The allied health industry provides millions of Americans jobs in dozens of health related professions. That growth is expected to continue throughout this decade, meaning training for a career in allied health could be a good bet for job seekers. The infographic below highlights some of the allied health professions expected to grow the fastest in the coming years.
When online degrees were a new and emerging division of education, many employers thought that these degrees were not as valid as degrees from brick and mortar institutions. The evolution from distrust to the currently accepted trend has taken time. Naturally, when a new technology is introduced there is bound to be skepticism. These feelings of unrest were most likely compounded when early emerging unaccredited diploma mills interested in making fast money surfaced. Soon, a few accredited colleges and universities began to offer online programs and people began to see the benefits of online learning. Now there are a growing number of online programs and courses offered from a number of legitimate and well-known universities that make it difficult to decipher differences between online and traditional degrees. All of this support adds to the acceptance that is now felt towards someone earning a degree online. Continue reading
1. Audiology: Audiology professionals help people who have ear defects, diseases and injuries that lead to hearing loss, balance problems and related difficulties. Earning a bachelor’s degree in this field can qualify you as an audiology technician, while becoming an audiologist requires a Master's Degree in Audiology or doctorate.
Average Annual Salary, Audiologist: $40,360 - $98,880*
2. Nursing: Registered nurses (RNs) perform the bulk of day-to-day nursing duties, from evaluating patients to providing front-line care. To become an RN you must earn at least an associate’s degree in nursing and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). Those who plan to elevate their careers into administration or advanced nursing practice often complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.
Average Annual Salary, Registered Nurse: $43,410 - $92,240*
3. Occupational Therapy: Occupational therapists help patients with injuries, diseases or age-related problems recover or improve their everyday living and working abilities. A Master of Science (MS) in Occupational Therapy is required to practice this profession.
Average Annual Salary, Occupational Therapist: $42,820 - $98,310*
4. Pharmacy: There are two levels of pharmacy work: pharmacy technicians and pharmacists. Pharmacy technicians typically earn pharmacy certificates or associate’s degrees in pharmacy. If you want to become a pharmacist, you will need to first earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in a related field – such as biology or chemistry – and then complete a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree program.
Average Annual Salary, Pharmacist: $77,390 - $131,440*
5. Physical Therapy: Like occupational therapists, physical therapists treat patients with injuries, diseases or age-related problems. Their goal is usually to help those patients recover normal or close-to-normal use of a damaged physical ability. A Master of Science (MS) in Physical Therapy is required to practice this profession.
Average Annual Salary, Physical Therapist: $50,350 - $104,350*
6. Physician Assistant: Physician assistants (PAs) provide diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic healthcare services as delegated by a medical doctor (MD). They are sometimes the principal care providers in small rural or inner-city clinics where the availability of MDs is limited. PA programs typically take at least two years to complete and require previous healthcare experience, a college degree, or both to enroll.
Average Annual Salary, Physician Assistant: $51,360 - $110,240*
7. Radiologic Technology: Radiologic technologists perform diagnostic imaging examinations, such as x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The education requirements can be met at the certificate, associate's degree or bachelor’s degree level; those with Radiologic Technologist Associate's Degree or higher typically have access to better positions and higher salaries.
Average Annual Salary, Radiologic Technologist: $35,100 - $74,970*
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The economy is recovering – slowly. Too slowly for most of those who lost their jobs in the recent recession to have seen any practical benefits yet. What’s more, the severity of the downturn has demonstrated that having any old job is not enough to ensure financial security. You have to have the right kind of job.
This growing realization among American workers has led to a huge interest in education. If you’re considering going back to school, you are probably wondering how to get the most for your college tuition – especially if you have work, family and other responsibilities.
You want to know if accredited online colleges are as good as their campus-based counterparts, and if online college courses can really save you a lot of money. You might also be wondering if you can accomplish your educational goals at a two-year community college, or if you’re better off pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a four-year school.
Here’s some critical information on each of your choices, and some numbers to help you compare prices:
First and foremost, a word of advice: Unless you are attending a vocational/technical program, don’t even consider on-campus or online schools that lack regional accreditation. Sure they’re cheap, but unaccredited colleges can cause students a variety of problems, including the inability to transfer credits from one school to another. That said, earning an online college degree can be a valid choice – just make sure that the institution you choose is certified by one of the six regional U.S. accrediting bodies.
