With the instability of the US economy over the past couple of decades, many students are looking for degrees that will ensure high incomes and job security. Fortunately, there is one field that happens to fit that bill. With the baby boomers ageing out of the workforce and beginning to need more healthcare, almost any degree in health sciences is sure to keep you employed.
Not only will it give you job security, but the demand is so high, that the money is great as well. Excelsior College has several degrees in the field worth looking into. And as an added bonus, they’re all offered online.
Health Sciences
The general health sciences track will prepare you for a lot of different healthcare careers or give you the core requirements needed for a higher-level program. Excelsior College offers this program as both an Associate of Science or Bachelor of Science degree, each one meeting a different need.
With the associate’s degree, you can enter the medical field in the areas of office administration, medical coding and billing, insurance, and many others. It’s an ideal fit for people with previous medical experience, such as in the military, or those simply needing a degree in order to advance in their jobs.
A bachelor’s degree in health sciences is a great way to advance your career in many areas of health care. For example, if you’re already working in a medical facility, but need a degree in order to advance to management, this is the perfect area of study for you. It’s also great for military personnel as Excelsior grants academic credit for real-world training.
Health Care Management
Health care management gives you a similar foundation to the health sciences degrees, but it’s a little more specific. This degree will give you in-depth training on things like staffing, forecasting, and health regulations.
It also gives you a strong business foundation by providing courses in accounting, finance, human resources, and management.
This degree will prepare you for a job in most health care facilities as a director, CEO, CFO, manager, or other upper-level management position.
With the Bachelor of Science in Health Care Management, you can transfer up to 113 hours and use your real-world experience as credit. This could include previous health care experience in the military or other medical settings.
Dual degrees
One of the best opportunities in health sciences at Excelsior College is the dual degree option. Many executive positions in the healthcare industry require graduate degrees of some type and Excelsior makes it easy to get that.
The first degree is their fully online BS (Bachelor of Science) in Health Sciences to MBA (Master of Business Administration). What makes it unique is that they offer a nine-credit hour bridge that shortens your completion time by more than a semester.
The way it works is that you take nine graduate hours at the end of your bachelor’s degree that counts dually for your master’s. This degree covers all of the business subjects you need in order to gain or advance to upper-level management within the healthcare industry.
The second dual degree offering is the fully online BS in Health Sciences to MS (Master of Science) in Health Sciences. This program works the same way with the bridge classes but offers a different curriculum.
Instead of leaning so heavily on business courses, this degree plan includes more topics in health care systems, such as ethics and compliance. This degree can be used in much the same way as the BS to MBA, and you can often teach at the college level with either one.
