This post is sponsored by Martinsburg College. I received compensation for this post through my relationship with the Quality Blue Community. All opinions are my own.
Did you go to college? Technically I didn’t, but I did get my certified nursing certificate at the same time that I got my high school diploma. Having that certificate allowed me to go directly to work after I graduated instead of having to wait. That was so beneficial to me as a young adult.
While having a certificate is awesome, there is a definitive difference between a certificate though and a degree. Aside from the obvious, getting a degree is much, much harder than a certificate. For a military wife, it can be difficult to stay in one spot long enough to get all of your degree credits in for graduation. Certificates however can usually be done in a year or so and can help you get a job the same way that a degree can.
One of the biggest reasons a certificate is chosen over a degree is for reasons just like mine, they need to work now. With my CNA certificate I got a lot of hand on training and was hired right away as soon as I had my certificate in hand. I know many nurses who went and got their CNA certificate and worked in their chosen field while they continued to get their RN degree.
Job Availability
Like I said above, a lot of the time, a certificate allows you to go right out and get a job whereas with a degree, you might wait several months or even longer for the career field to open up. College graduations tend to release thousands of graduates with a lot of other graduates having the exact same credentials as you into the workforce all at once. This means that the chances of you getting a job right off the bat are much slimmer than a graduating certificate class of only 20 or so.
Certificate Course Options
For military spouses, Martinsburg College offers several certificate options that are perfect! They boast a 95% satisfaction rate among their graduates not only because of their flexible course offerings, but because of their generous refund policy (after all, life does happen sometimes). In addition, graduates love the fact that in some programs, students are supplied with digital classroom resources as opposed to having to buy them. Martinsburg also has a generous textbook loaning program and highly dedicated instructional support teams.
Support for Military Families
Martinsburg College has been working with the US Military since 2004 and as such, understand the needs of both the military family and the military student. They work with each student on their learning plan including the flexibility that a military spouse might need. If you are a military spouse and considering going back to school, Martinsburg College might just be the answer for you and your family!
To help answer any questions that you might still have, Martinsburg is establishing Facebook groups to provide support and answer any questions that you might have concerning returning to school, whether you should get a certificate or a degree and about Martinsburg College in general. Be sure you check it out if you’re an eligible student!
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