Open Those Doors
Feeling shut out of the life you want and the future you imagined is frustrating. While job performance matters, there are times when someone with less seniority jumps ahead, and you wonder what else you could do to give yourself and your career that boost you need to get moving. You might be stuck in a job that you find frustrating, one that’s no longer a good fit, or even one that you had to take because there was nothing else. Open the doors to a better career or even an entirely new one with fast track bachelor degree programs.
Getting on Track
The typical bachelor’s degree is called a “four year” degree from the average timeframe it takes to complete 120 to 150 course hours. However, there are many ways to speed up the process. There are no “easy” or “guaranteed” degrees, but there are legitimate, legal and accepted ways to speed things along, even in fast track bachelor degree programs, using PLA (Previous learning Assessment) credits. You may already have some college credit hours under your belt, military training and experience, or even some high school credits that can be used to jump ahead, and finish your degree in less time. Some of the widely accepted, legitimate methods are:
Credits from high school International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement courses.
Credits from previous college coursework.at an accredited institution.
Credit from a previously obtained associate degree (AS or AA) or an associates of applied sciences (AAS) – typically about 60 hours credit.– from an accredited institution.
Credit for military training and service, such as MOS training or attending OCS.
Up to 12 college credits per CLEP (College Level Examination Program) examination in any of 33 course subjects such as composition, history, humanities, literature, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, and world languages.
College credits are also available for 39 different DSST (Dantes Subject Standardized Tests) in both upper and lower division courses from business, humanities, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences and technology.
Credit for training and experience as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), a law enforcement officer, firefighter, an aviation license and other professional or vocational training programs.
Credit for American Council on Education (ACE) accredited professional certifications and training such as Cisco certifications in network management or architecture.
Credit for a nursing diploma or ASN (Associate of Sciences in Nursing) – usually only applicable to the RN-to-BSN track.
Life credit for workplace experience, which is generally done in concert with an academic advisor who will help you to build and present your portfolio of experiences to faculty.
Policies for PLA credits vary from school to school, so do your homework before forking out for a pile of CLEP and DSST exams. Bachelor’s degree completion programs are generally reserved for those students who have 45 credit hours or more, and are returning to school to finish their degree, and PLA credit is available in those cases, too. Using legitimate tools to speed up the fast track means getting your degree even sooner.
Which Track?
There are so many fast track bachelor degree programs for all interests and career orientations. Everything from anthropology to the visual arts is offered either completely online or as a hybrid online/campus experience. Fast track bachelor degree programs are typically shorter and carry a more intensive workload, and can be completed in as little as five or up to ten weeks instead of the traditional campus-based timeframe of attending a class for one hour, once per week for twelve to sixteen weeks. Some of the most popular choices are available completely online from top schools, with no campus attendance required.
Accounting: The career of an accountant isn’t just limited to tax time, and they don’t get shut up in a box for the rest of the year. Accounting is a full-time, multi-faceted career with steady demand and a solid average pay of $63,550 per year. Demand is consistent with business and government in some surprising areas, like regulatory agencies, finance, and international business. Accounting career paths include financial analysts, forensic accountants, and even Chief Financial Officers. If you have exceptional concentration, strong math skills, and are an organized, analytical thinker then accounting may be the right place for you.
Business: A business major is not just all about getting to the MBA (Masters of Business Administration). A BSB (Bachelor of Science in Business) is the most popular undergraduate degree awarded, according to the Department of Education, and graduates can find careers in the fast-paced worlds of advertising, analysis, marketing, and public relations. Later in your career you might add a C-level executive title and pay to your accomplishments, or even head your own start-up. If you can communicate, motivate teams of people, and think critically and analytically in fast-paced, stressful situations, then you could thrive in the business world.
Computer Science and Information Technology: The technology field is a broader one, with more open doors than any other. Explosive growth and constant technological innovation drive the demand for skilled people in all aspects of the tech sector from computer programmers to game developers, network architects to CGI graphic artists, software developers to web designers. The average pay starts at $65,000 and easily reaches the six figures for high-demand specialties in business, entertainment, and government. For creative, organized people who have a strong mathematical and logical thinking skills, computer sciences could be just the career you’ve been dreaming about.
Finance: A graduate with a BSF (Bachelor of Science) like business majors with their BSA, is in demand. No longer simply a prerequisite to the MSF, the undergraduate degree in finance opens doors into the bond, commodities, and stock markets, international finance, insurance, and careers in civil service such as with regulatory agencies, the Treasury Department, and the IRS. From Wall Street to the businesses on Main Street, financial experts are involved at every level of business. Detail oriented, organized, and critical thinkers with mathematical strengths, will likely enjoy the fast paced work environment, and the intricacies of high finance.
Health Administration: It’s not just Obamacare driving the need for professional and specialized BSHA degrees in Health Administration. As the medical world innovates, uses new technologies, and retrenches to deliver cutting edge quality care, health administrators are in demand with the potential for high growth and fast advancement. Average yearly pay for the health administrator is $88,580 per year, with positions available in large medical groups and hospitals for hospital administration, public health agencies, information systems management, and other vital, interesting, and fulfilling careers. Some states require administrators for certain care facilities to be licensed exclusive of degree.
Nursing: Surging demands for bachelor’s degree prepared nursing staff are bringing career RNs to colleges and universities to upgrade their nursing diploma or ASN to the BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing). Significant transfer credits from a diploma or associate’s degree mean that some nurses can complete their BSN in as little as 20 weeks. Some schools require a recent (within the past four years) NCLEX and proof of current licensure before admissions. Nurses are also finding out that the BSN not only improves their pay and job security, but their confidence and prestige, and future opportunities for advanced practice.
Words to the Wise
Fast track bachelor degree programs are legitimate ways to accelerate your education, and though you spend less cumulative time earning the degree, the coursework is more intensive. It’s not going to be easy, but the advantages are many. You take classes when you have the time to do so, and the same coursework for a sixteen week class is condensed so that you will finish faster, but still have all the benefits of attending a recognized and accredited school.
Never neglect to check accreditation for any school, but it’s especially important for distance learners and for people looking for legitimate fast track bachelor degree programs. This is especially important to obtaining federal student financial aid, student loans, grants, and scholarships, or furthering your education at a later time.. Accreditation is the guarantee that the school you’re attending conforms to standards of instruction and teaching, and that credits earned at one school are transferrable to another similar program at another school, or to an advanced degree program after graduation. Your school should be accredited by at least one of the Department of Education recognized accrediting bodies below:
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
Council on Occupational Education
Distance Education and Training Council, Accrediting Commission
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
New York State Board of Regents, and the Commissioner of Education
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, The Higher Learning Commission
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, Accreditation Commission
Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Senior Colleges and University Commission
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