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- Continuing Education Certificate Programs – Earn Extra Money

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As the economy may be skidding to a halt, one thing that won’t be letting up will be pressure to pay your bills. Earning extra money to pay them and possibly inch ahead will be of paramount importance in the coming months. As jobs get harder to come by, any advantage you can get will be important to differentiate yourself from the multitudes of souls looking for work. As businesses tighten their belts, asking for a raise will akin to career suicide in many workplaces.

A continuing education certificate program can be a great way to set yourself apart from others with their paws out for a raise. These programs can make you more valuable to your existing employer when it comes time to ask for a raise, and help insulate you from the next round of cutbacks. In addition, continuing education can position you well for either a career change or your next step up the corporate ladder, either with your existing employer or another.

One great advantage to a certificate program is that it is much faster to complete than a degree program. Unlike a degree, which can take well over a year, even for accelerated programs, certificate programs can be completed in weeks or months, depending upon the program.

There are literally thousands of continuing education programs to choose from. Here are some of those that are both proven to earn you extra money now, and predicted to in the future. Another advantage is that many of these programs can be complete either all, or in part, on-line. This is a huge help, because you can fit your studies around your existing schedule. A third advantage of completing a certificate, versus a degree program is that they are usually far less expensive. Many companies will help offset all or part of the cost of such continuing education programs.

1) Project Management – Experienced project managers are always in demand, just ask Donald Trump, he’s fired a ton of them. A good PM can make or break a project, and potentially cost a company millions. Getting a PM certificate from an accredited program can help you step into this in-demand and lucrative field. PMs are found in many industries, from marketing to construction, so you won’t have to limit yourself. Project management certificate programs are offered from well respected institutions such as Villanova University, UC Irvine, and the University of Washington. According to payscale.com, project manager professional’s salaries range from $80,245 in construction to $99,769 for a computer software program manager.

2) IT and Network Security – This is a obviously a growing field, as is evidenced by the number of news stories dealing with compromised networks, computer viruses and stolen personal data. IT and network security pros combat these attacks and keep data secure. Businesses can save costs and increase productivity by having IT security on staff or contracting with specialized firms in this area. The benefits of this type of security are such that sales of computer and network hardware and software increased 15% from 2005 to 2006 and another 25% from 2006 to 2007 according to research firm Infonetics Research. Someone has to install and configure all of that stuff, in addition to the other tasks performed by computer security pros.

Some of the continuing education certifications that you can get to help you advance on the IT security career path are :
- Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

- Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP)

- Cisco Certified Network Associate/Professional (CCNA/CCNP

- Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)

- Check Point Certified Security Expert (CCSE)

- SANS-GIAC certifications family

- Prosoft CIW Security Professional (CIW-SP)

- Certified Protection Professional (CPP)

- Certified Network Security Professional (CNSP) or Associate (CNSA)

Annual salaries for IT security professionals range from the high $40Ks to over $100,000 depending upon experience, certifications, employer, and so forth.

3) Executive Coaching – After they incur costs in the 10’s or 100’s of thousands to recruit executives, and because their execs have such a dramatic impact on the ultimate success of the business, companies are searching for ways to increase the effectiveness of their executives. Enter the executive coach, whos job is to do just that. The field of executive coaching is growing rapidly due the pressure from shareholders and others to extract the most return from highly paid executives.

The good news for those seeking a career in this field is that the higher paid the exec, the greater the likely ROI from coaching, and the easier it is to get a good ROI from hiring a well paid coach. Certificate programs in executive coaching are available from many providers. Many programs however, require an advanced degree for admission. Such institutions of higher learning as Columbia University, University of Georgia, Kaplan University Online, and NYU offer certificate programs in this discipline.

There are certificate programs available in dozens of diverse, in-demand fields. Other certificate programs besides those mentioned above include video game design, forensic nursing, network administration, graphic design, paralegal, fire and safety engineering technology, homeland security, occupational safety, web design, management information systems, and international marketing.

Weather you’re seeking to advance your existing career, go off in a completely new career direction or help ensure against the next round of corporate cutbacks, a certificate program can offer a cost and time effective way of doing so. With so many programs being offered on-line now, and such a huge variety of different programs, it may be just what you’ve been looking for. For more information on getting a professional certificate from over 40 different providers, see AchieveYourCareer.com. They have over 40 different certificate and advanced degree providers listed, such as DeVry University, Cornell University, Boston University, Art Institute of Pittsburg and Indiana State.