The time is NOW to invest in yourself

Do you want to make six figures with just an associates degree? While it may seem hard to believe, there are many jobs out there that will allow you to make very good money without a four year college degree (I know, I know it sounds too good to be true). I am going to give you a list of the top jobs in a variety of fields that will allow you to make well above the national average. As I discussed in my previous post, a four year degree doesn't always equate to job security or good pay in today's economy. That being said, it doesn't matter if you are fresh out of high school (thinking to yourself, I'm not sure about this whole being an adult thing) and trying to decide what's next or maybe you have been laid off from your job and can't find work (I knew I should have followed my dreams of becoming a rock star). Maybe you're just plain tired of being sick and tired of your current dead end job and in need of a change. No matter what your situation, I am going to present some options for you to consider.

We are going to start with the highest paying jobs and work our way down from there. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS, the number one paying job that only requires an associates degree is Air traffic controller. What does an air traffic controller do you might ask yourself? They are those guys that sit in that little tower, that nobody ever sees, and "clear us for takeoff". While this is a gross under representation, it is one small part of what they (and potentially you) do. Though it only requires an Associates degree, there is extensive on the job training which is provided after you're hired. Now many of you are probably thinking this is not a very glamorous job and seems kind of boring but I can give you 108,000 reasons why you should consider doing it. That's correct the median (definition) salary for this job is over $108,000 a year with no bachelors degree required. The second job is a general and operations manager paying $94,000. This position essentially involves supervising the day to day operations of a given field and can be performed with a minimum of one year of experience. This means that while you may not be an expert in a given field but you have a year or more of experience, then you could qualify for this position. This is not limited to a specific industry and in many cases, if you stick to the same job for a period of years you can work your way up within the company. The third job paying just under 100k is a construction manager position. Again this position doesn't require a degree and it only requires 5+ years of experience and has a median salary of 83 thousand a year. While construction in general may have taken a sharp downturn in recent years do to the economy, there are many states that have booming construction industry. In fact, according the Dept of Labor construction industry is expected to grow 24% by the year 2020. 

The next industry I would like to mention is that of the oil field. The introduction of modern technology to the oil collection industry has been something of a gold rush in states. There has been 10's of thousands of people that have been made wealthy by the discovery of oil on their lands but the are not the only ones that benefit. Towns in Texas and North Dakota have been a discovery of oil or natural gas. The unemployment is hovering around 2%. These jobs in many cases are not low paying but require getting a license. Take for example a truck driver, this job pays very well with people making upwards of $2500 a week. The course to get you CDL is not extensive in most states, and with that and a hazmat certification, you can be on your way to getting your piece of the pie. Assuming you don't have any desire to be behind the wheel for the majority of your day and you're not scared to get a little dirty, then you can easily become a rig worker. While it is not glamorous and physically demanding, it will easily allow you to make $80,000 a year. This particular job requires little or no experience and most places will take you with nothing more than a GED or High school diploma. The likelihood is that the industry will continue to grow at a rate faster than they can find people to fill the positions; the time to get in is now! With the advancement of the industry and the expansion of territory that is being drilled, there will be many opportunities for people to work their way up the ladder. 

If you invest in yourself and actively peruse marketable skills that make you more valuable to potential employers, there is no limit to what you can do. While school is great, it's also not for everyone. Plus, school is not cheap and it doesn't always help you get ahead. With things like: the rising of unemployment in the country, the ever increasing national as well as household debt and the cost of a four year degree at an all time high, there has never been a better time to invest in yourself!

Is college really necessary in todays world?

In a day and age when many people accumulate tens of thousands of dollars in student loans to finish a degree, I would like to review three questions that I have struggled with in the past and I'm sure many people struggle with on a regular basis. Those questions are: have the days of a degree getting you a specific job in the work force passed, what are the most sought after degrees by employers, and lastly what alternatives are there aside from going the traditional route of 4 years at a school?

The first question I am going to address is that of getting ahead with a degree versus without a degree. For most people that are finishing high school and searching for "what's next" college is the logical choice, or is it? According to the NY times poll, 40% of College grads are unemployed. While this may seem like a staggering number of people that have finished their degree and are unable to find a job in their field, you have to consider that many degrees do not get you any real marketable skills. Take a BA in psychology for example, while this may be a very interesting subject to study there is almost no psychology jobs that you can get with a psychology degree. One may question this but I have my BA in psychology and there are nearly no jobs that I have been able to find that don't require me to get a masters or higher degree. Other such Bachelor degrees would be Humanities, Social Sciences or a Music degree. All of the afore mentioned degrees are likely to leave you searching for a job without success, working in a job that doesn't require a 4 year degree or going back to school to get an advanced degree. So while this may seem discouraging to many, it is not the end of the story and there is still hope for a bright and vibrant career.

