The ability of church scholars to read, write, and translate proved invaluable in early education. Scholars needed reading and writing skills in order to preserve and translate Greek and Arabic works into Latin. In addition, the fact that church clergy could teach eventually helped form the first colleges and universities. The development of learning centers propelled the advancement of medicine, philosophy, and science available in Europe, which would ultimately lead to the Renaissance.

Even with its revival, the majority of society was not educated. Therefore, uneducated individuals joined guilds to learn a craft or trade in hopes of becoming a master craftsman and owning a business. Similar to medieval times, both of these career-training opportunities exist today. When you finish high school, you can pursue a degree at a college or university, or become an apprentice and learn a trade.