Is returning to school worth it for advancing your career? Experts weigh in

After several years of working in retail, Shantia Cross had enough.

One day in 2021, she decided to walk off the job and leave what she described as a toxic and thankless workplace. Her mother advised her to either find a new job or go back to school, and that got Cross thinking.

That same night, she stayed up until 3 a.m. searching for a career where she could use the hard skills that she picked up in journalism school — like interviewing and shooting video — and stumbled upon some testimonials about jobs in user experience, or UX, design. 

Cross decided on a one-year, intensive post-graduate certificate program at Centennial College in Toronto after searching for programs with a UX design component. Brimming with excitement, she signed up.