Guest Author - Sanita Salter

Many times, we as individuals determine what I like to call checkpoints in our lives, careers, and pursuits to happiness. Today you can look all around and see that an education past a high school diploma is vital for success unless you become a superstar or a supermodel. To make things quite plain…I read that about 30% of the US population has at least a two-year degree and about 60% has or is expected to have a bachelor’s degree by 2012.

Getting an online education whether it be towards an Associates, Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate degree is becoming much more accessible than it used to be. I cannot speak to admissions criteria, costs associated, and other considerations for each school but there are resources on the Internet that can help with that information. I have listed a few of the sites I have found under the Distance Learning subject titled For Students and BellaOnline’s Education and Career sections can also help point you towards some resources available.

Before looking to pursue a Masters in Psychology, I considered several things after having attended a physical campus for both my Associates and Bachelors degrees.
1). Accreditation- There is very little sense in pursuing a degree, certification, or other training if employers and other entities will not recognize your efforts.

2). Cost- I did a non statistical comparison of the tuition costs, book cost estimates, lab fees or other associated fees, all in comparison to a campus based program. I also looked at what would not have to be spent to attend online (i.e. daycare, gas, lunch).

3). Financial Aid- I knew I needed Federal Financial Aid to pay for school and private loans I simply had no collateral for. It is important that a school be able to participate in the Federal Financial Aid program, have scholarships available, as well as additional sources to fund your program.

Recently, I read that each region of the country has a sort of “popular industry” or field. One report stated that the South is well known for healthcare and that healthcare is expected to increase and expand over the next few years. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a great source for information on what jobs are expected to grow below average pace, at an average pace, or a higher than average pace.

Looking through this handbook and the direction you want to go with your online education will give you a good idea on the salary minimums and maximums for the field you pursue training in as well as what region of the country is most popular for hiring in that field. In nursing it appears that you have to either already be an RN to get a BSN however my question is how do you get from high school diploma to RN? In trade certifications, I looked at contract management. I hope to find that there are some online certification courses attainable without a lot of out of pocket expense and which will be competitive in the job/marketplace.