Mid-Career Professionals In Their 40s Flock To Graduate School Amid Record Layoffs, Seeking Skills In AI, Cybersecurity, Health Care

As layoffs hit a 14-year high and job openings remain stagnant, many mid-career professionals in their 40s are turning to higher education to boost their career prospects.

Adults Turn To Grad School Amid Tough Job Market

Facing a bleak job market, adults are enrolling in graduate programs, certifications, and specialized courses in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, data analytics, healthcare, and engineering, reported Fortune.

Metaintro CEO Lacey Kaelani, whose job-search platform analyzes over 600 million positions, said, "We absolutely see this trend [of adults going back to school] accelerating," Kaelani said.

She added, "In combination with layoffs over the recent years plus the rise of required AI skills, experience is no longer enough."

Mid-Career Professionals Return To School

Employment attorney Kelsey Szamet has observed a growing number of older workers going back to school.

Many are doing so because they feel they have plateaued in their careers, have been affected by layoffs, or are seeking more meaningful work.

Life circumstances, such as having fewer responsibilities or greater financial security, also motivate people to pursue education sooner rather than later.

Graduate programs, however, come with high costs.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a year of grad school averages $43,000 in tuition—nearly 70% of the average U.S. salary. 

While some degrees, like computer science, nursing, and engineering, can yield returns up to $500,000 over a lifetime, nearly 40% of master's degrees provide little or no financial benefit.

Kaelani emphasized that education must be strategic: "going back to school only works when it's strategic and targeted [like a] specific technical certification in a high-demand field, but fails when it's vague.”

She added, "It's no longer ‘more education equals a better job.'"

See Also: ‘I’m Always In A State Of Anxiety’ Says Nvidia CEO As $5T Triumph Still Feels Like ’30 Days From Going Out Of Business.’

November Jobs Data Clouded By Shutdown, Falling Openings

Economist Justin Wolfers warned that November labor market data was skewed by the recent government shutdown, which canceled the October survey and left twice as many inexperienced respondents in the sample.

Earlier, the Conference Board reported the job market remained as challenging as during the pandemic, with 20% of consumers saying jobs were "hard to get."

Job openings continued to fall, small businesses struggled to hire, and part-time workers displaced from full-time roles made up nearly 17% of the workforce, signaling potential slowing in business activity and confidence.

Read Next:

• Top Economist Says Trump’s Tariff Rollbacks Are A ‘Remarkable Admission’ That His Policies Raised Prices

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock