A college degree used to be a ticket to lifetime employment, but, increasingly these days, that's not always the case. New technologies, changes in the U.S. economy, and longer life spans are requiring workers to update skills and sometimes switch careers.

Many of us are likely to be working past the age of 65. That means the careers we trained for in our late teens and early twenties might not be viable or in demand 30 or 40 years down the road. So, educators and job experts say it is important for workers to keep improving skills or learning new ones long after they graduate from college.

But, that can be difficult for workers who keep long hours, travel, have families, and have other financial obligations. These are issues that United Airlines pilot Todd Coomans faces. Coomans fears he'll lose his job at United and will need to find work elsewhere. The divorced father would like to go back to school, but he's not sure how he can afford to do that and support his kids at the same time.

Many community colleges and universities are beginning to acknowledge these new trends. Harper College in Palatine, Illinois offers a fast-track program that allows students to get an associates degree by attending classes one night a week for two years. The community college is also developing a weekend program and a so-called career rebooting plan. A few months ago I received a solicitation from my alma mater, Northern Illinois University, looking for suggestions on graduate programs aimed at working students.

Retraining may not be as hard as it once was. A call or visit to a local college could be the first step in securing your professional and financial future.