Biotechnology

Do you have a decidedly scientific mind and the desire to apply that knowledge to practical problems? If so, you’ll likely be very interested in pursuing a career in the field of biotechnology. This field combines science with real-world issues allowing biotechnologists to discover and implement important advances in technology.

Biotechnology is one of the most active in the scientific fields, attracting a fourth of development funding according to the National Science Board. This exciting field combines the study of applied technology and biology to solve the pressing issues of today’s study of science and society. Researchers have developed new vaccines and drugs, better ways of handling hazardous waste as well as disease-resistant crops. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the focus of biotechnological research should continue to drive employment growth and generate an average yearly salary of approximately $66,000 for researchers; income is predicted to grow further with the extent of money being given to biotechnological research.

A degree in biotechnology focuses on practical applications of biotechnological science; biology degrees focus on the science itself. If you study for either, your coursework will likely include:

· Manufacturing practices

· Drug design

· Food biotechnology

· Basic concepts of biotechnology

· Biological computation

Certificate programs in biotechnology are also offered as a broad introduction to the field and will often lead to a position as a research or laboratory technician. Associate’s degrees are more in-depth and have a greater focus on technical skills and research; this degree may lead to a job as a research specialist. Bachelor’s degree programs usually concentrate on one area of biotechnology, while earning your master’s degree will require you to do independent research; this will often lead to doing more advanced research at a PhD level. The further advanced your degree, of course, the higher your salary will likely be.

Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering is the type of engineering in which one is specifically trained in service industry production or manufacturing procedures; industrial engineers, more specifically, investigate ways to integrate materials, machines, people, energy, and information in more efficient and productive ways. Professionals in the field often enroll in college course online at the bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral level for training in systems engineering or operations. Many with experience move into management positions.

As an undergraduate student, you can begin your training through classes in mathematics, physics, chemistry, systems design, statistics, ergonomics, and supply chain management. When studying for a master’s or doctoral degree, you will take more advanced courses in technology, manufacturing, and process analysis.

With its heavy emphasis on business, information technology, and theory, industrial engineering is well suited for online studies, though more hands-on and practical aspects are also essential to learning industrial engineering; it is, therefore, important to include real world experience through internships during and after your online training.

Job opportunities in the field of industrial engineering should grow quite rapidly as service and manufacturing businesses attempt to streamline their processes, cut material and labor costs, and reduce waste. Industrial engineers, therefore, should continue to enjoy remarkable demand as globalization further refines the conduct of modern business.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth in this industry could be as high as 20% from 2006 to 2016 (nearly twice the national average for other fields). The bulk of positions will be in both private and public of transportation, design, and manufacturing. Median annual salaries for industrial engineers were approximately $70,000 in 2006.

Learning is a Lifelong Process

Those interested in pursuing a career as an adult educator usually have education and/or work experience in a particular field. Earning a degree in adult education will build upon that education and/or work experience to qualify them to teach the skills of their profession to others.

Adult educators enable adults to further their educations by offering them the encouragement and knowledge they need to do so. Those who are considering furthering their education by earning a degree in this field should:

• Be able to work with a wide variety of people
• Love to teach
• Have strong interpersonal skills

Courses you will take when studying for a degree in adult education will include adult psychology, program planning and development, and adult growth and development. When you are earning your bachelor’s, you will also take courses in curriculum development, communication, and theories and practices of adult education.

Typically, adult educators will teach in post-secondary schools such as colleges and universities, or vocational schools. To teach in these settings, it is usually necessary to have a college degree along with strong knowledge of the subject you will be teaching.

In addition to teaching at post-secondary schools, you may want to pursue a career as a corporate trainer; many companies have begun to employ corporate trainers to provide professional development programs that encompass a wide array of job-related topics.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, adult educators will earn approximately $42,000 if they teach adult literacy or remedial education. Teaching at a college or university, you may, as an instructor, earn an annual salary of $36,000, depending on the school and location. Professors earn quite a bit more – on average they earn approximately $75,000 annually.

Forensic Science Degree Programs prepare students to become forensic experts and medical professionals who are integral parts of the justice system. Graduates in this field can become doctors, nurses, technicians, or forensic pathologists who will use scientific procedures as well as medical procedures to analyze physical evidence that has been identified as being associated with an investigation of a crime.

