Financial Planning

The need for financial planning, while always important, has grown tremendously over the past several years, particularly with the baby boomers’ threat to current savings practices. With this need comes the demand for those who have training in financial planning.

It is the job of financial planners and analysts help guide individuals and businesses when they need to make investment choices. Both analysts and planners conduct financial research, which is used to provide investment recommendations to their clients; however, they differ in the type of clientele they have and the information they provide.

Financial analysts evaluate the economic outlook of a variety of industries in which businesses may be interested in investing. Personal planners advise their individual clients, focusing on a broad range of personal investment areas, like helping with major life milestone goals – their child’s college tuition, retirement, etc.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classified 176,000 employees as personal financial planners in 2006; this figure is expected to rise for two reasons: 1) demand is increasing and 2) it has become increasingly easier for individuals to gain the knowledge they need through online education.

Earning a certificate in financial planning online can be much more manageable than having to attend an on-campus university. You can learn statistics, investment, accounting, savings, and basic economics all from home. Over the last few years, banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies have broadened their services to include investment advice; banks that have become involved in brokerage and investment activities need qualified financial advisers to support their new clientele.

According to the BLS, the demand for personal financial planners in the next decade is likely to be above the average of all other occupations. As the population ages and people begin to plan for retirement, the increase in 401(K) investments and other individually managed retirement accounts will presumably persist.

Roughly four out of 10 financial planners are self-employed according to the Department of Labor. While certificate programs cannot guarantee specific salary figures, the median income for personal financial advisors in 2007 was approximately $68,000.

If you considering earning a degree in criminal justice, you may be interested in knowing there are myriad career opportunities in this field. Some of the jobs available are in the following areas:

Federal Law

• Immigration and Naturalization Service
• Food and Drug Administration
• Office of the Inspector General
• Department of Defense
• Department of Homeland Security
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Department of Transportation
• Veterans Affairs
• Customs Agency
• Federal Trade Commission

State Law

• Narcotics Bureaus
• Liquor Control Boards
• State Crime Commissions
• Crime labs
• The Court System
• Attorney General Offices
• State Police

Local Law

• Park police
• County police
• Juvenile Justice Centers
• Sheriff Department

Private Sector Law

• Insurance companies
• Private detective firms
• Safety officers
• Security patrol officers

Education

The level of education you need will depend on your career goals; you can pursue a certificate, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree. You can easily earn your degree in this field online to help you balance work, family, and education. If you aspire to work in an upper level career, such as a forensic scientist, you can obtain an advanced degree as well.

Certificate: a certificate will provide the training you need to be a crime scene technician or to obtain a position in another specialized field of criminal justice. If you have a job in a different field, a certificate can help you develop specific skills to help you make a successful career change.

Associate’s Degree: an associate’s degree takes approximately two years to complete and will give you the fundamental skills you need for a criminal justice career while also providing you a basic education in liberal arts and sciences. You will likely receive the technical skills necessary for getting a job in state or local law enforcement; employers will typically find you more appealing if you hold an associate’s degree as your credits will be transferable to a bachelor’s degree.

Bachelor’s Degree: a bachelor’s degree will provide you the in-depth training you need to find an entry-level position at the federal level. You will also be more likely to be promoted into higher positions with a bachelor’s degree, thereby expanding your career opportunities.

Specialty Options

A few of the specialty options you have available to you when you work toward your criminal justice degree are:

Criminal Justice: programs in this area will focus on crime, justice, and the legal system. You will take classes in legal studies and political science, as well as important communication skills that will help you excel in the criminal justice field.

Crime Scene Technologists: you will become skilled in analyzing and preserving crime scenes by learning proper techniques for evidence recovery, and collection and storage procedures. Programs also teach effective communications for use in presenting findings in court.

Terrorism/Security Management: earning this certification is useful to those who are already working in the field of criminal justice or to those who would like to begin a new career after having been in an unrelated field. Career opportunities continue to grow in the area of terrorism, so students in this specialty will learn modern techniques for dealing with terrorists as well as how to analyze response plans and security proposals.

If you find the field of medicine intriguing and desire a career in this lucrative area, you might want to consider a job as a diagnostic imaging technologist. Imaging techs, better known as sonographers, help doctors and nurses do non-invasive forms of imaging to study patients’ internal organs. One of the most well known types is, of course, the x-ray. In many instances, though, the radiation can be harmful to patients, so doctors desire other ways to examine for disease or injury. Sonography is one of the ways to do these internal examinations, because it uses sound waves to create images, it is not as harmful as an x-ray could be.

As a diagnostic medical sonographer, you will utilize special equipment to send the sound waves into patients’ bodies; these waves then create reflected echoes, which are sent to the equipment to form images of the internal organs.

