Continuing education units will not give you the satisfaction of holding an actual degree or certification in your hand. Employers will look more favorably on having a certificate or degree than on any number of CEUs you have taken over the years. While CEUs are required for many professionals to maintain employment, getting a certification or degree from a college or university carries more credibility. As a result, it will likely be easier to find a job if you do not have much experience in your occupation but you do have a degree or certification.
The quality of your education may be limited by taking only CEUs to further your professional education. Taking a certificate or degree program means more in-depth coverage of topics pertinent to your field. In-depth understanding of issues related to your field is necessary to critically evaluate issues and circumstances that are likely to arise in your work.
Tuition reimbursement is a particularly nice benefit many employers offer. However, if you decide to pursue CEUs, your employer may not offer to pay for any of it. This can serve as a deterrent to many people thinking of taking continuing education courses. It is best to consider if you can afford the expense yourself before pursuing any CEUs.
Employers who are willing to pay for CEUs may find that the cost of a tuition reimbursement program is too high. If they cover the cost of CEUs, they are educating their employees. This often results in better productivity but also in more attractive salary offers from competitors. CEU courses also take away time from an employee's ability to produce at work for a period of time.
Some CEU courses are not accredited by any organization for quality of education. Many professional associations require CEU courses to go through a rigorous screening process before they will be accepted as being good enough for association members. A chance may exist that continuing education courses not affiliated with any CEU accreditation body (such as the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training), college or professional organization may not be recognized as legitimate, or they may be of only minimal quality.