Ok, so right now I am a stay at home mom, but I really want to further my education. I want to do it now while my baby girl is young, so that I can have a good paying job when she gets older. I have been looking at online certificate programs for either medical assisting or medical office administration, but I am concerned I would be wasting my time. Im afraid I will spend this money, and it all be for nothing. Im afraid I will earn this certificate or maybe my associates online, and not be able to find a good job still because they dont think an online course is suitable. Plus, I am DEATHLY afraid of picking a bad school, help? Do you think online programs are worth it?
I went to Kaplan Online, because they are State not National Accredited, which means my degree and certificate would be transferrable within the state university system. They were great and it was perfect as I was pregnant and had a 3 yr old, while working fulltime.
National accreditation is non-transferrable, unless to another of the school's campus locations.
Good luck:)
The best thing to do is go through a community college. Most of them have online programs with minimal class time. I am currently taking a Pharmacy Tech course at the community college here. My courses are all online and I have lab on Saturday's. It is way cheaper than those "schools" you see on TV. Virginia Tech, University of Pheonix...those cost many thousands of dollars and you don't get the same quality of education or security in knowing your money isn't being wasted on worthless certificates.
I think some online certification programs are fine, but, the real question is, do you have the motivation to study from home? Will you put aside the time to do that? That would be very hard for me to do. Community colleges offer these programs. Maybe you can go to school at night? This way, you are sitting in a classroom without the home distractions. However, if you think you can do it from home, then more power to you. If you choose an online program, maybe you can call a dozen doctor offices and ask if they would hire a person who obtained their certification online. Maybe they can recommend an online school. Good luck!
Just make sure the university you pick has an actual institution behind it. I have a bachelors from an online university that is an actual school in my state and that has been accredited for about 80 years. I felt very comfortable getting my degree with them online and it was legitimate hard work. The degree served me very well before I decided to stay home. Working in the IT field I had many associates that also had online degrees and did very well with them, meaning no one discounted them for fake degrees. Just do a lot of research on the school before you pick one. So, yes for me the online program was well worth it.
I would have a lot of concerns about some of these certificate programs that you see advertised on line and in magazines. Some of them are a rip off! At least an associates degree at a local junior college would be something that you could get and have it transferred to a four year school. Some of them have programs in medical assisting which require some on line training, probably some classroom training and probably some field experience.
Not always. You may want to choose a college that offers classroom instruction AND online courses. Accredidation is important and I would inquire about services such as job placement assistance for graduates. There is never an easy way out...education is hard work but if you reach out for help and connect with those who offer financial aid and support then you will be able to do it! Many schools offer daycare services as well. Be careful about choosing an online school that doesn't have a local campus where you can meet with instructors and counselors.
Ditto... go through a community college or universities online program. Some classes require actual face time, others are purely online that can be taken from Iraq or a more local sandbox in your own back yard with your kids in it.
PLUS, going through a CC or University, you can also fill out your FAFSA and apply for financial aid. Universities also usually subsidize childcare. That's how we put our son through his phenom preschool. The university paid for it. They just cut a check to the school each quarter. Going to school while my son was little was an amazing experience. Best of both worlds... SAHP & WP. Even taking classes in person, I only had to be gone for 4-10 hours a week (including drivetime). Super easy to cover childcare for those times... and I was with my son... revitalized from using whole sentences for a whole hour or two the rest of the time.
I agree with the answers below - I think the answer to that question depends on the school. Since you are looking at online programs, I would encourage you to choose a non-profit university and stay away from Kaplan, Phoenix, and the other for-profit schools. Most non-profit universities won't allow you to transfer credits from a for profit university, so it's a waste of time if you want to go on and get your Bachelors.
The non-profit schools (like University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University, or even private schools like Emory) are typically less expensive and have better name recognition. There are also online degree completion programs where you can get you bachelors if you want to invest the time and energy (University of Oklahoma and Appalachian State both offer these). Getting an education is never a waste of money. If you can leverage your education to get something part time (or an internship) while your daughter is growing, you will be even better positioned for a full time job. Good luck!
There are some community colleges that have online programs. I did medical coding distance learning program at Everett Community College out of Everett, Washington. I liked their program a lot as well as the staff there. The instructors were easy to contact and the office staffs were really nice and helpful.I believe they have medical assisting and medical billing distance learning there as well. If you want some information about the school you can email me ____@____.com.
I would stay away from the programs that only have online universities. Good luck and let me know if you want more info.
Working in the Health IT field and getting work with actual physician offices, the concern I would have would be with getting some real world, working experience.
I think that if a person already had a bachelor's or even high school diploma AND had working experience, an online certificate may be acceptable.
With something like an MA career path, I'm not sure how well the online certificate would be viewed. But let's say whatever school you select provides an internship or helps pair you with an office to get practical experience, then it may be okay. Lots of providers and office managers don't want anyone coming to their practice who haven't dealt directly with patients.
