Friday, December 24, 2010

Associate Degree: Art and Design Degree and Programs

Why get an associate's degree in art and design? Art and design encompasses a wide range of careers, including:

* Art direction
* Commercial design
* Craft art
* Fashion design
* Fine art
* Floral design
* Graphic design
* Illustrators
* Industrial design
* Interior design
* Painting restoration
* Print making

Formal training is not mandatory to work in art and design, but it may be an efficient way to acquire the necessary skills. Art history, studio arts, and, computer training are the most important courses. More and more, artists use computers for their design projects. You can earn an associate degree at a community college, art school, or even through online education. Aside from working as a fine artist, however, where there is no career training officially required, for most art and design positions you will need to continue your education beyond an associate's degree to a bachelor's or higher.

Online Education: Reaching for the Top with a Doctoral Degree

by Richard Barrington
Online Education Columnist

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, people with doctoral degrees tend to occupy one of the highest income tiers in the country. Anyone aspiring to this level of achievement should consider how an online degree program might be the most expedient way of getting there.

Online degrees are available in a wide range of fields, including business, education, and health care. Doctoral degrees in particular are prized by academic, not-for-profit, and public sector employers.

A bachelor's degree would normally be a prerequisite for pursuing a doctoral degree, which is why an online degree program can be especially valuable at this level. If you have already earned your bachelor's degree and have started a career, you may be wrestling with the relative merits of hanging onto your current job and income, or taking time to go back to school. With the flexible scheduling online education allows, you can fit an academic program around your current work schedule.
The Flexibility of Studying Online

In addition to allowing you to coordinate work with the pursuit of a doctoral degree, online education can also solve other logistical challenges. Being able to pursue a degree from your own home is perfect for parents of young children for whom daycare is not a viable option. In these days of high gas prices, online education also saves on the cost of traveling to and from school. Finally, for people who live in parts of the country where academic institutions are few and far between, online education makes a much richer range of choices readily available.
From Doctoral Degree to Dough

And then there's the payoff. According to 2007 Census Bureau data, people with doctoral degrees earn a median income of $75,869, which is more than twice the overall national figure. As always, you should check both the accreditation status of any academic institution you consider, and the educational requirements of your chosen career, before pursuing any degree program. For a practical approach to earning a doctoral degree, you may well find that online education represents your best option.
Richard Barrington is a freelance writer and novelist who previously spent over twenty years as an investment industry executive.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Online Education: Certificate Programs Help You Demonstrate Your Skills

by Richard Barrington
Online Education Columnist

In today's fast-changing--and sometimes unsteady--job market, a key to finding rewarding, long-term employment is matching your skill set with in-demand occupations. Earning a certificate through an online program can be a practical way to keep your skills on target and up-to-date.

The rapid changes brought about by technological advancements, global trade, and consumer trends can be disruptive to the job market. People sometimes unexpectedly find their job skills out of date or no longer in demand. Earning a certificate in a specific career field can be a way to refresh and/or redirect those skills, to get back on the right side of the job market.

Now more than ever, online degrees and certificates allow people to upgrade their skills in a cost-effective manner. For example, online programs can be perfect for people who cannot afford to quit their jobs to go back to school. Online education allows you to fit your academic schedule around the demands of your current job, so you can keep earning while you are learning.
Online Education: A Practical Solution

Certificate programs can also be a practical solution for a young parent with daycare issues. Daycare can be expensive or even unavailable in some areas. For parents who plan to re-enter the workforce once their children are in school, this can mean foregoing training that could improve their job prospects. With an online certificate program, however, those parents can get training from their own homes and better prepare to enter the job market. Certificate programs can also eliminate commuting costs to and from school, and make certain programs available in parts of the country where physical training centers do not exist.

Certificates are available in fields as diverse as computers, graphics and web design, emergency services and security, health care, criminal justice, and customer service. You can pick an area that is in demand and appeals to you, and get your training on track for a career in that field.

Do the Math on Mathematics Education Degree Programs

by Andrew Freiburghouse
Online Education Columnist

If you think about your favorite teachers, there's probably a math teacher in there somewhere. By earning a mathematics education degree, you could be on your way to becoming that favorite teacher for someone else.

An online degree in mathematics education is one of the more powerful specialized degrees in the education world. Math teachers are in demand because states such as California and Texas have recently implemented tougher graduation requirements for high schoolers--including more math and science classes. States and school districts are responding by increasing incentives, for example, offering student loan forgiveness or housing subsidies to those willing to commit to teaching mathematics. Texas districts have begun offering bonuses to math instructors.

And in order to teach someone else about math, you have to first know it well yourself. An online degree program in mathematics can help you reach that level of expertise.
Teaching More Math Classes = Better

When you are a math teacher, you may have to teach multiple types or levels of math, including:

* Arithmetic
* Algebra
* Geometry
* Calculus
* Nature of Math

In short, you are well-advised to see yourself as a sort of "jack-of-all-trades" within the profession of teaching mathematics. A proper mathematics education program degree will rightly focus, then, on seeing mathematics as an interconnected discipline.
The Future of Math (Teachers)

Once you have earned your online degree in mathematics education, you can obtain your teaching credential for the state in which you want to work. Then you are ready to enter the workplace as a real life math teacher.

Salaries for math teachers, as with other teachers, vary widely depending on where they teach and what level of mathematics they teach. According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics study, teacher's hourly earnings outstrip other white-collar professionals. In 2005, the average public school teacher was paid 36 percent more per hour than the average non-sales white-collar worker and 11 percent more than the average professional specialty and technical worker. However, math teachers are uniquely positioned to earn more and have more job security simply because there are fewer of them and demand is high--many districts pay additional stipends to math and science teachers to attract them to their openings.

Perhaps you can relate to this, recalling how your favorite math teacher had been teaching the subject for 25 years before you entered the picture. Longevity in this profession is common, and online education can be your ticket to building a lasting teaching career.