Picking a Program: In-Demand Education & Training

A higher education is important to your career success; however, not all programs are created equally. Some require more lectures and labs, while others provide more post-graduation opportunities for employment. Although post-graduation employment shouldn’t be your only criteria as you evaluate education programs or certificates, job outlook should remain a key consideration. After all, you don’t want to find yourself newly graduated and unemployed, or worse, newly graduated and unemployed with amounting student loan debt or other bills.

To help guide you as you make this important decision, we’ve created a shortlist of some in-demand programs. To kick off this series, we will take a look at programs focused on one of the fastest growing areas of employment in the United States: medicine and healthcare.

 

Medical or Healthcare Programs

As boomers age into assisted living or just require more healthcare services, the need for trained medical and healthcare personnel is crucial.

Medical Assisting

Becoming a medical assistant is a good entry into the promising world of healthcare. Medical assisting is a great program for individuals who may not have decided whether their interest lies in the clinical or administrative side of healthcare. The reason is because these roles often marry some of each skill set. As such, programs that prepare students for this career blend clinical and administrative training.

In terms of earning potential and job growth outlook, there’s also great opportunity here. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job growth outlook for this profession over the next 10 years is 29-percent, which is much higher than other areas in healthcare. More, medical assistants can earn approximately $32,500 a year, with some earning upwards of $45,900.

Nursing

Perhaps you have an interest in healthcare, but aren’t ready to take the plunge into a comprehensive program. Nursing is as rewarding as it is a smart career path. Even better, there are a number of programs available for all levels of nursing.

For instance, did you know that you can earn a good living while working as a nursing assistant? In 2017, nursing assistants made an average annual salary of approximately $28,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also projected an outlook of 11-percent job growth for nursing assistants the next five years.

Registered nurses, on the other hand, can earn anywhere between $48,690 and $104,100 a year. With a reported median salary of $70,000 in 2017, the Bureau projects an outlook of 15-percent hiring growth during the same time span.

Begin a Lifetime of Caring

The field of healthcare has lots of opportunities, and these are just a few of them. To learn more about higher education and training healthcare programs, complete the form on this page.

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