Late Blooms: Perfect Degrees to go for Later in Life

You might want to go back to school after a long time away, and fortunately, you wouldn’t be alone. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 2.3 million (out of the 21 million in post-secondary programs) students are at least 40 years old. If you’re an adult, you will want to think twice before going back to college. While you have years of work experience behind you, you also have less time to undertake long, arduous academic programs. What you will need to do is find a career in a growing industry that will always add jobs, as well as offer a salary that will offset costly tuition. But if you do all of this, it will make finding a job that you love a lot easier. This article will give you three careers that work best for midlife career changers. It will include average salaries, benefits, downsides, and the average cost of education.

Late Blooms: Perfect Degrees to go for Later in Life
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Nursing

To become a nurse, you will need at least an associate’s degree. However, many nurses continue to get their bachelor’s as this degree means higher pay. The average cost of a 2-year degree at a public community college is $3,440 a year. If you continue to get a bachelor’s degree in nursing, that will cost an average of an additional $18,820 for two years at a public university. In 2015, the median salary of a nurse was $67,490. While a recent survey discovered that over 90 percent of nurses were happy with their career, many nurses fresh out of school have trouble finding work.

Accountant

Future accountants need to earn at least a bachelor’s degree. Many people pursuing this career path also get a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification on top of their degree. The average cost of a 4-year degree at a public university is $37,640. The median salary of an accountant in 2015 was $67,190. Many accountants enjoy higher than average job flexibility. However, you can expect to work a lot more than 40 hours a week during tax season.

Dental Hygienist

Thinking of becoming a dental hygienist? You will need both an associate’s degree and licensure from the state where you will work. The average cost of a two-year degree at a public community college is $6,880 ($3,440 a year). The median salary of a dental hygienist in 2015 was $72,330. Dental hygienists enjoy a lot of scheduling flexibility and great pay. However, job availability varies greatly by local region. Many hygienists are also experiencing decreased hiring activity and lower salaries when they do get hired.

Going back to school can get expensive very quickly. But with the advent of online learning, the prospect of earning a degree has gotten more feasible for many people. As a matter of fact, two of the degrees on this list, accounting and nursing, can be earned completely online. If you’re looking to go into nursing, only RN-to-BSN degrees can be earned online: http://www.wgu.edu/degrees_and_programs. If you don’t already have an associate’s degree, you’ll have to take classes on a physical campus.

But even if you need to take classes on a campus, college can still be affordable. You can apply for scholarships and grant aid, get financial help from your employer in the form of tuition reimbursement for employees, and go to school part-time while you work. You can also make college a lot more affordable by attending your public college or university in your US state.

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