No matter where you work and what position you hold, you may have the opportunity to take some courses for free or on the cheap. Don’t dismiss this – everyone, no matter who they are, can benefit from a boost in skills.

It’s well-known that full-time employees of just about every college or university are eligible for tuition breaks and discounted rates on specialized classes and workshops. But there are plenty more organizations offering education opportunities to their employees.

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers: The worldwide discount department store chain has begun working with American Public University to offer its U.S. employees the opportunity to earn credits that relate to their jobs, in areas like retail management and logistics. The online university will offer eligible employees a 15 percent tuition reduction, and Wal-Mart will offer other tuition assistance for employees who participate. To be eligible for the program, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club employees must have been in the job at least one year full time or three years part time and must also score on or above target on their most recent evaluation.

At NYC-based Dukas Public Relations, account executives all the way to VPs have the opportunity to take continuing education classes on the agency’s dime. Courses must be relevant to the employee’s professional growth in public relations and marketing or the clients and industries with which the agency works (e.g., financial services). The agency pays for half the cost upfront and the remainder upon successful course completion.

Members of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the nation’s largest labor group, will soon be able to take advantage of a suite of college-readiness educational services from the Princeton Review. Participants in Union Plus, a benefits plan, will have access to test prep and other undergraduate and graduate products at a discount. The AFL-CIO is also joining with the Princeton Review and the National Labor College to create an online school – the College for Working Families – for union members and their families.

Youth Villages, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Memphis, TN, offers tuition reimbursement to its employees to help them attain master’s and doctoral degrees as well as professional licensure. The organization, which is dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families live successfully, allows employees to complete their required supervised work hours on the job and become licensed social workers at no cost of their own.

Employees of Genesys Health System, a health care delivery system in Michigan, receive tuition assistance for relevant degree and certificate programs at a number of schools, including Jacksonville University, Florida Tech University Online, Villanova University, and the University of Notre Dame. Eligible programs include RN to BSN, MBA, health care management, information technology, Six Sigma, project management, leadership and management, and organizational leadership.

If an employer-subsidized education opportunity presents itself, why not take advantage? If you’ve done it, let us know — we’d love to hear how it went!

-Robyn Tellefsen

A visit to Walt Disney World is bliss to me.

I can’t go a year without hopping in the car and making the eight-hour drive from my Georgia home to Orlando to visit the parks. Recently I’ve been able to share the excitement with my 4-year-old son, Ty, who rode his first roller coaster (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) with me a couple of weeks ago at the Magic Kingdom and stayed up late to see the Main Street Electrical Parade (it’s back after several years!) and the fireworks.

I’m conscious of my budget, so while I would love to spend an entire week at Disney World, my annual trips usually consist of only a couple of days at the park.

But after those trips, I’m inspired by what I see at Disney World in terms of the creativity, artistry, talent, and overall good feelings that churn in me when I’m at the park. Yes, that’s even in the heat of the summer.

My friends and family know about my fascination (some call it an addiction) with Disney World. There have been jokes that they’re going to leave me at Disney World so I can work there.

I don’t think I’m alone out there. Sure, not everyone would want to work at Disney World, but is there somewhere you often frequent that you think would make a great workplace? Maybe it’s a corporation you admire. Maybe it’s a locale where you envision having a great quality of life and career success.

Once you have that idea in mind, you can take steps to achieve the career happiness you desire. Consider mapping out those next steps, which could include getting the appropriate education, networking with others at the company or in the industry, and getting experience through internships, volunteering, or part-time work to make you a qualified applicant for the job.

Even when you’re in vacation mode this summer, maybe you could take time to discover what inspires you professionally and how it could lead you into a new position within your current company or direct you into a new career.

-Lori Johnston

Have you ever wanted to take a class just for the fun of it? Perhaps you want to learn more about a particular subject, but don’t necessarily want to go through a whole credit, degree, or certificate program. Here’s where non-credit courses come into play.

