The True Price of For-Profit Education

A for-profit school will promise to teach you everything you need to jumpstart a career in a shorter period of time than a traditional college. These for-profit schools offer diplomas, certificates and degrees that look great on a resume. Most have classes that you can attend while working in your current job or attend online and save having to report to a classroom.

Many career fields today require a license, including everything from nursing, to construction, to serving liquor. To obtain a license, you must have a history within that career field which can include a combination of work history and education. The quickest method to obtain the education needed is to attend a for-profit school.

The downfall of a for-profit school is the cost. A nine-month course can cost upwards of $10,000 or more. Once you spend that money, you may or may not receive any further assistance than what you paid for originally. For example, Jennifer attended a for-profit college in Utah to obtain her Massage Therapist License. A Massage Therapist has to be licensed by a state authority in order for the person to work in that career field legally. Jennifer took out a student loan in the amount of $9,450 to pay for the course. After attending school and receiving her certificate, she went to the state and took her test. Jennifer failed her test because the areas covered on her test were not covered within the curriculum of the school. When she approached the school about the problem, the school offered to let her attend several more classes to cover what had not been originally taught if she would pay for the further classes. Jennifer opted to move out of that state and to work in a different field that did not require the license.

Prospective employees need a leg up on the competition to get a job during hard economic times. Going to school, any school, can provide that edge necessary to get a job. Christine was a high school dropout and unable to find any type of work. Christine attended a for-profit school where she received a diploma as a Medical Administrative Assistant. She earned a 4.0 grade point average and graduated with honors. She also tested for, and received, her GED while attending the college. Upon graduating from the school, she could not find a job as a Medical Administrative Assistant. The college had several programs for referring students to jobs but none materialized for Christine even with her exemplary grades. Instead, using the qualifications from the course and her new GED, Christine was able to get a job working for an attorney. "Without the educational credits, I could not have gotten this job." The job may not be in her career field, but it has allowed her to become employed and to get her own apartment.

For-profit education may not be right for every. It is expensive, but it may fast-track you towards a career. Options to for-profit education include community colleges which are must less expensive, but can take a longer period of time to complete.