Whether you're a stay-at-home or working mom, going back to school is probably something on your bucket list. For whatever reason, you haven't had time to look into your options to get back into the classroom. In fact, extra time is probably something on your bucket list too.

Practical Benefits With Impractical Solutions

You already know what the no-brainer benefits of studying further are – who doesn’t want to do something that they love, improve their quality of life, better provide for their family and be a ‘go-getting’ role model for their little ones?

The more pertinent question is how do you do this when you’re already holding down a job, raising kids, doing the school run and managing a household? If by some miracle, you do manage to carve out a few free days in your weekly schedule, how do you find the money to pay for your new venture into varsity?

Caring Could be the Key

A perfect example of this is the future of social work. An aging population has increased the number of opportunities for health care workers. These roles are now interdisciplinary and require people to ‘think out the box,' something that moms are great at. If you're looking to help the world and gain an education, all without leaving your home then consider studying social work online.

Another profession being disrupted by the changes to the healthcare industry is nursing. Even though it’s the country’s fifth largest occupation, it’s estimated that by 2025, there will be a shortage of 260,000 nurses across the United States. That’s almost a quarter of a million jobs moms could perform.

Psychology is another field that is expected to grow by 18,700 new jobs over the next ten years. This growth is thanks to a demand for services in schools and hospitals.

Online Opportunities Are the Answer

The answers, you’ll be glad to know, are more straightforward than they seem. You no longer need huge chunks of time and money to get ahead. Instead, you need an excellent online program, a healthy dose of determination and the willpower to use your evenings wisely – without ever having to leave home.

Universities from across the United States – and moreover, the world – have realized that their ever-growing budget cuts and course shortages, coupled with your continually depleting time and money, has opened up a vast window of opportunity to do things differently. The world is changing, and it only makes sense that the way in which we learn changes also.

Be Sure To Transfer Over Any Past Credits

No matter if it was only a few junior college classes or attending a big-time university, you're going to want to make sure you transfer over as much of your previous credits as possible. This can save you a ton of time and money in the long run, so don't be afraid of doing a bit of digging or research to uncover all of your past credits.

But don't think you're all alone in this process. There are a ton of online resources that can make sure you keep your college credits when transferring colleges, and I'm sure your former advisor wouldn't mind a quick phone call either!

Set Yourself Up for a Better Work-life Balance

Even if you would prefer to save your health care services for your loved ones only, there are so many other industries you can apply your skills.

For one, digital marketing offers a vast variety of in-demand, work-from-home positions, open to anyone with strong communication and persuasion skills – something all moms have perfected.

It’s predicted that roles like these will grow by 41 percent by 2020 so now is as good a time as any to hop on that proverbial online gravy train towards destination work-life-balance – and who knows, perhaps you will end up ticking off more than one thing on your bucket list?