Are you interested in nursing?  Have you always wondered if you should become an RN?  Registered nurses make up a significant portion of the health care industry.   There is a high-demand for their knowledge and skills after students graduate and earn their certification. Students can take either the associate or bachelor degree path to complete their nursing education. Whether you choose the associate or bachelor program, make sure the institution of your choice also prepares you for the NCLEX-RN, the required licensing exam.

Depending on the institution, your program may include the following courses:

• Patient Care and Communication
• Nursing Foundation
• Cardiopulmonary and Electrocardiography
• Laboratory Procedures
• Nursing Practicum
• Medical Law, Ethics, and Psychology

Learn more about becoming a LPN today.

If you have always been interested in clothes and fashion, then a degree in fashion merchandising is for you.  Fashion merchandising programs can develop and hone your fashion sketching skills, develop an understanding of international business, or predict the evolution of fashion trends.   Often programs include merchandising internships where you can learn even more about design fundamentals, buying, fashion media, and a variety of technologies and software applications.

Potential positions after graduation:

• Fashion Merchandiser
• Retail Management
• Boutique or Store Owner
• Visual Merchandiser
• Assistant Buyer

Learn more about the top fashion merchandising programs today.

Do you have a passion for movies and movie making?  Do you want to make your own movies.  Online film schools provide students with an incomparable and unmatched film education. Students have the opportunity to learn the skills and knowledge they need and showcase their creative talents throughout the film program.

Potential positions after graduation:

• Assistant Studio Manager
• Screenwriter
• Director
• Producer
• Camera Operator

Learn more about online film programs.

Are you interested in restaurant and hotel management and operations?  If so a hospitality management program is a great way to get your career started. A comprehensive hospitality management education is for students like you who are pursuing the business or management path within the hospitality industry. Through a strategically tailored and enriched curriculum based on years of research and experience, both the undergraduate and graduate hospitality management programs will provide entrepreneurial and executive talents with the knowledge and skills they need for their future success.  Programs include:

Bachelor of Business – International Hotel Management
Bachelor of Business – International Restaurant Management
Master of International Hotel Management
Master of Business Administration – International Hotel and Restaurant Management

Learn more about the top hospitality management programs today.

Do you love video games?  Do you want to create the next popular video game? Are you interested in turning that passion into a career? A career in video game development could be for you.  Don’t think that this program is all about producing the best video games. It is so much more than that. Even though game design education in this program include environment and 3D modeling, scripting, multi-player interactivity, texturing, and other aspects of design, your talents will still be in huge demand beyond the gaming industry. With the technical skills you acquire from this program, you can create interactive media applications, virtual learning tools or virtual simulation models for a variety of businesses online and offline, including education entertainment and military game simulation.

• Game Production – Bachelor of Fine Arts

Potential positions after graduation:

• Video Game Design
• Interactive Media
• Education
• Military Game Simulation
• Entertainment
• Casino Gaming
• Sales

Learn more about gaming development today.

Are you interesting in starting  a career in nursing, but are unsure where to begin.  Consider becoming a licensed practical nurse or LPN.  Training to become licensed practical nurses (or licensed vocational nurses) are typically 1 year programs that teach nursing students proper bedside care techniques for sick, injured, recovering, and disabled patients. When you are searching for a LPN or LVN program, look for schools that will prepare you for the NCLEX-PN exam, which is the licensing exam LPNs or LVNs are required to pass before they are able to practice.

Job opportunities are abundant and include positions in hospitals, hospices, and certain doctors offices.

Learn more about nursing degrees and programs and becoming an LPN.

The shining stars of the Midwest region are Chicago, Detroit, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.   Manufacturing and food processing figure prominently in the region’s economy. Chicago adds diversity to the career mix, with strong opportunity in the financial sector, and global transportation.  Some of the top careers and jobs available in the Midwest are:

• Accounting: Chicago is an accountancy center, and demand runs high for accountants trained in new, post-Sarbanes Oxley regulations.
• Advertising Executive: The North’s consumer goods industry creates strong regional demand for product marketing and advertising. Creative types can also find a profitable niche in advertising by pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communications or design.

Learn more about the programs available to begin a career in accounting, adversting and marketing.

If you haven’t heard of the “New South,” you may not know the extent of your career prospects in this part of the country.   Atlanta, Miami, Houston, and Dallas are putting the region on the map of international commerce. Houston and Atlanta are second only to New York City in the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered there.  Some of the careers and jobs that are hot in the south right now are:

• Biomedical Researcher: Ranked among the nation’s fastest-growing careers, biomedical engineering has a bright future. That future is especially bright in Houston, home to two major medical research centers, a Human Genome Sequencing Center which has over $3.5 billion in research grants. A bachelor’s degree is sufficient for some positions, but a master’s or Ph.D. in bioengineering or a related field is standard for research positions.
• Telecommunications Specialist: It’s an exciting time for telecommunications specialists, who design voice and data communication systems. Atlanta, home to telecom giants Cingular Wireless and BellSouth, is a hot spot for telecommunications specialists. Designers will need an engineering degree, but system installers need only complete a certificate training program.

Learn more about the education programs available to get you started in research and telecommunications.

Do you live in the west?  Are you looking to take advantage of the hot jobs and career paths?  Well, California and the Pacific Northwest are home to career hot spots Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and Seattle.   California anchors the region’s economy, with a Gross State Product of $1.62 trillion. The high tech and media entertainment industries drive this productivity.  Some of the hot jobs and hot employers are:

• Computer Software Developer: Adobe, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, Microsoft… this is just a sampling of industry leaders soliciting talent in Silicon Valley and Seattle. A bachelor degree in computer science or programming is all you need to get started.
• Nurse: California is facing the nation’s most severe shortage of nurses–and offering the nation’s highest salaries to attract and retain qualified medical personnel. Nurses qualify for the NCLEX licensing exam with either an associate degree, a nursing diploma, or a bachelor degree in Nursing (BSN).

Learn more about nursing education and programs available and/or learn more about technical educations available.

As the crunch deepens, businesses will be looking for consultants in IT management and support to help streamline services, hold the bottom line, and bolster operating efficiency.   Currently, 90 percent of all IT employees are employed by non-technology businesses and organizations.  Globalization increases the need for engineers and researchers with career expertise–as well as an ongoing need for entry-level support staff.  Some positions and careers to consider are:

Computer Support Specialists

• Requires an associate’s or bachelor’s degree
• Expect increases to reach 18 percent over the decade despite outsourcing
• Graduates with career training in technical support, customer service, and certifications will move to the front of the hiring line.

Computer Software Engineers, Applications

• Requires a bachelor’s degree– You’ll need a bachelor’s degree in computer science or programming to compete, and a post-graduate degree and additional certifications to rise in the field.
• This is where the jobs are, according to the BLS. The BLS is predicting a 38 percent increase in overall hiring through 2016, generating 324,000 new openings.

Computer and Information Scientists, Research

• Requires a doctorate
• There’s room (and security) at the top. Jobs for computer scientists and database administrators are predicted to grow by 37 percent during the 2006-2016 decade. Many advanced IT managers and project leaders choose to escape private companies for the relative security of college and university research labs that offer tenure.

Learn more about colleges and universities that offer technical and IT related programs, degrees and courses.