this special part two episode where we're continuing to

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Speaker 1: talk about education, higher education post high school and what

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Speaker 1: our options are. I know, Matt, you have a very

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Speaker 1: important question that you want to start us off with.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and Robin and you and I were talking about

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Speaker 3: this a little bit before we all hopped on. But

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Speaker 3: basically Molly and I both went to four year universities.

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Speaker 3: I think I'm very thankful for the fact that I

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Speaker 3: went to a four year university, but I now work

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Speaker 3: in audio, which is entirely not what I studied in school.

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Speaker 3: And so basically what I'm trying to get here is,

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Speaker 3: you know, what is the point of college? What is

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Speaker 3: it giving us that we can't necessarily get from on

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Speaker 3: the job training.

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Speaker 4: I'll just start out by saying, it really depends on

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Speaker 4: the career path that you've chosen and what is your dream.

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Speaker 4: I mean, if you want to be a dentist, you're

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Speaker 4: going to need that formal training at a university. If

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Speaker 4: you want to be an engineer, or a doctor or

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Speaker 4: a teacher, there's many careers out there that you're going

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Speaker 4: to need that piece of paper for otherwise you will

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Speaker 4: not be able to be hired.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, So a four year college in some cases is

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Speaker 5: kind of an experience. They work to develop people, and

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Speaker 5: it kind of has a couple of objectives. First of all,

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Speaker 5: of course, a college specifically is for a broad based education,

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Speaker 5: but also the classes that you have to take foster

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Speaker 5: critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills that are also

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Speaker 5: very important in a professional setting. Something really important, really

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Speaker 5: no one ever talks about is networking opportunities, and for

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Speaker 5: year colleges, they are just unparalleled. Studies have shown that

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Speaker 5: can distantly over their lifetime. College graduates tend to earn

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Speaker 5: more than those with a high school diploma, so this

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Speaker 5: earnings gap can be substantial, with some estimates suggesting that

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Speaker 5: college graduates can earn up to one point two million

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Speaker 5: dollars more over their careers.

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Speaker 1: Robert, I want to post this question to you because

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Speaker 1: you have this amazing experience working with higher education in Michigan.

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Speaker 1: Do you see any changes around the value of a

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Speaker 1: college degree? Does it mean as much today as it

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Speaker 1: once did? Or is the market because there's so many

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Speaker 1: people graduating from college, is the market almost saturated with

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Speaker 1: bachelor's degrees.

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Speaker 4: I'd like to think not simply because as time goes on,

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Speaker 4: people are falling out of the market. Okay, so I'm

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Speaker 4: close to retirement age. I'm going to free up a

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Speaker 4: space for someone else to fill that gap. As industries evolve,

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Speaker 4: there's you're going to always be a need, I think

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Speaker 4: for college graduates, and that opportunity, if you will, for

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Speaker 4: people to succeed and advance in whatever field they're interested in.

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Speaker 4: I don't really see it falling off. And again, every

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Speaker 4: time there's a survey taken, I swear to you, families

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Speaker 4: say pretty much the same thing. And I've been in

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Speaker 4: this field for quite a while now. I remember surveys

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Speaker 4: back in nineteen ninety something and they said families value

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Speaker 4: higher education. There's earning potential. Back then, it was a

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Speaker 4: one million dollar difference between a high school graduate and

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Speaker 4: someone who had a college degree. And there was still

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Speaker 4: a lot of opportunities for people with a college degree

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Speaker 4: to earn a good living. And I still see that today,

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Speaker 4: you know, thirty years later, where it really hasn't changed

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Speaker 4: that much.

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Speaker 5: Also something to note, according to the US Bureau of

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Speaker 5: Labor Statistics, during COVID nineteen, workers with a high school

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Speaker 5: diploma took a big hit on their job ups.

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Speaker 6: The unemployment rate.

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Speaker 5: With people that have just a high school diploma was

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Speaker 5: seventeen point six percent.

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Speaker 6: However, for college graduates it was eight point four percent. Wow,

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Speaker 6: something to note there.

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Speaker 1: You go, clearly there's still a lot of value in

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Speaker 1: completing a bachelor's program today. However, in a US News

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Speaker 1: and World report article it identified that roughly one in

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Speaker 1: four freshmen don't return for their sophomore year of college.

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Speaker 1: If college is the route we should take, how do

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Speaker 1: we know we're ready for it? Is there a master

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Speaker 1: checklist somewhere we can use to make sure we're prepared

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Speaker 1: or to analyze our likelihood of dropping out.

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Speaker 5: I kind of came up with my own mental checklist.

