by Paul D. Rosevear Online education has re-shaped, re-defined, and nearly characterized the modern day learner's educational experience. So what are people studying with all these new ways to do so? Not surprisingly, the advent of technology in eLearning has strong ties to the role technology plays in the workforce. Check out these 10 online learning fields of study that have come into existence, or taken on new significance, within the past decade of educational evolution. Forensic Nursing While online education has served to create opportunities for career-changers to enter the field of nursing, it is also encouraging specialization within the field. With crime and forensics-related educational programs experiencing huge enrollment boosts overall, it's no surprise this swell in interest has translated to nursing. According to a survey of International Association of Forensic Nurses members potential earnings can be as much as $55-$300 per hour to care for victims of negligence, abuse, or violent crimes. Beyond hospitals, local institutions like rape crisis centers and prosecutors' offices are also known to contribute funding to support this training. Game Art & Design Video games are nothing new, but the way they get created has evolved, along with the complexity of the games themselves. There is nothing simple about game design -- today's gamers want detailed characters and storylines, lifelike action, competitive graphics, and an endless palette of features and options. In the same way that the Internet has connected gamers around the world, it has also demanded that the game design professional bring world-class skill to the table. The stakes are high, but without the technology that's raising the avid player's expectations, game design wouldn't be such a high scorer in the educational world. Holistic Health and Nutrition According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a growing emphasis on disease prevention is projected to spark an increase in job opportunities in nutrition, fitness, and other health-related careers across the next eight years. The upward momentum in public interest has boosted salary potential as well with the average food scientists and technologists bringing in $50,840 in 2004. With plenty of media coverage, the merging of nutrition and consumerism has made the distance education programs an appealing way for continuing education students to revitalize their careers via their interest in revitalizing the human body. Natural Resource Management While Al Gore has made many of us aware that global warming is an inconvenient truth, environmental awareness in the public eye is certainly a convenient truth for aspiring professionals in related fields, including natural resource management. Learning about how the worlds living systems function and how they can be better managed is a skill set that is only gaining viability as time passes, and a B.A. is the minimum requirement for most jobs in the field -- two-thirds of which are in federal, state, and local government. Digital and Graphic Design Art and technology intersect in the graphic design world, and applications have never been broader, with marketing agencies, corporations, and even small-time business owners becoming increasingly dependent on the Internet to reach consumers. Of course, there's nothing new about the importance of being able to communicate a message visually, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects growth to be strong in related fields accordingly. Criminal Justice Crime is nothing new -- but the overwhelming interest in studying it is. The popularity of television shows like "CSI" and "Law & Order" has given birth to a new generation of criminology enthusiasts, who are not only fascinated with the pursuit of justice, but are equally enamored with the cutting-edge technology used in achieving it. These trends are evident among the nation's youth, too: A survey conducted by the National Research Center for College and University Admissions (NRCCUA) last year cited high school students ranking criminal justice 11th out of nearly 70 occupations. Scandals like Enron or Martha Stewart have ushered in the inescapable role of using technology in the world of criminal justice. IT Networking and System Management Networking is more than just the inter-office e-mail system or the company FTP server on which you transfer files. It's become the entire backbone of a many companies' abilities to function, with every component of communication, data storage, record-keeping, and security being intertwined. Managing that big ball of cyber-string can come with big rewards. Recent reports cite the average earnings of a Cisco-certified IT professional as just under $60,000. Homeland Security The post 9/11 job market is demanding more attention and focus to security. Whether it's municipal government, large corporations, or small businesses, the need for knowledgeable professionals has never been higher. The U.S. Department of Labor is predicting that the employment of security management personnel will grow faster than all other occupations due to the threat of terrorism. Professionals in increasingly high demand: Those with knowledge of investigative services, surveillance systems, and risk management training. Information Technology Security This is a no-brainer, as computers have served as a gateway for many things -- including the proverbial bad guys. Whether the bad guys are computer hackers or just rotten bits of HTML code, the need to react and recover from security breaches puts this field at the top of the list. According to MATRIX Resources, one of the nation's top IT staffing firms, managers are putting a high priority on security and data recovery professionals. Though most IT fields saw a pay increase of 3.1 percent in 2006, those demanding the hottest skill sets -- with security at the top of the list -- saw increases of up to 4-5 percent. Executive Coaching While human resource skills are always in demand, many business leaders are finding that online education affords them the time and flexibility to take some of these responsibilities on themselves. Hence, executive coaching has been ushered in as an extremely desirable and lucrative field. In 2002 the Harvard Business School Journal indicated that employers are willing to pay fees ranging from $1,500 to $15,000 a day for executive coaching. With applicability in any business setting -- corporations, nonprofit organizations, government -- executive coaching interest is providing established business professionals the chance to increase effectiveness, while simultaneously lining the pockets of coaches themselves.
by Paul D. Rosevear