As a forensics healthcare professional you will need to have excellent scientific and mathematical knowledge, which is best developed in a program specifically designed to provide you with a degree in forensic medicine.

To determine if this is the right course of study for you, consider the following:

• You should enjoy and be skilled at detailed, complicated scientific procedures with an affinity for math and science. Working toward a forensics medicine degree involves advanced, intense study of chemistry, physics, biology, and math.

• You should possess a strong commitment to contributing toward a safer society.

• Seek the advice of a professional forensics healthcare professional; he or she can offer invaluable advice, ideas, and guidance, as well as tell you what the day-to-day tasks are, the education requirements, and career advancement opportunities. Shadowing (following a professional for a day) is an excellent way to gain this type of exposure.

There are many types of forensic medical careers, most of which combine the field of medicine with the legal pursuit of justice and safety. The following are some of the career choices you can make with this degree:

• Medical Examiner
• Forensic Nurse
• Forensic Physician Assistant
• Forensic Consultant
• Forensic Pathologist
• Crime Lab Director

Forensic Science Associations:

• The American Academy of Forensic Psychology
• American Board of Forensic Anthropology
• National Association of Medical Examiners
• International Association of Forensic Nurses
• American Board of Criminalistics
• American Board of Forensic Toxicology
• American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators

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

If you plan to choose the paralegal field as the direction of your career, you may be wondering how to choose the best online paralegal school.

Employers Prefer Schools Recognized by the Department of Education

If you want it to be widely accepted in the job market, you’ll want to be sure you are getting your online paralegal degree from a school that is recognized by the department of education. The key measure of this recognition is accreditation. The department of education has a list of agencies that are responsible for running the accreditation process for online schools and their degree programs. You can easily view this list of accreditation agencies and their accredited schools at CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation). Go to this site to confirm that the school you are interested in has been accredited by one of these accrediting agencies.

Schools with Paralegal Degrees Should Meet Your Career Goal

The online paralegal degree school you choose should be the one that can provide the program that will best help you meet your career goals. So before you begin your search for the right school, define your career goals and make a list of compulsory courses required to satisfy your goals.

Each online paralegal degree will be different from one another and will likely have specialization in a specific field, so your best online school choice should provide the courses that meet the requirements of your career.

Online School That Has a Good Reputation

Degrees from an online school with a good reputation will tend to be accepted in the job market and more easily favored by employers. Before you enroll in an online paralegal degree program, check the school’s reputation using both online and offline resources.

Summary

Selecting the paralegal field is a great choice and choosing the best online school to pursue your paralegal degree is the most important factor in kick starting your paralegal career smoothly after graduation. Be sure you put in the time and effort to choose the online school that will best fit your career goals.

Obtaining a psychology degree no longer means that career choices are limited to providing therapy services, whether private or public. A psychology degree can also open doors to employment in the fields of social services, health care, and employer/employee assistance, just to name a few.
Depending on the area where someone wishes to practice, it may be necessary to get a specific psychology degree. Some fields require a four-year degree plus a Master’s Degree. Still others require a four-year degree as well as a Master’s, and then completion of a program to earn a Doctorate psychology degree.
Associate’s psychology degrees and Certification program credentials, however, do still allow graduates to work in other fields where psychology is a necessary or integral part of the job. For this reason, students considering a career in the psychology should not be discouraged, but rather look into the requirements needed for the various psychology degrees and choose accordingly.
Students may wish to remember that oftentimes the skills and training acquired through certification programs provide enough knowledge that successful completion of the courses counts as college credit. When this is the case, it is sometimes easy to turn certification programs into Associate psychology degrees.
From there, the credits that were gained through successful completion of courses necessary for earning Associate psychology degrees can be applied toward Bachelor degrees. And, since a Bachelor degree is necessary before beginning to pursue post-graduate studies, it is only a matter of time before one may be able to obtain a Master’s and then a Doctorate degree.
The only thing keeping anyone from obtaining any one of the psychology degrees available is a person’s determination to do so. Colleges and universities who offer these degrees can help students find that determination and accomplish their goals.

