Connect with us

World News

Affordable Professional Certifications That Lead to Well-Paying Jobs

Published

on



The American economy as a whole may be an unstoppable force these days, but on an individual level most of us feel pretty poor. While some of that may be “money dysmorphia,” it’s also a fact that everything costs more these days, and until very recently our incomes haven’t kept pace.

In a capitalist society, the answer to any problem is usually “more money,” so a lot of people have been wondering how they can level up their earning power, especially if they don’t have a college degree or experience in a well-paying field. While there are a lot of professions that only require a certificate or license, paying for that when you’re already broke can be a challenge.

But not every professional certificate costs an arm and/or a leg. Here are eight professional certificates that are relatively cheap but can lead to robust careers.

Drone pilot

Cost: $225

Potential salary: $98,249

Drone pilot careers seem like a glitch in the matrix. Chances are, if you’re somewhat good at video games you could probably be a good drone pilot, and yet this career path averages close to six figures in terms of income. Even more amazing, to become a certified drone pilot you just need your Part 107 certificate, which costs just $175. If you need some help to pass the exam, a drone pilot course will run you about $50, making your total cost $225 (although you’ll probably need a drone to practice with, which might run you a bit more). Even if you find a job for a lot less than six figures, that’s a pretty great deal.

You might wonder who hires drone pilots—the main industries looking for these skills include photography businesses (including real estate photographers), film and television production companies, and surveying companies.

Home inspector

Cost: $500 – $800

Potential salary: $48,000 to $78,000

Home inspectors are always in demand, because people are still buying houses and still worried about buying a money pit. While a background in construction or home maintenance might give you a leg up, it’s not required—if you can meet your state’s requirements (and some states don’t even require a high school diploma to certify you as a home inspector), you’re good to go. All you generally need to do is take a Home Inspector Education Course that costs anywhere from $500 to $800, pass your state’s exam, and start up your business. How much you make depends entirely on you; while the range is generally between $48,000 and $78,000 per year, it depends on how many inspections you can schedule every day.

Real estate agent

Cost: $1,325

Potential salary: $139,286

Real estate often seems like everyone’s fallback career. Lose a job? Retire? Get into real estate! Well, there’s a reason for that: It’s not hard to get licensed, and there’s potential for a lot of money. The operative word there is potential, because real estate is not a magical journey where money rains out of the sky—most newbie real estate agents work for brokers who sponsor them, and they often start off working the lowest-paying listings and paying part of their commissions up to their broker.

But getting licensed as a real estate agent isn’t too expensive—about $1,325, including fees—and the average income is just under $140,000 if you stick with it. The only catch is that it takes a lot of knowledge to pass that exam, so be prepared to study your butt off.

EMT

Cost: $1,000 to $2,000

Potential salary: $98,000

Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are an essential part of our emergency medical system—these are the folks who show up in an ambulance and offer emergency stabilizing treatment while getting you to a hospital. It’s a high-pressure, high-stress job, but it can pay close to six figures. Getting certified as an EMT isn’t a high barrier, either, as long as you can master the skills and knowledge required. Most courses cost between $1,000 and $2,000 (equipment and exam fees might be extra). If you have a passion for serving your community and saving lives, this certificate offers an excellent ROI.

Funeral director

Cost: $4,000 to $21,000

Potential salary: $64,617

Being a funeral director isn’t for everyone, obviously, and getting licensed can cost a bit more than some of the other certifications on this list (up to $21,000 depending on the program). And it won’t get you into six figures easily, averaging just under $65,000 a year. But if you find a program under $5,000, it’s a career that offers something invaluable: Job security.

Medical coder

Cost: $3,564

Potential salary: $48,780

Medical billing involves knowing how to appropriately code medical services so insurers and healthcare systems can bill properly for them. It’s precise work, but it’s work that anyone can do if they apply themselves and complete the appropriate training. While the average salary is just under $50,000, it’s a growing industry, and getting a two-year certification to work in it usually costs under $4,000 (although you can spend much more), making it a solid investment.

