You don't need college degree to get good job

"There are lots of opportunities for people who don't have a bachelor's degree to work in a hospital," said Merideth Northcutt, director of recruitment at Gwinnett Hospital System. "Jobs in the different modalities of imaging — such as radiation, CT, mammography or ultrasound technologists; licensed practical nurses and registered nurses with a two-year degree; patient care technicians; EMTs; paramedics; and medical assistants are some examples of positions that don't require four years of college but do require specialized training and/or national certification or registration. There's a great need for all these workers in Georgia."

An aging population, which requires more medical services, and the retirement of baby boomers are two factors causing shortages of health care workers nationally. New medical advances and specialties are creating additional job opportunities.

"When we came out with our first edition of 'Health Careers in Georgia' in 1992, we listed 50 occupations. Now there are 71," said Nealy Stapleton, operating officer of the Southwest Georgia Area Health Education Center (AHEC). "You don't have to have clinical skills; there are administrative jobs, like medical coder [with a starting salary of $30,202]."

Published by Georgia's AHEC Network and designed to help students and career-changers explore health care occupations, the manual describes each career and its work environment, education requirements, programs in Georgia, professional organizations and starting salaries. It's distributed free to hospitals, guidance counselors, college career centers and public libraries and is available online at www.sowega-ahec.org.

Skills make the difference

Nichols knows that skills training leads to viable careers and helps the economy in her seven-county North Georgia area. She has the success stories to prove it, but, like many educators, she believes that message needs to be heard by a young audience.

"We're doing a better job of bringing middle and high school kids and their counselors to campus to show them how technical programs lead to good things," she said.

Not every student is academically wired for four years of college, and there are plenty of other careers, she said. For example, a one-year program in AutoCAD (computer-assisted drafting) can lead to a $30,000 to $40,000 job with an engineering firm or manufacturer. Electricians can start at $14 to $15 an hour for residential work and $16 to $20 for commercial wiring. It takes two years to complete a dental hygienist program, but those graduates find jobs paying in the $50,000 range or more.

"When we show students race cars and talk about how people build them, we talk about the need for geometry. Students who can see relevance in what they're learning do better," Moye said.

Wanting to lower the high school dropout rate, Vandiver brought 20 at-risk students to a two-day technology camp over Christmas break. The students were recommended by their schools' graduation coaches.

"We wanted to get them excited about technology and learning, so we showed them how to build robotic-welded airplanes and brought in a motor sports pit crew to engage them in a racing simulation," Vandiver said. "They learned how to use an air gun and take a tire off fast, but they also learned about lean manufacturing processes, teamwork and themselves."

Part of his straight-talk, real-world approach was to bring in local plant managers to visit with the students at lunch.

"The managers told our kids that if they finished high school and earned a technical diploma, they could make $17 an hour," Vandiver said. "They also explained how much income they would lose over time by not having postsecondary training and working for minimum wage."

He believes that if you help young people set goals — it doesn't matter if it's a material goal, such as owning a fancy car — and teach them to solve problems, they'll figure out that they can reach their goals faster with a high school diploma and training.

About a half-dozen students told Vandiver afterward that they planned to graduate from high school so they could come to Lanier Tech. He's planning a second at-risk camp over spring break.

"I tell students that a great place to research careers and job trends is to read the classifieds in the newspaper," Moye said. "It will give you a lesson in what careers are hot, what education and skills are needed, and the income you can expect."