In this blog series, we highlight programs that are new, different, special, popular, and—most importantly—are helping our students GO AHEAD in life.
You can do anything with a General Studies degree! College degrees are required for some jobs and career paths but who says you have to home in on a single study area when there are so many exciting worlds to explore?
It’s the 21st century and no one is expected to hold one particular job, or work for one particular company for decades like our parents (or grandparents) did. As startups come and go, old corporations get acquired, and consulting services grow in demand, it makes a lot more sense for professionals to maintain multiple interests and agile skills.
You may be just out of high school, at the start of your career.
You may need a degree in order to secure a promotion at your current job.
You may be somewhere in between and ready for something new.
No matter where you are in life, a degree of any kind shows employers that you are disciplined, able to set a goal and follow it through to completion. So as long as that pay increase or dream job isn’t contingent on a specialized education, a General Studies program could be exactly what you need.
Some schools refer to general studies programs as “interdisciplinary studies” because you don’t have to choose courses only from one discipline. When your focus is “interdisciplinary,” your focus is every discipline–from math to marketing to English. If you fall in love with an area of study, you can study it more. If you don’t, you can leave it behind.
In addition, when your studies interest you, you learn more and when you learn more, you’re more likely find success. Success builds confidence and confidence makes you more desirable to potential employers.
Ashworth College offers an Associate of Arts in General Studies, an Undergraduate Certificate in General Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies. In addition to plenty of elective courses, each program level includes some required general education courses to ensure your development of foundational post-secondary-level skills.
At every program level, you will also develop skills that aren’t included in any curriculum. As with all college students, you’ll find that continuing education helps you grow in
A focus on a General Studies education is a focus on exploration. Being uncertain about a career focus for your entire life is not a weakness. It takes real honesty and personal awareness to know you’re not ready to decide. Use your General Studies education as an opportunity to determine your interests and, remember, you may not ever have to choose just one. A broad skill set can valuable to employers and to the self-employed.
The bottom line: You don’t have to limit yourself to a particular course of study to get the benefits of a degree.
Our team is happy to answer all your questions about our General Studies programs, including the transfer of existing credits. Reach out to an Academic Advisor at 1-800-957-5412 or jump right in. You can enroll online today and start your first class online today!
Our community is full of independent, motivated, growth-focused students. Dive into our blog to explore diverse stories from our students, friends, experts, and executives. From tips & tricks to student experiences and alumni stories, the Ashworth Blog is all about celebrating our community's accomplishments and passions.
Career What Kinds of Jobs Can You Get with an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education?
An online Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education is designed for aspiring educators who want to develop a career focused on teaching children age 4 and younger. Though you may have stayed at home with a sitter or guardian, or attended a loosely-programmed preschool or play group at that age, it’s now the 2010s and expectations for life pre-K now include structured education by teachers who have earned degrees specifically for this field.
If you have a heart for little kids and patience to boot, consider earning your online Associate Degree and preparing for a job as a preschool teacher! The main goal of preschool is for toddlers to gain language, motor, and social skills while having lots and lots of fun.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for preschool teachers is projected to increase 10% between 2016 and 2026.* That’s a faster-than-average growth projection for all occupations during the same time period. Since the typical requirement for launching a career as a preschool teacher is the completion of an Associate Degree, that leaves plenty of time to get started, graduate, and secure a position in this growing field.
Positions for preschool teachers are available through Head Start programs, private early childhood education centers, churches and faith-based schools, as well as through tutoring, nannying, and at-home childcare services.
As more school systems throughout the U.S. enroll first-generation citizens from non-English-speaking homes, there’s a growing need for trained teachers who can help the youngest of students learn English. Becoming a preschool teacher who works with English Language Learners (ELLs) is a unique way to apply your passion for ECE to a demographic of children who can greatly benefit from your language skills.
If private childcare and teaching is more your style—and you have a sense of adventure—use your ECE degree to become an au pair for a family outside the U.S., or nanny for a foreign family that’s recently moved to the U.S. In both situations, your training will bolster the children’s English-speaking skills and you’ll gain a world of knowledge about another culture.
