10 Online Resources to Help Community College Students Succeed

When most people dream of a high-paying profession, the thought of years of schooling also comes to mind. The perception is that in order to earn more, you must study more to prepare for your career. However, plenty of six-figure jobs are available to those with a community college degree as well. While not all of these positions earn a high salary as a starting point, many working in the profession can work their way up to six figures through dedication and hard work. Check out these six-figure jobs you can land with a community college degree.

Air Traffic Controller

While many air traffic controllers launch their careers with a four-year degree, community college options also appear for this position. Community College of Beaver County offers a two-year program in air traffic control that prepares students for the job of control tower operator. The school boasts a student-staffed control tower to give students on-the-job training while earning their degrees. According to CB Salary, the average annual salary for an air traffic controller is $109,850.

This video reports on air traffic controller training at Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville.

Personal Trainer

Those with a passion for fitness and health may find their calling as a personal trainer. According to KDVR, personal trainers that are willing to work hard and provide flexibility in scheduling to their clients can easily make a

College students learn plenty in the years they spend on campus. But do the lessons learned at school prepare them for professional life after their studies? Maybe not, according to at least one community college, which has plans to give their students a healthy dose of work readiness skills at the same time they are earning their degree.

Workplace Readiness Certificates

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College has provided students with many of the skills necessary to land jobs in the local workforce. Next year, the school will offer a new type of certification – a workplace readiness certificate. Students will earn this certificate by demonstrating “soft skills” that employers tend to look for as well, such as punctuality, teamwork, and time management. According to Inside Higher Ed, those skills will also begin to play a role in the grades students earn in some of their classes at the college.

The North Carolina school is leaving nothing to chance as it prepares faculty to evaluate students for the skills employers are looking for. The school has designed a template to assist professors in assessing primary workplace skills, including:

• Communication – use of oral and written skills to clearly communicate thoughts and ideas
• Effort – demonstration of strong work ethic and preparedness for assignments
• Quality of Work – applicable to classroom work and academic performance
• Attendance – ability to manage oneself
• Time Management – punctuality, preparedness, handing in assignments on time
• Professionalism – image put forth by students in terms of actions,

The pandemic and post-pandemic era is the time for mid-life career changers making their career moves. Whether due to outsourcing, layoffs or dissatisfaction with their current positions and compensation, people are quitting their old careers. With many more adults deciding to venture into the hallowed halls of higher education today, those who do may find programs geared specifically to their needs. This is particularly true in community colleges, where more than half of the student body may be adults over the age of 22. However, before you launch a career change at your local community college, there are a few tips to keep in mind.

Define Your Goals

Carefully plotting your path is the first step to a successful community college experience, according to Career Search. When embarking on this process, it is important to consider your educational goals, as well as your professional ones. What classes do you need to take, and what degree do you need to earn to make your professional dreams a reality? This information is essential when you choose a school and register for classes, so have the goals in mind before you begin the process.

Jay Shetty suggests that you ask yourself three questions to help set goals.

Weigh Your Options

Community colleges offer a wealth of degree options today, allowing students to hone their career path to a very precise track that brings

Getting kids to college is only a part of the equation regarding higher education. Whether a student enrolls in a community college or a four-year school, the goal is to get that student to leave the institution with a degree firmly in hand. Unfortunately, that event does not occur nearly as often as educators would like. As the quest to improve college completion rates kicks into high gear, a task force in Ohio has some recommendations for schools looking to get more of their students on the path to graduation.

About the Complete College Ohio Task Force

College completion rates in the state of Ohio are some of the lowest in the country, with Ohio ranking 38^th on the spectrum of graduating college students, according to the Ohio Higher Ed website. To determine why completion rates are so low – and what can be done to improve them – the Ohio Board of Regents partnered with the university system in the state, which includes community colleges, adult education centers, and four-year institutions.

The newly formed Complete College Ohio Task Force was responsible for studying the reasons behind the dismal graduation rates. The committee then put forth a list of recommendations to improve those rates. While the recommendations were specifically for Ohio colleges, the recommendations are equally relevant for other colleges nationwide.

When the task force began their work, the Ohio Higher Ed website reports that the group was divided into three subsets: Ready for College,