subject: How to Train for your Career / Job Using Roth IRA Funds [print this page] With today's down economy where there are fewer jobs and competition is more, what can do you if you lose your job? One thing many Americans are doing is going back to school! And for such people, there is good news. You can use money from your Roth IRA account to train for a new career, or to boost your chances of finding employment in your current field by upgrading your skills. For instance, if you were a computer programmer and jobs are scarce in that industry, and you would like to tackle a new career, you could withdraw money from your Roth IRA to pay for nursing / medical school, where the industry is still actively recruiting for qualified people.
IRA Money Can Pay for School
You can use your existing Roth IRA to pay for all your higher education school expenses such as:
Books
Training equipment / supplies
Tuition fees
Other school fees
If you use this approach to fund your education, there are certain advantages:
The arduous process of applying for and maintaining a student loan can be avoided.
There will not be additional debt you are taking on after graduation, unlike millions of other American university students.
Flexible schedules with work & school
What School can you Go to?
Higher education does not necessarily mean university education & liberal arts or accounting/computer science courses. If you would like to train to be a certified nursing assistant, a long haul truck driver, an oil/lube mechanic or even a welder, you can use your Roth IRA funds to pay for such trades. If you prefer the more liberal arts education, you can go back to University and study Law or Kinesiology, whatever you feel like! Just make sure whatever you study has an end goal, a career you can embark upon graduation.
Who Else can Train with You?
You can use your Roth IRA account not only to pay for your own education but that of a spouse, children, spouse's children or your grandchildren. Or even so, all of you (the entire family) can go back to school and use Roth IRA money to fund the expense.
If you have been unemployed for long periods of time and have money sitting in your Roth IRA , now's a good time to consider using a portion of that money to upgrade your career skills to make you employable again or to re-train in a new industry.
Accredited Schools
While you are free to choose whatever career you want to train for, you must select a university or college that is accredited. Accreditation is a very confusing term because there are hundreds of small private colleges in America that are not 'accredited.' The best way is to choose a school that qualifies for financial aid program administered by the Department of Education. You can visit their website at http://www.ed.gov