Surprisingly, the cost of tuition at accredited online colleges is not all that different from what traditional public universities charge in-state students: both run about $250 - $300 per credit hour. Recent studies by The College Board report that once you add in other fees, this translates to roughly $7,500 per year.* However, the cost of tuition at accredited online colleges is significantly better than what public universities charge out-of-state students (about $12,000 per year) or the cost of a private college (about $27,000 annually).
Where you can really save money by studying online is in housing and transportation costs. Distance learning students do not have to pay dorm fees, purchase meal plans or drive to class – which, depending on your living situation, can mean big savings.
Fortunately for America’s collective pocketbook, workers can enter many of the fastest-growing careers with an associate’s degree. Nursing and web design are excellent examples; even though higher degrees exist for both of these booming professions, an Associates in Nursing (ADN) or Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Web Development can qualify you for entry-level positions in their respective fields.
At about $2,700 per year, the cost in tuition and fees of a two-year community college is significantly less than that of a public or private four-year school. If the career you want to enter requires only an associate’s degree, it definitely makes financial sense to earn it at a community college. And even if you’re planning on getting a bachelor’s, completing your first two years at the local community college can be a great way to save some money.
What four-year schools offer that community colleges and online colleges generally don’t is the “college experience” – sports, parties, dorm life, fraternities, sororities, etc. This is an important consideration for many younger students, and if you’re one of them then four years at a traditional college can be well worth the extra expense. On the other hand, working adults with families are seldom concerned about frat parties and football games, so an online school or community college is often a better choice.
Ultimately you will have to take the facts you’ve learned here, judge them in relation to your lifestyle and how much you can afford, and make the best decision you can. What’s most important is that you get a solid education from an accredited school so that you can land secure, lucrative employment once you graduate.
*Trends in College Pricing, 2010
So you want to attend class from the comfort of your bedroom or home office, do you? I don’t blame you. When I was in college I would have given anything to trade my 8 am American Literature course for an online education option. I mean seriously; on a cold morning, who wouldn’t rather study Faulkner while wrapped in a leopard-print microfiber blanket and sipping hot coffee?
Online college degrees are more than just the newest trend in education. They are fundamentally reshaping the way we learn. In a 2009 report, the Sloan Consortium noted that enrollment in online degree programs had increased by 17%, which is over six times faster than the growth of the general college student population*.
But not all such programs are created equal. There are a few things you should know before breaking out the coffee mug and silly (but exceptionally comfortable) blanket.
Most online education is provided by legitimate institutions that reward hard work with a valuable degree. But some do lack regional accreditation, which can make it difficult to transfer credits or get employers to recognize your achievement. And a few are outright scams – often called “diploma mills” – that sell fake, useless degrees.
In the interest of keeping your money – or even more importantly, your lender’s money – out of the hands of these con artists, here are five signs that the institution you’re considering might be a diploma mill:
1. It is accredited by Bob’s Discount Accrediting Emporium. The seven regional U.S. accrediting bodies are the only accrediting organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. They are the:
These associations do accredit online colleges and universities, as long they meet the same standards that are set for campus-based schools. But if a degree-granting institution instead touts credentials from some other group – or no group at all – then it almost certainly is not regionally accredited.
At best, non-accredited colleges and universities will provide you with credits that are very hard to transfer to other institutions, and credentials that many employers don’t consider legitimate. At worst they will take your money and give you nothing in return but a sham degree that is worth less than the paper it’s printed on.
Trade and vocational schools, which are not eligible for regional accreditation, are an exception to the “always choose a regionally accredited school” rule. They are typically certified by a national, field-specific accrediting body. Legitimate culinary schools, for example, are accredited by the American Culinary Federation Foundation Accrediting Commission.
2. There is no need to study, attend classes or take exams. Believe it or not, this is a common promise made by diploma mills. Instead of requiring you to do all of that annoying learning, they offer to grant you an online college degree based on “life experience” – which they’ll never bother to checking into, of course. To a diploma mill, the person who has spent the last 10 years running a business is no different from someone whose professional life is limited to hair-net-and-name-tag jobs. You send them your money, you get your fake degree. End of story.
