Great 2-year degrees p1 - Military - Career Choices - Military Times EDGE

If there’s a demand for associate-degree holders in a new or growing field, the nation’s community colleges are sure to step forward with two-year programs to meet those needs.

“The colleges tend to get ahead of the curve in terms of what’s in demand,” said Norma Kent, vice president of communications for the American Association of Community Colleges. In recent years, those degrees have included several whose grads earn well above what many make who spend four years or more earning a bachelor’s.

Popular degrees have included health care, dental assisting, information technology and applied science fields associated with new energy technologies. Those reflect some of the degrees that Labor Department data show drawing top pay.

Our list of the best bachelor’s degrees based on demand and pay:

1. Registered Nurse

This degree earns students such as former Navy hospital corpsman Richard Woodell the opportunity to test for licensure in his state, in Woodell’s case Arizona. The Iraq vet formerly assigned to Marine Corps units throughout his enlistment was lucky — he already knew that he loved the medical field, thanks to his military experience.

Now he’s taking prerequisites such as math, English, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, chemistry and pathophysiology at Phoenix College, one of the Maricopa Community Colleges, in order to move into nursing-specific courses. The entire nursing program could take 14 to 18 months depending on whether Woodell takes courses offered in accelerated formats. When he graduates and passes the state licensing exam, he’ll be among the most in-demand trained professionals in the U.S., and that’s predicted for years to come.

• What you’ll take: Courses include academics in health care and science; labs where students practice hands-on skills; and clinicals, real-life experience in a health-care setting.

• Your prospects: 233,000 projected openings per year in the 10-year period leading up to 2016, more than any other associate-degree profession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• What you’ll make: The median annual earnings for a registered nurse in 2006 were $57,280.

2. Computer Science

More employers are accepting associate degrees combined with technical certifications in place of four-year degrees, according to the Labor Department. And contrary to popular opinion, the IT field — and associate-degree programs to graduate new workers — are growing, Kent said. Computer-science and similar associate degrees qualify certain graduates for jobs as computer support specialists and network and computer systems administrators.

• What you’ll take: Some basic college courses such as writing, algebra and speech as well as math and technology-specific courses, depending on your area of specialization. DeVry University’s Associate of Applied Science in Network Systems Administration requires four courses specific to computing and another seven specific to networking.

• Your prospects: An average 97,000 job openings per year through 2016.

• What you’ll make: Median annual earnings for computer support specialists: $41,470; all other computer specialists with associate degrees: $68,570.

3. Paralegal Studies

Attorneys delegate many tasks to paralegals and legal assistants, helping to prepare litigation and other legal documents for court cases and corporate or individual clients. They may assist in investigating the facts of cases, according to the Labor Department. They’re found in all types of organizations, but most work in law firms, corporate legal departments and government offices.

• What you’ll take: General education requirements — some may be fulfilled by placement testing, depending on the school — as well as paralegal topics. Coastline Community College’s program includes courses in legal procedure, civil and criminal litigation, legal analysis and briefing, computer-assisted research, family law, estate planning and intellectual property, among others.

• Your prospects: The number of paralegals and legal assistants is expected to rise by more than 22 percent by 2016, with an average of 23,000 openings each year.

• What you’ll make: Median annual earnings for paralegals and legal assistants: $43,040.

4. Electronic Engineering Technology

These degrees qualify graduates to work as electrical and electronic engineering technicians, many of whom assist engineers and scientists, especially in research and development, quality control, inspections, conducting tests and collecting data, according to the Labor Department.

• What you’ll take: The University of Massachusetts Lowell requires general education credits in addition to coursework and labs in programming, circuits, electronics and microprocessors.

• Your prospects: An average of 13,000 jobs per year are expected to open up through 2016.

• What you’ll make: Median annual earnings for electrical and electronic engineering technicians: $50,660.

5. Dental Hygiene

Dental practices, research labs, public health agencies, schools, hospitals, industrial clinics and the military employ dental hygienists, who “remove soft and hard deposits from teeth, teach patients how to practice good oral hygiene and provide other preventive dental care,” according to the Labor Department.

• What you’ll take: The Pennsylvania College of Technology requires courses in anatomy and physiology, preventive dentistry, orofacial anatomy, oral histology, dental radiology, microbiology, pharmacology and community dental health, in addition to general education requirements.

• Your prospects: Jobs for dental hygienists are expected to grow by more than 30 percent by 2016, with an average of 10,000 job openings per year.

• What you’ll make: Median annual earnings for dental hygienists: $62,800.

6. Engineering Technology

Community colleges offer a number of varied programs in engineering, with specialties in industrial production, environmental control technologies, electromechanical instrumentation and maintenance and civil, mechanical and architectural engineering technologies, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. And these fields are growing to accommodate emerging technologies such as biofuels and wind turbine technology, Kent said.

• What you’ll take: Requirements will vary depending on whether you specialize in a specific engineering field. The requirements for San Diego City College’s basic engineering associate degree include three sections of calculus, analytic geometry, differential equations, mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and waves, light and modern physics.

• Your prospects: Employment for engineering technicians other than those engaged in drafting and electrical and electronic engineering is expected to rise by 6,000 jobs per year through 2016.

• What you’ll make: Median annual earnings: $54,250.