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Speaker 5: First of all, academic preparedness college. Of course, at the

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Speaker 5: end of the day we talked about it. It's about

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Speaker 5: the education and academics. So have you consistently performed well

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Speaker 5: in your course work in high school or previous education,

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Speaker 5: and have you met the academic requirements for the college

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Speaker 5: or program. If not, maybe we reevaluate and take a

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Speaker 5: gap year or decide to go to community college.

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Speaker 6: Was absolutely fine.

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Speaker 5: Second of all, clarify your career goals and consider the

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Speaker 5: specific degree or program you want. However, just make sure

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Speaker 5: when you're thinking about these to give yourself some flexibility that, Okay,

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Speaker 5: I might decide to pivot and change my major after

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Speaker 5: freshman year.

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Speaker 7: And remember that it's okay to change.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: Oh, that's the whole premise of growing up and becoming adults,

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Speaker 4: is that we do change. So you know, Matt and

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Speaker 4: I were talking a little bit earlier about the fact

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Speaker 4: that you can always have a backup plan as well.

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Speaker 4: But really the main thing on that list that Jackie

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Speaker 4: laid out is trying to identify that career you want.

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Speaker 4: What do you want to be when you grow up? Right,

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Speaker 4: That's the biggest question. And to the extent that you

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Speaker 4: can identify that early on, it could save you some

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Speaker 4: time and money, because you're right, you could end up

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Speaker 4: going down one path and deciding you don't like that

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Speaker 4: and then changing your major. But now you've spent all

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Speaker 4: this money on some classes that may not apply to

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Speaker 4: the new major you've decided, So taking a gap year

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Speaker 4: might be okay. It really is a personal decision. But

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Speaker 4: understanding that it's going to take discipline if you take

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Speaker 4: that gap year, take discipline to get back on the horse.

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Speaker 6: That's something to consider too.

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Speaker 7: Molly.

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Speaker 5: There's two things I want to say. First of all,

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Speaker 5: we need to consider our financial considerations when it comes

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Speaker 5: to absolutely getting education, and of course you can use

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Speaker 5: a five to two nine plan to start saving for

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Speaker 5: college too. But last thing that I think that we

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Speaker 5: haven't really talked about is evaluate your personal readiness. You

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Speaker 5: need to reflect on your personal maturity level, emotional resilience,

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Speaker 5: ability to handle potential stress and challenges that come with

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Speaker 5: college life. And if that's not the case, maybe you

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Speaker 5: decide to stay home and commute into college, or decide

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Speaker 5: to do community college and ease into that transition instead

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Speaker 5: of just going from high school to a four year

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Speaker 5: staying there college and that's okay too.

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Speaker 4: Or alternatively, go ahead into a trade while you're trying

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Speaker 4: to make that decision. What a perfect backup or primary

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Speaker 4: career and we are in constant need of folks to

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Speaker 4: do that as well.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, and you might start that trade earlier or

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Speaker 1: sooner to your point, Jackie, start that five twenty nine account,

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Speaker 1: and then you're able to put more money in. And

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Speaker 1: if you change your mind and want to go get

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Speaker 1: a bachelor's degree later in life, there's that option, and

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Speaker 1: you've already started saving in your five twenty nine. Absolutely,

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Speaker 1: While your academic record is a good indication of your

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Speaker 1: readiness for college, there's also your maturity and emotional preparedness

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Speaker 1: to consider. For many, college is the first time you're

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Speaker 1: living on your own and responsible for your own decisions,

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Speaker 1: like making sure you actually go to class and that

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Speaker 1: you study for the midterms, all while balancing living with

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Speaker 1: a roommate and experiencing campus life. But fretno, because there

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Speaker 1: are a lot of great options if you're not ready

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Speaker 1: for for your bachelor's program. For starters, you could take

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Speaker 1: a gap year work and travel while you save money

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Speaker 1: before that first tuition payment. There's also trade schools and

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Speaker 1: community colleges. Plus there are also different types of universities

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Speaker 1: that may better.

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Speaker 2: Suit your learning needs.

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Speaker 1: What are all of our different options for education after

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Speaker 1: high school? And if we are looking at pursuing a

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Speaker 1: bachelor's program, can you explain the difference between attending a

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Speaker 1: private university versus a public state school.

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Speaker 4: So you have your trade schools obviously technical schools. You

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Speaker 4: have your community colleges they basically provide an associate's degree,

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Speaker 4: and then you have your public universities.

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Speaker 7: You have your private universities.

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Speaker 4: And the difference between your public and private is that

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Speaker 4: the public universities usually receive some type of state appropriation

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Speaker 4: to help with their operational cost versus a private institution

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Speaker 4: that's solely private. I mean they are funding their institutions

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Speaker 4: based on donations from alumni, from funds, that's being raised

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Speaker 4: from the student's tuition, So you're going to see the

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Speaker 4: tuition at a public school be about half the cost

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Speaker 4: of a tuition that's at a private school that's in state.

