Pursue a Nursing or Criminal Justice Degree Online

These days you don’t need a financial analyst to tell you how tough things are with regard to the economy and/or the job outlook; the signs are everywhere. Millions of people are currently out of work, some of whom have been temporarily laid off and others who have been phased out permanently. The unemployment rate is the highest it has been since 1983 and thousands of people have lost their homes due to foreclosure. It’s a dismal time to say the least, but in the midst of all these lay-offs and misery, there are two career sectors that are expected to see growth in the near future rather than cutbacks: Nursing and Criminal Justice. In this article we will explain why these two fields of study continue to be lucrative in terms of employment outlook and earnings, and show you how a degree online will help make you more employable and get you job-ready.

Pursuing a Degree Online: Why Consider Nursing and Criminal Justice?

With the recent popularity of online courses and universities, the number of “degree online” programs has skyrocketed in the past several years. These types of programs benefit both the student and university—the university because it saves costs and the student for convenience. While an advanced business degree (MBA, Masters in Finance, etc.) is the most popular type of degree online program, there are two other fields of study that are close behind and for good reason: Nursing and Criminal Justice.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment opportunities in Nursing and Criminal Justice are expected to increase through 2016—a statistic that has many students scrambling to get a degree in one of these two fields. But why are these two fields so popular? And how can an online degree improve your employment prospects? Let’s take these questions one at a time:

Unfortunately, there are two glaring facts about individuals and society that have always been constants: 1) People will always get sick and 2) There will always be crime. These facts are indisputable, and because they are, society needs professionals who can help assist these two populations. Nurses are needed in every city and state across the country. They are needed to work in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices, and the service they perform—from taking histories and vitals to administering shots, IVs and vaccines—is invaluable and in extremely high demand. Those working in Criminal Justice fields are also required to fill a number of important roles in our society. Police officers, Correctional staff, Security Guards and Forensic specialists are needed In great numbers across the country to help deter and solve crimes, as well as look after the millions of individuals who are currently housed in the nation’s jails and prisons.

As for the second question, because there is so much need for these two types of professionals, there is also plenty of competition, so the more qualified you happen to be, the better chance you’ll have at getting employed. Pursuing an online degree in either Nursing or Criminal Justice will help you get “a leg up” on the competition while learning valuable information that will not only help you perform your duties more proficiently, but also help you advance. An online degree looks great on any resume and could be the difference in whether you get hired or not.