We know there is a financial price on education, but have you ever considered the value of education beyond the cost? Whenever we do something in life, we should get into the habit of assessing what value it brings to our lives.

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Did it make you happy? Did it progress your life? Did you learn something?

There is a lot to consider. When it comes to your education, it’s not just the texts that can teach you. The value of the course isn’t always in the books we read, but rather is something that we carry with us in different ways.

So here are some things that you might consider when you decide if your education, training, or other learning was of real value to you.

Soft skills

When you go into a commercial kitchen course, you expect to come out with chef-based hard skills. Or, perhaps you took a business management degree and have learned everything you need to know about the admin. But do you have soft skills that can be applied to other areas of life?

Soft skills can be the difference between your next steps and achieving your future goals.

What are soft skills?

Soft skills are how you will fit in the workplace or interact with those around you. Here are a few examples:

Communication - clear and polite
Critical thinking
Leadership
Teamwork
Work ethic

Did your course enable you to strengthen soft skills and gain ones directly related to the field of study?

Career Services

The further along in your course, the closer you are to looking for gainful employment. With all the learning in the world, you still might be light on the experience many companies require.

Were you offered support from a careers counseling service or access the help you needed to enter the workplace after qualification?

If you are currently considering further education, there are some questions for mba students to ask as they assess the quality of the courses available.

Were you prepared?

If it’s been a while since you left education, you can look back and ask yourself if you were truly prepared for the workplace. When you landed your first role, or during the interviews, did you feel like you had been armed with the correct information?

Of course, there will always be a discrepancy between the education on a subject and the practical applications. But with hindsight, you can know for sure if the course you did had prepared you for the process of being higher and doing the work.

Many people assume that it is better if your education was from a world-renowned establishment. However, the value of your education isn’t just about the name on the door. It comes down to what you came away with that could be applied to the rest of your life.

The most important question is: do you feel like the years you spent in the study were worth the time, and what did you come away from the experience with beyond the fundamentals of the course?

If you are looking back on your time at college or are just about to leave, this post is for you: 5 Ways To Preserve Your College Memories