The real estate market offers many career opportunities, whether you're a broker, a realtor, or manage the properties yourself. You don't need to own properties to benefit from this industry, especially in a thriving market like Portland's. There is always a need for people who can effectively communicate between owners and renters while managing their day-to-day needs.

So, what kind of person enjoys property management as a career, and what can you do as a property manager if you choose to make it your long-term role? The answer may surprise you - it's a vibrant, flexible career with a low barrier to entry, allowing you to get started quickly.

One of the main reasons people practice yoga is that it feels better than not practicing yoga. That may seem obvious, but as more and more people try incorporating an Ayurvedic yoga practice into their daily lives, they discover that yoga's benefits are well-documented in scientific studies. Whether you're interested in the benefits of Ayurveda more broadly or are curious about how to learn ayurvedic yoga, Portland Community College's Ayurvedic Yoga health program can provide valuable insights for a variety of healthcare practitioners,  yoga instructors, or other fitness professionals.

Learning the benefits of yoga for health can help you incorporate yoga more intentionally in your own life or recommend yoga more thoughtfully as a healthcare or fitness professional. Here are six of the benefits you might not have known before.

Programmers are a diverse bunch, ranging from individuals who taught themselves a single useful coding language because it was helpful as an additional skill to extensively-educated programmers who can seamlessly work in many different programming languages and contexts. In general, however, programmers who want more upward mobility and to stand out among other candidates can add new languages and platforms to their repertoire as a way to grow.

One of the most impressive places to increase your skills is learning app development for the Apple App Store. The coursework needed to learn iOS Mobile Design and Development is surprisingly quick to learn and has many different applications. In a world where everyone from insurance companies to restaurants is trying to get their app designed to command more attention and commitment from their customers, app design and development are a highly applicable set of skills. You learn it through a two-part non-credit course offered at Portland Community College. If you've never considered learning how to code for iOS or build apps for iPhone, consider these applications of this skillset.

Updated March 18, 2022.

The average yoga class at a fitness center can bring quite many benefits. Even a one-hour intervention can help you develop flexibility, build strength, feel more relaxed, and even sleep better. However, many people who enjoy and benefit from a standard Asana-based yoga class may want to deepen their understanding, digging into the philosophies and body understandings that underpin the movements and guidance provided in a yoga class.

At Portland Community College, you can pursue a health program in Ayurvedic Yoga, which marries the ancient science of health and healing with the peace of mind and wellness that yoga can bring. If you want to learn how yoga and Ayurveda work together, this course might be right for you.

After 22 years at the PCC SBDC, Jackie Babicky Peterson still has enthusiasm! Sean Harry sat down with Jackie in March 2022 to catch up on what she is up to these days. 

Originally from San Diego, Melinda's first career was in the hospitality industry, working in exciting restaurants on the West Coast. A lifelong home cook, she turned to nutrition studies when chronic health issues left her with more questions than answers. 

The healthcare industry will continue to grow as the population ages, and more people experience higher healthcare needs. The turmoil of the pandemic has also strained the industry, leaving job openings as the situation normalizes. Many people have shifted in their roles or chosen a new job, increasing the demand for new employees in all kinds of positions. Furthermore, people have postponed surgeries and other medical care to avoid taxing an over-taxed system, resulting in pent-up demand.

For all of these reasons, now is a good time to be pursuing entry-level roles in the healthcare world. While other roles may pay higher levels for those already in healthcare, the industry is currently competitive enough that incoming people will find good prospects and salary opportunities.

One example of an entry-level role that you can train for quickly is the role of Sterile Processing Technician. Learn more about how this role plays a vital part in fighting infection inside hospitals, making it a rewarding way to serve while also being a role that is in constant growing demand in Portland, OR. Learn more about becoming a sterile processing technician and how many sterile processing technicians Portland needs these days.

Updated March 18, 2022.

Yoga's popularity is undoubtedly spreading. What could have been a fad in the wellness and health industry has become an established practice for millions of people worldwide. It's no wonder studies have linked yoga to a variety of health benefits, from better blood pressure, higher endurance and strength, flexibility, and self-perceived lower stress. Anecdotal evidence has shown that people with various body types and states of wellness can benefit from the many variations of yoga's intentional breathing work, movements, and held poses.

If you're a long-time yoga instructor, you probably understand these benefits for yourself, and you have taken a 200-hour yoga teacher training registered through the Yoga Alliance. However, in pursuing a deepened practice, yoga teachers can take further training, a 300-hour course that prepares them to become registered yoga teachers at the 500-hour level (RYT-500).

Among the many benefits of this programming is training others to be yoga instructors yourself. Here are a few ways this certification can benefit you and teach you how to become certified to train yoga teachers.

Dr. Vileka Fisher is a licensed Naturopathic Physician, midwife, and an adjunct faculty member at Portland Community College. They graduated from NUNM in 2021 with a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and a Certificate in Natural Childbirth. They achieved the state requirements for board certification in natural childbirth/Naturopathic midwifery by completing a rigorous two-year internship in Naturopathic midwifery at a busy primary care and birth center facility located in Portland, Oregon. In addition to her doctorate, Dr. Fisher has a Master of Science in nutrition from NUNM and a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Corban University. 

Nursing is an excellent example of a field where a general, far-reaching curriculum creates the foundation for the career. However, many nurses choose a role where they rely on a subset of their skills most of the time. Perhaps they are working with patients frequently who need specific procedures done but don't require blood draws or IVs as often.  After all, some healthcare settings have dedicated phlebotomists specializing in blood draws and other similar skills.

However, as a nurse, you may eventually want to move up or move on to a different setting, and knowing what will make you most attractive as a candidate for advancement or a new, in-demand role can be difficult. Nurses can distinguish themselves with phlebotomist certification, such as Portland Community College's phlebotomy technician program.