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Speaker 5: And I just wanted to talk about kind of the

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Speaker 5: levels of college degrees. You have certificate programs which are

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Speaker 5: kind of short term and they focus on specific skills

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Speaker 5: in a particular field. You have associates degrees, which are

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Speaker 5: typically two years and offer kind of a foundational knowledge

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Speaker 5: in a particular field, and you can get that through

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Speaker 5: a community college, and some four year colleges offer associates degrees.

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Speaker 5: Of course, everybody talks about a bachelor's degree, which is

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Speaker 5: typically four years and offers comprehensive education and a chosen major.

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Speaker 5: You have a master's degree, which I'm very familiar with unfortunately,

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Speaker 5: which focuses on a specialized study and research within a

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Speaker 5: specific discipline, and that's often one to two years, depending

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Speaker 5: And then, of course your doctoral degrees, which is the

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Speaker 5: highest level of academic degrees, and that involves an in

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Speaker 5: depth research and original contributions to a field of study.

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Speaker 5: And that just I can't even tell you how long

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Speaker 5: that is.

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Speaker 6: That varies.

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Speaker 1: I want to go back to the private versus public

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Speaker 1: college situation really quickly, and we talked a little bit

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Speaker 1: about what drives the cost public is because it's state

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Speaker 1: funded private, it's getting everything from private donors and tuition.

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Speaker 1: What is the attraction to going to a private over

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Speaker 1: a public university?

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Speaker 6: They tend to have smaller student populations.

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Speaker 4: I was going to say that it's a more intimate environment.

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Speaker 5: Yep, and more personalized attention than public schools.

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Speaker 3: Yeap.

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Speaker 7: They'll have a smaller class size.

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Speaker 4: Instead of one hundred students in a class, they might

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Speaker 4: only have thirty or thirty five students in a class,

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Speaker 4: and so they can get more attention that way as well.

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Speaker 3: Mine. I were going back and forth on this, but

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Speaker 3: like when you hear, at least for me, like when

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Speaker 3: you hear someone like, oh I went to Yale, Oh

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Speaker 3: I went to Harvard.

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Speaker 7: It's prestigious.

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Speaker 3: I'm like, I'm impressed, you know, so, like is the

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Speaker 3: name really worth the price of admission?

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Speaker 7: Though?

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Speaker 5: I will make this very clear, there are the prestigious

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Speaker 5: schools Yale, Harvard, IVY League, IVY League, and then there's

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Speaker 5: everything else. Both are awesome. Any education in general, first

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Speaker 5: of all wonderful, but In my experience, no one cares

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Speaker 5: where you get an education from.

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Speaker 2: So those Ivy.

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Speaker 5: League schools do hold prestige and they might get you

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Speaker 5: more networking and more jobs. However, University of South Carolina

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Speaker 5: comparatively to Charleston College, unless I'm making new networking opportunities

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Speaker 5: or the person that's hiring me went to the University

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Speaker 5: of South Carolina. In my experience, I haven't had any

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Speaker 5: advantages over the name of the school.

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Speaker 6: So it matters about your networking.

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Speaker 5: It matters about your your skills, your communication, your hard work, ethic.

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Speaker 3: And your professors too, and there's a way to do both. Also,

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Speaker 3: Like I know a lot of people who will like

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Speaker 3: go to like a community college for two years, and

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Speaker 3: they're generally they have partnership programs with like a like

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Speaker 3: a larger school.

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Speaker 5: And that for your degree is just as valuable even

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Speaker 5: though they went two years to community college. Two years

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Speaker 5: to four year college, that's just as valuable.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, So we've really weighed the pros and cons of

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Speaker 3: four year colleges. So you know, let's say that we've

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Speaker 3: made the decision for ourselves that a traditional for your

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Speaker 3: university experience is not necessarily what is going to be

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Speaker 3: the best for us. What are the other options? I

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Speaker 3: know we've talked about trade school, vocational school. Could you

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Speaker 3: guys get into those a little bit more and tell

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Speaker 3: us really what the other options out there are for people?

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Speaker 4: Absolutely so, your trade in technical schools could take you

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Speaker 4: down the path of many, many different things. It's amazing

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Speaker 4: how many different careers could be considered just vocational training.

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Speaker 4: And going back to what Matt was talking about, you

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Speaker 4: could just get an internship and learn the skill right, yeah,

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Speaker 4: and go right to work.

