In a time of a global recession, grants for education are an excellent way to make ends meet while you return to the classroom in search of refined skills. The recession may have formally ended, but companies are hesitant to begin hiring new employees. The companies with spots to fill are looking for qualified individuals who can pull their own weight without needing training or expensive coursework. To become an ideal candidate for many of these projects, you may consider a new certification or degree. If you’re spending most of your time seeking jobs now, grants for education are even more powerful – they will help bridge the income gap, and offer you a chance to improve your finances down the road.
The Basics Of Grants For Education
Grants for education are often touted as free money. This is not exactly the case, however. Free money comes without strings attached, and for those of us living in the real world, there is no such thing. Unless a stranger is just handing out bills on the street, you’re going to have to do something to earn some funds, and grants are no different. The neat thing about grants for education, however, is that you earn the grants by attending school or by your career choices following graduation.
Grants come with strings attached. This means you’ll have to do something to earn that money, even if it’s not for a few years. Consider the individual interested in a new career as an electrician. He finds a grant program offered by a local company or the government and registers for school. The grant money comes in and he pays for the program. He finishes the program with a certification and the education necessary to begin work as an electrician. Some grants simply require this – finish the program tied to the grant, in this case that of an electrician. Other grants for education take things one step further. The grants require you to work in the industry for a period of time.
Our electrician is now ready for gainful employment. He is hired on with a firm and puts that new education to good use in an industry where there is a crucial shortage. By working as an electrician for a set number of years, he’ll be paying back the grant with his labor. If he chooses to become a used car salesman instead, however, he will not have met the terms of the grant. In this case, our electrician-turned car salesman has not honored the terms of his agreement and he’ll likely be required to pay the money back.
Applying for Grants for Education
Before you begin applying for grants for education, have a plan in place for how you want to use the funds. In some cases, you might be open to a career change into any field that will have you. While noble, it’s a bit dangerous to accept grant money if you’re not entirely certain you can meet the requirements in a few years. It is far better to cast a deep net than a wide one when it comes to choosing grants. For example, decide on a potential career first – perhaps a nursing degree. Then, pursue every grant opportunity within that field. Go deep into the medical field to find a program you like. This will be far more effective than applying for the first grant you see in every field. Chances are if you found the grant opportunity easily, others did as well.