Deciding what technical career path you will follow is one of the hardest questions you will eventually face in life. For this exact reason you will find so many students in college with no direction. Most students enter into college and simply take the basic courses for the first couple of years, thinking that they will eventually decide what career they will chose. While this is not all bad, it is not a good either. Entering into college with at least some direction can save you both time and money.
What are some key questions you should ask yourself before choosing a career?
- What do I expect from my career?
- Will the career path I chose fulfill my needs both materially and mentally?
- What is the current and expected job demand for a particular career?
- How much schooling is required?
- Will I have to leave home or my home town to receive the required education I need?
- Will this career force me to travel often, and if so will this pose a family problem?
These are just some of the questions you should ponder over before ever deciding not only on a career, but before attending school. Knowing the direction you want your education to take you can cut down significantly on the amount of time you spend in school learning the skills or education you need. With a technical career, vocational and trade schools can launch you quickly from school, straight into the job you are looking for. They are able to do this because they have career minded programs that teach you what you need to know and not much of anything else. In most cases, this cuts out the basic courses you may have to take in a traditional college or university.
Career minded technical schools, often times, offer job placement programs as well. Many times trade schools have close ties with the community in which they are located and if they cannot get you a job directly, many times they offer many connections to the industry that you may not be able to make easily on your own. These connections many times lead to jobs in the future.
Here at the IT Career Hub we are dedicated to showing you many of the basics behind many technical or trade careers. We will touch base on many different trade school careers, such as auto mechanics and the schools that offer the courses need to succeed. The same will be done with technical careers such as that of an x ray technician, medical billing, laboratory tech, respiratory therapy, nursing, sonography and many other medical technical careers. We will touch on the schooling required, the job demand, job descriptions and annual salaries. We hope we can take some of the guess work out of choosing a life long career, and can help you to find a school that will get you were you want to go.
There is no doubt that finance and accounts are the two ‘structures’ that completes an organization. Handling these fields is indeed a tough job for anyone. The person who handles and manages the investments that a company makes is whom we call a financial analyst. Due to the rise of globalization, business units have more investment opportunities today than before. Since markets are increasingly expanding, investors and corporate firms are encouraged to put money in different countries to broaden their business empire. But they need the help of an expert to analyze and identify the areas where profit and success is possible.
This is where a financial analyst comes in. The scope of responsibility of this business professional includes financial planning for departments such as sales, marketing, purchase, production and a lot more. It is also their task to make reports about several investment strategies and analyze the business market. A financial analyst makes use of statistical software to study the trends and come up with an efficient investment plan. Senior financial analyst’s are required to have a masters degree in subjects related to finance and accounting. Online MBA programs are readily available. They should be proficient in commerce, business administration and statistics. Junior financial analysts, on the other hand, must also have degrees in similar subjects.
Just like any other career, the salary of a financial analyst is determined by several factors. Although it can be guaranteed that this job is a high-paying one, the wage will depend on the work experience and skill of an individual. Here are the following average salaries of financial analysts according to their work experience. Those who have been employed for less than a year get a pay cheque of $41,000 to $56,000 a year. Individuals who have worked for a year to four years are being paid a wage of $46,000 to $61,000 while those who have work experience for five to nine years receive $50,000 to $70,000. Financial analysts who have been in the industry for ten to twenty years have a high yearly salary that ranges from $51,000 to $73,000.
Senior financial analysts are the ones who enjoy a big and fat pay cheque because they have been in the industry for quite some time. Twenty years of work experience is not easy to achieve. After all, this is not a job for just about anyone. The wage of someone who has this job title also depends on the health of the economy. If the economy is doing good, then there will be no problems about the salary and vice versa. It also follows that when the economy is high, more businesses are likely to hire financial analysts to make wise financial investments. The employment demand will lower down if the economy is not going through such a healthy phase. This is a very competitive industry and only the skilled ones get to keep their jobs when the economy is at stake. In other words, more exposure and knowledge will help a financial analyst keep a steady career path in this field.
Registered Nurses have long enjoyed the attention as the main caregivers in the hospital setting. Due to the increasing number of the population, the need for nurses seems all the more great. More population means more work and responsibilities for nurses, which means the demand for the care they provide must be specific and precise. Their job description used to be simple: care for patients while providing education on prevention and promotion of health. Now nurses need to monitor their patients and manage all the people that work under their supervision- licensed practical nurses and nursing aides included.
As a registered nurse, you are expected to promote and maintain the overall well being of your clients and patients. You need to be someone that they can count on when they want to talk to someone. As you will be dealing with a lot of different types of personalities- psychiatric personalities included- you must be a really good communicator to effectively deliver your brand of care to the people that need it the most.
The nursing profession is still in high demand. You can work in a variety of settings as a nurse. Nurses are not limited to giving medications and performing paperwork. They can become educators who can teach the public about various health issues or become owners of various health institutions. Some nurses work in specialty areas in companies and hospitals. They may be allowed to perform treatments along with the doctors and even perform diagnostic exams without the assistance of physicians.
The type of educations you are planning to obtain is important. In the real world, experience and education count for higher salaries and benefits. As a high school graduate with a diploma, you will be able to enroll in community schools that offer nursing programs. If you want to work as soon as possible, earning an associates degree in nursing will get you there faster. An associates degree in nursing takes about two years to obtain. A bachelor of science in nursing degree takes four years to complete, but the benefits and salary of a BSN title holder is a lot better. As a BSN title holder, you will be able to reach higher levels of management in the hospital setting. You can continue your education in nursing by earning a master’s degree and then a PhD. Whatever path you choose earns you a nursing title, however if you want to work, you must be a registered nurse.
In order to become a registered nurse, you will have to take the nursing licensee exam (NCLEX). Different states have different work requirements for nurses so check out you local nursing board for more information. The NCLEX is a computer adaptive test administered to nursing hopeful and contains 75-265 questions. The minimum number of questions is given to those who show the computer that their basic knowledge and skill as a nurse is exemplary. It doesn’t matter for those who are asked more than 75 questions because at that point, the computer is still trying to gauge the examinees competency level. Other states require you to pass their state licensee exam in addition to the NCLEX.