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Speaker 3: And actually, for my own edification, we've thrown this word

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Speaker 3: around a bunch and actually I don't think I know

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Speaker 3: what it means when we talk about vocational schools. What

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Speaker 3: exactly is that?

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Speaker 1: And is that different than like a training school or

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Speaker 1: a technical school or are they all the same.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, it's basically the same thing. But like trade technical

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Speaker 6: vocational schools, they all.

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Speaker 5: Focus on teaching a specific skill for particular industries like

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Speaker 5: automotive repair, welding, medical assistance. They typically, comparatively to like

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Speaker 5: a college education, offer shorter programs that could be completed

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Speaker 5: in like a little as a couple of months to

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Speaker 5: a couple of years, making them quicker and more affordable

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Speaker 5: way to jumpstart your career after high school.

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Speaker 1: We've been talking about trade, technical, vocational. Let's go to associates,

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Speaker 1: you know, community college. What is the real difference between

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Speaker 1: an associate's degree and a bachelor's degree.

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Speaker 4: Associate's degree is just your two year program. There's many

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Speaker 4: degrees you can get that just require just the two

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Speaker 4: year work. Right, Earnings wise, you're going to make a

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Speaker 4: little less than if you have a bachelor's degree.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, and it's offered by community colleges, technical colleges, and

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Speaker 5: some universities like we just talked about earlier. It could

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Speaker 5: also be more cost effective for those who want to

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Speaker 5: enter the job market sooner with a specialized level of knowledge.

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Speaker 1: Exactly are you seeing people go the associate's degree first

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Speaker 1: to get some of those gen ed credits even out

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Speaker 1: of the way, and then kind of graduating to a

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Speaker 1: bachelor's degree.

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Speaker 2: Is that becoming more common at all?

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Speaker 4: Almost becoming more common now is dual enrollment. We are

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Speaker 4: now having high schools offer opportunities for students to take

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Speaker 4: college credit at the local community college while they're in

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Speaker 4: high school. And guess what, it's free of charge, so

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Speaker 4: that when they get to the college. The college accepts

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Speaker 4: that credit toward their graduation, and I think that we're

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Speaker 4: seeing a whole lot more of that now that states

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Speaker 4: are offering it.

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Speaker 7: I know here in Michigan they're offering it quite a bit.

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Speaker 1: I would imagine if you can get a lot of

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Speaker 1: those college credits out of the way, you might even

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Speaker 1: be able to shorten the length of time.

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Speaker 7: There you go.

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Speaker 4: And that's at the end of the day, as many

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Speaker 4: classes as you can take. And I just was school

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Speaker 4: and my grandson about this the other day, because he's

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Speaker 4: going to junior high this year, and I said to him,

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Speaker 4: when you get to that high school door, the first

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Speaker 4: thing you do is look up ap classes and dual enrollment,

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Speaker 4: because that is going to allow you to reduce the

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Speaker 4: amount that that degree is going to ultimately cost.

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Speaker 1: You.

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Speaker 7: Think about it.

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Speaker 4: If you can take ten credits in high school and

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Speaker 4: it requires sixty credits or a degree, now I only

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Speaker 4: have to pay for fifty credits, So it could greatly

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Speaker 4: reduce the cost of your college career if you can

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Speaker 4: take some credits in your high school that apply to college.

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Speaker 1: We'll be right back with more grown up stuff how

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Speaker 1: to adult.

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Speaker 2: After a quick break.

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Speaker 1: And we're back with more grown up stuff how to adults.

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Speaker 1: I'll say it again, there are a lot of different

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Speaker 1: options for recent high school graduates to continue their education,

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Speaker 1: but there are also options for people after they graduate

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Speaker 1: from college. While we all know that doctors and lawyers

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Speaker 1: understandably go on to medical school and law school, how

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Speaker 1: can graduate school benefit those of us with an English degree?

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Speaker 1: For me personally, grad school was an essential part of

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Speaker 1: changing career paths. For other occupations like educators, postgrad credits

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Speaker 1: and degrees are important and often required to keeping credentials

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Speaker 1: up to date and moving up and salary.

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Speaker 5: There are several advantages that graduate school have over just

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Speaker 5: bachelor's degrees, which, mind you, just bachelor's degree or any

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Speaker 5: education is wonderful, And I keep telling you that because

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Speaker 5: I want to make it clear that any education is wonderful.

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Speaker 5: But graduate degrees provide a couple of advantages specialization, of course,

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Speaker 5: career advancement.

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Speaker 6: That's pretty much the main.

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Speaker 5: Goal of a lot of people when it comes to

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Speaker 5: getting a master's degree or going to grad school, because

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Speaker 5: in certain fields a master's degree is required, or it

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Speaker 5: enhances your opportunity for career advancement and higher level positions.

