There are careers and then there are careers. Some take an absolute age to even qualify for. Young kids with aspirations to be surgeons or engineers or professors and even lawyers have to bury their noses in mountain upon mountain of books and invest precious years of their lives to acquire the necessary qualifications and career training to carry out these professions. Not that there’s anything wrong at all with any of these career paths, in fact, most if not all are quite well respected and looked upon as solid jobs.

Let’s be honest though, there are some people out there who just aren’t cut out for long, intensive educational periods, and everyone deserves well-paying, successful careers, whether or not they spend 4 and 5 years cosseted inside the hallowed halls of a university. So for all you renegades who want a top paying job without the trappings of a prolonged tutelage, here are the top careers that take a year or less of lessons to acquire the requisite knowledge of. Some of them don’t even require university degrees, just career training programs or even online career training courses to come to grips with.

6 Career Options Needing a Year or Less for Training

• Web Developer: As a web developer, you use flash and multimedia software to develop and code websites for clients. Part technical, part art, this career requires a disciplined yet creative mind. Of course, everyone knows the widespread use of websites today, so individuals and businesses are always on the look-out for developers to either create or update websites. There are online courses available for this career that requires a year’s study.
• Medical Transcription: With technology coming to the fore in every aspect of our lives, careers such as medical transcription are getting progressively popular. A medical transcriptionist’s main job role is to listen to recorded voice dictations sent over by doctors and physicians and to convert them into written word documents for future use. This is a great career option for working professionals who’d like the flexibility of being able to work from home. Institutes like Career Step in Canada offer courses (that can be completed in as little as 4 months) in this field and can be pursued right from the comfort of your home.
• Paralegal: Basically legal assistants, paralegals form the core support team for lawyers and advocates. This includes conducting a lot of research, drawing up legal paperwork, and maintaining files. To acquire a career as a paralegal, you can either enroll in a certificate program or acquire an associate degree, the former of which will definitely take a year or less.
• Fashion Designer: An extremely competitive industry, but also a highly rewarding one, fashion design is here to stay. There will always be a need for talented fashion designers since well, everyone wants to look good. There are dedicated fashion design and art schools that offer focused courses in the field, but a lot of the professionals in the field have achieved great success through just learning on the job as well.
• Landscaping: Creative and outdoorsy, this is the kind of career that a stereotypical wild-child would enjoy immensely. A career in landscaping requires a basic course in landscaping and horticulture for an entry level position. From there though, you can work your way up to the position of landscape architect too, a post that requires a state license to practice.
• Real Estate Broker: A profession for those with the gift of the gab and a lot of business savvy, a real estate broker assists people in acquiring and selling property for lease or outright. Another career that requires a license, a real estate broker can earn a pretty attractive salary. The license, in most states, only requires 40 hours of study to qualify for the licensing exam. However you need keep renewing your license every 2-4 years which requires more educational courses.

So if you’re hard-pressed for time and looking to start your career in less time, rest easy knowing there are plenty of career options that can be pursued in as less a year!