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Last Updated: April 08, 2021

Part-time courses for working individuals

What are Certificate Courses?

Certificate courses are short-term academic credentials that are focused on developing a certain set of skills of an individual. Most of the time, certificate courses are developed for people who are looking into enhancing their careers with a certain academic credential. The academic credential can be of any subject and is treated as a legitimate degree that can be used for various job searches or enhancements.

Why are certificate courses so popular?

Certificate courses are increasingly popular amongst people, and the popularity does not seem to go away anytime soon. Rather, the popularity of certificate courses has not just increased amongst the youth, but also amongst the people who are older - mainly in their 30s.

The main reasons why a certificate course is popular amongst the majority of the population is as follows:

Time period of a certificate course

A certificate course is available in a large variety of subjects - just as it would be available in a proper undergraduate degree. However, the credits for a certificate course ranges between 10 credits (minimum) to 30 credits (maximum). It is important to remember that the number of credits may be variant as per the nature of the subject chosen.

Due to the credits being only between 10 to 30, the duration of any certification course is between 1 to 2 years. Sometimes, if the credentials are lesser, a certificate course may take just a few months before completion. However, the duration of the certificate course is dependent on the credits of a subject, which means that if the credits are more than the duration can be at a maximum of 2 years.

Fees structure for certificate courses

The fees structure for any certificate course is dependent on two factors: In general, a certificate course can cost anywhere between $3,000 to $17,000 - depending on the course they enroll in if the course is online or offline, and most importantly the state the student resides in. If a student resides outside of the state the university is located in, the cost immediately goes higher as the university has to provide materials to the students, which may incur extra charges. However, there are plenty of grants and scholarships available for students pursuing a certificate course, which can be a huge financial aid to them.

Popular certificate courses available

Engineering

For most fields related to engineering, a certificate course is recommended or is an important requirement before beginning a career. Some of the fields that require a certificate are computer engineering, information technology (IT), web development, automotive engineering, mobile mechanic, and many more. Furthermore, a certificate course can also be used to boost one's career as an engineer within just a period of 1 to 2 years, but it is important to keep in mind that the certificate course will be an addition to a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in the related field.

Certificates offered:

Healthcare

It may come as a surprise to most people, but a majority of healthcare-related jobs require just a certificate course for people to begin their careers in the diverse field of healthcare. The jobs that require a certificate are dental assistant, medical assistant, pharmaceutical training, vocational nurse, and many more. The jobs as assistants in various healthcare practices are just the beginning, more opportunities are available to students who gain more experience as time goes by.

Certificates offered

Business Management

Quite a few management courses are available in various fields such as accounting, marketing, global leadership, project management, etc. These courses are available online and through various reputed universities. These courses cover the in-depth sectors of business and management training the individual for a perfect skills-set in the chosen sector.

Certificates offered

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