By Christina Couch

How do you stay competitive in an ever-changing job market?  Keep up with the times, says Sandee Seiberlich.  An IT Strategic Consultant by day and a student in Depaul University’s online master's in Information Technology (IT) program by night. Seiberlich hopes to use her new master's degree to land a better, higher-paying job in her already in-demand field.  According to the education research firm, Eduventures, when students flock to the virtual classroom, they head straight for the IT programs, one of the top three most popular subjects for online learners, along with health care and business programs.

Find out more about your career prospects in these hot online learning fields, and why the eClassroom is the place to go for a degree that'll count toward tomorrow's surefire jobs.

Stepping Into the Information Age
To say the IT market is thriving is an understatement. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that of the top 20 fastest-growing occupations, five of them are in the Information Technology field. Specializing in all things computer and software-related, those with IT degrees find jobs as hardware and software developers, consultants, programmers, software testers, network developers, support specialists, systems operators, and Web administrators.  Jobs are available at home and abroad with both large and small firms, and many IT pros have the opportunity to take on freelance work. 

Seiberlich says that online learning is a great way to break into the industry because the teaching and communication methods used in the virtual classroom parallel those used in the field. 

“IT is particularly conducive to online learning because right away, most of the people drawn to this will know how to use the tools we use in the classroom,” she states, citing video lectures, computerized white boards, and online discussion forums as a few of the ways she interacts with her professors and classmates.  “A lot of the exams are either take-home or programming projects, so it works out very well.” 

The IT  411
Did You Know?

By 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the need for IT analysts is expected to grow by nearly 30%. The National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE) reports that those in the information sciences have an average starting salary of $48,593, up 8.5% from last year.

Resuscitating Your Career
For Kenneth Bateman, a student in the master's of health care administration degree program at Seton Hall University, enrolling in an online program of study allows him to stay current with his rapidly changing industry. As CEO of a New Jersey-based teaching hospital, Bateman relies on both his professors as well as his network of classmates to keep him up to speed on health care trends and practices. 

“For health care administration, online learning will be the standard in the future because it’s such a changing industry,” Bateman comments. “It gives you the ability to interact with students from all across the country and get a broader perspective in what’s going on in different working environments.” 

In health care, there’s an enormous range of working environments. Those in the health care fields find work in hospitals, clinics, labs, universities and secondary schools, summer camps, day care facilities, rehab centers, and nursing homes just to name a few.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that between now and 2014, more salaried jobs (about 3.6 million) will be created in the health care fields than in any other industry. 

Dennis V. Damp, author of" Health Care Job Explosion! High Growth Health Care Careers and Job Locator" (Bookhaven Press, LLC, 2006), cites the aging baby boomer generation, new life-prolonging treatments, and advances in health care diagnostics as propelling the job explosion. Damp also says that you needn’t have a four-year degree to enter the health care field.

“One of the most desirable aspects of health care employment is the fact that you can enter it from a minimum high school degree to a doctorate degree and everything in between,” he comments.  “It’s good to target at least a two-year degree program; that will give you a good start in the profession.” 

The Health Care 411
Did You Know?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one out of every five new jobs created by 2014 will be in the health care fields. Health care professions currently make up eight of the 20 fastest-growing occupations in America.

Business Is Booming
Jim Stine got started in his profession more than three decades years ago.  Currently a project engineer based in Denver, Colo., Stine had 36 years of experience before he returned to the classroom for a business degree.  Enrolling in a brick-and-mortar business administration program then later switching to a click-and-mortar one at Regis University, Stine says that though he misses in the face-to-face interaction with classmates, an online learning program allowed him to network with a wider array of business professionals. 

“When I was attending a traditional class, people who were in the classroom had commuted from the metropolitan suburbs of Denver; however, in the online environment, I’ve got men and women that come from all over,” he comments.  “You’re getting the opportunity to dialogue with people from all over just like you do in the real world.”

Like Stine, many who enroll in online business administration programs are already working professionals seeking to add an extra dimension to their industry expertise.  Stine’s program specializes in project management; however, business programs vary tremendously from school to school and may emphasize sales, marketing, finance, human resources, leadership, commerce, manufacturing, global business, business communication, or supply chain management. 

The diversity of business degree programs mirrors the diversity of the field itself.  Those with a business degree find work in large and small companies across nearly all industries, government offices, nonprofit agencies, and educational institutions.  The one thing business degree holders have in common is that they’re well paid.  According to NACE, the average starting salary for a graduate with a four-year business administration degree is $42,048.

The Business 411
Did You Know?

A study by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) shows that employers plan to hire 18% more MBAs than they did last year. Want to make even more money? Try combining two of the hottest career fields. CNN reports that those specializing in the business side of healthcare and medical-related fields (business development directors, product managers and associate product managers to throw out a few job titles) are on the fast track to retirement. Base salaries between those three positions can range from $55,000 up to $160,000 before bonuses.