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workl career building

Laptop LearningLooking for a new job, decent earnings and a better life?Sharpen skills at an online school-perfect for workingmoms with little time but lots of drive. BY NANCY MANN JACKSON

"It's a heaven-sent second chance, andI know it will really change my life," says26-year-old mom Ann Marie Casey-Ulery.Nope, it's not a winning lottery ticket ora rekindled romance-it's the chance toearn a college degree so she can make abetter life for herself and her 3-year-olddaughter. And she's doing it online.

Further education is one way work-ing moms in just about any field canbattle the. recession and win higher-paying or more flexible employment.But most of us just don't have the time(not to mention the money) to go backto school. Well, once again technologyhas come to our rescue, in the form ofonline education programs that enable.us to add a new degree or certification

to our resume without giving up toomuch family time or our current career."Online education works for momsbecause it's flexible, and they can movethe schedule around to fit their lives,"says Dianne Pusch, chief operatingofficer at the online and campus-basedUniversity of Phoenix. ''Working-momstudents tell us that after dinner, theysit around the table and do their home-work with their kids. It becomes a role-model opportunity."

Moms are taking the plunge in droves:At Kaplan University, for example, theaverage online student is 34 and female,and nearly half of the school's roughly48,000 students are moms. Note thatthere's a broad range in cost for online

74 WORKING MOTHER I augustzsepternber 2009 . www.workingmother.com

degrees, from $3,000 to more than$100,000, according to the watchdogand advocacy website GetEducated.com(where you can compare schools' pricesand quality). Here's how four workingmothers make online ed work.

Connie ThreetMBAto Go42; sons Erik, 12, and Evan, 10;Rockville, MD

This single mom earned an MBA onlinelast year from the University of Phoenix(phoenix.edu). "For years I'd wantedto do this but kept putting it off," saysConnie Threet. When she felt she'd goneas far as she could go professionally,Connie decided an MBA was her ticketto the next level. The fruit of her labor:a job as senior financial analyst at agovernment-contracting IT firm, doingwork for the Department of the Navy."Phoenix's homework assignments,projects and instructional feedback wereinstrumental in helping me develop newproblem-solving skills for both my workand my personal life," she says.Fitting it in Connie printed her coursematerials and took them with her,reading and organizing her notes dur-ing lunch and between her sons' karateclasses and soccer games. Most nightsafter dinner, the kids' homework, bathsand bedtime, she'd study and completeassignments from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00a.m. "It was hard at first," Connieadmits, "but now I function quite wellwithout much sleep."Greatest challenge Maintaining herfamily's normal activity level. "My boyswere used to having me at birthday par-ties and playdates and to the three of ushaving free time, but those things startedto wane," says Connie. "Sometimes Iwas tired and wanted to lie down andwatch a movie with them, but I neededto do my course work."Greatest rewards Earning art MBAmade Connie "a better person," she says,helping her rebuild after a divorce that lefther with self-doubt. "I didn't want to bea parent who told my kids 'Go after whatyou want' but then didn't go after my

own goals," she explains. "Having mykidsat my commencement was amazing.The stadium was crowded, but when theycalled my name I could hear my childrenscream. They were so proud of me."

Jasmine MullerDesigns on Learning24; sons Jayvin Gadi, 4, and JaydenAlexander,2; Miami, FL

After separating from her husband lastyear, Jasmine Muller, a secretary ata generator manufacturing company,decided to go back to school. "I want togive my boys a better future, and I wantto go to a job that I enjoy," she asserts.Jasmine stumbled onto the websitefor Project Working Mom (elearners.comJprojectworkingmom), which offerseducation resources, including scholar-ships, to working mothers. She appliedfor and wori a scholarship, and lastNovember began taking classes onlineto earn an associate's degree in graphicdesign from Penn Foster College Online(penn-foster.com), "I hope to be a free-lance designer," says Jasmine. "MaybeI'll even design myown clothing line!"

