Army Education Benefits + Process: A Graduation Timeline - MedCerts

Is Short-Term Online Career Training Right for You?

Army education benefits are available to all service members. Whether you're looking for an education that'll create more opportunities for you within the army or foster a fulfilling civilian career, having a solid timeline for your future is essential. Here's a breakdown of the different types of army education benefits, how they can be used, and their associated timelines.

Types of Army Education Benefits

The Army Career and Alumni Program offers education benefits via the tuition assistance (TA) or credentialing assistance (CA) program. Here is the introduction to these programs and their timelines.

TA vs CA

The Army's TA program pays some portion of your tuition while you obtain an undergraduate or postgraduate level education from an accredited school. On the other hand, the Army's CA program will pay some portion of your education costs while you attend approved schools to obtain professional credentials.

Graduation Timelines

TA is a good choice if you're willing to commit up to four years to acquiring a degree before starting to earn a living in your desired field. Moreover, applications and admissions requirements of traditional higher education can push back your timeline even further. If you begin work on your application today, it'll be years before you have a degree and even longer before you're working.

Conversely, the programs covered under CA have a much shorter completion time than traditional college courses do, and they are often focused on growing industries.

Choosing Credentialing Assistance over Tuition Assistance

Using CA is a good option if you want to complete your education quickly and start earning right away. You can find, join, and complete a certification program in just a few months. Here are some of the online career training programs offered by MedCerts, all of which are fully covered under CA:

  • MedCerts Medical Billing Specialist Program — This program's designed to prepare you to work in the booming medical industry as a Certified Medical Billing and Coding Specialist (MCBC). The program is just two courses, which span 12 weeks and includes national certification through the American Medical Certification Association (AMCA.

  • MedCerts IT Security Specialist Program — This program helps soldiers expand their IT expertise into the field of security and teaches familiarity with a variety of operating systems, including OS X, Unix, or Linux. Gain CompTIA Security+ certification in just 12 weeks.

  • MedCerts PC Technician Program — This program aims to equip you with everything you need to work as a PC Technician. Spanning 12 weeks, it is designed to prepare students for their CompTIA A+ Essentials and CompTIA A+ Practical Application certifications. It also serves as a solid foundation upon which you can build toward other IT certifications.

Takeaway

The timelines for professional certifications are best measured in weeks, not years. Using Army education benefits to obtain a professional credential is one of the fastest ways to learn valuable skills, start a new career, or increase your earning potential.

The Army, Department of Defense, and Department of the Army are not affiliated with MedCerts and do not endorse our services.

Portrait of Mickey Gamoral
Written by Mickey Gamoral
Military Education Consultant

Mickey is a Platoon Leader for the Nevada Army National Guard and has been serving since September 2019. He joined the Army in an act of “now or never” as he neared his 30th birthday and had always dreamed of serving. Mickey is also an ASVAB coach and uses his education background to assist other soldiers through Gamonal Tutors.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and spent two and a half years in Morocco with the United States Peace Corps. He joined MedCerts in January 2020 and uses his combined Army and education experience to help soldiers take advantage of their Army Credentialing Assistance funding to pursue career training.

Mickey lives in Las Vegas, NV with his wife Sheena, who he considers his “rock”, and enjoys teaching snowboarding in his free time. He also has completed MedCerts Project Management program and hosts the ASVAB Domination podcast.

Published on January 10, 2022

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