If you’ve considered going to school for a college degree, then you’ve considered tuition costs, textbook fees, and travel expenses. People also turn to online education to broaden and broaden their career options. Online classes eliminate textbooks and travel costs and offer an inexpensive solution to increasing tuition for traditional education. While it is true that quality online degree programs and degree programs are not free, they are affordable, especially when you consider the cost of not having a higher education.

Obtaining a higher education has a direct effect on your career. In fact, statistics show that the higher the level of education, the greater the amount of income a person will receive, showing that continuing education beyond the high school level is the best way to maintain a career and achieve financial success.

Higher education is vital to remain competitive in the job market. According to “The Knowledge Book” published by Merrill Lynch, 50 percent of employee skills become obsolete in three to five years. In India, nine out of 10 employees in an international workplace survey said they feared their current skills would be out of date within five years. On the company side, the cost of replacing lost talent averages 150 percent of an individual’s salary (Australia Mercer Survey at Work). This makes a strong case for companies and employees to invest in higher education to improve and upgrade skill sets. Getting certified allows you to retrain to ensure you can keep the job you have or easily transfer to another position. Taking online courses is a quick and affordable way to earn a certificate that confirms you have the skills to meet the demands of an ever-changing industry.

Credentials are everything. Think about it. Would you go to a dentist who only has a high school diploma framed on the wall? Would you hire an attorney who dropped out of college before gaining full legal experience? You feel more comfortable paying someone more money when you trust that they know what they are doing and have the education and certification to back it up. To convince employers and clients that you have the skills to get the job done, certifications and degree programs are the way to go.

The higher wages generated by higher education are not new. In the early 1900s, education was scarce and only a minority of adults had a high school diploma. Working life was dictated by the supply of labor and the demand for skilled workers; formal education was not necessary to get the job done. As society has continued to evolve, the annual earnings of workers increased with education. In the 1970s, when technological change began to take place, the corporate world favored a more educated working population and began to compensate handsomely to attract educated employees. In 1975, full-time workers with higher education earned 1.5 times the annual salary of workers with a high school diploma. And, in 1999, this proportion had risen to 1.8.

Statistics show that getting a higher education and certification is the best way to get the experience you need to pursue a more lucrative career.