Then why is it so hard to figure out the right school!
Okay, let me back up and start at the beginning. I've received an offer that I simply will not refuse. My father has offered to pay for schooling in any educational path I want (provided it can help me find some way to suppliment our income and possibly even take top spot should Dan's health require it of me). Knowing my time and resources in regards to child care, something that I can study at home and eventually turn into a career from home is best. A couple of ideas include medical billing and transcription work, accounting/bookkeeping, and computer or web related fields. Yes, I know there are others, but the reason I'm looking at these have to do with my interests and abilities (I'd love to learn culinary arts and possibly go into catering, but I'm not so good in the kitchen right now and it's definately not something I could study at home on my own :P).
So where do I start? Do I start by picking a career field and then a school? or do I pick a school first? Obviously not all schools have all career fields available which would suggest that career field would be the first choice, but just browsing through some of the education assistance sites (the ones that list all the different online and local schools (University of Pheonix, American Intercontinental University, etc)), it appears that they all offer similar study programs. Then there are the truly local schools CNM (Central New Mexico Community College) offers many courses via "distance learning" but the highest degree available is associate. This isn't a really bad thing and UNM (University of New Mexico) will transfer some degrees into their bachelor programs. I just don't know if I want to go for certificates, associate's, or bachelor's degrees. There are so many choices that I think my brain is going to explode!
So this is what I need to do (and any advice/help would be wonderful) in no particular order.
1. Decide on a career path.
- Computers
- Business
- Health services
2. Determine a course of study.
- Computers: Web design, networking, data entry
- Business: Accounting, bookkeeping, management
- Health services: Medical billing, coding, transcriptioning, assistance, nursing
3. Determine level of education.
- Certificate
- Associate Degree
- Bachelor Degree
4. Decide on a school.
- Accredidation
- Career placement help
- Distance learning available
- Tuition (taken care of, but I want to minimize costs to my father where possible)
- Length of program
Is that everything? I don't know! HELP!
6 months ago
Yay for education! Now, if I could add in my two cents :o)
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, I would suggest praying (and possibly fasting). About four years ago when I finished my degree in Accounting, I found myself "stuck" and not knowing what to do. Long story short- I prayed/fasted, quit my job (having only savings for a month or so)and began looking. Two months later (I know!), I had no idea what I wanted to do but every time I prayed I got the "You need to do something you dont know how to do & be patient" I started interviewing at different jobs in different fields and getting a feel for what really interested me. I got a call back from a Hotel to be their HR Coordinator. It was something I didnt know how to do and it interested me. I tried it, loved it, and went back to school for it. Six months after I started that job I became the HR Manager and two years later moved on to a different Hotel as a director. I really owe it to following the counsel of The Spirit and the direction that Heavenly Father knew what was best for me. I hope that gives you at least a little inspiration. Anywho, here are some websites that can assist you in the meantime.
http://www.rocketcareer.com/ab1/index.php?&CCID=20072283203287789&QTR=ZZf200706051804370Za20072283Zg172Zw47Zm635Zc203287789Zs5507ZZ&CLK=454090113113232804&&se=google&kw=career%20finder%20test&ag=career_test_v2&ad=909119027&type=search&&exp=y
http://www.online-education.net/online-degree-programs.html
Good Luck! :o)
There are two standard ways to approach this. The first is to get a sampling of schools in your area, and from them compile a list of the job types that they teach for (i.e. court reporter, dental assistant, etc.) Then, list those jobs in order for best pay and amount of time to get the degree. Pick the top job from the list and work backwards to the school that has the best reputation for teaching that job.
ReplyDeleteThe second approach is to take what you already know and enjoy doing and determine the job that most closely comes to your preferences. Then pick the school that has the best rep for that job. I.e. - if you like reading and sharing your opinions, then maybe librarian.
The drawback to the first approach is that you may hate the job. For the second approach, it may not pay as much as you either need or want.
There's also something called the SWOT - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. On a piece of paper, draw a large box with two rows and two columns. Label the columns Strengths and Weaknesses, and the rows Opportunities and Threats. In Strengths, list all of your current skills, what you are good at, what you like, etc. In Weaknesses, list the skills that you need but don't have, what you dislike, and generally anything you think you are weak at. Keep the list manageable - maybe only the top 10 or 15 items. In Opportunities, list things like the jobs that are most in demand right now, or that you think will be in demand; companies that are opening up in your area and need certain job positions, etc. For Threats, list companies that are closing, job types being outsourced to India, and anything that can point to a shrinking job market. Match your strengths to the opportunities - that's where you want to look for work options. Avoid work options in the Weaknesses-Threats section. Look for schooling that will improve your Weaknesses-Opportunities section. Try to protect yourself where you're vulnerable in Strengths-Threats.
