Académique Documents
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CAREER TRAINING
IN TWO YEARS
OR LESS
Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D.
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Quick Guide to Career Training in Two Years or Less
2004 by JIST Publishing, Inc.
Published by JIST Works, an imprint of JIST Publishing, Inc.
8902 Otis Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46216-1033
Phone: 1-800-648-JIST Fax: 1-800-JIST-FAX E-mail: info@jist.com
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excerpts, and ordering information on our many products. For free information on 14,000 job
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Page Layout: Carolyn Newland and Trudy Coler
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Printed in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file with the Library of Congress.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, or stored in a
database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in articles or reviews. Making copies of any part of this book for any purpose other
than your own personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws.
We have been careful to provide accurate information in this book, but it is possible that errors and
omissions have been introduced. Please consider this in making any career plans or other important
decisions. Trust your own judgment above all else and in all things.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks,
trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
ISBN 1-56370-981-3
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Why Youre Going
to Love This Book
E
very day, thousands of people enter interesting and rewarding careers without
having completed four years of college. If youre looking at this book, you prob-
ably are thinking about doing the same. Perhaps you will eventually obtain a four-
year degree, but for now you want to spend two years or less in education or training
before entering the work force. That can be a very good strategy for starting a career.
But one consequence of this strategy is that you can no longer postpone the task of
targeting a career goal. Most programs requiring two years or less are very career-
oriented, so choosing a program is essentially the same thing as choosing the career
you intend to enter.
The reason this book is so special is that it lets you choose an educational/training pro-
gram and a career goal simultaneously instead of considering just one or the other. It
links 104 programs to 358 careers. It informs you about what the careers are like and
tells you about what you study in the program. It tells you which careers are com-
monly associated with the program and the amount of education or training that is
usually required for each of these careers.
So the choice is yours: You can sign up for an expensive battery of personality tests
and counseling sessions; you can dig through piles of school catalogs and apprentice-
ship brochures, examining and comparing the requirements for the programs; you
can search through massive databases of career information, taking pains to deter-
mine the skill requirements and the income you can expect; or you can use this book
to obtain self-understanding and get concise and authoritative facts about educa-
tional/training programs that might suit you.
If the choice is not obvious already, turn to Part I and start the exercises. Youll be
surprised by how quickly youll start seeing the connections between who you are
and where you want to go.
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Dedication
Dedicated to Eva Shatkin, whose lifelong love of learning
continues to inspire her family and everyone else who knows her.
Acknowledgments
Several thoughtful and resourceful people helped me bring this book to completion,
and I thank them for their contributions:
Michael Farr set the tone for this and all the publications at JIST by showing that it
is possible to balance theory and real life.
Beverly Murray Scherf helped shape the Quick Guide to College Majors and
Careers, which served as a model for this book.
Lori Cates Hand and Stephanie Koutek kept me on schedule and provided impor-
tant editorial suggestions.
Nancy Decker Shatkin, now in her fourth or fifth career, reminds me to balance
career with the rest of life.
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Contents
Why Youre Going to Love
This Book................................................. iii
Introduction: How to Use
This Book................................................... 1
Part I: What Programs
and Careers Might Suit
You?.................................. 13
Your Interests ............................................. 15
Your Skills .................................................. 28
Your Favorite High School Courses ...... 39
Your Work-Related Values ...................... 64
The Hot List ............................................... 73
Part II: Facts About
Training Programs and
Careers ............................ 77
Accounting Technician ............................. 79
Aircraft Mechanic Technology ................ 82
Architectural Technology .......................... 84
Auctioneering............................................... 86
Automotive Body Repair .......................... 88
Automotive Technology ............................ 90
Avionics Technology ................................. 92
Bartending ................................................... 94
Brewing ......................................................... 96
Broadcasting Technology........................ 98
Business Management ............................ 100
Cabinetmaking ......................................... 102
Cardiovascular Technology .................. 104
Carpentry .................................................... 106
Casino Gaming Training ....................... 108
Casino Slot Technician Training........... 110
Chemical Engineering Technology ....... 112
Civil (Engineering) Technology .............. 114
Clinical Lab Technician ........................... 116
Computer Maintenance ........................... 118
Computer Programming ........................ 120
Construction Equipment Operation ..... 122
Construction Inspection .......................... 124
Construction Technology ....................... 126
Corrections ................................................. 128
Cosmetology/Barbering.......................... 130
Court Reporting ........................................ 132
Culinary Arts .............................................. 134
Dental Assisting ........................................ 136
Dental Hygiene .......................................... 138
Dental Laboratory Technology ............ 140
Diesel Technology .................................... 142
Dietetic Technology .................................. 144
Drafting ....................................................... 146
Early Childhood Education................... 148
Electrical Engineering Technology ....... 150
Electrician Training .................................. 152
Electrocardiograph Technology ........... 154
Electroencephalograph Technology .... 156
Electromechanical Engineering
Technology ............................................. 158
Emergency Medical Services .................. 160
Farm and Ranch Management ............ 162
Fashion Design ......................................... 164
Fashion Merchandising.......................... 166
Fire Science/Firefighting ........................... 168
Flight Attendant Training ....................... 170
Food Service Management ..................... 172
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vi
Quick Guide to Career Training in Two Years or Less ______________________________
Funeral Services and Mortuary