Job:

You will be responsible for explaining the procedures to the patients as well as recording their medical histories. You spread a gel onto the patients’ skin to aid the transmission of the sound waves using a “transducer” (a machine that transmits sound waves). You will then closely examine the images to identify any areas that could be unhealthy. You must then analyze them and present them to the patients’ doctors along with your initial findings.

Many sonographers work in obstetrics and gynecology using ultrasound to check female organs and fetal growth. There are other purposes for sonography, however, including:

• Abdominal sonography (liver, kidneys and other abdominal organs)
• Breast sonography (breast cancer and other problems)
• Cardiac sonography (heart)
• Neurosonography (brain and nervous system)

Salary:

Most sonographers in the U.S. make an annual salary of between $53,000 and $74,000. As an entry level sonographer you could expect to make approximately $43,000; you will earn more when you have gained more experience.

Education:

You can acquire your training at a hospital, vocational school, or the armed forces. You may also consider pursuing your associate’s or bachelor’s degree in sonography as well. You do not need to be licensed in the field of sonography, but the higher your level of education, the more money you can expect to make.

You will likely take courses in the following areas:

• anatomy
• instrumentation
• medical ethics
• patient care
• physics
• physiology

Associations:

• American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
• American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
• American Society of Echocardiography
• Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
• Society for Vascular Ultrasound

Do you have a fondness for hair, makeup, and nails? Are you a natural born leader? Do you enjoy working with the public? A career as a hair salon manager be just the career for you. Hair salon managers are not required to be licensed, but a familiarity with the industry will take you a long way toward becoming successful. Additionally, this knowledge will help you identify with your employees.

As is typical for most all management positions, to become a salon manager, you will likely need to work your up within the industry. Holding a management position in another field may also prepare you to become a salon manager as your duties will be similar; these will include overseeing the staff and the business functions of the salon.

Job:

As a beauty salon manager, you will control most of the aspects of the salon. Your duties will most likely include:

• Health and safety compliance – ensuring compliance with local working regulations.
• Managing cash – managing your salon’s cash flow, depositing checks and reconciling credit card reports.
• Scheduling – weekly/biweekly scheduling of your stylists, apprentices, and receptionists.
• Selling merchandise – you may work on a commission as an incentive to sell products like shampoos, deep conditioners, straightening gel, etc.
• Supervising – hiring, training, and supervising your salon’s staff.

Salary:

You salary will vary depending on where your salon is located and its size. In addition, you may make commissions on the products you sell or bonuses for the appointments you are able to book. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics places the annual salary of a salon manager at $30,000 to $50,000.

Education:

Again, you don’t need to require a license, nor do you need a formal education, but most of those who work in this industry do have a background in the beauty industry. To work your way up to a managerial position you may want to acquire a job at a salon as a receptionist, an assistant manager, or a salon assistant.

Associations:

• Association of Cosmetology Salon Professionals
• National Cosmetology Association

Being passionate about beauty and design, along with excellent people skills can lead to a position as a makeup artist. As a makeup artist, you won’t just be creating beautifully made up faces, you will be a professional, perhaps running your own business and even having your own line of products.

Job:

Most of the states in the U.S. require you to be licensed in order to become a makeup artist if you also want to style hair, but most makeup artist begin their careers by working in the makeup department of a store, a stand-alone boutique, or for a makeup company. During your job you will become familiar with ways to interact with clients and how to build a clientele.

Your typical day could include much of the following:

• Fashion shoot makeup – providing makeup for an editorial or advertising campaign and working with clients to ensure their aesthetic and brand is represented.
• Scheduling clients – setting up the dates and times of future jobs as well as other types of administrative work.
• Television makeup – you might specialize in visual effects for television and film.
• Wedding makeup – doing makeup for bridal parties. You could make a few hundred dollars in one day by doing this type of artistic makeup application.

Salary:

You will, like with most careers, earn more money as you gain experience and sign more clients. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, you are likely to earn a median hourly wage of approximately $13.

Education:

Even if you are not interested in attending a four-year college or university, it is still essential that you attend a makeup program to gain the knowledge and skills you will need to succeed in this industry. Lengths of these programs vary, but are often just a year long.

By attending a program, you will learn a variety of aspects of the beauty industry including corrective makeup, high fashion makeup, and television makeup. You will probably be able to shadow an already established artist or secure an internship to gain the hands-on experience you need.

Associations:

• Makeup Artist Magazine
• National Association of Screen Makeup Artists and Hairdressers

Without a kidney transplant, dialysis is the only means of eliminating waste, salt and excess fluid from the body of patients whose kidneys are no longer functioning. Patients must usually receive this treatment three times every week. They are reliant on dialysis technicians to help ensure treatment is effective. Dialysis techs monitor patients during routine treatment and operate the machinery involved.

