Recently, my husband and I were talking about dreams - dreams for the future we had as kids and dreams we have now for the future. One of his dreams as a child was to become an archeologist. He loved the idea of digging, finding new things, and learning the truth about the things he found. But life took him in another direction, and he felt like this dream was now out of reach. This got me started thinking about what opportunities are out there for adults who are looking to start a new chapter in life. Is it possible to begin a new adventure? Does it really have to be too late to live out some of our childhood dreams? So I did what I love to do when I have a question or a new thought. Research!
Here is some of what I found.
Field Schools
I started out looking for opportunities in Archeology since this was what piqued my interest in the first place. I found some listings for field schools where adults can come to learn and get a feel for the work, network with others in the field, and maybe be better able to make a better-informed decision about moving forward in the field.
This summer this field school is investigating a German site in Illinois. The program is described as follows on their website -
"Our Adult Field School is your opportunity to be an archaeologist. Undergraduates, graduate students, and adults of all ages are welcome! Join our field crew and participate in real archaeological research alongside professional archaeologists. With our staff, you will learn how to do fieldwork, laboratory work, identify artifacts, and more as we investigate the German site."
The following is a description of this program from their website -
"The Community Archaeology Program for Adults is designed for members of the public (ages 16+) to join an archaeological field project, and help excavate at a nationally important site alongside professional archaeologists. Participants will learn basic archaeological techniques, as well as an overview of the precontact history of New York State."
Apprenticeships
Since I live in Virginia I looked their first for apprenticeships. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has a large list of apprenticeship opportunities through many Virginia learning institutions. The following is directly from their website -
"The apprenticeship model appeals to high school students, transitioning military, veterans, military spouses, returning citizens, career-switchers and more. This is an opportunity to get on-the-job training from highly skilled experts in your field of choice. Attend classes at your local community college, vocational-technical center, online, and on the job without accumulating debt."
I also wanted to look at nationwide opportunities. Apprenticeship USA has a wide variety of apprenticeship opportunities throughout the country. Again, I took a little blurb from the description on their website -
"Apprenticeship.gov is the one-stop source to connect career seekers, employers, and education partners with apprenticeship resources. Discover apprenticeships across industries, how programs are started by employers, and how to become an apprentice."
Online Degrees
There are quite a few colleges and universities that offer courses and degrees online. Instead of listing them individually, I decided to simply share this link. The Highest Grades website has a list of 15 of these colleges and universities with their ranking. This site also has a very convenient search function that allows you to search all 15 schools at once.
Online Courses
Sometimes all that is needed is a simple course to upgrade or learn a new skill. Several platforms offer reasonably priced courses online, often in video format. This is one of my favorite ways for lifelong learning.
I have used Udemy and liked the quality of the course and the simplicity of using the site. Their categories include Development, Business, Finance & Accounting, IT & Software, Office Productivity, Personal Development, Design, Marketing, Lifestyle, Photography & Video, Health & Fitness, Music, and Teaching & Academics.
This is how Udemy is described on their homepage -
"From critical skills to technical topics, Udemy supports your professional development."
However, there are quite a few other sites that offer courses as well and many of them are described and linked to in this article on Learnopoly - Udemy Alternatives.
Conclusion - Lifelong Learning is Possible
From hands on learning opportunities to online learning, there are many ways to continue learning, no matter your age or current job situation. Even YouTube has so many educational and practical learning videos that have been very helpful to me.
So, let's get learning!
To learn more about why I write, and why I share my life here, please read this post - Uniquely You, For a Purpose.
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