Massage therapist

Cost: $10,000+

Potential salary: $57,060

Just because your friends tell you that you have “magic hands” doesn’t mean you’re ready to just open up a massage therapy business. To get certified as a massage therapist in most states, you’ll need to complete 500 hours (or more) of training. And that training isn’t as cheap as some of the other programs listed here, costing about $10,000 or more. But that’s still a lot less than the average cost of a four-year degree (about $38,270). If you complete that training, you can look forward to a career earning an average of about $57,600.

Air traffic controller

Cost: $10,000 to $35,000

Potential salary: $129,750

You might assume you need all kinds of arcane experience to become an air traffic controller, responsible for preventing air disasters and keeping your flights from ramming into each other. You’d be wrong: It’s relatively easy to become an air traffic controller (ATC). You don’t need a degree, although getting one is often helpful. All you absolutely need is to complete a training course offered by the Federal Aviation Administration and passing an exam.

Technically, you can become an air traffic controller without any degree as long as you pass the exam, but it’s usually necessary to either have training (from military service, for example) or to complete at least a two-year Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) school. The FAA has a list of approved CTI schools on its website. Total costs can go as high as $35,000, but can be as low as $10,000—and ATCs enjoy a median salary of $129,750.





Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

World News

For sale: A piece of California’s country music history

Published

on



The famed Buck Owens Crystal Palace, where music legends including Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks and a young Taylor Swift have played, is up for sale, with the foundation that runs the Bakersfield venue planning to list it for $7 million on Monday.

The nightclub, museum and steakhouse was owned by its namesake Buck Owens, the country music trailblazer who bucked the slick commercial melodies of Nashville for a distinctly West Coast twang. Owens opened the Crystal Palace in 1996, watching it become a premier venue for the biggest names in country music, including himself. Buck and the Buckaroos played there every Friday and Saturday night until his death in 2006.

Jim Shaw, a member of the Buckaroos and a director of the Buck Owens Private Foundation, said that after 28 years of running the famed venue, the Owens family plans to step back and find new owners amid a challenging business climate. The foundation said in a statement that “since Buck’s passing in 2006, we’ve tried to maintain the excellence that he expected, even as it became more and more difficult during these challenging times of increasing food and labor costs.”

The venue is not closing and scheduled events will continue as planned, Shaw said.

“It’s business as usual for now,” Shaw said. “Ideally, someone who wants to keep it exactly as it is will come forward.”

Owens’ youngest son, Johnny Owens, wrote on Facebook that the family’s hope “is that a buyer steps forward with a vision for the future and a reverence” for his father and the Bakersfield Sound.

The Crystal Palace, located on Buck Owens Boulevard, is a major tourism staple for Bakersfield. The 18,000-square-foot venue is next to the city’s downtown entrance.

“It’s the No. 1 tourist attraction in Bakersfield,” Shaw said. “There are people stepping forward and we are waiting to see what happens. I am getting a lot of phone calls. I’m anxious to see what happens.”



Source link

Continue Reading

World News

2nd local radio host says they were given questions ahead of Biden interview

Published

on


A second local radio host on Saturday told ABC News that he was provided a list of questions in advance of his interview with President Joe Biden this week.

“Yes, I was given some questions for Biden,” Earl Ingram of CivicMedia told ABC News. Ingram, a prominent host of a Wisconsin radio station, interviewed Biden this week in the wake of his debate performance.

Ingram said he was given five questions and ended up asking four of them.

“I didn’t get a chance to ask him all the things I wanted to ask,” he said.

Ingram is the second interviewer who now says they were provided questions by Biden aides to ask the president this week. Earlier today, another local radio host who interviewed Biden this week told CNN she was given questions to ask Biden before the interview.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners,” the Biden campaign told ABC News on Saturday.

Ingram told ABC he didn’t see anything necessarily wrong with the practice. “To think that I was gonna get an opportunity to ask any question to the President of the United States, I think, is a bit more than anybody should expect,” he said.

He continued that he was grateful for the opportunity to interview Biden at all.

“Certainly the fact that they gave me this opportunity … meant a lot to me,” Ingram said.

