By Geoff Williams – US News
These programs are cheaper and less time-consuming than college, and provide valuable career skills.
IF COLLEGE ISN’T practical or an option for you, that doesn’t mean you can’t find a well-paying career or that you shouldn’t try to further your education. You may want to consider completing a certificate program.
These programs, often offered by colleges, offer training in specific fields. You can take certificate programs as a college graduate, but there are many designed for people who have a high school diploma or GED and want additional training to land an entry-level position.
“For many high school students, technical certifications are the most direct route to a good career,” says Tracy Levine, CEO of Advantage Talent, a professional training and coaching company in Atlanta.
“Employers have more input into the creation of certifications, so they have direct business value. Unlike college degrees, certifications provide transparency into what is taught and what skills a student will bring to their employer,” Levine says.
That isn’t to say that a college degree doesn’t have a lot of value, of course. But certificate programs may be more valuable to jump-starting a career than you would think.
If certification is something you’re thinking about, check out these 10 certificate programs that may be worth considering.
- Web developer.
- Medical assistant.
- Medical records technician.
- Landscaper and groundskeeper.
- Solar photovoltaic installer.
- Paralegal.
- Phlebotomist.
- Opthalmic medical technician.
- Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurse.
- Optician.
1. Web Developer
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: one year
Median salary of the job: $69,430
Across the country are numerous certifications you might look to get, such as certified web developer, certified internet webmaster, advanced web developer and mobile application development. Finding the right certification program involves a lot of online sleuthing, and what you decide is right for you will depend on your own interests, of course. But to give you an idea of what’s out there, Rappahannock Community College in Glenns, Virginia, offers a Web Design Career Studies Certificate that’s typical of what you might find. It’s a 12-credit program, and courses include “Web Page Graphics,” “Web Page Design I” and “Web Page Design II.”
Learn more about being a web developer.
2. Medical Assistant
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: one year
Median salary of the job: $33,610
If you’re interested in being a medical assistant and performing administrative, clinical and management roles in health care organizations, there are a lot of certification programs that you might want to explore.
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, for instance, offers the Cincinnati State Medical Assistant Certificate program, in which medical assistant students complete supervised clinical practice, including 160 hours of unpaid practicum experience. After that, you take an exam to become a certified medical assistant.
Learn more about medical assistants.
3. Medical Records Technician
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: one year
Median salary of the job: $40,350
Many community colleges offer medical records technician certificates, which means you’d have a career in which you’re organizing medical records, including taking the doctor’s notes and putting them into the patient’s medical record.
A place where you can get the training you need for this career is Johnston Community College in Smithfield, North Carolina, which offers a medical records technician certificate with classes such as “Medical Legal Issues” and “Medical Terminology I” and “Records Management.” It’s a nine-credit course taken over two semesters.
Learn more about medical records technicians.
4. Landscaper and Groundskeeper
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: dependent on student
Median salary of the job: $29,000
You don’t need a certificate to become a landscaper or groundskeeper, but securing one may help you land the jobs you want – and it should certainly make you a more skilled landscaper or groundskeeper.
The National Association of Landscape Professionals offers numerous certifications, such as getting one as a business manager, an exterior technician, a horticultural technician, a lawn care technician and more. The certificates are earned through self-study programs, and you can take the exam for certification online.
Learn more about landscaper and groundskeepers.
5. Solar Photovoltaic Installer
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: a few months
Median salary of the job: $42,680
To learn how to install solar panels, you’ll either need to find someone to train you or get a certification. The nonprofit Solar Energy International offers the SEI Solar Professionals Certificate Program, which has numerous certifications. The certifications are pretty pricey – anywhere between $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the program. Otherwise, you might be interested in Penn Foster Career School’s (located in Scranton, Pennsylvania) solar photovoltaic installation skills certification program, which is only around $300. It’s geared toward people who are already working in skilled trades fields and lasts two months.
Learn more about solar photovoltaic installers.
6. Paralegal
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: it varies; four months to two years
Median salary of the job: $50,940
Paralegals, who do everything from draft affidavits to help with trial preparation, make attorneys’ lives easier. Many universities and colleges offer paralegal certificate programs. You can also take a certification exam and get a professional certification through organizations such as the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, the National Association of Legal Assistants and the Association for Legal Professionals.
Learn more about paralegals.
7. Phlebotomist
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: generally four to eight months
Median salary of the job: $34,480
Phlebotomists draw blood, learning, among other things, how to take the right amount and how to do it safely. Some states don’t require certification, but most employers will want you to have completed a phlebotomy certificate program and earned professional certification. You can find these certificate programs throughout the country, often at community colleges, vocational schools or technical schools.
For instance, Pima Medical Institute, which has numerous locations in states like Colorado, Arizona and Texas, is just one example of the many offerings you can find. They have a three-month program in which you’ll learn tasks such as how to label the drawn blood for testing or processing and how to enter patient information into a database.
Learn more about phlebotomists.
8. Ophthalmic Medical Technician
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: dependent on student
Median salary of the job: $36,530
An ophthalmic medical technician takes a patient’s history and does some visual testing, and other duties, before the eye doctor comes in. Many people learn how to do this on the job, but if you want to advance your career or get training, you’ll want to take a certificate program.
You might consider the Certified Ophthalmic Assistant certification, which you’d get after taking a three-hour test with 200 multiple choice questions. (Down the road, you might want to get an advanced certification, such as Certified Ophthalmic Technician or Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist.) You can learn more at the website for the International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology.
Learn more about ophthalmic medical technicians.
9. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurse
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: one year
Median salary of the job: $46,240
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses do it all, from performing enemas and installing catheters to delivering medicine and starting IVs. It’s a very important job, which is why if you’re going to complete a certificate program for either a licensed practical nurse or a licensed vocational nurse (both jobs are the same thing; LVNs are simply what the job is called in California and Texas), it needs to be a state-approved certificate program.
Generally, you’ll find these programs at universities, colleges and nursing schools throughout the country. (Practicalnursing.org would be a good jumping-off point in your research.) You’ll want to make sure whatever school you attend is accredited by national agencies such as the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
Learn more about licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.
10. Optician
Typical time it takes to earn certificate: dependent on student
Median salary of the job: $37,010
If you wear glasses or contact lenses, you’ve met opticians – they help fit your glasses and help you choose the right contact lenses. You might be able to get a job without taking a certificate program, but some employers will insist. You’ll be able to get certified by taking the program offered by the American Board of Opticianry, which offers a certificate to those who complete a written exam.
It isn’t a test you’re likely to pass if you cram or haven’t studied. You’ll need to discuss topics such as lens characteristics, the effect of changes in a lens’ base curve and thickness and how to calculate prismatic effects and ophthalmic formulas.
Learn more about opticians.
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