Fitting it in She takes her schoolbooksto work and studies during lunch, andshe studies at night after her childrenare asleep.Greatest challenge Staying committedto a strict schedule. "It's hard to dividemyself between motherhood, work,school, my church and everything elsegoing on in my life," Jasmine says."I used to love watching my televisionshows, but I haven't even turned on thetube since I started school."

Greatest rewards Studying onlinemeans Jasmine doesn't have to worryabout paying for gas to get to schoolor for a babysitter if she were attendingclasses. Even better, she says, "I love tolearn. I love that I'm doing somethingfor myself and not having to depend onanyone else." And she knows that bygoing back to school to make her lifebetter, she's setting a wonderful examplefor her kids: "It shows them you canachieve anything you set your mind to."

FOOTING THE BILLHow to tackle online tuition whenyour budget is tight? Check outthese aid options.

University financial aid Try askingadmissions officers if they'll waiveyour application fee. Schools alsooffer-other assistance, and financialaid counselors can help.

Grants These awards, offered by cor-porations and institutions, don't haveto be repaid. Learn aboutthe popularfederal Pell Grant and more at theGrants & Contracts section at ed.gov.

76 WORKING MOTHER.I augustlseptember2009 . www.workingmother.com

Scholarships These may be basedon financial need, grades or affiliationwith a particular group. One place tofind out more is the Debt-Free Col-lege Guide at debtfree.elearners.com.Federal loans The U.s. governmentoffers aid such as PLUSLoansand Perkins Loansfor degree-seekingadults. Visit studentaid.ed.gov.

Private loans Banks, other finan-cial institutions and nonprofitsoffer loans,often depending on yourcredit score.

work I career building

Lori WrightThe Road Home33; daughters Emma Kate, 4, and Molly,1; Fl'orence, A,L

She holds a bachelor's degree and haslogged ten years at a corporate insuranceoffice-and ~stired of asking permissionto go on a field rrip with.her 4-year-oldor take the baby to'the doctor. "I want tocontrol when I work and how much Imake," Lori Wright says. So-lastyear, shebegan online classes with Career Step(careerstep.com), which will hopefullylead to a career as a medical transcrip-tionist and her goal to work'from home.Fitting it in Lori slots schoolwork intoher downtimes, at night when the ,girlsan in bed or on weekehds while they'renapping or with her husband.Greatest challenge Time to study=withafull-time job, two kids and a husbandwhose job has crazy hours:' says Lori.

Greatest rewards "I'm thrilled to learnsomething completely different from

.anything I've ever done before," shesays. "I'm excited to study because Iknow that tt win eventually mean I'l'l bespending more time with my kids andstill earning ~ good income."

Ann Marie Casey-UleryA Clear Vision26; daughter Allison, 3;Jacksonville, AR

With a Project Working Morn.scholarshipin hand, Ann Marie Casey-Ulery beganpursuing an associate's.degree in account-ing online last year at Everest University

, (everestonline.edu)-a goal she post-poned to help support her militaryhusband through various deployments.Now separated, Ann Marie, who works atWal-Mart, made avow: "I will finish schoolto become a tax accountant/advisor, I

have to now; I have to for my daughter."Fitting it in Early in the morning orjust after getting off the night shift,Ann Marie gees online and prints thepages she needs to study. She takesthem wherever she goes to utilize everymoment .she can grab, including timebetween softball games, which she playsfor stress relief. "My daughter and I siton the floor and she'll- color, paint anddo her letters while I study," she adds.Greatest challenge Finding quiettime toread- "I've learned to embrace the noise."Greatest rewards Ann Marie looks for-ward to. making a better living and moremoney, "When my baby turns sixteen,it's going to be Mommy that buys hera car," she 'says. "I used to peer outthrough a cloudy, sad window. Butgoingback to school has given me a shiny,bright new window to look through."And she likes what she sees. _

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