Good salary doesn’t require an academic degree: how to become an in-demand specialist in 6 weeks in the U.S.

Many people believe that an American college diploma is a ticket to a world of success and high salaries. But it is not always the case. 39% of Americans who have completed a two- or four-year college degree admittedthat their education wasn’t worth the money spent, and 28,2% (14,5 million people) of the US population were not able to find a job according to their major.

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Experience is more relevant than degree

The US labor market is evolving. Today many companies hire candidates with relevant skills and professional experience shifting away from college degree requirements. According to Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University (CEW) ), a total of 54% of U.S. job listings in 2020 didn’t have higher education requirements, stating “some college or no diploma”. This category includes mainly people with professional certifications. CEW data also shows that 44% of all desirable jobs (meaning offers of no less than $35 a year for junior positions and no less than $000 a year for experienced candidates) are taken by employees without a Bachelor's Degree, whereas most of them have never attended college.

These are mostly mid-level programmers, system administrators, pharmacy workers, and more often healthcare workers.

And here one profession especially stands out - Sterile Processing Technician (specialist in sterilization of medical instruments). Today, this is the most sought-after job in medicine, not only in the United States, but throughout the world.

About 5 years ago, the governors of five states - New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Tennessee and Pennsylvania - signed an order requiring all medical personnel working in the field of sterilization to obtain a professional certificate.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic requirements for sterilization services and especially for medical instruments sterilization have increased by tenfold. Today many healthcare providers that offer surgeries and other procedures are seriously understaffed with professionally trained and certified personnel. Just the US sterilization services labor market counts with over a million of open vacancies.

How to become Sterile Processing Technician

A candidate would need to pass the International Association Healthcare Central Service Material Management (IAHCSMM) exam which consists of 150 questions and lasts 3 hours. Those who successfully pass the exam, obtain the certificate and have the right to work as Sterile Processing Technician not only in the US but in dozens of other countries.

There are a number of ways to prepare for the exam:

1. On your own

• Timeframe: unlimited
• Preparation cost - book published by IAHCSMM ($80 - $100).
• Job placement is done independently; candidates write resume, search for internships and prepare for interviews on their own
• English proficiency: upper intermediate, enough to read and understand the book, take the exam and write a resume.

2. College

• Timeframe: one to two years. Students will get a vast amount of information that exceeds exam requirements but doesn’t not necessarily come useful for work settings.
• Cost: several thousand dollars depending on college
• Employment - independently or with the help of career centers at colleges.
• English proficiency: near native level or advanced level sufficient to understand instructions, answer questions and write papers.

3. Sterile Processing Technician course at Multyprep school

• Timeframe: 6 to 11 weeks depending on the format
• Cost: starting from $999 that includes classes, latest edition of the book by IAHCSMM and 800 additional useful for work questions
• Employment—students who complete the course will be given a professional resume, prepared for an interview, and given real assistance in finding employment.
• English proficiency: intermediate. Classes are taught in English, however Russian speaking instructors are always there to help. Appropriate professional vocabulary is mastered through the studying process.

Those who are not yet ready to take the course in English or simply don’t have enough self-confidence, but don’t want to postpone the opportunity to learn popular in the U.S. trade, Multyprep offers Sterile Processing Technician classes in Russian. The school also has books in Russian. During the course taught in Russian language the instructor would still name all common professional terminology in English, that way students will be able to understand and answer exam questions correctly. For more details call Multyprep at: 917-945-9506 or email: [email protected] .

If a candidate has failed the exam after he/she completed the course, he/she can repeat the same course at Multyprep for free.

How to sign up

The next upcoming Sterile Processing Technician course at Multyprep starts on December 3rd. It is a an English language course that lasts 9 weeks. Classes will take place online via Zoom on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 00 pm.

The school offers two training options:

• Option 1 features 9 weeks of instruction, books and other materials, more than 1000 specific questions to prepare you for the test and a free webinar on how to write a resume. It costs $999 If paying with a debit card, cash or check. If paying with a credit card, you are charged with $5 due to 1% in commission
  Payment plan with two installments of $2 (plus 530% when paying with credit card) is available for this option
• Option 2 includes all the benefits of the first option plus 10 hours of webinars on career coaching and job placement assistance. It costs $ 1 if paying with a debit card, cash or check and $1 if paying with a credit card.
  Payment plan with XNUMX installments of $3 (or $535 if paying with a credit card) is available.

To sign up for the course call +1 917 945 9506 or or click here to register:.

What Multyprep graduates say

Oksana completed the Sterile Processing Technician course at school Multyprep this year. She has already passed the certification test and received 400 hours of work experience to confirm the certificate. The woman is very proud of herself and is grateful to the school for its help. Below is her review of the school. Multyprep.

“Thank you to Gala for the wonderful training center Multyprep Inc and for the opportunity to get an education from such wonderful teachers! Many thanks to Natasha for her invaluable knowledge and answers to all our questions in class and in person! Many thanks to Harry for his support and advice during the preparation of the resume, for the interview and at the final stage of obtaining the certificate!

It was a very bright and eventful 5,5 months of my journey to accomplish my goal, and on November 18 I finished and confirmed 400 hours of experience. Now I’m holding a full CRCST Certification from HSPA!

I wish prosperity to Multyprep Inc. Thank you for making my dream come true!”

What about college

Even though higher education has somewhat lost ground in the US labor market, it still remains a gating requirement especially for management positions and promotions to the highest posts. For instance, a Sterilization Processing Technician can be promoted to sterilization department director and can earn more than $100 a year. However, promotions are possible only if the candidate has an associate degree, which is a 2-year college degree program.

College degree provides more options for those specialists that have started their career with professional certificates but lacking a higher education degree yet. However, those with work experience have the edge over those who attend college right after school or upon arriving in the U.S. They have become familiar with the field where they want to grow professionally and now can go on to college. Many high school students apply to college based on parents’ recommendation or where most of their friends have applied or even pick one randomly since they haven't yet decided what their interests are. Finally, once graduated and attempted to build a career many become dissatisfied, want to start studying something else and regret spending money and 4 years of life for nothing.

Therefore it’s preferable to go to college after you have had working experience. It’s a good idea to start with certification and gain work experience which would also help you save money for college.

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