I am looking for suggestions for certifications and training courses that are fairly quick and/or easy. For example, the CPR certification can be done in (something like) 2 Saturdays, and First Aid in maybe 4-5 sessions. I would especially love anything that was at-home self-paced study and not requiring class time. If there was an exam (especially online) that's fine. Given that I want something pretty quick and easy, of course I don't expect it to sound that impressive, but I don't want something totally worthless (diploma mill style). Can be anything that might enhance my value for some employers, can be pretty specialized. Cost is an issue somewhat. Partly, I am just curious and would like to rack up some unusual little titles. Like, for example, I am unlikely to ever work in a post office, but I probably could just get a test prep book, study hard for a week, pay, and go take the postal worker exam? I see there's one called "Office Proficiency Assessment & Certification", but that might be too silly to put on a resume -- I am also unsure how to weed out the good from the bad when it comes to some of the ones I find online. It doesn't even necessarily have to lead to some official certification, if the training / course is something that I could mention to an employer or would come in handy in some way. I had another example, but it's slipped my mind. Also they should have no degree prerequisite, or only require a bachelor's degree.
FEMA courses are a relatively quick and painless way to obtain credit, a search with the term "FEMA" will yield many discussions on the subject. Also, check your local library's reference section for the ACE guide to credit for non-traditional programs/courses, I forget the exact title. You may be surprised at what you already have or what you can easily obtain.
There several meteorology certificates were identified here including a free one: http://www.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=27329
Your post made me curious as to what training/certification is available online; here are a few that I found: The Red Cross offers short training programs in several areas such as first aid and CPR – I would imagine an employer would like an employee with these additional skills http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/courses/ There are some free financial management courses here http://www.exinfm.com/training/ The "honor" certificate looks a bit amateurish [Just for fun I took Short Course 17 – Process Improvement exam. Fairly good introduction and something I could use with employees during ISO 9000 training – I got 80% on the final exam.] Foundation and Fundraising courses – some free http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/training/online/ [I took the intro course and final exam and got 80% - no certificate as far as I could determine - you could always print off the scored exam sheet - I found this course informative even though I just skimmed thru it]
You might wanna take a look at this: http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=28095 Michael Gates put there an excellent list together. I did the Inter-American Defense College and United States Institute of Peace courses and the certificates look both very nice. They even snailmail them to you around the world for free and are quite fast to take. Keep them coming!