Job:

Working as a dialysis tech, you will make sure everything goes smoothly during a patient’s treatment. After the treatment is completed, you will check his or her vital signs and do a blood test to make sure that all waste was removed successfully. If a patient decides to have their treatment done at home, you will provide training to the patient and his or her family and explain to them when to call for emergency assistance. You will usually work under close supervision of a registered nurse as a dialysis tech.

Your work will be done in a variety of settings – doctors’ offices, clinics, hospitals, and patients’ homes. You will need to be compassionate and have excellent interpersonal skills to do this job, and be able to work with the complex dialysis equipment. Attention to detail and care are also imperative – patients’ lives depend on it.

Salary:

The average dialysis tech earns a salary of about $26,368 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most likely you will earn between $23,221 and $30,918 per year. Once you’ve gained experience and additional training, you might expect to make upwards of $32,000 a year.

Education:

You need only to have a high school diploma to work in this field. You will receive training on the job; as a new tech registered nurses will teach you the techniques of operating a dialysis machine. You may want to go to a training center, vocational school, or community college to attain certification, however, so you can command a higher salary.

Associations:

• Kidney Transplant/Dialysis Association
• National Association for Nephrology Technicians/Technologists
• National Kidney Foundation
• National Renal Administrators Association

If you have excellent leadership and entrepreneurial skills and have a love of cosmetology, you may want to consider owning a hair salon. As a hair salon owner, you can open your shop anywhere in the world. Beauty salon owners do typically have previous experience and are licensed cosmetologists, but it isn’t absolutely necessary to open your own lucrative business.

Job:

As long as you won’t be cutting or coloring hair or performing other such beauty services, you do not need to attend cosmetology school or attain your license.

You will need to check with the county or city in which you’d like to open your shop to get all the business licenses and permits necessary to run a legitimate business.

You might also consider taking classes at a local college in accounting and marketing if you are new to business.

Salary:

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects cosmetology jobs to increase by about 20 percent between 2008 and 2018. You yearly profits my be quite unpredictable and will fluctuate with the economy, however, you can count on your salary being somewhat determined by the following ongoing expenses:

• Power – Blow dryers, flat irons and curling irons operate using electricity. Obviously, the more hair stations you have – and, the more clients – the higher your electricity bill will be.
• Rent – your location will determine what you will need to spend on rent. Salons in cities with foot traffic may have more clientele. However, rent may be higher for salon owners in these areas.
• Supplies – the cost of supplies will affect your salary as well. You’ll need to find the balance between using high-quality hair supplies, and those with a reasonable price.
• Water – washing clients hair will cause your water bill to increase. As you begin to succeed as a beauty salon owner, and you bring in more business.

Education:

Again, you do not have to have a license in cosmetology or attend beauty school to become a successful salon owner, however, knowledge of the industry will increase the likelihood of your business becoming as lucrative as you’d like. It’s a good idea to prepare yourself by working as a salon assistant or receptionist if you don’t plan to attend school. By working in a beauty shop, you will gain the knowledge you will need to run your business should you decide to open your own salon.

Additionally, it’s very helpful to attend business classes at a local college or university, or perhaps attend some seminars at a local cosmetology school.

Associations:

• National Cosmetology Association
• Professional Beauty Association

Becoming a beauty salon assistant is the perfect way to learn all about what it takes to “make it” in the fun, service-oriented business of cosmetology.

Job:

If you are going to cut or color hair, you will need to become licensed as a cosmetologist. As a salon assistant, you will be doing such as the following:

• Greeting clients – checking them in, advising them of their wait, etc.
• Administrative tasks – booking appointments, etc.
• Laundry – washing towels that have been used throughout the day.
• Prepping clients for service – you might be giving them a robe or shampooing the hair.
• Retail and restocking – you may be in charge of ringing up retail sales and restocking the shelves.
• Sweeping and Tidying – you will likely be sweeping the cut hair off the floor after each client, keeping the salon neat, and sterilizing the equipment.

Salary:

Beauty salon assistants are often the most entry-level employee; many offer training programs that may also provide you a minimum hourly wage. Often clients will tip the shampooer, so this will add to your wages.

Education:

Though you needn’t be a licensed cosmetologist to eventually become a salon owner, it is best if you want to truly attain a strong knowledge of the business. The best way to do this would be to attend cosmetology school, however, working in a salon is also a great way to gain experience.

Associations:

• American Association of Cosmetology Schools
• National Association of Screen Makeup Artists and Hairdressers
• National Cosmetology Association.