I was chatting with a fitness instructor at the gym the other day, and she mentioned that she was teaching at her classes on a different day and time because she had started back to school. It turns out that she’s a nursing student at a local technical college who started the program this fall.

Stepping into the classroom was a big move for her, and she quickly realized some of her fears were unfounded.

She shared with me a couple of the things she’s already learned about being a non-traditional student.

She wasn’t the oldest
The fitness instructor, who is in her 40s, was pleasantly surprised to find that she was far from the oldest student in her class. In fact, she said that average age in her nursing class was 32, far from what she expected. That was her biggest worry, she was telling me, and it gave her a boost of confidence in the classroom. She realized she didn’t have to worry about being out of touch.

Data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing shows that almost 73 percent of undergraduate students are considered nontraditional, due to factors such as older individuals getting into the profession after competing responsibilities such as jobs and families and reaching an independent financial status.

She and her female classmates weren’t alone
Plenty of guys are in the nursing program with her, too. In fact, of the 40-plus students in her class, she estimated that 16 of them are guys. She wasn’t expecting so many men in the class make-up, but it’s not surprising because of the high-demand for jobs in the nursing industry. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 581,500 new RN positions will be added through 2018 (a 22 percent increase in jobs).

If you’re thinking of returning to school, don’t be frightened by the idea of being the oldest or most unprepared for your subject area or being a student again. Maybe when you’re at the gym or running errands, you’ll find others in the same situation.

-Lori Johnston

We all know that getting a job can be more about who you know than what you know, and in the digital world it’s becoming easier to get to know the people who are in-the-know. You know?

Back in the day, scoring a decent business contact meant climbing the phone tree, attending countless meet-and-greets, or dusting off career information books that (hopefully) listed the latest company contacts. Now, recent college grads can save themselves the hassle by making connections via LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, which boasts more than 80 million members representing 200 countries and executives from every Fortune 500 company.

LinkedIn is ramping up its offerings and collaborating with PwC, one of the largest employers of new college graduates in the United States, to provide students with data-driven insight to help them build their careers. Through Career Explorer, LinkedIn’s latest beta product, college students can explore a variety of career paths based on their skills and personality, school and major, level of education, and desired industry.

Specifically, students can use LinkedIn Career Explorer to:

Learn about potential professions. Check out relevant facts, stats, and industry trends (e.g., salary info, geographic distribution, age density) about a variety of professions, jobs, and targeted companies.

Map out career paths. Get tailored career path recommendations based on the real paths of professionals with similar profiles to yours. Create and save multiple paths to your Career Explorer dashboard.

Make connections. Find potential mentors in your network who can help you advance in your recommended career paths.

Find job openings. Learn about relevant job openings and discover ways to use your network to secure or get more info about open positions.

Follow potential employers. Review profiles of top companies so you can follow them and get updates about them in your news feed.

LinkedIn and PwC are rolling out the free job-finding feature to students at 60 universities across the U.S., starting with a launch event at New York University in October. When students sign in to LinkedIn, they will see a “Career Explorer” link under the “Jobs” menu at the top of the screen. If you’re not one of the lucky ones with an immediate in, your turn is coming – Career Explorer access will be expanded to the broader LinkedIn membership in the coming months.

I’m interested to find out how this virtual tool will impact students’ and recent grads’ career and job search success. Stay tuned, and let us know what you think of the new feature.

-Robyn Tellefsen

Flip the channels and you’ll see many TV characters in need of career advice – now!

If only we could star as a recurring character on our favorite shows to dish out our insight and college knowledge to put some characters on a much-needed new career path. Instead of waiting for Hollywood to call, we decided to share our knowledge and create our own plots for three characters.

“90210”
We felt for “90210” mom Debbie Wilson, portrayed by Lori Loughlin, when we saw her recent frustration trying to find a job as the family experiences financial problems. She had been working as a professional photographer, but with the family’s move to Beverly Hills, Loughlin’s character is finding getting back into the photography business is not so easy.

The new career plot: Debbie could head to back to school to brush up on her photography skills, if she’s still passionate about that line of work. Or she could embrace the fashion-forward setting of Beverly Hills and attend a school for fashion design. OK, we’re stealing the story line from Loughlin’s previous show, “Summerland,” but she became a successful clothing designer in that show, so we know it’s worked.

“Burn Notice”
Former CIA agent Michael Westen’s new mission is trying to figure out who “burned” him and why he was blacklisted after a dangerous mission in Nigeria. He was dumped in Miami with frozen bank accounts, meaning he had no money and no credit. Westen, portrayed by Jeffrey Donovan in this USA Network show, now uses his Special Ops training to help desperate people who can’t go to the police.