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Speaker 5: It also, just like a high school degree to a

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Speaker 5: bachelor's degree, there's also increased earning potential comparatively to just

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Speaker 5: having a bachelor's degree. On average, individuals with a master's

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Speaker 5: degree tend to earn higher salaries than just those with

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Speaker 5: a bachelor's. It also provides competitive edge and also something

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Speaker 5: that a lot of people don't talk about. You can

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Speaker 5: also get your master's in a different field.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's actually I mean, that is exactly what I did.

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Speaker 1: I was a teacher and I went to grad school

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Speaker 1: for journalism to get into the media space. For me,

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Speaker 1: when I decided I wanted to leave teaching, an important

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Speaker 1: path for me to really transition was to go to

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Speaker 1: grad school and make that.

445
00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:27,160
Speaker 3: Switch become doctor Molly.

446
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,000
Speaker 1: I become doctor Molly. According to Matt, I do not

447
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,919
Speaker 1: have a PhD. Obviously, Matt and I are just kidding

448
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,160
Speaker 1: here and we both know that I have a master's

449
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:39,560
Speaker 1: and not a PhD. But for our listeners, can you

450
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:43,119
Speaker 1: lay out the key differences between those two degree programs.

451
00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:45,560
Speaker 6: The level of education and the field you work in.

452
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,720
Speaker 5: So a master's degree typically takes one to two years,

453
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,359
Speaker 5: a PhD takes much longer than that. Depending on the program,

454
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:57,600
Speaker 5: So it just kind of depends. Like a PhD is

455
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:03,520
Speaker 5: typically necessary to attain expertise in a specialized area or

456
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 5: to conduct advanced research like in academia medicine of course,

457
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:15,880
Speaker 5: science and engineering, psychology, law, and social sciences like anthropology

458
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:17,240
Speaker 5: and political science.

459
00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,240
Speaker 6: But like we were talking.

460
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,199
Speaker 5: Before, it's just a level higher than master's degree.

461
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:28,640
Speaker 3: So if my job offers like continuing education, stipends or

462
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,240
Speaker 3: credits to its employees, is a master's degree program like

463
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:33,639
Speaker 3: the best way to take advantage of that?

464
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,760
Speaker 5: Well, in my experience, that's what I did. So I

465
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:42,840
Speaker 5: work for a company that offered tuition reimbursement, so I

466
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,320
Speaker 5: didn't pay very much out of pocket to get my

467
00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:48,320
Speaker 5: master's degree. So, first of all, if you have that

468
00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:53,400
Speaker 5: opportunity with your job, I absolutely would take that opportunity

469
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:58,359
Speaker 5: and run with it, because it's not something that most

470
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,840
Speaker 5: people offer, you know, like, that's a very excellent opportunity

471
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:06,400
Speaker 5: for you to advance your higher education. But I would recommend,

472
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:09,199
Speaker 5: and this is just from my experience, make sure you

473
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:13,560
Speaker 5: consider relevance and if it aligns with your career goals.

474
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:18,840
Speaker 5: The time commitment I didn't realize going back to school

475
00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:24,800
Speaker 5: on top of a full time job, your life, children, house,

476
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,520
Speaker 5: that's very difficult to balance work and studies and personal life,

477
00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 5: So just be aware of that if you are considering

478
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,719
Speaker 5: taking that opportunity and long term benefits of course, Like

479
00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:39,280
Speaker 5: for me, I really thought about my career advancement, my

480
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:43,240
Speaker 5: salary growth, and job satisfaction when I was considering going

481
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,119
Speaker 5: back to school for my master's degree.

482
00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:49,479
Speaker 1: That's great, and you mentioned certificate programs. I'm seeing more

483
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,199
Speaker 1: and more universities offering things called continuing education programs that

484
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:57,720
Speaker 1: seem to be designed for working professionals. What exactly are

485
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,600
Speaker 1: these how do they differ from a master degree or

486
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:01,840
Speaker 1: a PhD program?

487
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:08,120
Speaker 5: Continuing education programs are educational offerings that are provided by

488
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:12,920
Speaker 5: universities to help people acquire new skills, update their existing knowledge, and.

489
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:14,440
Speaker 6: Stay current in their fields.

490
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:20,080
Speaker 5: They're designed for adult learning and have topics like professional development,

491
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:28,400
Speaker 5: language IT training, real estate education, HR training, and environmental sustainability.

492
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:32,439
Speaker 5: So all of these things are just certificate programs that

493
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,200
Speaker 5: are really short term comparatively to a master's degree or

494
00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:39,640
Speaker 5: PhD program, which are more long term at least one

495
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,440
Speaker 5: to two years for master's degree and the PhD.

