Three Careers that Accommodate Busy Lives

February 25th, 2009

Whether you’re a busy high school grad, a college student looking into his/her first profession, or a budding career changer, one thing you’ll wonder is how a job will fit with your life schedule. Will you have time to get home and tend to your responsibilities? How about just having the time to have fun or work on furthering your skills or education?

We’ve thought about these questions too and narrowed things down to three careers that can accommodate a busy schedule as well as the training they require:

Nursing: In addition to helping out those in need, a nursing career gives you an alternative to the average 9-to-5 office routine. While some nurses do work normal office hours, the various 24-hour hospitals and care services around the nation allow nurses to schedule work shifts that compliment and accommodate their busy home lives. Need the daylight hours for errands or school? Then work evenings or nights as a nurse. Of course, you’ll need the proper degree and licensure in order to land a nursing career. Depending upon the specific field you are pursuing this may take anywhere from two to four years.

Teaching: Though teachers for elementary schools and above often have workweeks that exceed 40 hours, they often enjoy a two-month vacation for the summer. In addition, many preschool and kindergarten teachers work part-time in light of the shorter school day schedules. In either case, the teaching profession allows you a greater amount of flexibility when it comes to scheduling your day or year. In order to get into this field you’ll need the right credentials. All teachers, except private school teachers, need a license to teach, but depending on the age group you instruct you may or may not need a bachelor’s degree in education.

Medical Billing and Coding:
If you’re interested in health care but prefer the behind-the-scenes approach, medical billing and coding may be the career for you. While medical billers work on the business side of health care, keeping records on the costs and nature of various hospital services provided to patients, medical coders specialize in coding info on patients to provide to insurers. Thanks to the nature of their work many people with medical billing and coding careers work from home, setting their own hours, or establish their own businesses. To get your own medical billing and coding career you’ll need to train with an accredited program and attain national certification in billing and/or coding.

– Genevieve M. Blaber

Entry Filed under: Careers, College Admissions, General, Scholarships