Fast, cheap career changes that pay off
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"People are so worried about jobs being outsourced, but in bio-med, you can't really outsource it because you have to touch it to fix it," says Steve Yelton, chairman of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College's biomedical equipment and information systems technology department.

Training is vital, but the job does not require a four-year degree. Training may take two years, but it's not uncommon for some well-prepared career changers to land BMET jobs "within six months to a year," says Barbara Christe, program director of biomedical engineering technology at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.

Tuition varies greatly, from about $32 per credit hour at Santa Fe Community College in New Mexico up to $665 per credit hour for out-of-state students at Penn State New Kensington in Pennsylvania.

Christe jokes that a career as a BMET "is the greatest story never told."

Darryl Althauser, 40, agrees. The Indianapolis resident was a manufacturing supervisor for United Airlines before getting laid off in 2001.

When he heard about BMET careers, Althauser didn't hesitate to spend his $5,000 government retraining grant to enroll in Christe's classes.

The schooling paid off. Althauser started working for Suros Surgical Systems three years ago but his skills -- plus supervisory background from United -- have helped propel him to a technical services supervisor position in a division that works on equipment used for breast biopsies to detect cancer.

"I've lost two friends to breast cancer, so it's great for me to see a company focus on something as important as that," he says.

"I chose this new job well. There were six or seven of us from United who went through school with me at the same time, and most of us ended up in darn good positions."

Home staging and redesign
Creative types, take note: The recent bursting of the housing bubble is fast opening opportunities in an easy-to-launch career known as home staging.

In home staging, professionals revamp properties so they look bigger, brighter and better in hopes they will sell faster and for more money.

"Because of television shows like 'Flip this House' and 'Sell This House,' the concept of home staging has really caught on," says Colorado-based home stager Sandy Dixon. "People understand why it works."

Unlike interior designers -- who work with clients to acquire new furniture and accessories -- home stagers primarily use existing furnishings their clients already own.

Some stagers charge for their time and make anywhere from $75 to $125 per hour. Others are paid per project, with rates ranging from $150 up to $350 to revamp a single room or several rooms.

Dixon, 58, switched to her new career after working 16 years in the mortgage business and as a part-time Realtor.

"I wanted something new, so I started looking around the Internet when I found out about staging," she says. "I had been setting the scene for potential buyers before, not knowing there was a word for it."

In addition to staging homes, Dixon founded Interior Arrangements, a staging training school that teaches students tricks of the staging trade and ways to grow their businesses. It resembles other programs with intensive workshops that last three to five days and generally cost about $3,000.

Ruthanne Hatfield is a Napa Valley, Calif.-based home stager who has redesigned rooms for HGTV's show "Decorating Cents." Her training program, Art of Interior Placement, attracts individuals who want to take weeklong workshops as well as those interested in her $30 two-hour seminars.

"We get a lot of people from corporate America, banking, nursing -- it runs the gamut," Hatfield says.