There are lots of schools that offer non-credit courses that generally fall under their continuing education or general studies programs. Most of these non-credit courses do not cost anything and are available to students not enrolled in a degree program. They allow for flexibility and generally offer non-credit courses during nights and weekends for those with full-time schedules. Of course, different schools have different requirements (some require an application process) so doing your homework is certainly paramount. Below you’ll find examples of schools that offer lifelong learning through non-credit courses.

Get an Ivy League Education for Free
The University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.) – The College of General Studies offers lifelong learning courses in subjects like cooking, art history, wine appreciation, writing, gardening, and interior design.

Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) – Open Yale Courses provides non-credit courses to students interested in learning for fun. Get to know the info you’ve always wondered about in religious studies, physics, English, and other areas of expertise.

Columbia University (New York, N.Y.) – Take a variety of out-of-the-ordinary language classes through Columbia’s Postbaccalaureate Studies program. Here you’ll find such languages as Bengali, Vietnamese, Swahili, Yiddish, Punjabi, and others.

Technological Advancements
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Boston, Mass.) – MIT’s OpenCourseWare doesn’t give you access to faculty or credits, but gives you course materials and the option to check out what students of MIT actually learn. This non-credit option gives individuals the option to learn a college course on their own and perhaps decide if this is the right degree path for them.

New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury, N.Y.) – Through NYIT’s Extended Education program, students can take non-credit courses in classes that reflect the strengths of this technology institute. Such courses include architecture, computer graphics, corporate training, and more.

Local Schools Provide Great Classes, Too!
Middlesex Community College (Bedford, Mass.) – Middlesex stresses the importance of offering some of their many classes to those who want to advance their career or skills and to those who just want to learn something new. There are a variety of classes here that will help students enrich their education.

Florida Keys Community College (Key West, Fla.) – Through a partnership with Desire2Learn, the Continuing Education and Distance Learning department of FKCC has a variety of six-week online non-credit courses available to those interested in this type of learning. Web page design, accounting, and digital photography are just some of the non-credit courses available.

Why not use this summer to learn just for learning’s sake?

Tell us about a class you’ve been dying to take in the comments below.

-Amanda Fornecker

How long has the back-to-school dream been on the back burner of your brain? My husband, for one, has been talking about getting his Ph.D. for the last 10 years, and I’m still thinking about pursuing a master’s degree. What’s stopping us from achieving our goals? What’s stopping you?

Check out some of the most common reasons why people put their school dreams on hold, and see if you can relate:

“I can’t afford it.”
Ever heard of scholarships, loans, tuition assistance and reimbursement, and tax credits? All of these can help you foot your education bill. Plus, with the help of higher education, you may qualify for a better position with higher pay and get a quick return on your investment.

“I need to be home to watch my kids/parents/dogs.”
This is where a little thing called online education comes in handy. When you enroll in online courses, you never even have to leave your house.

“I’m not up-to-date on the latest technology.”
It’s true that the last 10 years have brought about a lot of changes in educational media – laptops, smart phones, podcasts… But most schools offer introductory technology and refresher courses to bring you up to speed on the digital age.

“I’m too old.”
Haven’t you heard about the 80- and 90-year-olds who are earning their degrees? If they can do it, so can you.

“I don’t remember how to study.”
Today’s colleges offer oodles of student services, including tutoring, study skills, and time management. Even if you never knew how to study in the first place, it’s not too late to lay a new education foundation.

“I don’t want to go to school with teenagers.”
Neither do I. Fortunately, we don’t have to. With so many working adults going back to school these days, you don’t have to worry about being in the minority in terms of your age and your motivation. We’ll be in it together.

“I don’t want to miss time with my family.”
It’s a fact: your commitment to school will take time away from your family. But quality time trumps quantity, doesn’t it? And as you work hard to achieve your goals, you’ll be teaching invaluable life lessons to your kids.

“I don’t have the time.”
Have you ever noticed that the more deadlines you have in a given day, the more you get done? When you have a lot to do, you find a way to make every minute count. And once you make it through a semester, you’ll wonder what you ever did with your time before.

