According to a recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report published in April 27, 2010, over 70% of 2009 high school graduates were enrolled in colleges or universities. This is reportedly a historic high since 1959.
If you are currently in high school, you have most likely had taken steps toward preparing for college admissions. If you are interested in college life and less about the degree, then you should consider the possibility of an online degree based on life experience.
One important question you must ask yourself as part of your planning process is, what type of college degree best suits your educational goals, career objectives, personal situation and financial circumstances. Fact is that, most of us cannot afford the high cost of college these days and may not wish to invest five or six years in college to obtain the degree. That of course is assuming you have the ambition and funds to finish school.
Fortunately, these days we have many other options to attending college, taking tests and becoming indebted long before we even think of getting a job. Consider the types of college degrees available to you online nowadays. Here is the skinny on the types of academic degree programs you can evaluate.
Associate’s Degree
An Associate’s degree is awarded by a community college, junior college or technical colleges as well as four-year colleges and universities to students that complete two years or 60 credit hours of study in their area of study.
The two types of Associate’s degree programs are generally transferred degrees and professional or career degrees. While the former is a prelude to a Bachelor’s degree program and allows students to transfer to the four-year degree program, the latter is set up to prepare students for a specialize career profession by providing the student with the technical training needed in their field.
Many beginning students work toward the Associate’s programs first and their post-secondary education as these is more economical and can fast track entry into the work force. Enrollment in Associate degree programs also allow them to get a feel of their area of study and decide whether they want to pursue further educational into it or to make a change into other areas of study.
Bachelor’s Degree
Bachelor degree programs are undergraduate academic degrees offered by universities and colleges. Students can earn a Bachelor’s degree after completing 120-128 credit hours of study, which typically takes about four years. However, some students actually end up taking five to six years to complete their degree program.
There is a distinction between Bachelor’s degree programs earned from a liberal arts college vis-à-vis ones that are received from a career school. The focus of a liberal arts college program is to impart general knowledge to students and develop their intellectual capabilities.
On the other hand, the degree programs at career colleges follow a technical curriculum to equip students with specialized skills for a particular vocation.
Master’s Degree
Depending on the career you choose, a Master’s degree may either be necessary or a valuable addition to your resume. Graduate degrees are essential for fields like medicine, law, academics, research, etc.
For a lot of professions, however, you can settle with a Bachelor’s degree, wait for a few years before you return to school for a graduate degree or decide to continue on the path of education and gain mastery over your chosen field straight after completing undergraduate study.
Remember that a Master’s degree involves two to three additional years of school, intensive coursework, and writing a thesis paper at the end of it. In fact, some Master’s degree programs may have prior work experience as one of the qualifying criteria since they need a higher level of analysis and professional application by students.
Doctoral Degree
A doctoral degree is the highest level of postsecondary degree one can receive. For a student to earn a doctorate, he or she needs to complete original research on a subject of his/her choice and publish a thesis or research paper.
The completion of this degree leads to the title of “Doctor” being conferred to students, denoting their absolute authority over the subject of their doctorate.
Needless to say, a doctoral degree can only be pursued after the successful completion of a Master’s program and can make a significant impact on your paycheck!
What’s Next
For the degree seeking individual, there are options to attending colleges and universities. Students more and more are now turning to an online degree program offering the same degrees, with even more major options, as the old school way of attending classes. The online programs are designed to award a degree to those who have experience, college credits, degrees and overall life experience that would be applicable to a specialized degree. These degrees are especially useful in obtaining employment or qualifying for a promotion. One should only consider reputable, well established and accredited universities. Students should be cautioned as there are many online colleges that simply award a degree for a fee.
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