3. It offers free express delivery. As a rule, legitimate colleges do not pride themselves on fast delivery. It’s one of the ways a real degree is different from, say, pizza.
4. You’re told you will earn more in a few short weeks. Gaining something valuable with little or no effort is the most common scam in the world – just check your email account’s spam bin. Diploma mills love to promise huge leaps in income and quick promotions for those who purchase their degrees, but they never deliver. Almost all major employers – and most smaller ones, too – are now aware of diploma mills and the worthless degrees they sell. Trying to pass off such fake credentials is likely to get you fired by your current employer rather than hired by a new one.
5. It claims you are pre-approved for financial aid. Approval for financial aid like Pell Grants and subsidized student loans comes from the government, not a school. No college or university can pre-approve you for this kind of assistance. When diploma mills and low-quality unaccredited schools advertise pre-approval, it means that they approve of you using your credit card, rent money and little brother’s piggy bank to pay them for a worthless degree.
Now, all that said, you should remember that there are many legitimate online degree programs out there. Even traditional on-campus students are now often encouraged to take a few courses online. The flexibility and affordability such programs offer can be a huge advantage, especially to adult learners who have family, work and other responsibilities.
Just make sure that the online school you choose is regionally accredited, and you should be okay. The degree you earn will have real workplace value, though it is unlikely to be delivered in 30 minutes or less.
*Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009
Not all online college courses and web-based education programs are the same. Some use different tools and methods than others, and even those that use the same ones often do so in different ways. So once you’ve decided to study online, how do you determine which type of distance learning is right for you?
Continue reading How to Choose the Right Type of Online Education to learn about the different methods used in online learning and understand which is best for your situation. Read more now.
Thanks to medical advances and better awareness, children with disabilities are being diagnosed earlier and placed in educational programs that can maximize their potential. This has led to a greater demand for special needs teachers; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employment in the field to grow by 17% through 2018.
But how do you know if special education is the career for you? Here a five characteristics shared by almost all teachers who are successful in this field:
1. Certification. All 50 states and the District of Columbia require teaching certificates – attained by earning a bachelor’s degree in education and successfully passing the state’s teaching exam – to enter the field of special education. Most also insist on additional training geared toward instructing special needs children. Exactly what type of advanced education is necessary for licensure varies from state to state; some require certificate courses that take less than a year to complete, while others insist on a master's in special education that can take over two.
2. Patience. Many special needs children can learn at a normal pace – some even faster. However, those with certain disabilities can have a much harder time, taking weeks or months to master even simple tasks. Other special needs students have emotional problems that make learning difficult not only for themselves, but for others around them as well. Vast patience is essential for special education teachers when working with such students.
3. Stress management. Long workdays, near-constant administrative duties and students who can be extremely difficult on a daily basis make special education a challenging career. In order to be successful at it, you must be able to handle high stress levels and find ways to manage the personal and professional struggles that come with working in this field.
4. Commitment. Obviously, being a special needs teacher is not an easy job. And unfortunately, many positions in this field don’t pay as well as they should. In order to find lasting success in special education, you must be committed to the profession. Helping special needs children learn should be a reward for you in and of itself. If not, the financial compensation alone can seem insufficient considering the stress and difficulty inherent to the career.
5. Interpersonal skills. Special needs children often have a wide range of people working on their behalf. These can include parents, foster parents, other relatives or caregivers, state agencies, doctors, psychologists, social workers and more. You should be able to establish positive relationships with all such individuals and work closely with them to maximize your student’s learning potential.
More people than ever are taking online classes. A 2009 report by the Sloan Consortium indicates that over 4.6 million students took at least one online course in 2008 – a 17% increase over the year before. That greatly exceeds the 1.2% growth rate of the overall college student population*.
And yet rumors about distance learning – many of them quite negative – abound. So here are the top five myths about earning an online bachelor’s degree – busted!
