We’ve all heard the phrase, “Think global, Act local.” It’s everything from a business marketing plan to a plea for environmental awareness. But savvy students in the age of coronavirus should turn it around to–”Stay local… but think global.”
You can wisely avoid dormitory life and crowded classes, while pursuing your dream and saving money at your community college. By attending school in your neighborhood, you’ll incur lower costs, receive more personal attention in smaller class sizes, and have easy transferability to a four-year school.
Staying local—to stay healthy, help with childcare, or keep your job—is no barrier to thinking globally and attaining an exciting career.
Make it your business
Business makes the world go round. Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit? Starting and managing a company requires highly-sought after skills, applicable everywhere. Consider your personality and temperament and decide what best suits you. Analytical and outgoing? Try marketing. Analytical and introverted? Maybe accounting is a better fit. Do you have great ideas and a lot of nerve? You’re the perfect business owner. Calm and methodical? Perhaps you belong in human resources.
Having a business background can take you and your company across the country or the globe. While ideas and opportunities are endless, a solid business education gives you an edge. You can begin with basic business and finance classes at Your Community College. If you’re aiming for a bachelor’s, investigate a business transfer program to get started. If you want to test the waters, there are many short-term certificates available.
Human resources assistant: $41,620 annually, $20.01 hourly
Accountant/auditor: $71,550 annually, $34.40 hourly
Bookkeepers/accounting clerks: $41,230 annually, $19.82 hourly
Get cooking
Love international cuisine, pastry, soul food? Culinary Arts is one of the most portable careers out there—everyone loves to eat and try new foods. Your Community College provides hands-on training. Course offerings typically emphasize practical application, a strong theoretical knowledge base, professionalism, and critical competencies to meet industry demands successfully. You will learn sanitation practices, food/beverage service and control, baking, American/international cuisines, food production, and hospitality supervision. Some programs go the extra mile and are accredited by the American Culinary Federation Foundation.
Chefs and head cooks: $51,530 annually, $24.78 hourly
Let your career take flight
Are you trying to get off the ground and go places? Perhaps you would be interested in an Associate in Applied Sciences with a focus on aviation. It is a well-paid field, with many skilled workers earning upwards of $60,000, some into the six-figure range. As a global industry, aviation also offers excellent job opportunities all over the world.
In the US, many aircraft specialists are reaching retirement age, meaning that airlines will be seeking tens of thousands of skilled new specialists to replenish their dwindling ranks. Beyond the day-to-day operations and maintenance of aircraft, career opportunities abound on aerospace design and testing. Along with technological advances in aircraft are new national security demands, spacecraft innovation, and simulation applications. Exciting advances in 3D printing offers new possibilities for the industry as well.
Avionics mechanics work on everything from jets and propeller planes to helicopters. Engines, electrical systems, propellers, hydraulics, flight instruments, landing gears, brakes, and other parts all require regular maintenance, inspections, and repairs.
Avionics mechanics: $62,920 annually, $30.25 hourly
Avionics technicians: $65,330 annually, $30.84 hourly
Teacher education and professional development
Teachers are in demand everywhere. Those who pursue a major in Teacher Education and Professional Development usually concentrate on a specific level such as elementary, secondary, special education, or adult education. These students are trained to be teachers and take classes in education theory and philosophy as well as child development. Students can then transfer and pursue their teaching degree via a well-established articulation agreement.
If you’re interested in teaching English abroad, it can come with a reasonable salary that even puts money in your savings account. As a teacher abroad, it’s perfectly reasonable to earn a decent wage—in top-paying countries, this can be from $2,000 to over $5,000 per month!—depending on the country and region, according to 2020 statistics.
High school teacher: $61,660 annually, $28 hourly
The arts are your ticket
“All the world’s a stage,” said Shakespeare. Perhaps you’d like to act, build sets, craft lighting, or learn stage management? Theater Arts programs train students for all these opportunities and more. “Our alumni can be found working on numerous productions such as ‘Wipeout,’ ‘The Voice,’ the Broadway musical ‘Young Frankenstein,’ and traveling with (rock band) Nine Inch Nails,” said one community college teacher, noting that local theaters also regularly contact him to hire students. “I recently was contacted by a theater looking to fill a stage manager position and another looking for a scenic designer,” he said. A community college theater graduate noted, “The technical classes taught me how to get into jobs behind the scenes, which also is a good way to get on stage.”
Another way to express your creativity, style, and originality is a career in Fashion Design, another art form that draws inspiration globally. “Creating garments from start to finish has always been my passion,” said Susan Peterson, an independent designer and community college Applied Arts Fashion Design graduate. She also continues taking classes to keep up with new techniques. Fashion students learn by doing at community college and typically study sketching, creative design, draping, pattern drafting, and theory.
Actors: Varied wages
Fashion designer (bachelor’s): $73,790 annually, $35.48 hourly
Fascinated by human culture?
Anthropologists work in all countries, examining cultures, languages and archeological remains. Their expertise is sought after for a wide range of jobs, including cultural resource management, museums, human and social services, forensics, market research, and academics.
At Your Community College, you can get a solid introduction to the field. Because most anthropology-related jobs require advanced college degrees, community colleges provide an ideal environment for students to explore career paths and determine their direction first-hand.
Anthropologists and Archeologists (master’s): $66,810 annually, $32.12 hourly
The sky’s the limit!
Is a National Geographic gig in your future? Photography, graphic design and many applied visual artists get their start at community college. Don’t underestimate the range of choices that you have by staying local and thinking global!