On to our second question, what are some of the top  degrees that are offered? Many of you could probably guess the answer to this question with some accuracy, however there are some degrees that would surprise you. The top degree according to Yahoo education is a degree in elementary education,  followed by Nursing and health care Administration to round out the top three. What may or may not be surprising is the fact that two out of the top degrees are related to health care. The reality is that we will all grow old eventually and there are few of us that don't need an occasional visit to the doctor or ER. This goes back to the age old supply and demand, as long as there are hospitals and people that get old, sick or injured there is going to be jobs for the health care administrators and Rn's of the world. By the same token as long as there are school aged children then there is going to be a demand for school teachers. Being married to a teacher I can tell you that it is a very rewarding career and presents you with an opportunity to make a real difference in the life of a group of children. On the flip side here are the top three degrees least likely to land you a job: Architecture, Fine Arts and Philosophy. All in which are the top three jobs with the highest unemployment rates. While these are all jobs that may appeal to you, there is not much demand in the employment sector for people with these particular degrees. So the truth is whatever your degree choice is in, the likelihood of finding employment in that field is going to vary with the increasing or decreasing demand of times. For the complete lists see the following link  Least valuable college degrees.

The final question we will touch on is the alternatives to the traditional classroom based classes. The truth is that with the age of the Internet there has been an explosion of new schools that got their start doing strictly online classes. This provided a new level of flexibility to people because you can attend classes from the comfort of your own home. Surprisingly the cost of tuition for many of these online schools isn't much less expensive than going to a state school with a more recognizable name. Assuming it is your desire to get a 4 year degree without spending tens of thousands of dollars, and a minimum of 4 years to do so, there are 3 alternatives we will discuss that can get you many of the same credits for pennies on the dollars compared to attending a class. The best part is that all of these methods are accredited by the American Counsel on Education  and therefore will be accepted at most accredited universities. The First credit gaining alternative is College Level Examination Program (CLEP), CLEP allows you to test out of any or all of 33 different classes . You can receive anywhere from 3 to 12 credits just for passing a single exam. These credits are both upper and lower level credits which can be transferred to any one of over 2900 colleges and universities. The  price is per exam not per credit like normal classes and the  cost for testing is $80 regardless of the credit amount. Testing locations  can be found on the CLEP Website. The second alternative that is very similar to CLEP testing is DSST (formerly Dante's). Like the CLEP there are 30+ DSST exams, costing $80 a piece that are accredited and accepted at over 1900 colleges and universities. The complete List of exams as well as Testing locations can be found at The DSST website. The final alternative is a web based system called ALEKS. ALEKS is a web based system that offers a multitude of upper and lower level classes that can be done at your own pace. The average time to complete a class is six weeks and the learning is done all on your time with no deadlines or schedules. Perhaps the most enticing feature of ALEKS is that you can join for $20 a month and this fee includes all your course materials and allows you to take as many classes as you want for the same flat monthly rate.

In closing, regardless of your degree choice there are many quicker and cheaper alternatives out there that will save you thousands of dollars and months of time. While it is surely possible to find a job in any field if you look hard enough and have the right qualifications, it would seem to make the most sense to set yourself up for the best chance of success by finding a degree that will allow you to do what you went to school for. In any case whatever you decide, who doesn't like saving time and money? If for no other reason than to get you working quicker. In a future blog I will lay out how I personally used the methods I have talked about here to gain well over 60 credits that all transferred to my degree at a brick and mortar school.

Don't waste time, complete your degree without taking a class.

If you read my previous post you have probably heard of CLEP, DSST and ALEKS. If you haven't read my previous post "stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200 go straight back to my first post in this blog. OK I'm assuming now that if your still reading we are on the same page.

Until about 4 years ago I had never heard of CLEP, DSST or any other alternative credit gaining method. The beauty of these alternative testing  methods is that for CLEP/ DSST all you need to pass almost every exam is a score of 50%.  Yes, you read that correctly you can pass and get real college credit for a score of 50%. Where else in the world can you go spend 90 min and get the same credit as if you sat through 90 days of classes. I have personally taken and passed over 20 different exams, all on the first try.

