Career Talk Blog | Education Goals for the New Year

It’s the time of year for New Year’s resolutions. Everyone is talking about them, half the people hate them and refuse to make them and the other half loves them.

As military spouses, we’re no strangers to taking advantage of a fresh start. This may just be the year you put your education at the top of the list.

Why Set Educational Goals?

Setting goals is important for every area of your life, but when it comes to education, it’s imperative. Education is not something that can be completed on a whim, it takes planning and time. Whether you are starting your educational journey, finishing it up, or just plugging right along, setting goals will help you fit it into your busy life.

How to set them?

When setting goals, there is a right way to do it. And a wrong way. The wrong way is easy to avoid. If you don’t write them down, you’re doing it wrong. See? Now you can easily do it right! You may have heard your spouse talk about SMART goals, and while I hate to admit the military has gotten some training right, they really have on this.

S: Specific

M: Measurable

A: Achievable

R: Reasonable

T: Timely

Set and evaluate your goals by asking questions like these:

• What is it that I want to achieve, when it comes to my education?
• How can I measure my educational success?
• Is it reasonable to complete this program in six months while my spouse is deployed?

Asking yourself these questions will help you plan better and set you up for success.

Inspiration

I always draw inspiration from other military spouses, and love to learn about their goals. So I asked some of them what they planned on doing this year on the education front. Here’s what they said.

Megan, Zoie and Bailey are starting new programs this year, on all different levels. One is starting a master’s certification, one is working on their associates and one is starting their second bachelor’s degree! Julie is considering nursing school, but is still weighing out all her options, she’s eager to get started though!

So many spouses plan to complete their programs in 2019! Maria with a bachelor’s in communications, Jill with her master’s in social work, Wendi with her masters of Arts and Jennifer with a second degree in accounting.

Professional certifications are a great way to continue education, even if you possess a degree already. Anna is working towards her PMP certification and Rebecca is also getting a graduate certificate in project management.

One great thing about education, is that it doesn’t have to start and end with a specific program. Emilie is planning to take a mechanics/woodshop course so she can be better prepared to fix things around the house and Christine is planning to learn conversational Italian in preparation for an upcoming move.

Learning really is fun, and so we encourage you to set an educational goal for 2019. Share yours with us!