As an example: Strengths - like to read. Weaknesses - can't read Japanese. Opportunities - new library opening up. Threats - Toyota is shipping jobs to Japan. Assessment: Train to be a librarian. Don't apply to Toyota for a staff position. Train to learn some Japanese so as to know which Japanese books to stock in the library to help out Toyota employees that will need to relocate.
Hope this helps a little.
I went back to school last year, so I completely know where you're coming from. It took a lot of pondering and prayer, but I decided what would work best for me, and it's been difficulty, but very rewarding.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the previous comments. I just want to add a little about the "learn at home" and "distance learning" bits, especially since you are showing interest in doing it that way.
Many people in my field were surprised that I decided to go back to school in an actual classroom even though there were other excellent (and better-regarded) Masters to Doctorate conversion programs by distance learning or online correspondence. I made that decision based on recognizing a main strength and a main weakness of mine.
Strength: I love learning new things and I especially enjoy learning activities like conferences and workshops. I enjoy education more when I can hear it straight from the mouths of people who really know what they're doing and like it enough to teach it. I'm fine with book learning, but there's nothing that gets me more engaged than a great class.
Weakness: I am a terrible procrastinator, and I have never done well in independent study in my life. Self-imposed due dates always slide by me, and there's nothing like the embarrassment of showing up in class without my assignment ready to turn in to motivate me to get it done.
If either of these things applies to you, you will probably do better in an actual class rather than an impersonal online thing. Even the cost of daycare for away-from-home schooling is better than wasting the cost of classes you don't complete. If you are more self-motivated than I remember you being (after all, we were still teenagers!), it is extremely convenient to do all your learning and studying at home if you will actually get it done.
One warning: many job training programs for "work at home" careers are way over-hyped. I only have experience in the medical field, but the only people who make enough to live on are the people who actually go to a work site (like the nurses, medical assistants, and the on-site office staff). The medical billers, coders, and transcriptionists who work from home and get paid per line don't make anywhere near the money they expected. They invested in the education program because they could make "up to $40,000 a year", but it's unrealistic. They find that every time they stop to look up something (a job requirement even if they're experienced), their 80 words-per-minute average drops and make less money than the school advertisements promised. Their jobs are also increasingly automated (speech recognition software, electronic chart notes, integrated code submission). Large practices and hospitals invest in the software and the services that require fewer people on the payroll, and small practices tend to hire family or friends who don't have any certification at all.
I'm not saying to steer clear of the medical professions, but realize that those at-home jobs are just (specialized) data entry jobs with low pay and usually no benefits. To even get hired with a work-from-home medical billing or coding or transcription firm, they usually require that you have at least 1 year of experience doing it at an actual job site as a reference before they'll hire you to do it for them at home. The kicker is, a school certificate is not required to be hired at any of those jobs. I've talked with the ladies who do these jobs, and they got hired because of who they know, not where they went to school.
I guess my best advice on the choice of program is this: use the advice in the previous post (TSOTE)to figure out a potential future job, then go talk to people who actually have that job and have done it for several years. Find out what they actually do, how much time it takes, and how much someone in their situation can realistically make doing it. Ask how they got hired and what their schooling contributed to their employability. If they like their job and make enough money to stick with it, they will also know the best schools in the area for it. Ask them where they'd send their child to school if their child wanted to have that same job.
Best of luck to you as you come to a decision. I have to go get some sleep before class tomorrow. Neuroanatomy makes my brain hurt, but it's like sore muscles after exercise... a fulfilling hurt.
Good for you. My problem is that I know what I want, I just don't have the means. Grandpa told me I should take some 'distance learning' classes but I don't have the money. I'm looking into taking some training classes through wesst.org.
ReplyDeleteI say you should definately pray, but you should make 1 and 2 your focus so you know what to pray towards. Once that's done you'll find that 3 and 4 are easier because you'll find that once you know what you want there are ways to accomplish it (I don't know if that makes sense, it was clear in my head).
My eyebrow raised when I saw accounting/bookkeeping, and I just laughed.