1. Online bachelor’s degree programs aren’t accredited. There are certainly some distance learning programs that lack accreditation, so the first thing you need to know about any online school you’re considering is whether or not it is certified by one of the six national U.S. accrediting bodies. This is called regional accreditation, and it’s the highest form of accreditation a college or university can posses. Many online schools are regionally accredited, especially those associated with traditional brick-and-mortar institutions. Just make sure the one you select is among them.
2. Credits earned online won’t transfer to a campus-based program. One of the main reasons to choose an accredited online bachelor’s degree program is to make sure you can transfer your credits if necessary. One accredited school will typically accept credits from another – up to a point. Each institution sets its own limits on transfer credits; some accept an unlimited amount, but many set a maximum. Regardless, credits earned from an accredited online school should transfer just as well as those from an accredited on-campus school.
3. Employers don’t recognize online bachelor’s degrees. This particular myth held some truth at one time, but no longer. An Excelsior College/Zogby International survey released in 2008 found that 83% of CEOs and small business owners who were familiar with distance learning strongly agreed that a degree earned online was just as credible as one earned through a traditional campus-based program**. Once again, accreditation is the key; if your online bachelor’s degree comes from an accredited institution, a significant majority of employers will accept it.
4. Online courses are less challenging. This is simply not true. Accredited distance learning institutions offer a wide variety of undergraduate programs - including bachelor's degrees in healthcare administration, BS degree's in software engineering and online degree's in web development - that require discipline and hard work. You will be expected to keep up with the same course material as students who attend on-campus classes, and you must do so without constant reminders from an instructor. Online education provides a great deal of flexibility in when and where your do your coursework, but it places the responsibility for success squarely upon your shoulders.
5. Online students can’t interact with their instructors or peers. Also patently false. At minimum, you will engage your instructors and advisors through email. But more often than not, online education involves participation in chat rooms, group projects and Internet forums. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software such as Skype and Ventrilo is also frequently used, allowing real-time voice communication over the Web. Today, most distance learning programs do not merely encourage interaction – they require it.
*Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009
**Online Degrees Earn Wider Acceptance in the Business World, Excelsior College 2008
Completing your first two years of school at a community college is a sound financial decision. The College Board notes in a recent article that in-state students can expect their public two-year college to cost about $2,544 per year in tuition and fees, compared to $7,020 at a public four-year college*. That’s an impressive savings that eliminates a lot of potential debt.
However, you might worry about having to transfer your credits when you’re ready to continue working on your on-campus or online bachelor's degree at a four-year school. Thankfully, the process is now fairly straightforward. Here are some tips on how to make transferring your credits to a bachelor’s program go smoothly:
1. Make sure the community college you attend is regionally accredited. Regional accreditation – the highest form of accreditation in the country – is vitally important. Colleges and universities that are certified by one of the six regional U.S. accrediting agencies meet rigorous Department of Education standards, and credits earned at one such school can usually be transferred to another. On the other hand, most regionally accredited on-campus and online bachelor’s programs will not accept transfer credits from a non-accredited college.
2. See if your community college cooperates with any four-year institutions. Many community colleges are closely associated with nearby public four-year colleges, and might have established articulation agreements with them. Such agreements guarantee that most or all of the credits earned at the community college will transfer to the four-year college, and also make transferring credits between the two schools much faster and easier. If at all possible, choose a community college that has an articulation agreement with a four-year school that a) offers the on-campus or online bachelor’s program you want to pursue, and b) you are actually interested in transferring to.
3. Meet advisors and admissions officers from several colleges. Once you know which four-year schools you’re interested in attending, contact an advisor at each of them and set up a meeting (phone meetings are acceptable when necessary, but face-to-face is much better). These advisors will be able to tell you what requirements their school places on transfer students, such as a minimum GPA or standardized test score. They should also be able to tell you about their institution’s bachelor’s programs – or direct you to those who can – so that you’ll be able to choose the one that’s best for you.
4. Explore online bachelor’s degree program options. For many students – especially adults with work and/or family responsibilities – an online bachelor’s program offers the combination of affordability and flexibility they need. Such programs are usually less expensive than their on-campus counterparts and can be adapted to fit almost any schedule. To make sure you choose a legitimate online bachelor’s program that will provide you with the degree you need, learn these nine essential tips for students taking online courses.
*What It Costs to Go to College, The College Board (Accessed September 2010)
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