Certifications leading to jobs.

It depends on your state regulations. My state only has voluntary registration for opticians; they don't require certification or licensure. You can study for the optician exam on your own and take it. The starting pay is around $30,000 depending on the region.

My state also does not require that you go through a pharmacy technician program, but they do require licensure. All you have to do is study on your own, pass the national certification exam, I think there might be another state exam, and then the employer who hires you is responsible for putting you through a brief period of on-the-job training. Pharmacy technicians don't make much unless they gain experience and get hired on at a hospital.

This company is authorized to offer online certification courses for locksmiths, fire alarm technicians, and security alarm technicians in several states. The pay for alarm technicians is not bad. The median wage is about $20 per hour.
Online Classes - Online Continuing Education - Elite CEU Training

If you become licensed as a security officer (armed or unarmed), you will almost always have a job. Many security companies will provide the training for the unarmed license after you're hired.

For those who live in Texas, Percom and a few other schools offer EMT training online. Percom seems to be the most flexible; they offer clinical rotations and skills labs in several cities. There are also several companies that are authorized by the state of Texas to offer online firefighter training. You spend a couple of weeks at the academy doing hands-on stuff.

This thread reminds me of a thread I started on the other forum about credential stacking. The general response was that I was crazy. I bought the books to study for the optician and pharmacy technician exams. I'm also thinking about becoming a CISSP since I already have 5 years of experience in two of the domains. With my BA in Social Science, I was able to register as a licensed chemical dependency counselor intern. The internships for this field are usually paid, but there are hardly any available in my area. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services told me that they would accept the PhD in CJ (in progress) in lieu of the internship. With absolutely no experience, I could open up my own practice as a substance abuse counselor!

Another thing I thought about doing was becoming a licensed private investigator. In Texas, you don't need any experience or training if you have a bachelor's degree in CJ. There might be a chance they will accept my BA in Social Science since it included a lot of CJ courses. I got the Texas Department of Health and Human Services to waive the practicum and substance abuse course requirements in order to become a registered LCDC intern.

Since you brought up COMPTIA A+, beginners should also look into Security+ and Network+.

 

These Penn Foster programs are meant to prepare students for national certification exams.
Auto Mechanic School | Penn Foster Career School Online
Basic Electronics Career Diploma-accredited program at Penn Foster
Certified Personal Trainer Career Diploma-Penn Foster Career School
How to Become a Wedding Planner | Penn Foster Career School
Diesel Mechanics Career Diploma-Penn Foster Career School
Electronics Technician Career Diploma-accredited program at Penn Foster
Medical Billing and Coding Diploma Certification | Penn Foster
Medical Transcriptionist Training Online | Penn Foster Career School
Optician Career Diploma-Penn Foster's accredited career training
Pharmacy Technician Training Program | Penn Foster Career School
Small Engine Repair Career Diploma-Penn Foster Career School
Automotive HVAC Essentials Certificate-Penn Foster Career School
Automotive Transmissions Essentials Certificate-Penn Foster program

 

I believe most places only require a basic law enforcement certification to get hired as a police officer. I'm not sure that this can be done online though. Besides police officer/sheriffs deputy there is corrections officer. I believe (not entirely sure) that this is a separate certification. It is my understanding that sherrif's deputies run most jails, while corrections officers work in state or federal prisons.

Although more education may be required to advance, I am pretty sure a basic certification is all that is needed for entry level for the following:

law enforcement
corrections
firefighter
paramedic/emergency services tech (often operated by fire departments)
advanced life saving/swim instructor aka lifeguard (I had this combo in my younger years)

I don't know about the rules for a commercial driver's license as might be required to driver a delivery truck, taxi cab, city bus, etc.

 

Every state is different, but I don't think any state has online training for law enforcement officers other than continuing education credits. Some states might waive the academy requirement for having a CJ degree and challenging the certification/licensing test. My state did away with that a long time ago. Police officers usually need about 600 to 1,000 hours of training. This is something that takes 6 months to a year. There might be online training for correctional officers. TEEX offers this in Texas, but you have to already be employed by a sheriff's department. You also have to attend an in-person, skills session. The small sheriff's departments often hire people on who aren't certified and send them to an external academy. The larger sheriff's departments usually offer the training in-house.

Sheriff's departments usually have licensed police officers and licensed jailers/detention officers/corrections officers. Depending on the department, they might call the jailers and police officers deputies. The jailers will often not be licensed police officers. I don't know what the federal government requires one to obtain after getting hired, but one does not need any license or certification in order to get hired. They provide all of the training.

 

None of these fields mentioned pay all that well. I'm not sure about Court Reporting, but the others all start at a little above minimum wage and go slowly up from there.

Paralegal's can make a decent living, but it all depends on where you live. In my area, the Pacific Northwest, paralegals start around 13-15 per hour and move up (slowly with seniority) from there.

The problem with all of the programs you have listed is that they all have very low barriers to entry. Anyone can, and does, become those things mentioned above leading to lower wages and lots of competition.

I've found that one of the best ways to raise ones salary is to move. And move multiple times.

Good luck MC!

