Recession and Education

Global economic crunch, recession is the talk of world. Every news channel, newspaper, magazines, blog, company newsletter have something about the current economic situation. There are ample number of saving and wise shopping tips available in media. People talk about it even during office breaks, over lunch and dinner. I wonder how long this is going to prolong, and for sure no one has a definite answer to this question. Governments around the world ask people to tighten their seat belts and get ready for a rough ride through 2009 which might extend to 2010. People have to cut down expense and start to save more. They have be more prudent in their investments during these time.

Investing in oneself is a life time investment and the best way to do it is by educating yourself more. Sharpen your skills while there is time so that you are most required when there is a upward trend in markets. There are two things on which you can educate yourself. First is things that you are good at - like existing profession, where one can learn skills that might be useful. This can also be like earning a technical diploma or management degrees.

Second is the things that you might like and had no time to learn. This includes most of one's hobbies and time passes. I had a friend of mine, who was manager of a IT database firm. He did a course in photography, in which he had intrest, by which he is now a professional photographer. That gives him an additional area which he might venture on his own in future. The other things that one might like to venture are upgrade your writing skills, art works, poetry etc. Downturn increases the number of entrepreneurs. This is again a key to faster economic recovery.

Abdul Kalam, former President of India, writes that a nation can be judged as a knowledge society by how effectively it deals with knowledge creation and knowledge deployment (APJ Abdul Kalam, Ignited Minds, 2002, P122). Knowledge is wealth and key to ones one & the nations upliftment. Take this global economic downturn as an opportunity and upgrade your knowledge and skills.