Guide to Accelerated Degree Options for Career Changers

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Tech­nol­o­gy and Health­care are two best degree pro­grams for a career change.
• Many pro­grams offer spe­cial­ized cours­es designed for career switch­ers, focus­ing on prac­ti­cal and rel­e­vant skills for new industries.
• Accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams stream­line edu­ca­tion. Career chang­ers can acquire new skills and cre­den­tials faster with these pro­grams than tra­di­tion­al routes.
• With online, evening, or week­end class­es, these pro­grams cater to busy sched­ules. This allows for a smoother career tran­si­tion with­out dis­rupt­ing cur­rent commitments.

Career changes are pret­ty com­mon, espe­cial­ly as two-thirds of peo­ple in the work­force do it at some point in their lives. Their orig­i­nal degree did not land them a sat­is­fy­ing job, and now they feel stuck and don’t know what to do fur­ther. Or per­haps they don’t even have a degree but want to get one and change their life.

The prob­lem is that sim­ply think­ing you need a change is not enough; you must pre­pare your­self for it. Tra­di­tion­al pro­grams might require leav­ing your job, which many don’t find fea­si­ble; after all, you have bills to pay. In that case, career chang­ers can opt for accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams, as they can open more hori­zons. This arti­cle will tell you more about these degree options and why you should con­sid­er one at some point.

Relat­ed:

• Accel­er­at­ed Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs
• Best Online Accel­er­at­ed Com­bined Physics BS/MS
• Fastest Accel­er­at­ed Health Infor­ma­tion Man­age­ment Online Degrees
• Fastest Online Bachelor’s Degrees
• Fastest Online Sports Man­age­ment Degree Bachelor’s Programs

What Are Accelerated Degree Programs?

Accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams rep­re­sent an effi­cient option for stu­dents to obtain their degrees faster than the tra­di­tion­al mod­el. This allows them to enter the work­force much quick­er or get their edu­ca­tion in a flex­i­ble, time-friend­ly man­ner. Class­es are usu­al­ly arranged in the evenings, dur­ing the week­end, or online, so they are a good choice for those seek­ing career change education.

Accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams take up to 3 years to com­plete, in com­par­i­son to the tra­di­tion­al pro­gram that takes at least four. The short­est time to get a degree is 12 months, and the pro­gram is struc­tured so that you can get the base infor­ma­tion at a quick rate. Dur­ing this time, you go through the same cur­ricu­lum but at a more inten­sive rate.

The Appeal of Accelerated Degrees for Career Changers

Accel­er­at­ed degrees come with a series of ben­e­fits for those seek­ing a career change, includ­ing the following:

1. Shorter Completion Time

Accel­er­at­ed learn­ing pro­grams are com­plet­ed in a short­er time, usu­al­ly cut­ting the num­ber of cours­es in half. This means you should be able to com­plete the course in half the time it would take to get a degree the stan­dard way. If you do not want to wait four years to change your career, this could set you up faster.

2. Lower Associated Costs

As some­one work­ing in what’s con­sid­ered a dead-end career, you prob­a­bly do not have a lot of mon­ey to spare. As a tra­di­tion­al pro­gram usu­al­ly costs more than $60,000, an accel­er­at­ed pro­gram could let you get away with $30,000. This is because there are few­er class­es that you’ll have to attend, and you won’t have to pay as many asso­ci­at­ed costs.

3. Flexible Learning Options

Per­haps one of the great­est accel­er­at­ed degree ben­e­fits is that learn­ing options are flex­i­ble. Many class­es are held online, in the evening, or dur­ing the week­end, mak­ing them a good choice for those still work­ing. Many also offer cred­it trans­fer from work expe­ri­ence, so if your career is still some­how con­nect­ed to what you wish to do next, you can use them to reduce your load.

Key Degrees for Career Change

When it comes to flex­i­ble degrees for adults, there are plen­ty of career options you could go for. The most wide­spread are the following:

1. Technology

Tech­nol­o­gy degrees are becom­ing increas­ing­ly pop­u­lar, espe­cial­ly as the IT sec­tor evolves by the day. You could get a degree in com­put­er sci­ence, cyber­se­cu­ri­ty, web devel­op­ment, and more.

2. Healthcare

The health­care indus­try also brings a lot of poten­tial, regard­less of your field. Nurs­es are in demand due to short­age, accord­ing to the Nation­al Library of Med­i­cine. The same applies to physi­cians, accord­ing to AMA. With the progress in med­i­cine and the aging pop­u­la­tion, these career advance­ment degrees could prove popular.

3. Business

We live in a time of busi­ness, where every­one is look­ing for experts in finance or mar­ket­ing. MBAs could also serve as ben­e­fi­cial career advance­ment degrees, espe­cial­ly if you want to fly solo on your next step.

4. Education

Edu­ca­tion remains in steady demand, espe­cial­ly when it comes to tech­nol­o­gy and bilin­gual knowl­edge. Con­sid­er­ing the cur­rent short­age of teach­ers, this kind of quick degree com­ple­tion could prove fruitful.

Choosing the Right Accelerated Degree Program

Choos­ing the right career advance­ment degrees can be chal­leng­ing, espe­cial­ly as you’ve like­ly been in the work­force for some time. Here are some aspects that should help you with the process:

1. Accreditation from Authority Institutions

The first thing you need to do is to look at whether or not the course is accred­it­ed. All these class­es should be accred­it­ed by dif­fer­ent accred­it­ing bod­ies under the Depart­ment of Edu­ca­tion. These can vary based on the spe­cial­iza­tion or loca­tion, but you need to make sure that they are legit.

