Ok, so you’re in your late teens… your twenties… (or let’s face it your thirties or beyond) you’ve got your high school diploma or GED and now you’re seriously thinking about your options for starting a career. Obviously your best option is to sign up for classes at your local 2 year community college or 4 year state university, right? Well, that depends…
Here are 7 reasons you should be taking accelerated courses.
Let’s be clear with this one – having the ability to successfully learn a subject, topic or skill isn’t the same thing as having the ability to graduate from high school or college.
There are a lot of smart, talented & capable people who, for some reason or another, aren’t able to make it through the “traditional” learning experience.
That said, only 80% of high school students graduate within 4 years, and only 40% of university students graduate college within 6 years.
If the traditional learning experience wasn’t your thing, you can still get the training & credentials you need to start a career by taking accelerated courses. What sets programs like DRM International Learning Center apart from other learning experiences is their focus on gaining real-word, hands-on experience… one course… one subject… & one skillset at a time.
Roughly 3 out of 10 college freshman will change their major at least once before they graduate.
This means that 30% of students entering college have no idea if the career path they’ve chosen is right for them (and that most people are more certain about their careers when they’re 8 years old than when they’re 18).
It’s no wonder why it takes 60% of students 6 years or more to graduate from a 4 year public university.
And given the price of college, changing your major (and your mind) while you’re in college can be costly.
In Michigan, 50% of public university students borrow around $6,300 in student loans each year they’re in college, and 25% of community college students borrow $4,000 or more in student loans each year they’re in college.
When you add up the amount of time most people spend in college – whether they graduate or not – the average student ends up borrowing between $8,000 to over $25,000 in student loan debt… and that’s before you add in the interest!
You can avoid most, if not all of this financial burden by taking accelerated courses since they tend have considerably lower tuition costs, and the reason behind this is simple. Like people, schools and other organizations have monthly overhead costs (rent, utilities, etc…) so the less calendar time you spend in class, the less expensive it is to train you.
Are you a high-school graduate… under the age of 22… with no kids or other major responsibilities… who enrolled in college…full time…at age 18?
No?
Well then you, my friend, are considered a “non-traditional” learner.
In fact, 7 out of 10 students are considered “non-traditional” (so you’re actually apart of the majority of learners), which probably explains why so many students find it difficult to make it through the “traditional” college learning experience.
If you’re over the age of 22…with a GED… a child… or you’re holding down a full or part-time job… taking accelerated courses might be your best option because they typically have small class sizes and are structured in a way to allow students the flexibility to learn in a way that fits their “non-traditional” (but common) lifestyle.
Whether it’s raising children, caring for elderly or disabled parents or relatives, working a full or part-time job, or just looking to add a skill to your resume; finding time to fit months of schooling into your schedule in addition to all of your other responsibilities might seem almost impossible. Not so with accelerated learning programs
With accelerated courses, you’ll be in school longer each day (6 – 8 hours) but for less calendar time (2 – 8 weeks) which eliminates the need to totally rearrange your schedule for months on end.
In fact, DRM International Learning Center offers accelerated courses that can be taken during the day, at night and on weekends to accommodate students who have full-time responsibilities.
Most people only think about the price of their books & tuition when they consider the cost of their education, but one of the biggest hurdles preventing students from attending or completing school is their cost of living expenses.
Let’s say you have $1,500 worth of monthly expenses (rent, utilities, food, cell phone, etc…) and you’re in school full-time for 9 months out of the year.
That’s an additional $1,500 a month for each month you’re in school. After 9 months, that would be a total of $13,500 worth of living expenses on top of the costs of your tuition & books each semester… and that’s just the first year of school! Now add kids to the mix, and a car that always has the check engine light on, and you can see how your living expenses can cause the overall cost of your education to double or even triple.
With accelerated courses, you can complete your training and get your credential in as little as 2 weeks, but you typically won’t be in school for longer than 8 – 12 weeks… which would help keep those cost of living expenses low as well. So if you’re someone who finds it hard to make ends meet (we all do at times) then an accelerated learning program might be right for you.
Most people who are in school (whether it’s a public or private university, community college, vocational school or learning through an apprenticeship) are there to get career training –> that leads to a credential –> that can be used to a get a job –> that pays more than the minimum wage. And if you’re like most people, you want (or need) this to happen sooner rather than later.
Now if you’re thinking “Yep, that’s me”, then going to school for months or even years before you can start that job search might not be desirable or a financially realistic option.
This is where accelerated courses can help.
Because accelerated courses focus on the core skills & practical knowledge associated with an occupation, they can be completed in weeks instead of months because, and they almost always lead to some sort of industry recognized credential.
With DRM International Learning Center, you can start a career in as little as 2 weeks.
Sources