Shortcuts: career schools, apprenticeships
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BY DONNA C. GREGORY Special Correspondent
Published: October 8, 2008
If another four years of sitting at a desk listening to teachers lecture about pronouns and calculus formulas isn’t appealing, there are alternatives to the traditional college experience.
Career schools and apprenticeships can usually get you started on reaching your full earnings potential much faster.
Career schools: “The kinds of students we typically get are those who want to get in and get their training as quickly as possible,” says David Mayle, director of admissions for Bryant & Stratton College’s Richmond campus.
The same mindset applies at Medical Careers Institute and Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing.
Most career schools focus on a limited number of occupational fields. For example, Bryant & Stratton’s offerings are in three categories: legal, medical and business. Associate degrees are available in medical assisting, criminal justice, business administration, accounting and paralegal, as well as other areas. There are also bachelor’s degree programs in criminal justice and business administration.
More offerings are certainly in the works, as the college plans to nearly double the size of its campus during the next six months.
Although Bryant & Stratton does offer associate and bachelor’s programs like traditional colleges, the difference is timing: Students can complete an associate degree in just 16 months and a bachelor’s degree in 30 months.
There’s also flexibility. “Many of our programs are offered completely online,” says Mayle. Students can also choose from day, evening and Saturday courses.
There’s a unique benefit at Bryant & Stratton for parents that is rarely found on a college campus: on-site child care. Students can leave their children (potty-trained through age 12) at the child-care center while attending class. And, the cost can be covered using federal financial aid.
At Medical Careers Institute (MCI), students can finish their training and start working in the medical field within 14-18 months.
“People have a chance to finish sooner [than a traditional college],” says Jeff Muroski, president of MCI’s Moorefield campus in Chesterfield County. “Your earnings potential is increased because of that. We have a very organized approach to working through programs, so that when you’re graduating you’re ready for the position you’ve been studying.”
Associate programs are available in medical assisting, medical administration and surgical technology at MCI’s Moorefield campus in Chesterfield County. The West End campus, located at Glenside Drive and West Broad Street, has similar offerings, plus a registered nursing program. Both campuses have LPN diploma programs.
Those interested in the nursing field have yet another option at Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing. It offers a 30-month registered nursing diploma. Once students complete the program, “they are as ready as any student from [J. Sargeant] Reynolds [Community College] or VCU to sit and take their [state board] nursing exam,” says Susan Bodin, the school’s dean.
The curriculum is divided between general education courses taken at J. Sargeant Reynolds and nursing courses at the school’s campus, located in Windsor Business Park, off of Parham Road. Students commonly spend time in Bon Secours hospitals as part of their training.
“Our students get a lot more clinical experience,” says Bodin. “That hands-on experience makes that graduate a little more savvy right away than someone who has fewer clinical exposures.”
Apprenticeships: Those who would rather start work immediately might want to consider an apprenticeship. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has a division that oversees registered apprenticeships.
“Apprenticeship has been around since Biblical times,” says Bev Donati, director of the state’s division of registered apprenticeship.
Ben Franklin and George Washington both got their start as apprentices.
To qualify, you must secure a job with a participating company. “Then it’s up to that company to have them registered [with the state],” explains Donati.
A registered apprenticeship calls for a certain amount of classroom and on-the-job training.
“The apprentice starts at a lesser amount of salary,” says Donati. “Their entry level is usually 60 percent of what a journeyman makes, and then their salary increases as their skills increase. They are earning while they are learning.”
Apprenticeships are available in many fields (the division has more than 350 occupations registered), including electrical, plumbing, marine trades, land surveyors, cosmetologists and more. Tidewater’s Northrop Grumman is the division’s largest apprenticeship sponsor. Others include the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Colonial Web and Philip Morris.
Some companies that offer apprenticeships are listed on the division’s Web site, but Donati recommends calling prospective employers directly and asking whether registered apprenticeships are available.
After completing the requirements, the apprentice receives a certificate of completion and journeyman’s card that’s portable and nationally recognized. They also qualify to take any licensing exams.
“It’s a wonderful way to gain experience and to have those credentials at the end,” says Donati.
Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing
www.bonsecours.com/schools
(804) 627-5300
Bryant & Stratton College
www.bryantstratton.edu
(804) 745-2444
Medical Careers Institute
www.medical.edu
Moorefield campus, 521-0400
West End campus, 521-5999
Virginia Department of Labor and Industry
Division of Registered Apprenticeship
www.doli.virginia.gov
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