5 Careers You Can Get With Just 6 Months of School

Blog | November 8th, 2018

School is expensive and time is precious. Those two facts of life make the prospect of doing a two or four-year degree to build or change careers daunting and unappealing. Luckily, there are many rewarding careers in growing fields that you can get into with just six months of school or less. Here are five of them.

Data Scientist

We live in a world of big data. Every company, no matter what industry, is relying on data to drive their business goals. That’s where data scientists come in, and it’s no wonder this career area is in high demand. Last year, LinkedIn dubbed jobs in data science as the second fastest growing over the past five years. Average salaries are also high, clocking in at $113,436.

Because of the high demand, there are options to get trained in data science from reputable organizations in as little as 12 weeks. General Assembly offers such a program, on campus or online, and they are engaged with empowering students who complete the course to find jobs after. There are also online options like Coursera, with certification programs from esteemed universities like Johns Hopkins. Learn about data science for free on edX, a learning platform powered by MIT, Harvard, and others.

As far as programs go, there are a lot of options out there. Find the one that fits you and go from there. It’s a challenging career path, especially in the beginning, so make sure you brush up on what it takes to study for a career in data science.

Related Story: 10 Jobs Anyone Can Do Out of Their Home 2018

Travel Agent

It seems too good to be true to imagine working in the travel industry for your career, but becoming a travel agent is a very realistic job prospect in a field that continues to grow at a fast pace. There are many opportunities to formally study to become a travel agent and even earn certification. The gold standard for the industry is The Travel Institute. Their programs require some industry experience, though you can take their travel agent proficiency test without any.

If you are well traveled, organized, communicative, and have good people skills, you may be able to find an opportunity without completing any formal study, though obviously if you do it will bolster your candidacy.

Personal Trainer

With a faster than average growth outlook, becoming a personal trainer is an exciting potential career for those who love to be active and help clients be their healthiest selves. This is a career path where certification will take you a long way, and is required for most positions in the field. Use this tool to find accredited programs that may be a fit for you. The beauty of working in the fitness industry, though, is you can choose to specialize in areas of interest. Other than working in straightforward personal training, you can opt to become a yoga instructor, spinning class leader, Crossfit trainer, or any other number of types of exercise specialization.

Look into taking the exam from the American College of Sports Medicine (ASCM) to become an ASCM Certified Trainer. You’ll want to study up and consider taking their courses beforehand, depending on your background.

Wind Turbine Technician

Because wind turbines are such a new, successful, and developing industry, it comes as no surprise that wind turbine technicians are in extremely high demand. The growth prospects for this career are an unbelievable 96% over the period of 2016 to 2026. It also pays well, with a median income of $53,880 per year in 2017.

Look for technical schools in your area that have programs to train you to become a wind turbine technician. You don’t need a college degree and if you do find a job in the field, you’ll likely receive great, longterm on-the-job training.

Dental Assistant

Dental hygiene is a growing field and along with it are the job prospects for dental assistants. You can train to become a dental assistant in accelerated programs within six months. Regularly paced programs will take nine to eleven months. There are many options for where you can study to become a dental assistant, including community colleges, vocational schools, technical schools, universities, and dental schools. Most dental assistant programs will award a certificate upon completion. You can also opt to become nationally certified afterward.

With a median income of $36,940, training to become a dental assistant enables you to start developing a career in an area with very positive growth outlook.

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