REVIEW
If you are looking to save a great deal of time and
effort researching educational institutions and
organizations offering distance learning programs and
courses pertaining to twenty seven different work-at-home
enterprises, Michelle McGarry’s insider’s guide
book, Train at Home To Work At Home: How to Get
Certified, Earn a Degree, or Take a Class From Home to Begin
a Work-at-Home Career, will prove to be a godsend.
However, it should be noted, this is not a how-to but
rather a where-to-look book.
McGarry’s main focus is to provide information about
training and education for home careers. As for the pros and
cons of home businesses, and the how-to in setting them up,
the author refers her readers to her section entitled
“Michelle’s Bookshelf and Bookmarks.”
The arrangement of the listing of occupations and
businesses are in alphabetical order, covering such
occupations as: bed and breakfast owners, bookkeeping
services, catering services, childbirth educators, child day
care providers, desktop publishers, editorial services,
graphic designers, financial planners, home inspectors,
image consultants, indexers, information brokers, medical
billing and coding, and many more.
Learning institutions offering programs pertaining to the
various careers are listed with their addresses, phone
numbers, web sites and email addresses. This is followed by
an indication of the courses offered, the types of
certifications or degrees attainable, costs, number of
credits required for completion, if there is email support,
what learning materials are included, information concerning
exams, delivery methods, and other pertinent data.
For example, if you were interested in becoming a
paralegal, we are informed that the University of
California, Los Angles, is one institution that you may want
to consider. This university offers two certificates with
different concentrations: an Attorney Assistant, Litigation
Option certificate and an Attorney Assistant, Corporate
Option certificate. The cost of the program is $3, 750.00.
On the other hand, you may wish to follow the program
offered by Ashworth College in Norcross, Georgia, which
approaches the course in a different manner.
One caveat, as the author mentions, “verify that what
you’re learning is satisfactory to the industry standards.
Check with national associations if this program will
satisfy their certification requirements. Ask industry
leaders if you need a Bachelor degree, or if a certificate
will suffice. Do you need in-office experience in this field
before breaking out on your own?”
At the end of each career segment the author provides
references to various books as well as E-books,
organizations, and web sites, where the reader may further
his or her knowledge concerning a particular occupation.
One of the drawbacks of books of this nature is that some
of the information provided becomes quickly obsolete. In
order to deal with this problem, the author offers a free
e-mail newsletter that will update readers on new programs,
old programs no longer available, new tuition rates, new
phone numbers and other pertinent information.
Replete with a great deal of information reflecting the
author’s many hours of meticulous research, this book will
prove to be invaluable to anyone contemplating working from
home, or wishing to improve their skills.
As an added bonus, the author provides an eleven- page
bibliography, as well as a listing of recommended web sites.
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