The spike in unemployment rate affected high-contact low-wages careers the most. Economists predict that these careers will not be able to recover in the next few years quickly. Hence, it is advisable to invest in a college degree to find better employment opportunities after the job market recuperates from a recession.

According to the April report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 20 million jobs lost in the first quarter of 2020 due to the economic limitations brought about by the global health crisis. Sadly, the labor market recession's effects concentrated mostly on industries like retail and entertainment, which do not require a college degree.

There is a 21.2% increase in the unemployment rate among employees without academic recognition. Most of them do not even have at least a high school diploma. This is because the demand for retail and entertainment services has also gone down. Therefore, forcing low-wage workers to lose their jobs.

In that regard, if you are among the workers who lost their job due to the lack of a college degree thereof, it would be best to earn one now. Thankfully, you can easily hack your way into being a college graduate through the many convenient means of acquiring higher education certificates online.

How to get a college degree fast

Online schooling is a growing trend in alternative learning solutions since its introduction to the academic community. Currently, there are thousands of educational institutions offering higher education. Students can even have remote access to the elite course programs of Ivy League universities like Harvard, MIT, Yale, and Brown.

Also, due to threats of the pandemic, the education industry highly advised schools to lessen, if not diminish, physical class attendance. As a result, almost every college and university migrated to web-based platforms to serve their students while following the updated protocols in the industry.

That said, earning a college degree is now easier than ever. The convenience that the internet has to offer greatly enhances students' academic experience. Hence, below are the things you should try if you want to hack your way into getting a college degree:

Enroll in accelerated programs

You can earn standard undergraduate degrees, like a Bachelor's, through four to six years of a college education. But what most people do not know is that you can get the same academic recognition in two years or less. How? By enrolling in accelerated programs.

Accelerated programs are designed most especially to cater to the needs of working professionals or anyone who wants to earn college degrees fast. It usually consists of 120 credit hours equivalent to a two-year course with denser competency-based curriculums. All of which makes it one of the most practical means of earning academic recognition for people who do not have enough time to invest in their education.

Below are the top five accelerated degree programs you can take online:

Arizona State University's (ASU) Online Bachelor of Arts in Business

ASU's Online B.A. in Business Administration is one of the most popular degree offerings among the university's virtual academic offerings. This 120-credit degree program lets students earn skills, such as management, finance, and forecasting demands, which are applicable in every industry.

With a business degree, you can easily enter any kind of job in any field. You can have a job in healthcare, food and beverages, travel, and education industries. Besides, all companies need an administration expert to manage the business side of their industry efficiently.

Capella University Bachelor of Science in Psychology

Psychology is a healthcare field that is experiencing a high demand for services. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job prospects in the industry will continue to rise until 2024 in the United States. This is because more people are prioritizing their mental health. Aside from that, there is also an increasing need for professionals who can offer assistance for aging concerns, war-related trauma, and counseling.

For that reason, enrolling in Capella University's Bachelor of Science in Psychology is an investment that will definitely provide good returns. This program is inclusive of a fast-paced curriculum, called FlexPath, which allows you to have a psychology degree in 12 months for just $10,000.

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Bachelor of Science in Finance

SNHU's Bachelor of Science in Finance is also another degree that is best to take in these trying times. It will help you earn a flexible and interdisciplinary set of skills that you can apply in any industry. Some of these skills are developing financial plans, defining and detecting local and global economic environments, and analyzing financial statements.

A degree in finance is essentially a business degree. Therefore, you will be an in-demand member of the workforce. Some of the careers you can pursue are:

1. Financial Analyst
2. Personal Banker
3. Account Manager
4. Risk Analyst
5. Financial Consultant

All of these jobs can be found in any industry. Therefore, you have an advantage as you will yield more job opportunities even during a pandemic. And since it is an accelerated program, it will help you to transition to another career easily.

Although it takes fewer years to acquire accelerated degrees, the recognition still holds the same academic value that its traditional counterparts have. Meaning, you can use it in the same ways you would use a traditional degree. For example, an accelerated Bachelor's degree will let you get a job that requires at least a four-year college degree. You can also skip entry-level positions and be more eligible for job positions with higher income incentives.

