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Career Colleges    » California

California Career Colleges and Universities

Career and Technical Training in California

Spend a bit of green, find a pot of gold at career colleges and universities in California. Many offers career planning and financial aid. Each program from a California Career College, a post-secondary for-profit institution, offers an education with an in-demand career field. The programs are designed to get you work-ready, equipped with the practical knowledge, and the competence needed to obtain a competitive career in California.

At career colleges in California, you typically don't take general education classes in core subjects such as English and math. Instead, you focus on career-related courses.

California Career-Focused Degree Programs

Learn how California colleges and technical schools can open doors to better earnings and job security.

California colleges, workforce: Opportunity knocks

California colleges rank among some of the best known in the nation, and its highly educated workforce speaks to their quality. Still, studies show that even California's notable educational attainment may not meet future employer demand. Securing the right education can give you a competitive edge in tomorrow's workforce, not to mention spell the difference between getting by and living comfortably in one of the country's most expensive states.

California universities: Mind the (education) gap

Stanford University. UC Berkeley. UCLA. California colleges pack some mean name recognition earned through quality education. This education does carry a price, however: the National Center for Education Statistics reports that the average cost of attending California public schools in 2009-2010 was $17,652, nearly $2,500 beyond the national average. Do not fret: California's higher-than-average wages help offset this investment. More on this later.

California universities have helped establish one of the most highly educated workforces in the country. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 38.6 percent of Californians age 25 or older held degrees in 2008. While this is higher than the national average, it may not be enough. According to Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, 60 percent of employers are expected to require higher education by 2018. The Lumina Foundation notes that if California educational attainment continued to grow at the current rate, 44 percent of Californians would hold degrees in 2025, still markedly short of projected demand.

Pursuing California career training, whether through traditional universities or technical schools, can help you--and The Golden State--remain economically competitive, especially when you know which industries are the most promising.

California's economy spells opportunity

The Gold Rush may have passed, but California is still known for its golden opportunities. If California were a country, its economy would rank eighth largest in the world. Knowing which industries are on the rise can help you make better career decisions.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Long Beach Financial Management, UCLA Health System and the University of California in Davis are among the state's largest employers and provide clues into some of its most promising fields.

The California Employment Development Department projects that the following industries will be among the fastest growing in the decade preceding 2018:

• Education and health services
• Professional and business services
• Accommodation and food service

The EDD also projects that the following occupations will be among the fastest growing during the same period:

• Biomedical engineers
• Biochemists and biophysicists
• Medical scientists
• Personal and home care aids

Computer engineering and systems network engineering are also strong growth fields.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, salaries tend to increase and unemployment rates drop with continued education--whatever the field. So, California career training is worth the investment. This is especially true for those living in what the Council on Community and Economic Research indicates is one the most expensive states. Fortunately the BLS notes that California workers earned a mean annual salary of $50,730 in 2010, well above the national average.

California's higher earnings can help offset living and education costs, but for many future grads, higher education is the ultimate ticket to a comfortable standard of living.

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