Economy Causes Education Shuffle

By Sarah Smith

A mother with grown children goes back to school. An apprentice loses her position with the end of her education in sight. A man begins work on his second degree after 20 years as an architect.

These people are just three of the many students caught up in the great shuffle the failing economy is causing in education.

Tracie Boutwell, a homemaker from Augusta, Ga., is a recent empty nester. Both of her daughters are now off at school, and she finally has time to spend on herself. But because of the sagging real estate market, Boutwell is spending that time getting a new job.

“I needed to do something to help with retirement,” she said.

The value of the real estate that the Boutwells had invested their retirement money in has sunk with the market. To provide for her family’s future, she is going back into the work force.

But before she goes back to work, she’s going back to school. Boutwell worked as a nurse for eight years, mostly in pediatric psychiatry. She loved working with children, but the medical field doesn’t appeal to her as it once did. So, she is working towards a master of arts in teaching. Experiences in substitute teaching have given her a good view of her new chosen profession.

After being in the classroom, she “comes home physically tired but emotionally charged,” she said. She started the 18-month program this summer, so she hopes to be in the classroom by this time next fall.

Though she is going back to work after so many years, she has a positive outlook.

“I’m really kind of excited about it,” she said.

Shelley Cain is on the other end of the spectrum. The suffering economy has put an end to her education at an architecture firm.

“There’s just no jobs,” she said.

Fewer people need architects in the current economy. No one has extra money to spend, and banks are wary to lend out money, she said. Because of this lack of work, the architecture firm where Cain was apprenticed in Pensacola, Fla., had to let her go.

Cain started her apprenticeship at Ron Williamson and Associates eight years ago. She previously worked in the marketing and sales part of real estate, but picked up a love for architecture from being around the designers.

With two more years of training, Cain would have been able to take the test that qualifies apprentices to become licensed architects. For now she’ll have to wait a little longer; her education is on hold while she tries to find a job.

“Right now I’m looking for anything,” she said. “I have a lot of skills I can offer.” These skills range from running a business to waiting tables, but her search has been fruitless so far.

Jim Murphy has already achieved what Cain can still only dream about: he has been an architect for 20 years. But the current lack of work is forcing him to go back to school for a second degree. He is studying electrical engineering in an attempt to expand the amount of work he can do.

“I get work occasionally,” he said. But there is very little work to be found in his field. This gives him more time for school, but it’s also discouraging to him, Murphy said. He hopes to be able to work in designing for the commercial industry once he receives his degree. It will be four years before he reaches this goal.

“I hope by the time I finish school there’s a rebound in the economy,” he said. At that time he hopes to be designing buildings for the commercial industry with his new degree.

For now, there is little monetary help for people like Murphy who are going back to get a second degree.

All students, no matter what their educational past, can fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), said James Mooney, Associate Director of the Office of Student Financial Aid at the University of Georgia. But those who have already received their baccalaureate degree can only hope for federal loans, not scholarships such as the Pell Grant that only first-time university students can receive, he added.

The government “wants to invest in first degrees,” Mooney said. Some work places participate in programs such as the Work Force Investment Act, which can pay for schooling. But this program usually only covers retraining or two-year tech schools. There’s not much in the way of scholarships for people such as Murphy and Boutwell. They must rely on the pay-off their current education will have in the future.

Boutwell, Cain, Murphy and many others must continue to hold on to the hope that the economy will recover, and life will return to what it was before. But for now they take action in whatever way they can, whether it means going back to school or simply searching for a job while their dreams wait.

Edited by Autumn Eckenbrecht