“I’m afraid I won’t succeed.”
You’re not the only one. It’s normal to fear failure, to fear the unknown. But if you don’t try, you’ll never find out how much you can accomplish when you work hard and commit to achieving your goals. And if you do fall on your face, remember that you’re a big girl (or boy) – you can get up and give it another go.

Are you out of excuses yet? I am…

-Robyn Tellefsen

Free advice about changing careers comes from all different perspectives, thanks to bloggers. So if you aren’t sure where to start, or if you need motivation and insight about a particular aspect of changing careers, you may want to turn to these blogs for their expert and often personal insight.

The Brazen Careerist’s insightful and smart posts include topics such as procrastination, asking questions that make you look smart, goal setting, networking, and finding career fulfillment.

Career giant Monster.com’s blog also spotlights must-reads for job seekers, how volunteering can make you a better job applicant, resume tips, searching for a job after a layoff with posts from its experts.

Recruiting and staffing firm Spherion updates its blog with information and advice for people who are burned out in their jobs, too shy for a job hunt, or needing other direction when making a career change.

At Escape from Corporate America, author and career coach Pamela Skillings’s mission is to help people find more fulfilling work. She blogs about career books, those who have left their careers, and her own life decisions.

Another career consultant, Maggie Mistal, offers wisdom for college graduates, networking, dream jobs, and following your passion on her blog, and she’s also doling out advice for folks with a new Career Path column in Whole Living magazine (formerly Body & Soul).

That’s a look at just a few career changing blogs that may be able to assist you on a new career path. Let us know if you have found other helpful blogs, too!

-Lori Johnston

You may wonder how you’ll be able to fit time for just one college class into your busy schedule, let alone do the coursework and study for tests. Don’t fret – it can be done. It just takes developing a strategy to make you successful in school.

Here are five ways adult students can keep up with their assignments.

1. Slot in the time.
Your kids may have chore charts, so make your own visible hour-by-hour schedule, either on your phone or on the computer or on a piece of paper. You can outline not just when you will be in class but when you plan to study, do the required reading, and complete assignments.

Philip Freeman, author of “Lecture Notes: A Professor’s Inside Guide to College Success,” writes: “As mundane as it sounds, making a study chart will help you plan your available hours like nothing else. Knowing on Tuesday afternoon that you are going to devote a nine solid hours over the next few days in preparation for your Spanish exam is a powerful tool for reducing stress.”

2. Factor in professor meetings.
For major papers, Freeman suggests planning at least three tips to the teacher’s office. One to clarify any questions and plan a strategy, another to present an outline and a few sample paragraphs and another to go over the rough draft.

It could pay off. Freeman says, “If you give them enough time, professors are usually glad to read an entire paper informally before you turn it in officials for a grade and will often give you lots of helpful comments you an incorporate into the final product.”

3. Think about special circumstances.
Go into a class with a long-term look about what personal events (your kids’ school holidays or even planning for birthday parties) will occur throughout the semester. Those events could keep you from staying ahead of your studies, and even though professors understand if you have to miss class because of a sick child or because a babysitter fell through, they’re less likely to understand if you have to pick up streamers for your toddler’s Dora the Explorer party.

4. Don’t just plunge into required reading.
The books you’ll be assigned to read in class can be very difficult reads that require concentration and few interruptions. Freeman suggests “never being a challenging text by simple starting at the first page.” Instead, he recommends reading a description of the book on the back or inside cover to get a feel for the author and what the book is all about. Then you can look at the table of contents to see what the book will cover.

Don’t ignore the introduction or comments from the editor, which can give you insight into the book. And don’t miss maps or glossaries, which can help you as you go through the book. You can also do a quick skim by briefly looking at passages and summary headings at the beginning of chapters. Then you’re ready to read.

