The purpose of this paper is to emphasize why education should be viewed as a means of opening up lucrative employment opportunities for a diverse population of adults that are seeking to transform themselves by obtaining an education and incorporating their past knowledge and experiences into new skill sets that would enable them to become productive employees in a changing society. "Two of the three purposes of adult education practice in the United States identified by Heaney (1996) are allied with maintaining this social structure: (1) bringing learners into conformity with mainstream roles and expectations and (2) developing the best and brightest and validating the privileges of this educated elite" (Heaney, 1996).