Ready to learn how to play with purpose? Check out the curriculum of our Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. Or practice your ABCs and enroll today!
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Preschool Teachers, on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/preschool-teachers.htm (visited October 31, 2018).
Career Why Ashworth Online personal training courses for NCSF-CPT prep
Look at you! You got swole and you loved it so much you’ve decided to help others get swole. What’s your next step? Professional certification! You already look the part of a legit personal trainer and that’s excellent for marketing your skills. But it’s a professional certification that really shows your potential clients that you’re qualified to train them. In other words, it gives them permission to trust you right from the start.
Don’t worry, training your brain for certification won’t take as long as training your body into the best physical shape of your life. You also don’t have to go anywhere to get it done; you can learn everything you need to know with online personal training courses at Ashworth College. Our Personal Trainer Career Diploma program can be completed in as few as four months and you can study at your own pace.
The program curriculum aligns with the standards set by the National Council on Strength and Fitness and helps prep you specifically for their Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) certification exam. Because of the NCSF mission to promote high levels of professional competency, ethics, and safety, their CPTs are considered highly-reputable industry wide.
There are nearly a dozen well-known certification programs available for aspiring personal trainers. They feature a range of costs, time commitments, and reputation levels. Here are some reasons why Ashworth College chose to base our program on the NCSF-CPT exam:
By the way, when you enroll in the Personal Trainer Career Diploma program at Ashworth College, you’ll also have the cost of the NCSF-CPT exam, practice test, study guides, and a 1-year membership covered by tuition! Once you graduate, you’ll be ready to sit for your exam without jumping through hoops. We’ll help you get prepped and get done so you can start pursuing your passion for personal training with confidence.
*https://www.fitnessmentors.com/best-personal-trainer-certification/
Career Why Ashworth Changing Careers to Find Success
If your job no longer excites you as much as it once did, you may need to consider changing careers. It seems like an intimidating idea at first, but no matter where you are in your work life, making a career change could be the solution that leads to a happier, more successful you.
Before you can find success tackling something new, you have to understand what you’re leaving behind. Acknowledging that you are not happy with your current job–and figuring out why–is the first step to making a career change. Many people who are unhappy at work fall into one of these categories:
Feelings of discontent are extremely common when it comes to the working life and nearly everyone feels them to some degree at one time or another. But if you’re feeling unhappy at work more often than not, for your own health and well-being, you need to be proactive about making a change on your own terms.
Step one of finding a new path is homing in on what exactly you want to change and why. Write down your "wants" and your "don’t wants” about work. You’re not signing any dotted lines here, you’re just making notes for your own personal reference. Put everything on the table no matter how selfish or outrageous it seems because drawing hard lines between what you want and don’t want makes every step towards a new career much more likely to result in success.
If you need some guidance thinking through your feelings about your work, take this quick quiz to find out what kind of a career change might best suit your needs. You may benefit from a little tweak or you may be inspired to tackle something totally new.
One you figure out what kind of career change will inspire you, you can start taking steps toward it. In some cases, you may just need to ask the boss for a new opportunity or project that will challenge you without taking you too far from your current role. That could require a refresh of your skills, or a few steps into a new subject area. Earning a career-specific certification can be a smart investment here. You can expand your opportunities at work by digging deeper into a creative skill, business skill, trade, or something totally new.
If you’ve determined you need to make a drastic career change, you may need to start a new degree, or finish one you didn’t complete. Don’t worry! Returning to college is not as scary as it seems. The right school can be affordable and flexible to fit into your already busy schedule.
Check out the opportunities here at Ashworth College. We provide online diploma, degree, certificate and career training programs that give you freedom and flexibility to pursue additional education on your time, from your own home, and without the need for Federal student loans. You may find yourself in that dream career a lot faster than you thought possible.
Let's talk about your educational goals. Call 1-800-957-5412