Apply for an experience degree

On the other hand, you might think that two years of education is still too long for your preference, especially when you already have years of field expertise. Therefore, getting an accelerated degree is not the most suitable path for your academic goals. What you can do instead is to apply for an experience degree.

There are two kinds of experience degrees. These are life experience and work experience degrees. Both give credit and recognition to the expertise and industry know-how you acquired outside a traditional school setting or without the help of formal education. After all, learning is not exclusive to gaining admission to the most elite programs from brick-and-mortar academic institutions.

If you are interested in getting an experience degree you should:

1. Have a portfolio ready, which includes essential documents like sample works, previous certificates of employment, work evaluation reports, performance records, previous academic transcripts if available, or any material that will support your claim to your expertise.
2. Attend official seminars that can range from a week-long to a couple of months of online modules from the university that will give your experience degree;
3. Or take competency-based courses in compliance with your university requirements.
4. Complete the granting university's skill assessment exam which is an official supplement that will further put a stronghold on the authenticity of your experience.
5. Submit letters of recommendation written by your network of professional acquaintances who can be former classmates, mentors, clients, coworkers, and employers.

Here are the top universities that offer accredited experience degrees:

1. Capella University
2. Strayer University
3. Western Governors University
4. University of Maryland Global Campus
5. Southern New Hampshire University

Unlike accelerated and conventional academic recognition, experience degrees do not have transferable credits that you can use for further scholarly pursuits. However, it is still a valid academic recognition for people looking for new employment opportunities. This is because it simply recognizes and gives official acknowledgment to your expertise. Therefore, it increases your professional credibility to provide you a more stable foundation for your future career.

Buy a college degree online

Getting experience degrees can take months, depending on your academic provider. Besides, most universities offering academic credits in exchange of experience usually require you to take competency-based online courses for a couple of months to a year max before getting your diploma. Accelerated degrees are also of little help if you are looking for instant academic recognition as its programs, again, usually take two years to complete.

On that note, if you are looking for the fastest way to get a college degree, you should look into websites that let people buy degrees from any university. This way of earning college certificates, although confidential, is the most practical as it offers immediate relief to unexpected career concerns like suddenly losing a job due to the pandemic.

Degree selling websites, like universitydegree.education, help you buy a degree from an accredited college, which allows you to have:

1. A college diploma that directly comes from a real and government-recognized academic institution.
2. All necessary documents, like official transcripts and student identification cards, supporting your recognition, thus furthering the credibility of your degree.
3. A degree that passed legalization and verification processes, therefore ensuring that your record will safely appear on background checks
4. More money to allocate for your savings as buying degrees is significantly cheaper than earning them traditionally.
5. Have an instant document to help you gain advantageous career benefits.

Purchasing a degree online generally lets you quickly earn the benefits of being a degree holder. The best thing about it? You technically skip most of the academic process and easily acquire recognition for the years of hard work you spent as an employee.

Why education matters

Education and income are directly proportional. That said, the absence of the former can have significant effects on the latter. Therefore, both factors have a strong labor market correlation. That is why the job market recession forced many lower-income employees into unemployment.

Degree holders enjoy more benefits in their industries compared to their peers who do not have any sort of academic recognition. Some of these advantages are:

Better employment opportunities

The unemployment rate for college degrees during the first quarter of 2020 is only 8.4%, which is significantly lower compared to the unemployment rate of non-degree holders. This is because employers tend to favor those who have academic recognition. Therefore, if you have a diploma, especially in in-demand industries, you will surely attract better employment opportunities.

Higher salary incentives

When you have a degree, you increase your value as a professional. Degree holders earn $30,000 more than those who did not finish college education. This is because their expertise is considered more valuable as they have formal training for their profession. Aside from that, those with a college diploma skip low-wage and entry-level job positions. Meaning, they are mostly hired for higher ranks in a company. This further increases their income incentives.

Better job security

Having a degree means that you have physical documented proof of your expertise. This gives you a more solid job foundation, which yields better job security. Meaning, you will not have to worry about future unemployment or demotion.

It will take some time for the job market to recover. And if it does, economists say that only those with higher education recognition will have better chances of going back to work. Needless to say, now is the best time to allocate your resources, like time and money, in getting a college degree. Meanwhile, if you are only on the verge of unemployment and want to avoid losing your job, it would be best to purchase a college diploma now to have instant academic recognition that will save your job.