 

I used to date a girl who did very well in court reporting (100k+ a year). Already-established contacts with local lawyers is always a plus, though you can get on-board with a reporting service as well for steady work.

The A+ is something you could literally get in an afternoon with a bit of study. Why not tack-on the Sec+ at the same time? Opens a few more doors, but again.... pay is going to be the issue here. If you're just getting started, I wouldn't expect much.

I've said it before, but I like certifications. They open doors that would otherwise be closed, and for those of us who like taking exams, there's really no downside besides the initial cost for taking them. For example, I'm in project management but have the CISSP. I haven't done work requiring that CISSP in a while, but kept it active just because "it's better to have and not need then.. you know the rest".

My current employer was forced to look for a PMP with CISSP for a contract they had just won. The job is strictly program management, and has nothing to do with CISSP, but the customer just wanted the PM to have that cert. Having both is not unheard of, but limits the hiring pool quite a bit and requires them to pay more than they otherwise would. With my other certifications in ITIL and Six Sigma, the "interview" was more of a "when can you start?" I wouldn't have even been in the running without the required certifications. So if you have the money and time to spend - go get that CISSP, Sanatone. You never know when it may come in useful.

 

I knew a guy who wanted to get into court reporting because the pay is so high, but I also read that the profession could become obsolete because of technological advances.

Thanks for the advice. My background is in physical security and other areas of criminal justice, but I've seen corporate security openings crossing IT security with physical security. I got a master's in a sub-field of international relations hoping to get into intelligence. The NSA drools over people with any king of IT background.

 

How about tax?

One non-degree credential the OP might consider is Enrolled Agent. An EA is licensed by the IRS to represent any taxpayer before any office of the IRS regarding any tax issue. To get it, you will need to take and pass the Special Enrollment Exam through Prometric. The SEE isn't unduly difficult but it covers a lot of ground and will probably require between six and nine months of daily study. A basic understanding of accounting and business organizations will help.

You can find information concerning the EA program at Internal Revenue Service under TaxPros. Total cost assuming you pass each Part the first time and use a basic exam prep course should be about $600. Once you have the license, you must take a significant amount of continuing education to renew it but that can be done entirely online for as little as $150/year.

You must also pass a background check and have no tax noncompliance for the last ten years or so. This part is a guess, only the IRS knows what they are looking for, but people DO get refused if they aren't current.

An experienced EA in private practice can make a very comfortable living.

 

I'm just here to vouch for the salary-boosting potential of the CISSP.

 

Enrolled Agent/Enrolled Actuary

There are no educational or experience requirements for an Enrolled Agent license and I believe the same is true of the Enrolled Actuary though I can't imagine passing that latter test without some formal background.

Some understanding of basic accounting is helpful as is some understanding of business organizations and operations. But a good review course will get you through the tests themselves.

Yes you CAN get work off the street as an Enrolled Agent but you will end up doing "compliance" (preparing returns) during the season. Actually, everyone but the tax partners in big law firms does compliance, lawyer or not, CPA or not, EA or not. If you do tax, you do compliance.

 

To qualify as an Enrolled Actuary, you need 3 to 5 years of "certified responsible actuarial experience" (the time varies, depending on how much of it was pension-related).

You might be able to take and pass the exams earlier than that, but I don't think the IRS will actually issue the license until you can show that you have the necessary experience.

 

It's possible in theory, but rarely (if ever) happens in practice. The exams are difficult even if you studied actuarial math in college, and are more so if you didn't.

 

If you want to pick up some seasonal work preparing taxes, there is a much easier route than the Enrolled Agent exam. Just sign up for the tax course at your local H&R Block. If you do well in the class, Block will offer you a seasonal position as a tax preparer. You might not want to spend your whole career at H&R Block, but it's a common way to get your foot in the door.

Once you have tax prep experience with Block, you can then start knocking on the door at local accounting or tax prep firms. Chances are they need help during tax season.

Supposedly, more than 10% of Americans got their first job at McDonald's. In the same way, I suspect that a significant fraction of licensed tax professionals (EAs and CPAs) did their first tax returns for H&R Block.

 

What about basic computer certifications like CompTIA A+ or Network+ certifications? Might be able to get an entry level IT support job.

 

They certainly help but experience is required a lot of times.

 

Not a problem ... see this thread over in the off topic forum
http://www.degreeinfo.com/off-topic-discussions/47488-buying-fake-job-references.html

OK. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to mention this thread. So funny. No I don't recommend anyone buy fake references.

 

You can always start out in a technical support call center. I was hired without any certifications, but I didn't take the job because the pay was too low and there was a split schedule.

Maniac Craniac - I don't know which courses/tests you took for your social science degree, but you might be close to the requirements for a child life specialist certification. You have to take at least one course in child life that is taught by a certified child life specialist. The other 9 courses have to be taken out of certain departments such as psychology, sociology, and family development. A short list of courses can be taken in any department. I don't know how they would view CBEs if they're considered to be the equivalent of a course taught out of a college's department. You also have to complete a 480-hour clinical experience.
Child Life Council : Eligibility Requirements

 

If you have degree and certification related to your degree than it will be an added advantage for you.