496
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,880
Speaker 6: Program, depending on the program. I can't give you.

497
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,680
Speaker 3: An exact year, Jackie, seeing as you know your background

498
00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,399
Speaker 3: is with ed Vest and their five twenty nine plans.

499
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,320
Speaker 3: How much of what we've talked about today can we

500
00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,960
Speaker 3: cover with a five twenty nine savings account plan.

501
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:01,880
Speaker 5: That's an awesome question because with a five twenty nine

502
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,760
Speaker 5: you can use it for technical school, you can use

503
00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,719
Speaker 5: it for apprenticeships, you can use it for four year college,

504
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,360
Speaker 5: you can use it for two year college, be continuing

505
00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:14,960
Speaker 5: the education programs, and postgrad degrees programs. It just depends

506
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:18,639
Speaker 5: on if it's an accredited school. If you just search

507
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:22,359
Speaker 5: for the apprenticeship under the Federal School Code list on

508
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,879
Speaker 5: the US Department of Education's website, you can see if

509
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,720
Speaker 5: a five to nine covers it. If it says it's accredited,

510
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:30,439
Speaker 5: five two nines can cover it.

511
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:32,880
Speaker 3: And what about room and board for like all these

512
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,080
Speaker 3: vocational schools too, is that covered correct?

513
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,600
Speaker 5: Yes, anything that's an accredited school, that's tuition, room.

514
00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,560
Speaker 6: And board, books, fees.

515
00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,720
Speaker 5: Those are all qualified higher education expenses that you can

516
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:48,480
Speaker 5: use with your five to nine. There are some exceptions,

517
00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,119
Speaker 5: but if you have any questions, you can always just

518
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,399
Speaker 5: reach out to your state plan or look at the

519
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:58,160
Speaker 5: program description. Literally just search atvest dot com program description

520
00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:01,960
Speaker 5: and you can see everything that is covered under ADVEST five.

521
00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 3: Two nine and might those exceptions kind of like vary

522
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,560
Speaker 3: from state to state, so it's probably important to check,

523
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,680
Speaker 3: you know, with whatever state your five twenty nine plan

524
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:11,040
Speaker 3: is with, Yes, just.

525
00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:12,880
Speaker 6: Check your home state five twenty nine plan.

526
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 3: This is huge because you know, as we were talking about,

527
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,720
Speaker 3: like you know, if you at all are thinking about

528
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,800
Speaker 3: going to school, thinking about your your higher education, being

529
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:24,560
Speaker 3: able to take advantage of these plans with tax advantages

530
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:26,200
Speaker 3: can be huge. You know, Molly, you and I talked

531
00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:28,080
Speaker 3: about this last episode. Like, you know, if you see

532
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:30,000
Speaker 3: your paycheck, like if you get one thousand dollars a week,

533
00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:31,719
Speaker 3: you know, all the taxes come out, you have like

534
00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:34,199
Speaker 3: you know, five hundred six hundred dollars left. Imagine that

535
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,800
Speaker 3: you can just take that full thousand dollars, put it

536
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,320
Speaker 3: into a five twenty nine and use that to fund

537
00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,920
Speaker 3: what you already want to do. Otherwise you're gonna be

538
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,840
Speaker 3: paying for it after tax. All right, that's not fun, correct.

539
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,040
Speaker 3: I'd never really put that together when I was younger,

540
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:48,720
Speaker 3: that like, because I guess I never really had I

541
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:50,080
Speaker 3: didn't have a job when I was younger, but I

542
00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:51,360
Speaker 3: was like, how do you people pay for all these things?

543
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:53,000
Speaker 3: But like, if you could really just put that pre

544
00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:54,880
Speaker 3: tax money and let it grow and take it out,

545
00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,960
Speaker 3: you know, with qualifying expensive tax free, I mean that's amazing.

546
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:02,680
Speaker 5: Yes, I didn't understand when I was younger what a

547
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,160
Speaker 5: tax advantage account really meant. I'm like, great, I save

548
00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:10,440
Speaker 5: what five percent or something, But then as an adult

549
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,360
Speaker 5: to having taxes taken out and then paying taxes and

550
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:18,560
Speaker 5: then realizing that that money can be reinvested into your

551
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:22,120
Speaker 5: account and you can have those tax savings on top

552
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,840
Speaker 5: of your contribution and have the potential to grow for

553
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:30,560
Speaker 5: a very long time and use compound earnings to grow

554
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,360
Speaker 5: that account over time.

555
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:34,960
Speaker 6: That's huge.