The new career plot: Westen needs to focus on his new future in the sizzling South Beach setting. He may still need to be working behind the scenes, if old foes are still out to get him, so pursuing a career in technology in a role such as a computer programmer also could teach him how to continue to cover his tracks. Or if he ever finds out who “burned” him, Westen could work in a different capacity, like homeland security since he knows how precious our freedom is in this country.

“Grey’s Anatomy”
The past few episodes have been so sad for fans of Dr. Cristina Yang, the fierce “Grey’s Anatomy” surgeon, portrayed by Sandra Oh, who used to elbow her way into any surgery to boost her own career. Instead, she’s started off the season of this ABC show with no desire to be in the operating room, or collapsing when she is in the operating room. McDreamy Derek Shepherd told her in a recent episode, “Derek: You’re flaming out.” And then there was this sad conversation with her new husband, Owen, in which she asked him if he would love her if she wasn’t a surgeon. He replied that he would love her if she was a plumber. Although I want Yang to bounce back to the outspoken surgeon she once was, other career paths in health care could be option, if she’s ready to put down the scalpel.

The new career plot: Yang’s bedside manner isn’t her strength, so nursing isn’t an option, and from past episodes we know how she feels about dermatology. But her mind and medical knowledge are amazing, so she could pursue education from a management school and find a way to stay at Seattle Grace but be everyone’s boss. Or if she decided to attend orthopedic school, it could be a plot twist that has her competing for cases with Callie, a fight we’d like to see.

-Lori Johnston

If you’re app crazy or maybe just got a iPhone, Droid, Blackberry, or another new phone and are just checking out the apps, don’t just focus on games like Scrabble and bubble wrap, the popular virtual Zippo lighter, and Urbanspoon for restaurant hunting.

But some of the apps, whether free or not, actually could help you in college.

Here are a few you may want to consider.

1. Webster’s New World Dictionary, $14.99

No more lugging around a dictionary or turning on your laptop to search a word, especially if your professor has used it and you’re lost in the discussion. If you’re in health care, you may want to use the Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary, for $24.99.

2. Cube Student Time Tracker, $9.99

Track how much time you spend on your courses and figure out your study patterns with this app. The iPad version of this app was named a must-have iPad app for professionals by Forbes.

3. iStudiez Pro, $2.99

Get organized with this app, which some students say they have used to replace their paper calendars. You’ll use this tool to keep track of class schedules and assignments with due dates, so that things won’t slip in between the cracks.

4. AP Mobile, Free

If you’re studying a field like political science, journalism, business, or criminal justice, you’ll want to make sure you know the latest news, so you can stand out in class discussions or ace tests. You’ll get instant updates as the news hits the Associated Press wire, whether you’re on the phone before class starts or can access the info during discussions.

5. Classes – Timetable, $.99

The Classes timetable app can notify college students when homework needs to be done or you need to be heading out (or logging on) for a class. One cool design feature is that when your phone is in landscape mode, you can see a color-coded schedule of classes and subjects you need to study.

What apps have you found beneficial in your classes this fall?

-Lori Johnston

While checking out at the grocery store the other day, I couldn’t resist eavesdropping on the conversation happening in the line next to me. You know how those grocery shopping conversations typically go – the cashier remarks on something you’re buying or informing you about a charitable cause that is accepting donations while you try to keep the kids away from the candy rack.

But this time, the mom checking out was so enthusiastic about her decision to go to college. She was explaining to the cashier that it meant so much for her to show her elementary school-age daughter that college was an important step in life.

She asked the cashier if she was in college (I live in an university town, so that question often is asked), and the cashier responded yes. The mom said that was so great and explained that her plan was to go back to school now so that when her daughter gets a little older, she can be prepared to re-enter the workforce.

This mom’s mindset could be helpful if you or any your friends express frustration with not finding a job. As children have entered kindergarten or other grades and they have more time during the day, some of my stay-at-home mom friends are looking for employment but are getting discouraged.

Like them, do you feel as if all of a sudden you’re expected to work – or realize you have the time to bring in money for the family and don’t want to waste it – but don’t know what to do? They’re finding that often the industry they previously worked in has changed so much that their old positions are outdated or they can’t find jobs match their qualifications.

Being prepared now by taking college courses while your children are still young may seem like an impossible feat because of the time involved, but that step could help you avoid from frustration that my mom friends are experiencing. And don’t forgot that pursuing a degree online can provide the flexibility you need to be the best mom you can be and a college student.

Maybe you dropped out to have a family and are trying to figure out how to go back to school. A career school could be one route if you’re interested in fields such as health care.

If you make the choice to go back to school, be proud of it. Your excitement – whether at the grocery store or on a playdate or at your child’s next school function – could encourage other parents to take a step toward being a student again, too.

-Lori Johnston