2. Cost of Program

The program’s cost is also some­thing you should keep in mind. Tuition is not the only part that mat­ters, as you might need to pur­chase books or soft­ware, depend­ing on your major. While inten­sive bachelor’s pro­grams are less expen­sive com­pared to tra­di­tion­al ones, they still require spe­cif­ic finan­cial involve­ment. Make sure that it aligns with your finan­cial goals and your budget. 

3. Program Reputation

The accel­er­at­ed degree program’s rep­u­ta­tion is also impor­tant, as poten­tial employ­ees will look at that. For instance, if it is part of a good fac­ul­ty, it will look much bet­ter on your resume and improve your chances of employ­ment. You should also look at things such as stu­dent reviews, pro­gram rank­ing, and cur­ricu­lum to deter­mine the qual­i­ty and rep­u­ta­tion of the program.

4. Alumni Success

The alumni’s suc­cess in the new poten­tial career should also be con­sid­ered. Check the peo­ple who have pre­vi­ous­ly grad­u­at­ed with this type of degree and whether or not they became suc­cess­ful. They don’t need a Nobel prize in their name but should at least have a rea­son­able career place­ment rate. If the alum­ni showed oppor­tu­ni­ties for career advance­ment, you might have just found the best degrees for career change.

5. ROI Opportunities

Anoth­er thing that you should con­sid­er is whether or not the pro­gram of your choice offers ROI oppor­tu­ni­ties. Con­sid­er how many career options it opens up for you or whether or not you can enjoy salary incre­ments. The last thing you want is anoth­er dead-end job that will bring you back into the same rut.

Application Process and Requirements

When it comes to the appli­ca­tion process and require­ments, each pro­gram is dif­fer­ent. For this rea­son, you need to do your research before you apply.

Typical Admission Requirements to Consider

When you opt for a fast-track bachelor’s degree, the admis­sion require­ments are almost the same as a typ­i­cal pro­gram, albeit more flex­i­ble. Most pro­grams require a degree and some basic knowl­edge. Some might ask for a spe­cif­ic min­i­mum GPA, where­as oth­ers might require pre­req­ui­site cours­es and let­ters of rec­om­men­da­tion. Con­sid­er going through their list of pre­req­ui­sites before you apply.

Tips to Prepare a Strong Application

To pre­pare a strong appli­ca­tion, you must show them you are one of the best for that spot. Aca­d­e­m­ic excel­lence in the past is rec­om­mend­ed, but a few cours­es here and there could prove you have the basic knowl­edge of the mat­ter. Extracur­ric­u­lar activ­i­ties and intern­ships are often need­ed for high-demand degrees for career change. Also, make sure you get let­ters of rec­om­men­da­tion from past employ­ers, teach­ers, etc.

Overcoming Challenges in Accelerated Learning

Accel­er­at­ed class­es come with their own chal­lenges, which you must learn how to address. The more pre­pared you are for them, the bet­ter it could be for you in the long run.

Common Challenges of Accelerated Degree Programs

While accel­er­at­ed online degrees offer numer­ous ben­e­fits, they also bring about a few draw­backs, such as:

· Intense Coursework

When opt­ing for accel­er­at­ed edu­ca­tion paths, you are not nec­es­sar­i­ly fol­low­ing a cur­ricu­lum dif­fer­ent from a tra­di­tion­al one. You are going through the same one at a more intense rate. This could lead to intense course­work, where you need to study through larg­er pools of infor­ma­tion in less time.

· Time Management Issues

When it comes to accel­er­at­ed pro­grams, career chang­ers need to allo­cate enough time to meet their dead­lines and attend class­es while going to their day job. When the sched­ule is more com­pressed, it can be dif­fi­cult to effec­tive­ly man­age your time. One tiny mis­cal­cu­la­tion in your sched­ule could make you fall behind and feel overwhelmed.

· Difficulty in Balancing Personal Life

When you already have a 9‑to‑5 job, bal­anc­ing your per­son­al life can some­times be dif­fi­cult enough as it is. A good time of your day is like­ly spent com­mut­ing, and one-third is spent sleep­ing (if you keep a healthy sched­ule), leav­ing a few mea­ger hours for your per­son­al life. Add the intense nature of career chang­er degree options to the equa­tion, and you might find it dif­fi­cult to bal­ance your per­son­al life.

Tips to Succeed in an Accelerated Learning Environment

To suc­ceed in an accel­er­at­ed learn­ing envi­ron­ment, one of the best things you can do is stay orga­nized. Cre­at­ing a sched­ule and stick­ing to it can go a long way at this point. Learn which tasks are a pri­or­i­ty and man­age your time effec­tive­ly to meet your dead­lines. Just remem­ber that self-care is essen­tial to pre­vent burnout, so don’t hes­i­tate to ask your friends, fam­i­ly, and asso­ciates for help or guidance.

The Bottom Line

Accel­er­at­ed degree pro­grams could be very help­ful in prompt­ing your career change. You can com­plete them in less than 3 years, and they can open new job oppor­tu­ni­ties. So, ana­lyze your options and choose a pro­gram that aligns best with your goals.

Sources:

• AMA
• Nation­al Library of Medicine
• UNESCO