For many individuals, earning a traditional or online bachelors degree is the first step in their professional career. Others might enroll in a bachelors degree program as a means of changing careers or moving up the corporate ladder. College degrees overall, some are suggesting, are making a difference in terms of workplace competitiveness and finances - and President Barack Obama has been working to encourage students to obtain them.
According to Michelle Melton, a data analyst for a Georgetown University study, as much as 61 percent of the middle class these days holds a college degree as compared with 26 percent in 1970. Melton recently provided this information to a reporter for Diamondbackonline, which is the University of Maryland's student newspaper. "It used to be that you could have a high school degree or be a high school dropout and be in the middle class," Melton was quoted in Diamondbackonline as saying. "That's increasingly no longer the case."
Bachelor degree students who want a return on their investment might consider areas where job growth is anticipated. The Georgetown report, "Help Wanted: Projecting Jobs and Education Requirements through 2018," shows that jobs requiring bachelor degree minimums in the healthcare and technical fields, communications, the arts, education and the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subject areas are to be among the fastest growing occupations, with some openings as early as 2011. By 2018, the report notes, service-related jobs in the areas of information, government, education, finance, business and health care are to be available to students who maintain a certificate or an associate's degree at minimum.
In terms of majors that lead to well-paying careers, students might consider various engineering specialties. Four of the five most highly paid majors for the class of 2010 were in the areas of petroleum, chemical, computer and electrical engineering, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers 2010 Salary Survey. Civil engineers, on the other hand, are expected to see the largest employment increases into 2010-2011, while biomedical engineers should see the fastest employment growth into the next decade, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Studying nursing at colleges and universities might also provide job security, since the Bureau of Labor anticipates more than 1 million vacant positions between 2008 and 2018. Those with an interest in technology might consider Bureau of Labor forecasts that, on the whole, the professional, science and technical services sector is to contribute about 2.7 million jobs to the economy by 2018, in large part because of a demand for design and integration of sophistic networks and Internet and intranet sites. Management, scientific and technical consulting services, on the other hand, are expected to make up about 31 percent of the job growth in this area, the Bureau of Labor reports.
College graduates in general might expect to earn more money as the level of their degree increases, Bureau of Labor Statistics information shows. For example, workers with a bachelor's degree in 2009 earned more than $1,000 per week compared to those with only a high school education, who earned a little over $600 weekly. However, there are certain occupations where certificate and associates degree holders earn more than the average bachelors degree worker, according to the Georgetown report.
Those who want to continue their education, but are concerned about scheduling might consider online degree programs. Distance learning participants through these programs might more easily schedule studies between work and family responsibilities, and they can save time and money associated with commuting. Many students also opt for hybrid programs that combine distance learning with classroom time.
College degrees might be more of a necessity in some respects, with a bachelor degree seeming to be the degree of choice. At the same time, college programs are also becoming more accessible. Students who want to earn online degrees in any area and at any level might consider exploring all that they have to offer.
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