What if you could have the career of your dreams, making good money and working respectable hours, without having to attend a four-year university? While this might sound too good to be true, it isn't. In fact, people often falsely assume that their options for career advancement are limited to devoting themselves to years of university training to earn a degree. Career training programs, vocational schools, and technical institutes are quickly becoming logical stepping stones for employees who want to find a better job and equip themselves with the knowledge and skills required to achieve their goals, without sacrificing a lot of time and money to do so.

There are many reasons why these programs are increasing in popularity. The students attending them tend to be nontraditional students who are working adults. The average working adult has a family to support, a mortgage (or rent), bills to pay, and very little free time to attend classes, or resources to pay for them. After working an eight-hour work-day, the thought of attending a lecture or completing a homework assignment is understandably not a pleasant one. Many working adults are parents who value those precious few hours with their children in the evenings and on weekends, and can't imagine giving that up to attend classes. Career and Technical programs are designed for such a situation, and offer working adults a fast-paced alternative for advancement that will prepare them to enter many exciting and challenging fields, without the time it typically takes to earn a degree. Many of these fields even offer salaries as good as those offered to students who earn their B.A. or B.S. at a four-year university.

The typical career training program lasts for three to twelve months, with some shorter and some longer. These programs consist of classes that are generally held in multiple campus locations, allowing students the opportunity to find a location that is convenient for them without having to travel long distances. The classes are also primarily at evening time and on weekends, and are designed to maximize the time spent learning without silly assignments and projects that don't apply to the field of study. In technical and career focused programs, students will learn hands-on, practical knowledge that can be immediately applied at the workplace when they choose to begin a new job. Employers value this type of experience, and are constantly looking for employees who know the specifics required to complete a job successfully.

Most of the well-known programs are also available through accredited online degree programs, and can be taken at a student's own pace. This allows the nontraditional student more freedom to study when it is most convenient, without sacrificing family time in the process. A student can receive the same amount of personalized attention online, with easy access to instructors through email and by telephone. In many online college programs, reading assignments are generally given weekly, allowing students to interact with each other and the instructor via message forums, instant messaging, and email.

Some of the most popular programs of study within the career training, vocational, and technical fields are nurse's assistant, medical assistant, paralegal, teacher's assistant, restaurant/hotel management, massage, culinary arts, medical transcriptionist, and medical coding/billing. These are careers that are in high demand, yet typically require only a few months of training.

Employees who feel that they are stuck in a dead-end or unfulfilling job can have a world of opportunities open for them through attending career training, vocational and technical programs. Career institutes and technical colleges offering these courses are available both locally and online, with a range of program choices and arrangements to suit every individual's needs.



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