Health programs do still include courses in different areas of nursing, such as Registered Nurse, Certified Nurse-Midwife, and Nurse-Practitioner, along with nursing assistant. However, health programs also provide knowledge that make it possible for a graduate to pursue a career in Lab Services—a field which itself has encompasses many different categories.

Areas that will almost always have career opportunities and job openings are those in which training can be obtained through health programs. For instance, nurses can be employed in places besides hospitals. These can include such venues as the manufacturing industry, schools, and public health services. Further, the skills learned in health programs also prepare graduates for jobs in administration and management areas of health care.

Health programs offer opportunities for both men and women equally. “Women become nurses, men become doctors”, is just no longer true. Men and women can and do serve in all areas of health care, and do just as well in jobs that were once considered primarily male or primarily female.

Certification in different types of health programs, as well as two-year and four-year all provide one with enough education to get employment somewhere in some field relating to health care. And, it is possible that successful completion of courses offered in health programs may allow one to travel to places that it may have been previously thought would never be seen.

The military, for example, has a wide variety of postings that are available to those who hold certification or a degree in health care. Because health programs provide training in all areas of health care, including physical, mental, and trauma care, it is possible for one to carry those skills with him as he serves his country.

Becoming a Spiritual Counselor

If you are interested in become a spiritual counselor, the following can help you achieve your goal:

1. First, decide whether your personality is suited for spiritual counseling. Some key traits to be an effective counselor include: compassion for the emotionally wounded, reliance on spiritual knowledge to guide your counseling technique, a strong desire to offer love, not judgment, and excellent communication skills.
2. Next, you will need to pursue a level of formal education. Choices include online training for certification, a bachelor’s degree from a university, or, if you are interested in an advanced degree, you can study for your master’s. Many clients desire a spiritual counselor who has the qualifications that come with higher levels of training. You should seek as much education as possible in order to reflect the professionalism you would like to convey.
3. Thoroughly check out the curriculum of any institution you are interested in. Online degree programs should offer class syllabi to help you decide whether or not they can provide the training you believe you need to become a spiritual counselor. Some will emphasize a particular denomination, so be sure their perspective matches your own spirituality.
4. Ask about job placement services. Some schools will have already-established relationships with spiritual counseling centers and churches; these services will be important once you’ve finished your schooling and should be an integral part of your search for training.
5. Remember establishing a career as a spiritual counselor will take time; partnering with ministries who have outreach programs in your community can help quicken the process, so be sure to check with them as resources for finding clients. Offering your services for free will give you the ability to get your name and services better known and find a client base more quickly.

Don’t give up on your dream – you can become a spiritual counselor with perseverance and dedication!

Culinary Arts Contest Open to High School Seniors

Are you a teen who loves to experiment in the kitchen? A teen who loves to cook? If so, you might want to check out a competition annually held by The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes: “Best Teen Chef Competition.”

This competition, held by one of the top culinary schools in the nation gives competitors from all over the U.S. and Canada a chance to prepare a predetermined menu; a professional panel of chefs will then judge their work. Winners will earn tuition scholarships for The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes, a school that offers a bachelors degree in Culinary Arts. Students at the school learn from experienced chefs while cooking in professional kitchens.

Local Competitions: The First Step

Selected competitors begin the process of qualifying for the top spot of Best Teen Chef by attending local cook-off competitions, which are held at participating Art Institutes locations. Each first-place winner receives a $3,000 tuition scholarship to the Art Institute they represent; they then advance to The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef Competition finals.

National Finals: The Big Prize

All first-place winners are flown with a parent or guardian to Houston, TX for the national finals. After an introductory reception, the students compete for the title of “Best Teen Chef” as well as tuition scholarships. The finalists each prepare a meal in the presence of a professional chef; meals are judged on presentation, culinary technique, and taste.

First place winners receive a full-tuition scholarship, second place receives a half-tuition scholarship, and third a quarter-tuition scholarship.

Be sure to root for your favorite and watch for this year’s winner to be announced on The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef Competition website. The Institute also offers a number of other competitions for their various schools – photography, poster design, and passion for fashion just to name a few.