Searching for Degrees that Pay Off?
There are plenty of things which matter at work-quality of life, hours, a dynamic and interesting workplace, the ability to make a difference in the world-but let’s be honest: at the end of the day, money matters. Compensation, after all, is why people work in the first place. And in today’s tough economic climate, pay rates have never been more important. Keeping in mind you probably don’t have the time, cash, or inclination to enroll in eight years of medical training, and assuming your father is not the CEO of a large investment banking corporation, here are some real-world careers that offer competitive pay in a realistic timeframe.
Healthcare
1. Nurse Practitioner – Median Annual Salary $82,590
Nurse practitioners are entrusted with many of the important responsibilities otherwise reserved for doctors, with considerably less education time. Many nurse practitioners even work independent of registered physicians. Nurse practitioners often serve as front-line caregivers at many hospitals, admitting patients and staying with patients through diagnosis and treatment. In some rural areas, due to the shortage of doctors, nurse practitioners may serve as the principal licensed medical professional at a healthcare facility for many days of the week. And since these increased responsibilities result in especially competitive pay, the fact that nurse practitioners often need as few as two years’ additional schooling (usually a Master’s degree is required) makes this profession a great deal.
2. Nuclear Medicine Technologist – Median Annual Salary $66,660
Many of the medical imaging professions provide excellent quick-to-market opportunities for job-seekers willing to go back to school for a couple of years, but in terms of pay, nuclear medicine technologists really take the cake. With educational training programs in nuclear medicine taking anywhere from one to four years, aspiring technologists can be on the job market pretty fast, and strong advancement possibilities in specialties and management should keep pay competitive over the course of a long career.
3. Physician Assistant - Median Annual Salary $81,230
If you like the idea of being a doctor-excellent pay, high levels of responsibility, working to help people and treat disease-but aren’t wild about spending the better part of the next decade training to become one, pursuing a career as a physician assistant is an excellent solution. In modern hospitals, physician assistants perform many duties traditionally associated with licensed physicians, from diagnosing conditions to prescribing medicine, and setting broken bones. The best part: an aspiring physician assistant already holding a college degree can be on the job in as little as two to three years.
Criminal Justice
1. Forensic Technician – Median Annual Salary: $49,860
This profession would also make any or “most-interesting” job list, but it happens to be fairly lucrative as well. When you add its exciting nature to its excellent compensation, you end up with one killer career. But the advantages don’t stop there: when you consider that forensic science technicians can be on the job following a two-year Associate’s degree program or Bachelor’s degree program in Criminal Justice, and specialization in forensics, you might wonder ‘why isn’t everybody doing this?’ The answer-many are. But the increasing demand for forensic science experts at law enforcement agencies across the nation means that job growth-and with it, advancement potential-should remain strong for years to come.
2. Court Reporter – Median Annual Salary: $49,710
Sometimes, highly specialized professions can be a good route to a healthy paycheck. Court Reporters, who must train to become experts at using stenographic machines and other recording and transcription technologies, are well-compensated because they perform needed services that only the highly-skilled are capable of providing. That being said, the particular nature of the skills needed in court reporting means that aspiring professionals can complete the necessary training in a short amount of time, usually one or two years in an Associate’s degree program at hundreds of colleges and universities around the country. Moreover, pay rates should only increase, as stellar growth is expected in the field over the next decade.
IT
1. Computer Game Design – Median Annual Salary: $69,620
Consider this fact for a second: in 2008, more video games were sold than DVDs. Last time I checked, people in Hollywood were making pretty good salaries. Where do you think all that money in the video game world is headed? Now, of course, if you go into game programming you probably won’t out-earn Brad Pitt next year, you won’t have to look like him either. You won’t even have to spend years and years honing your craft. All you have to do is get back to school for a couple years and your ready to hit the job market.
2. Project Manager – Median Annual Salary $112,210
Project managers fill an important and in-demand role in the IT world. Project managers are responsible for managing many aspects of a firm’s IT systems. Serving as quarterbacks for complex organizational operations, they coordinate between different departments, partners, and outside firms on projects that involve the various aspects of a companies’ IT infrastructure. These positions are extremely well-compensated, and while they do require a significant degree of education-increasingly a specialized kind of MBA degree-they are still a very strong value for money.
Business
1. Accountant – Median Annual Salary: $59,430
Even in a tough economy, accountants are irreplaceable. Because accountants need only hold a Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent preparatory coursework in order to sit for the CPA exam, this profession represents an excellent opportunity to make good money with a reasonable amount of educational preparation. Furthermore, accountants are in a prime position for advancement, as they are often found among the very nuts and bolts of business enterprises.
2. Claims Adjuster – Median Annual Salary: $55,760
If you had time (or money) to go Harvard and get a rocket science degree, maybe you would. But we can’t all be rocket scientists, and people with less time and money to spend on education deserve a good-paying job, too. Claims Adjusters work for insurance companies, helping to determine the amount that should be paid out on insurance claims. Because the job requires a variety of duties-investigations, interviews, cost assessments, meetings with lawyers, and the composition of detailed reports among them-there is no specific educational or training trajectory for claims adjusters. Many have college degrees; some do not. However, degrees, or even coursework in insurance-related subjects-from automotive technology to accounting to healthcare-can give prospective claims adjusters a leg up in the job market.
3. Health Services Manager – Median Annual Salary:$80,240
Healthcare is booming, and like it or not, healthcare is a business. A business that people are making a lot of money in. Businesses need managers, and in the healthcare world, health services managers manage the way healthcare facilities deal with the myriad tasks and responsibilities that come with the modern-day medical world. Master’s degrees in health services administration (which are widely available at colleges and universities around the country and online) are fairly common among health services managers, but many smaller offices will also hire candidates holding Bachelor’s degrees. Job security, room for advancement, and growth potential are further incentives to look into health administration as a career.
Psychology
1. Industrial-Organizational Psychologist – Median Annual Salary: $77,010
Requiring just a two-year Master’s degree to get started, this career is perhaps the best deal of all the careers on this list. Working to ensure quality of life and increase productivity at workplaces of many different kinds, industrial and organizational psychologists have a chance to participate in some of the most important decisions businesses make-many play an important role in hiring and training as well. Most importantly, of course, industrial-organizational psychologists perform their duties in the knowledge that they receive very competitive compensation in today’s difficult economic landscape.
2. Educational/Counseling Psychologist – Median Annual Salary: $64,140
Although educational psychologists don’t earn quite as much money as their counterparts in the industrial-organizational psychology world, and though they must also complete a slightly longer educational program, work in this field is nevertheless fairly lucrative. Educational psychologists must complete a three-year course of graduate study in order to receive their Ed.S. degree. These professionals play a vital role in the most important part of young lives, helping to create a better learning environment and addressing behavioral problems as they emerge. Furthermore, they enjoy the benefits of a career in primary and secondary education: good working hours, steady advancement, and excellent job security.
Sources: salary.com/salarywizard; bls.gov; telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologyreviews/videogamereviewsandpreviews
