Choosing a College Degree Can Impact Career Opportunities

The statistics are in and it's clear that the trend toward engineering degrees will continue in the next few years for those who want to bring in the big bucks. Engineering degrees, including chemical, mechanical, computer and civil engineering, all ranked near the top of the charts for earning potential in recent rankings of what college graduates could expect. That's good news for engineering students who want to graduate and enter the work force with expectations of starting out with a comfortable standard of living.

Engineers are also increasingly entering the upper levels of management after a few years in the trenches. Many companies are paying the tuitions of experienced engineers to enter MBA programs to produce managers and executives with valuable experience. The same goes for law school. More and more firms are interested in that unique combination of practical knowledge and legal skill that can protect their firm's assets and goals.

What was rather surprising, however, was that pharmaceutical degrees were ranked even higher for both salary expectations and need. So if you have a pharmaceutical degree, you're going to be in demand and paid accordingly, at least in the short term. This was something that was part of a general shift toward a greater demand in non-engineering sciences such as biology and nursing, which are seeing a rise in salaries, although they have far to go (with the obvious exception of pharmaceutical degrees) before they'll catch up with engineering. This is good news for college students who consider success in life to be a blend of making an honest living and having a satisfying work life. If you're altruistic enough that you don't need a top-drawer salary, nursing, psychology and research are coming on strong and will continue to do so as the general population ages in the coming years.

The only area where there isn't any real growth in salaries is in the Humanities or Social Sciences. Those students who graduate from college with an English or History degree need to focus on specializing somehow if they want a salary that's comfortable in today's economy. Otherwise, these rather general degrees will bring them salaries that are generally below the norm. That's not to say that these degrees aren't a good idea. How can college students turn their love of English or History into a thriving career option? Instead of getting a BA in their discipline alone, combine it with a teaching certificate. High school teachers who specialize in a particular discipline are in high demand. If they go on to get their Master's Degree they are even more desirable.

Interestingly, more and more Medical and Law schools are also looking at college graduates with degrees in the humanities. They see these students as more well rounded, articulate and "human" than some students who are entirely wrapped up in the sciences. If you have a degree in English or History and have toyed with the idea of law or medical school, don't assume those with scientific or criminal degrees have an edge. Today's schools are looking for the well-rounded student who is an independent thinker and who can write.

Keep in mind that everything goes in cycles. What may be the hot degree this year could be out of fashion in four year's time. In the end, your best bet is to find something you love doing and talk to a career counselor about how you can go about making a living with a college degree that lets you do just that.

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Fresh Engineering Degree Graduates - Most Will Be Condemned to a Life of Misery!

Engineering degree holders are everywhere, but very few are capable and employable! Imagine being marooned on a boat at sea without fresh water, there is 'water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.' Similarly, the mushrooming of 'education industry' is turning out lot of degree holders but very few are employable.

Imagine being marooned on a boat at sea without fresh water, there is 'water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink'. Similarly, the mushrooming of 'education industry' is turning out lot of degree holders but very few are employable.

Colleges offering professional degrees have grown like weeds. The weeds grow quickly and add to the greenery. They look good. However, just like weeds hinder the growth of crops, many of these private professional colleges have prevented a solid educational foundation for the youth of Andhra Pradesh.

Last year, about 1.8 lakh engineering and MCA students completed their education. Not even a small fraction of them have got jobs. The job market is so disappointing that many students just stopped looking for jobs. Fresh graduates no longer enroll for computer courses to enable them to get jobs. Computer training institutes are not seeing enough people enroll.

When someone does an engineering or MCA it is a one-way route. You cannot really get out of that field into another field. Honestly, how many pharmaceutical companies will hire a BTech Civil Engineer as pharma salesperson. Or how many retail companies will hire BE (Computers) as Customer Service officer. However, if the same person had done a BA or BCom they would not have an issue with either a pharma sales job or the retail customer service job. A couple of years later, they can always do an MBA or MCA and change their careers and be a productive and responsible members of the society.