There are 33 different exams that CLEP offers in 5 different categories. Each exam has a time limit of 90 min and covers an average of 90 question. With the exception of English (college composition) all exams are strictly five multiple choice answers per question. The exams are designed to cover all the material you would typically see in your first 2 years of college. The categories are: Business, composition/literature, foreign languages, history/social sciences, and sciences/mathematics. The complete list with the credit awarded for each exam can be found at CLEP exam list. Two important facts that you should know if you are thinking about taking a CLEP or DSST. Firstly, all exams are free for military personal and their families, this applies to all education centers on military instillation a as well as approved civilian testing centers. The military (regardless of branch will pay for your first attempt at either a CLEP or DSST , this does not mean only one exam, they will pay for as many exams as you want to take but only the first attempt, so if you fail and wish to take it again you have to pay out of pocket. Secondly there is a multitude of material out there that is designed specifically for people trying to pass one of these exams. Just to name a few things, there are study guides for each individual test, I personally used the REA study guides and had great success with them. There are also exam guides put out by Peterson's , Owl publishing and a general guide that covers all 33 exams which is put out by the test makers. All these books generally come with an exam description, study material and practice tests. The study guides can be ordered from the publisher directly but my advise would be going through Amazon or another third party site. 

As for the DSST exams there are 30+ DSST exams of which 12 are upper level, meaning they will satisfy part of your 300-400 level classes should you decide to pursue a Bachelors degree in the future. My personal preference is to take the DSST exam over the CLEP exams. There are several reasons for that, the three biggest reasons are: there are only 4 multiple choice questions instead of 5, many of the exams are upper level which means they can apply to a Bachelors degree and you get a full 120 min which gives you an extra 30 min per test over the CLEP. In all other aspects DSST exams are very similar to the previously described CLEP exams. They are also funded by the military and can be taken for free. Almost all places that offer CLEP also offer DSST testing and 90% of testing locations are Internet based so you get your results instantly. As for study guides they are out there, but depending on the subject you may or may not have many options. The official partners for DSST exams is  Peterson's and they offer many resources that are tailored to the tests. 

If you are ready to take the leap and want to take your first exam there are a couple things you should do before you do. The first thing to do confirm with your school that they accept the credit for the exams. A complete list of schools can be found on the searchable lists of the Respective websites. Assuming your school accepts it you would secondly need to find a testing location and schedule the exam you want to take. I say schedule as the second step because you need to give yourself a deadline to meet. This will help keep you focused and on track with the next step, which is studying. Studying time needed will vary based off exam and person but on average 3-4 weeks should be plenty to learn enough information to pass. Lastly, realize you got this and that your taking the first step towards saving yourself lots of time and money. 

So in closing, while this method of gaining credit is not for everyone it is certainly for some. If you have the ability to dedicate an hour a night, give days a week, to studying then you should be able to pass a class a month without any problem. So check with your schools,  consult your degree programs and go get that 50%. 

Debt and living free in the Millennial Generation!

Almost everyone in my generation (millennial) has or has had some amount of debt and may even consider it a way of life. If you are comfortable with your debt and don't care to see it gone then this post is not for you. If however you are looking to buy a house, be a stay at home mom or are just tired of making other people rich off the fees and interest you are paying every month then this post is for you. There are two major sources of long term debt that most households have. The first type of debt is also the highest interest and most dangerous, if you guessed credit card you are correct. The average household has roughly $16,000 worth of credit card debt with interest rates ranging from 10-30%. The second common debt is student loans coming in at $33,000 a household.

• The credit card is in my opinion the most dangerous and difficult to get rid of since it is revolving debt with high interest and many steep fees. This is a bit like a merry go round in the sense that if you don't get off the ride you will keep going in circles. My advise would be to cut the card up and don’t look back. It may well be painful however stay on the merry go round long enough and your likely to get sick. 

• Someone once told me “you can't get an education without student loans”. This is not at all true, you can get a 4 year degree and walk away with no student loans (see my other blog on the subject). I wish I had known how many alternatives there are out there when I first started school, it would literally have saved me thousands of dollars. Student loan debt as a country is currently (Aug 2015) at 1.2 Trillion dollars. How in the world does it cost in excess of the entire GDP of the country of Mexico to educate students? This number should shock you, if it doesn't then you should stop reading right now. You have options when it comes to student loan debt, you can defer the payments, get an income based repayment plan or consolidate them into one payments. None of these are particularly good options since you will still be paying interest on all of them. My advise would be to finish paying off your credit cards and then start paying down your student loans as quickly as you can. 

The bottom line is that your debt is just that YOURS. It doesn't hurt anyone but you and it's not going anywhere until you decide to get rid of it. It is a sacrifice to get out of debt, it will likely hurt at times but it's doable and the rewards are great. If I could go back and do it over I would never have borrowed a penny for school, credit cards or anything else. I can't go back but I can sure as heck change my legacy going forward. If you want to change yours I am happy to help in anyway I can, give me a call or shoot me an email and I can turn you onto some great resources.