556
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:37,840
Speaker 1: Getting any level of education is going to help you

557
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:41,600
Speaker 1: in your career, but good academic performance and favorable grades

558
00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,480
Speaker 1: are only part of the higher ed recipe. You'll also

559
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,200
Speaker 1: want to take part in opportunities outside of the classroom

560
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:49,960
Speaker 1: to network with people in your area of study. Joining

561
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:53,520
Speaker 1: professional clubs and finding volunteer opportunities could be a great

562
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,760
Speaker 1: way to make your experience more well rounded. Because once

563
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,880
Speaker 1: you get your degree, your certificate, it's all about me

564
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:06,880
Speaker 1: making that experience stand out. Robin, I'm also curious. I

565
00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,320
Speaker 1: would love your thoughts on how you advise college students

566
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,520
Speaker 1: to make the most of that experience to make their

567
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,680
Speaker 1: resume and their experience stand out when they're in the workforce.

568
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:22,000
Speaker 4: Take a resume writing class, for crying out loud, because

569
00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,400
Speaker 4: what you know, I'm from old school where you put

570
00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:25,600
Speaker 4: everything in your resume.

571
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:27,000
Speaker 7: Now not so much.

572
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,920
Speaker 4: You definitely want to learn how you can present yourself

573
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:35,600
Speaker 4: on paper in the best light possible. So I would

574
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:39,040
Speaker 4: start there with a resume writing class to make sure

575
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:43,600
Speaker 4: that you're capturing the best side of your experience on

576
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:45,720
Speaker 4: that piece of paper, and so that it's not too long,

577
00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 4: not too short, but can really show your skills as

578
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 4: best you can.

579
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:53,560
Speaker 1: I think you've just highlighted another episode we need to

580
00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:57,240
Speaker 1: cover is resume writing. Yeah, but I'm curious should people

581
00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,960
Speaker 1: start to really think about it's not just about my grade.

582
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,640
Speaker 1: I need to get involved in certain activities or clubs

583
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:05,400
Speaker 1: to really make that resume stand out.

584
00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,560
Speaker 4: Absolutely, it goes back to our discussion on networking. It

585
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:11,040
Speaker 4: is about your grades if you want to stay in college, right,

586
00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,080
Speaker 4: But it doesn't you don't have to have that four

587
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:16,320
Speaker 4: point zero to graduate obviously, right, So you always want

588
00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:19,960
Speaker 4: to strive for your best academically, but you'd also want

589
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:24,760
Speaker 4: to make sure that you are meeting people connecting those dots,

590
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,880
Speaker 4: learning how to communicate, learning how to be independent successful.

591
00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:33,600
Speaker 1: Is there anything else that you feel like you want

592
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:35,400
Speaker 1: to kind of share in terms of all the different

593
00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,840
Speaker 1: options and the different paths that people can take around education.

594
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:43,520
Speaker 5: Yes, I said this last time and I'll say it again.

595
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,040
Speaker 5: There is no one right way to do your education

596
00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:49,880
Speaker 5: or your career. Your education is going to take you

597
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,320
Speaker 5: where it needs to go. And never feel the societal

598
00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:57,480
Speaker 5: pressures that for your colleges are the right option, because

599
00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:00,600
Speaker 5: that's not the case whatsoever. Do what's for you and

600
00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,000
Speaker 5: evaluate what's best for your situation.

601
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,520
Speaker 3: And I think that's really important to hear because in

602
00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:11,320
Speaker 3: all likelihood, this younger generation, including millennials and those entering

603
00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:15,360
Speaker 3: the workforce now, will most likely experience multiple career changes

604
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:18,120
Speaker 3: throughout their life. Yeah, you know, like whether it's adapting

605
00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:21,920
Speaker 3: to how quickly technology is changing or maximizing their salaries,

606
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,400
Speaker 3: are looking for new career challenges. But I think it's

607
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:27,560
Speaker 3: important to understand as early as possible that a career

608
00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:30,080
Speaker 3: path is never a straight line, and that you know

609
00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:33,400
Speaker 3: most likely you will encounter difficult moments in your career,

610
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:36,360
Speaker 3: but that pushing through them and moving forward is the

611
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:39,200
Speaker 3: only way you're going to grow personally and professionally, and

612
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,000
Speaker 3: that you'll be better off for it in the long run.

613
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:44,760
Speaker 1: Jackie and Robin, thank you so much for joining us

614
00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:48,040
Speaker 1: once again. I feel like we have learned so much

615
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,920
Speaker 1: about what our options are if we decide to continue

616
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:54,800
Speaker 1: education after high school or even after college after our bachelors.

617
00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:57,040
Speaker 1: So thank you once again for being here with us.

618
00:32:57,440 --> 00:32:59,760
Speaker 7: Thank you guys so much. This was fantastic.