Over the past decade, with the increase of engineering seats from 4,000 to about 2 lakhs - every Yelliah, Mallama and Ramulu can get a seat in Engineering. The student and family feels great - like they did for those who graduated last year. I am doing Engineering or my son will be an Engineer. A parent might have thought - my son's life will be 'settled'. Well that was till last year!

The quality of education and the talent levels of those admitted are so low for 98% of all these engineering students that they may be condemned to a life of misery. Their career prospects or chance of a well paying professional job no better than someone who does an Unani or Ayurveda Medicine degree from some unrecognized institute.

The Satyam saga may ultimately affect a few thousands familites- that too only temporarily! However, the epedemic growth of higher education colleges has destroyed or will destroy the future of lakhs of lower and middle-income families. There are so many of them who have taken loans, sold possessions and made many sacrifices in the hope that their kids will be well settled.

Today, their kids employability is a question mark. However, in order to get those degrees they borrowed lakhs of rupees. The chance of the kids repaying the loans with a well paying job are not very promising. Not for this year, but for a long time into the future.

With lakhs of low quality students being admitted into professional courses - there is a possibility that the current education policy has destroyed the future of an entire generation who may have been better of doing ITI / Polytechnic diplomas or a regular BA, BSc, BCom degree. Such degrees might have helped them find a honest and stable technician or service jobs that would have been better matched to their abilities.

The only good thing about the current recession is that it may compell many parents to really think hard before admitting their 'not so smart kid' into a low quality college offering professional degree. A degree from such a college has little value in the job market. Even NASSCOM publicly admits that only 25% of the engineering graduates are employable! That was a few years ago, before the vast increase in new professional engineering colleges.

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How to Get an Online Degree

Getting an online degree today is a very popular way to get an education. You can get the same accredited degree that you would get if you were attending classroom sessions.

There are thousands of online degrees and universities. These schools you may even recognize the name of as they are also traditional schools.

Examples of Schools

Some of the schools who offer online training include University of Phoenix, Bryant & Stranton, Florida Tech, University of Southern California, or Notre Dame. Chances are if there is a technical school, community college, or major university located in your city or town they may offer online training.

Available Training and Education

Just about any degree you would earn after attending traditional classroom training you can earn online. You can get your G.E.D. or H.S.E.D, or you can work all the way up to a PhD (doctorate). There also of course is the bachelor's and associate degrees you can get.

You can get your degree in any subject area as well. For instance, you might major in accounting, art & design, business, criminal justice, education, health care, liberal arts, or law.

Maybe you would find your niche while getting a management certificate. The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to online learning. Of course, there may be times when hands-on training is necessary.

You can still obtain this through a variety of volunteer and internship opportunities. Whatever it is you want to do and whatever it is you put your mind to you can do it.

Types of Careers

Careers you can purse while seeking an online degree include those in nursing, accounting, animation/multimedia, or computer programming. You could even become a counselor, teacher, or civil engineer.

You might even one day become a master in your trade and eventually become a professor. Either that or maybe you have a taste for justice and want to become a corrections counselor.

On the other hand, if empathy is your strong point then you may want to consider any number of counseling and social work careers. Another major area of interest that more and more people pursue nowadays is e-commerce and/or internet marketing.

Sometimes people want to become or remain self-employed. In this case, they might further develop their skills in a specialty area and/or take business administration classes.

An executive coach, marriage and family counselor, fashion designer, television script writer, and finance manager can all get education online. The amount of education provided depends upon the area of interest.

Associated Cost

Oftentimes, the cost of an online degree is considerably less than it would be for classroom training. One reason why the expense is lower is because there is no need to commute.

Sometimes you can even train for free. In some cases, for instance if you want to update your computer skills to get an office job this may be provided by your local Job Center. Usually in this case the only cost associated with learning is when you take your test in order to obtain a certificate.

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