i’m 32 and currently working as a grocery shopper while i recover from some burnout and ponder next steps. i’m living with family and will be doing so for at least the next year, but my family lives in a rather remote area so my employment options are somewhat limited in terms of career growth.

i have some learning difficulties but have done decently well in an office administration certificate program. i am one class away from obtaining my certificate and plan to do so over the summer.

in my office administration studies i have gotten a taste of bookkeeping/introductory accounting and enjoyed the subject so far. i have an aptitude for that kind of arithmetic and am ultimately looking for a job that is not as loud and customer focused as my job history has been so far. i’m considering attempting an online bookkeeping certificate through an ontario college to join my admin certificate and boost my resume for when i am able to move back to a more metropolitan area.

my question is, will the two certificates be enough to break into a decently well paying (low to mid twenties per hour) part time job with potential, or do hiring teams prefer a diploma or degree? i have lots of customer service experience and would be able to highlight admin related skills from past jobs on my resume. i would be open to taking a reception type position with some bookkeeping tasks to gain more experience to hopefully allow a transition to something less customer facing.

my worries are torn between wasting the money on more education and being able to leverage my current skills into a successful job position without being crippled by imposter syndrome. either way i will have a year to stew over getting into a more administrative kind of job, i just don’t know if i should try to stew productively with online classes or if i should just try to chill and cross the employment transition bridge when i get there.

i will definitely be taking some free online classes in excel etc to refresh my skills before i start applying for more serious positions, but is it worth it to add to my credentials with bookkeeping or accounting courses or is that something i can get a handle on through something like linked in learning and on the job training? i’m specifically thinking things like payroll processing, quickbooks, and other such skills.