MORE: Wealthy Democratic donors sound alarm over Biden staying in race

On CNN earlier today, Andrea Lawful-Sanders, the host of WURD’s “The Source,” said Biden officials provided her with a list of eight questions ahead of their interview with Biden.

“The questions were sent to me for approval; I approved of them,” she said.

“I got several questions — eight of them,” she continued. “And the four that were chosen were the ones that I approved.”

Responding to Lawful-Sanders, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement that it’s not “uncommon” for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. She noted that Lawful-Sanders was “free” to ask any questions she saw fit. She also noted that it was the campaign who sent over the questions and not the White House as other reports claim.

Lawful-Sanders did note in her interview with CNN that she ultimately “approved” the questions provided.

“It’s not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. These questions were relevant to news of the day – the president was asked about this debate performance as well as what he’d delivered for black Americans,” the statement said.

“We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners. In addition to these interviews, the President also participated in a press gaggle yesterday as well as an interview with ABC. Americans have had several opportunities to see him unscripted since the debate.”

A source familiar with the Biden booking operation told ABC News that moving forward they will “refrain” from offering suggested questions to interviewers.

“While interview hosts have always been free to ask whatever questions they please, moving forward we will refrain from offering suggested questions.”

2nd local radio host says they were given questions ahead of Biden interview originally appeared on abcnews.go.com



Source link

Continue Reading

World News

President George W. Bush turns 78 years old

Published

on



George W. Bush, born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, was the 43rd President of the United States.

Bush was born to parents Barbara Bush and former President George H. W. Bush. He has five siblings; Jeb Bush, Marvin Bush, Neil Bush, Dorothy Bush Koch and Pauline Robinson Bush. Pauline was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away at age three.

He was formerly the Republican Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

WHY FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH IS WINNING … THE POST-PRESIDENCY

Bush was first elected to the White House in November 2000, and officially began his first term as president in January 2001, after he defeated Democrat Al Gore during the presidential election. Bush was reelected to his second term as the incumbent in November 2004, when he prevailed over Democrat John Kerry, and led the United States until January 2009 before handing over his torch to former President Barack Obama.

Bush married Laura Bush on November 5, 1977, the day after her 31st birthday, in her hometown of Midland, Texas. The couple were engaged in September 1977, and married less than two months later in a Methodist church. Bush and Laura met at a barbecue, and he took her to play mini-golf on their first date. 

The Bush’s share twin daughters, Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, born on November 25, 1981. Today, the couple also share four grandchildren; Mila, Poppy, Hal and Cora.

GEORGE BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY ISSUE STATEMENT ON AFGHANISTAN WITH MESSAGE TO US TROOPS, VETERANS

During his presidency, Bush cared for his English springer spaniel, Spot Fetcher, who accompanied him to meetings in the Oval Office and on adventures throughout the White House. The dog was born to his parent’s dog, Millie.

On September 11, 2001, less than one year into Bush’s presidency, the Twin Towers in New York City were attacked by terrorists when airplanes hit both buildings, causing a collapse and thousands of lives lost. At the time, Bush was reading to elementary-aged children at a school in Sarasota, Florida. He was calmly and quietly advised of the attacks and quickly returned to Washington, where he was briefed alongside Vice President Dick Cheney.

Bush was regarded highly for his poise while learning of the attacks and for his demonstration of patriotism and leadership in the uncertain days and weeks following the hijackings of multiple planes on the day that shook America to her core.

SADDAM CAPTURED ‘LIKE A RAT’ IN RAID

On December 30, 2003, during Bush’s first term as POTUS, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader and executor of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., was captured by the American military

In the early morning of December 30, 2006, during Bush’s presidency, Hussein was hanged and executed for his crimes against humanity. Americans across the nation celebrated the death of Hussein and applauded Bush for promising the country he would take him out and following through.

While Bush was regarded for his dealings with the terrorist attacks, the signing of No Child Left Behind Act and the Patriot Act and the creation of the United States Department of Homeland Security, many Americans were unhappy with the sanctions of interrogation techniques, the war in Iraq and taxes while he was president.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending

Copyright © 2024 World Daily Info. Powered by Columba Ventures Co. Ltd.