Science ...................................................... 174
Graphic and Printing Equipment
Operations ............................................... 176
Graphic Design, Commercial Art,
and Illustration ...................................... 178
Health Information Systems
Technology ............................................. 180
Heating, Ventilation, A/C
Technology ............................................. 182
Home Appliance Repair .......................... 184
Home Health Aide Training................... 186
Hotel/Motel and Restaurant
Management .......................................... 188
Human Services ........................................ 190
Instrumentation Technology ................. 192
Interior Design ........................................... 194
Investigative Services................................ 196
Law Enforcement ...................................... 198
Library Technology ................................. 200
Machinist Training .................................. 202
Marine Transportation Operations ...... 204
Marketing ................................................... 206
Masonry ..................................................... 208
Massage Therapy ..................................... 210
Mechanical Engineering
Technology .............................................. 212
Medical Assistant Training ..................... 214
Medical Laboratory Technology........... 216
Medical Transcription .............................. 218
Multimedia Design and
Production ............................................... 220
Network and Telecommunications
Technology ............................................. 222
Nuclear Medicine Technology ............... 224
Nurse Aide/Assistant Training............... 226
Occupational Therapy Assisting .......... 228
Office Technology ..................................... 230
Optical Laboratory Technology ........... 232
Opticianry ................................................... 234
Ornamental Horticulture ......................... 236
Paralegal Services ..................................... 238
Personal Trainer ........................................ 240
Pet Grooming ............................................ 242
Pharmacy Technology ............................ 244
Photography ............................................. 246
Physical Therapist Assisting .................. 248
Pilot Training............................................. 250
Plumbing and Pipefitting ....................... 252
Practical Nursing (L.P.N. Training) ....... 254
Property Management ............................. 256
Radiologic Technology .......................... 258
Real Estate .................................................. 260
Respiratory Therapy Technology ........ 262
Surgical Technology................................ 264
Surveying Technology ............................ 266
Taxidermy................................................... 268
Teacher Aide Training ............................. 270
Tool and Die Maker Training............... 272
Travel Services Marketing
Operations ............................................... 274
Truck, Bus, and Other Commercial
Vehicle Driving ....................................... 276
Veterinary Technology ............................ 278
Watchmaking and Jewelrymaking...... 280
Water/Wastewater Treatment
Technology ............................................. 282
Welding Technology ............................... 284
Winemaking .............................................. 286
Index ....................................................... 288
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Introduction: How
to Use This Book
T
his section shows you how to use this book for your specific needs. First, it
explains who will benefit most from reading the book. Then it details
the different elements of Parts I and II. Next, it describes how you can get the most
out of the book depending on your needs. Sections on how to choose a training pro-
gram, how various types of programs differ in their focus, and where the informa-
tion in this book comes from are at the end of the Introduction.
Who Really Needs This Book?
Lots of people need to make decisions about training for careers. Read over the fol-
lowing list to see where you fit in:
Your interests
Your skills
Certain programs and work groups appear in all four, or three of the
four, outputs of the exercises. If this is what you find, congratulations!
These programs obviously correspond well to your personality, and you
should write them on your Hot List at the end of this section.
Certain programs and work groups appear in two outputs of the exer-
cises, but none appear in three or four. This is still a meaningful finding;
these programs probably belong on your Hot List below. If a large number
of programs fit this description, you might ask yourself whether you feel
more confident about one kind of exercise than another. For example, do
you feel you have a clearer notion of your interests and high school courses
than of your skills and values? In that case, you might want to give greater
weight to the programs that are shared by the outputs of the exercises
relating to interests and high school courses.
One of the preceding three statements applies to me, but the problem
is that I get a very large number of programs for my Hot List. Heres
where the work groups can help you. Find the work group that appears
most often in the results of the exercises for skills, high school courses, and
values. Then go back to the interest exercise and see which programs are
linked to that work group. These are strong candidates for your Hot List.
No skills or values data is available for the following programs:
Auctioneering
Court Reporting
Electroencephalograph Technology
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75
_________________________________________________________________ The Hot List
Instrumentation Technology
Massage Therapy
Medical Transcription
Taxidermy
Veterinary Technology
That means that if any of these was suggested by the exercises for interests
and high school courses (especially if it was suggested by both), it is also a
candidate for your Hot List.
After you have filled in your Hot List below and you start investigating these pro-
grams in Part II, you can also use the Hot List as an informal way of recording your
impressions:
If a program appeals to you when you read about it, put a star next to the
name on the Hot List. The stars can serve to remind you which programs
are the hottest of the hot!
One of the important facts youll read about the program is what jobs it is
linked to. When you see a job that looks interesting to you, write its name
next to the name of the program on the Hot List. Later, you can use other
resources to investigate these jobs in greater detail.
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76
Part I: What Programs and Careers Might Suit You? _______________________________
My Hot List
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Pt1.p65 9/9/03, 1:12 PM 76
Part II
Facts About
Training
Programs
and Careers
I
n this section, you can get the facts about 104 postsecondary training
programs and the careers related to them. You may learn new things
about training that you thought you were knowledgeable about. You
may also encounter programs that you have never heard of before or that
you dont know much about.
The Hot List you created in Part I can help you choose programs to
explore here. But even if you just browse at random, the facts are orga-
nized in a way that makes it easy for you to get an understanding of the
program and related careers.
Here are the kinds of information youll find for each training program:
Essential Knowledge and Skills: Skills that are most important for
the careers related to this training program