“Study until 25, investigate until 40, profession until 60, at which age I would have him retired on a double allowance.” – William Osler

We can’t say whether you should follow William Osler’s dictum. But whether you study at 25 or 35, doing it smartly makes all the difference. You can attend class all semester, write down every bit of information your professor teaches and finish all the books on the reading. But so much of the outcome depends on how well you study. Some pointers:

Focus.

Easier said than done. Make a dedicate workspace at home or find a quiet place on campus where you can focus. The local Starbucks might have good coffee, but it can be a distracting place to study.

Establish a routine.

Probably the most difficult habit to adopt, establishing a routine will help your focus.

Study smart.

Reading a lot isn’t necessarily the way to go. Some people recommend following the three Rs: recall, recite, review. Think about what profs have said, write or leave yourself voice notes about key points (some people will write and rewrite information, like back in the day when the bad kids had to stand at the blackboard and write “I will not pull Suzie’s hair” over and over). And finally, review the major ideas and information.

Don’t over-study.

Our external hard drives might have limitless capacity, but our internal hard drives can only fit so much information. Identify the main areas you’ll need to cover in the exam and bone up on those.

Talk with your instructor.

Not only will talking with instructors about the exam deepen your understanding of the subject, but it may provide clues on how to focus your studying. U

It seems like in every sitcom, at least everyone in the ’80s and ’90s (think of Who’s the Boss, Family Matters and yes, Friends) there is an episode in which the main character goes to night school and hilarity typically ensues. But in real life, deciding whether or not to sign up for evening classes usually comes from a very serious place. Maybe you want to update your skills to become more valuable at work, find fulfillment in a hobby, or maybe you want to switch career paths altogether. Either way, night school has its benefits.

Evening classes don’t force you to choose between income-earning and unpaid training. You can have it both ways, even if it might be exhausting. It’s important to remember, however, that specialized training won’t immediately make you an expert in your field. But it can increase your credibility and your chances of getting a raise or a promotion in your job, or make you more marketable in a new field. Plus, attending school at nights offers some of the same soft benefits you got the first time you went through school: socializing, networking, personal refinement.

That said, there are some tips to remember when following Tony Danza’s character into night school.

Think Long Term

Ask yourself how you want to progress in your career. Don’t focus on your present position when selecting your classes. Start by taking introductory courses that don’t require prerequisites, so you can get a taste for new industries or fields. But remember, we live in a credentialed society so consider the courses will help you in the long term. Will they lead to a degree or certificate? Will your night studies give you the credentials that will help your career development? If your goal is personal development, you might have different parameters for success.

Get Advice

Before you invest the time and money for night school, not to mention the added stress of homework, map out your career with some expert advice. A career planner can help you decide which credentials will serve you best. Also, talk to people in the industry, either the one you want to enter, or the one you want to grow into. Find out what they respect and look for in applicants. Free province-sponsored career advisory programs offer one-on-one counselling, workshops, and job search and training courses for industry or trades. For instance, in Alberta there is the Alberta Learning Information Service, while Employment Ontario has extensive training services.

Get Ready to Work

Often when you think of preparedness, you think of mental or emotional preparation, research or getting psyched up for the long haul ahead of you. Night school students also have to prepare in more tangible ways. For example, if you don’t have a home office, create a dedicated workspace. Plus, many night classes take place not in darkened lecture rooms but online.

Starting school (again) is always stressful, but the payoff can be enormous. And who knows? Like those sitcom characters who went back to the books, there might even be some hijinks, too.

More Reading
For more on the benefits of night school, read “That’ll Learn Ya,”  Jeremy Derksen’s first-person account of after-hours academia.

Dancers burst out of a back room in a community hall, led by a tall woman in a long gold necklace, thick gold bracelet and gold earrings. They are cheerful, and cheerfully dressed: One wears a sleeveless blue dress the colour of an Alberta sky and another has on a bubblegum pink shirt; all wear bright knee-length purple aprons. As they ululate and dance their way to the tiny stage, a singer beats on an enormous blue bucket – a makeshift drum – and they sing, “I’m comfortable. The son of King is marrying a daughter of King. The song features in most weddings of the Dinka tribe, the largest in Southern Sudan.”

Sudanese-Canadians gather at a community centre in Edmonton

The crowd of roughly 200 couldn’t be further from Sudan, but the mood in this tiny hospital-white community centre, on Edmonton’s north end, borders on euphoria. It’s all part of a Sudanese wedding ceremony, one of many social gatherings of this small but robust community. Tonight they are honouring young women who were married off in traditional Dinka weddings. As much as the event celebrates those weddings, it serves another purpose: to present a positive example for a community that has seen a rise of “baby mamas.” Making sure a younger generation honours its traditions is especially important.

Outside the hall, three siblings – 35-year-old Apiu, 34-year-old Monica and 31-year-old Nyibol Jok – stand under the yellow light from the building. They joke around in Spanish as onlookers, who are more used to hearing Arabic or English, glance over curiously. Apiu, Monica and Nyibol are only three of the seven Jok siblings who came to Canada from Sudan via Cuba. They head back into the hall to join their other brother, 29-year-old Pac – who was recently laid off from his job in the oilfields in Fort McMurray – and the baby of the family, 24-year-old Achol. (The only Joks not here are Rosa, who is 37 and lives in Regina with her husband and three children, and the oldest, Benjamin, who is 40 and a doctor. Benjamin spent most of the winter working in Sudan with development efforts.)

The DJ plays music by the popular musician Nyankol Mathiang, as people parade in front of the stage, snapping their fingers, dancing sideways and singing loudly. Achol and Apiu jump in with the other younger guests when Sean Paul’s Shake that Thing and Lil Wayne’s Lollipop comes on. Generational differences go deeper than musical preferences, of course, as families like the Joks struggle with the twin challenges of honouring their traditions while their children embrace a very different life studying, working and now raising their own families in Canada. The younger Joks’ transition from school to work, to adulthood, has been shaped as much by a generational divide widened by geography as by their own coming of age. NEXT: The Jok family’s journey to Canada…

Organized around significant life events for men and women aged 20-35, you’ll find lots of resources here to help you navigate school, work, marriage, travel…and more.

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