5. Recognize that falling behind may happen.
If you start to fall behind, don’t panic. Instead, Freeman says it’s OK to meet with your professor to explain that you’re having difficulty in the class. The point is not to beg for a good grade but to explain that things are overwhelming and ask for advice on how to improve in the class, he says. Then you’re going to have to make a tough decision and cut out something in your schedule for extra study time. “It won’t be fun for a month or two, but in the end it will pay off,” he writes.

You’re not alone in your concerns about keeping up with schoolwork and organizing your assignments. But by recognizing the potential pitfalls and creating a strategy before the class starts, you have the ability to make the grade you desire.

-Lori Johnston

If you’re looking for slick job-hunting advice that doesn’t make you feel bad about yourself (you’re not doing enough, your resume is from 1998, no one is hiring, aaaahhhh!!!), I’m going to let you in on a little secret: There’s not much out there.

That’s why it was so refreshing to pick up Vicki Salemi’s “Big Career in the Big City: Land a Job and Get a Live in New York” (Jist Works, 2010). The author offers practical advice you haven’t read 1,000 times before; real tales of survival from the layoff trenches; and a ton of resources to get your job search in gear. The best part? She does all of this in an upbeat, encouraging tone, which helps motivate you rather than fuel your out-of-work funk.

Full disclosure: I’ve known Salemi since she wrote for our former print publication, CollegeBound Teen magazine. But because I know her, I can also tell you that she writes from experience and from the heart. After spending many years as a corporate recruiter for a huge firm, she herself became a layoff survivor, and had to reinvent and brand herself. All of her tips are those that she and other successful people profiled in the book have actually used. In other words, it works!

Among the gold nuggets of advice you’ll glean from her book include how to dress to standout (in a good way) for professional networking events, using Facebook and Twitter to increase job prospects, and there’s even sample thank-you notes for after the interview. If you’re looking for New York-specific tips, well, that’s your bonus material. Salemi touches on how to leverage the high cost of Manhattan living, dealing with big city culture shock, plus a fun quiz: “What’s Your NYC-ability?”

If you’re not on the hunt yourself, the book definitely makes a great graduation gift. Check it out.

-Dawn Papandrea

If you’re thinking of changing a career, you may be wondering how you’ll be perceived by your family, friends, and co-workers, and if you have what it takes to make it in a new field.

I saw an inspiring lesson when watching “Chopped,” the riveting Food Network reality show where chefs are given random ingredients and are supposed to make a dish with them, on the clock. I stayed up late on Sunday to see what the contestants were going to make for dessert, using hot dogs, polenta, and pineapple (the show is re-airing throughout this weekend if you want to catch it). Crazy, right?

As the three judges named the victorious chef, who received $10,000, one judge gave a heart-warming comments to runner-up Adam Goldgell, who had switched careers. She told him that he has done a “courageous thing” by changing careers and she would have never known he hadn’t been cooking his whole life. Goldgell is executive chef at Sugo Café on Long Island, N.Y.

“I would have thought you were in the business your whole life,” she told him.

I looked at Goldgell’s bio and his background is interesting. From 8 to 22 years old, he says he did clowning, magic, and hypnosis, and started a production company. At 14, he says he was a card shark, playing in clubs (he says the movie “Rounders” is based on him and others who played in underground clubs).

“They’d have a kitchen to attract players, and as the games got bigger I would cook food everyone enjoyed. But the atmosphere could be dangerous. I always wore whites so I wouldn’t get arrested. Scary is lying on the floor when people have rifles over your head, robbing the place,” he says on the Food Network’s Web site. “Performing became rote, stale and boring for me, but cooking doesn’t have to be that way. It’s fresh and different every night.”

If you’re feeling like your job has become stale and boring, there’s ways to make your worklife fresh and different. Maybe it’s moving to a new position in your existing field but working in a different way. Or maybe it’s time for you to make the career change and go back to school. Any time of move like this take courage, but think about how it will pay off for you in the future.

We want to help, so during June, we’ll be focusing on how to find the right education program for you, top career changing blogs and other tips to help guide you through the process.

-Lori Johnston