619
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:00,640
Speaker 3: Thank you.

620
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,480
Speaker 6: I have had such a great time.

621
00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:10,239
Speaker 1: I want to thank Robin and Jackie for joining us

622
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,240
Speaker 1: again on this episode. I think one of the most

623
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,959
Speaker 1: important takeaways, and we've said it a ton here today,

624
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,480
Speaker 1: is that there are a lot of options to explore

625
00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,040
Speaker 1: after you graduate from high school, but more often than not,

626
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,040
Speaker 1: pursuing an education in any form is going to give

627
00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:25,080
Speaker 1: you a leg up when it comes to building your career,

628
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,200
Speaker 1: whether it's going to a trade school, pursuing an associate's

629
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,120
Speaker 1: degree or a bachelor's, or going even further with a

630
00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:34,400
Speaker 1: master's or a PhD program. Those certificates and degrees are

631
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:37,120
Speaker 1: going to help you learn more and grow your potential

632
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,240
Speaker 1: to earn more. Here's what else I've learned from this

633
00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:42,640
Speaker 1: conversation with Robin and Jackie. The five to two nine

634
00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,680
Speaker 1: savings plan will cover traditional four year colleges, trade schools,

635
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:49,440
Speaker 1: community colleges, and even graduate school programs as long as

636
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,560
Speaker 1: the institution you're enrolling in is accredited by the US

637
00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,560
Speaker 1: Department of Education. A huge advantage of college can be

638
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,760
Speaker 1: the opportunity to network and grow as a person, But

639
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,480
Speaker 1: you want to make sure you're all ready for the time, commitment,

640
00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:04,760
Speaker 1: academic rigor, and the emotional toll college could take on you.

641
00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:08,280
Speaker 1: Dual study programs and advanced placement courses in high school

642
00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:09,680
Speaker 1: are a great way to get a lot of your

643
00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:12,200
Speaker 1: general education courses for college out of the way and

644
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:15,360
Speaker 1: even save you some money. Private schools are more expensive

645
00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,960
Speaker 1: than the public state universities because they're funded completely by

646
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,160
Speaker 1: donors and students tuition and fees. State schools get a

647
00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:24,759
Speaker 1: good amount of funding from their states, which offsets the

648
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:29,520
Speaker 1: operational costs and allows them to charge students less for tuition. However,

649
00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:32,520
Speaker 1: private schools can offer a more intimate and personal learning

650
00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:36,480
Speaker 1: environment with much smaller class sizes than the state schools. Finally,

651
00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:39,160
Speaker 1: don't be afraid to change your mind, whether you complete

652
00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:41,400
Speaker 1: an associate's degree and decide to go on to pursue

653
00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:44,440
Speaker 1: a bachelor's or you have a bachelor's and you decide

654
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,440
Speaker 1: you want to change careers and go to grad school.

655
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,759
Speaker 1: I mean, that's what the undecided major is for in college.

656
00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,160
Speaker 1: That is all for today's episode. What is our next

657
00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:55,240
Speaker 1: stop on Grown Up Stuff How to Adults?

658
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:58,520
Speaker 3: Next up, we're learning about buying a car with Jamie

659
00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:01,120
Speaker 3: Page Eaton, who is the editor in chief of Car Talks.

660
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:03,680
Speaker 3: We'll ask her about buying new versus hughes, and a

661
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:07,560
Speaker 3: difference between car loans, leasing and buying outright, and some

662
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:09,920
Speaker 3: of the latest safety features on cars you should make

663
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:10,600
Speaker 3: sure you get.

664
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Speaker 1: I'm really hoping that one of those safety features is

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Speaker 1: a rear view backup camera.

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Speaker 3: Well, for your sake and ours, I hope it is,

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Speaker 3: but we'll find out in two weeks. On the next

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Speaker 3: episode of Grown Up Stuff, How Do Adult?

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Speaker 1: And remember you might not be graded in life, but

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Speaker 1: it never hurts to do your homework. This is a

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Speaker 1: production from Ruby Studios from iHeartMedia.

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Speaker 3: Our Executive producers are Malli Sosha.

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Speaker 1: And Matt Stillo. This episode was engineered by Matt Stillo.

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Speaker 3: And written by Malli Soosha.

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Speaker 1: This episode was fact checked by Casby Bias and co

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Speaker 1: edited by Sierra

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Speaker 3: Spreen and special thanks to our teammates at Ruby Studios

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Speaker 3: from iHeartMedia, including Ethan Fixel, Rachel Swan, Krasnov, Amber Smith,

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Speaker 3: Aikia Swinton, Sierra Kaiser, and Andy Kelly