The best colleges and universities in Illinois also happen to be some of the best in the nation. The Chicago area is home to Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and University of Illinois at Chicago, to name just three of the top schools. When you venture out of that sprawling megalopolis, you'll find countless opportunities for post-secondary education, including the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Wheaton College, and Bradley University.
Illinois not only has great universities, but it also has excellent opportunities that await its graduates. After you toss your cap in the air, there are plenty of employers waiting to snap you up for their management training programs, entry-level positions, and more. You can start off in the Chicago area, which is home to many Fortune 500 companies, top financial firms, and countless small businesses. Alternatively, you could take your world-class degree anywhere your heart desires. Illinois' fantastic opportunities will be waiting when you return.
What are the most popular bachelor's degrees offered in Illinois?
Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, is home to the United States' third largest city, borders a Great Lake, and grows tons of grains across its expansive plains. Bachelor's degrees in Illinois are also plentiful and you can study nearly anything you wish at one of the state's many public and private universities. Since Chicago is a hub of finance, the most popular bachelor's degrees include business, finance, and accounting. However, engineering is also strong in Illinois, as are health sciences.
Illinois' growth rate has been slow in recent years. While 2018 showed positive job growth (.9%), the overall population is on the decline. Add to this a falling statewide credit rating and things aren't looking great for the Land of Lincoln. Nonetheless, the state is still home to some of the largest revenue-generating companies in the nation. You might recognize industrial giants such as Boeing, Caterpillar, and Abbot Labs, to name only three.
Top Accounting Careers and Salaries
CAREER NAME
CURRENTLY EMPLOYED
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
Tax Preparers
2,600
$45,000
IRS Agent
1,370
$77,500
Financial Adviser
7,800
$59,700
Financial Manager
41,900
$92,400
Consultant
36,340
$87,700
Tax Preparers: You can always count on needing a Tax Preparer. In this profession, you will help your clients find deductions or other ways to reduce their tax exposure. You will need an extensive knowledge of the tax code and you’ll have to keep up-to-date on new changes or tweaks to that ever-changing financial rubric.
IRS Agent: This is a fantastic place to start a career as an accountant. If you graduate with a lot of debt from student loans, you can reduce that debt by working for the government. In this position, you will put your Illinois accounting degree to use by assessing tax return documents, assessing how much back-tax is owed, or whether a person deserves more of a refund.
Financial Adviser: Everyone wants to hold and grow their savings through investments or other financial instruments. When you have an accounting degree and perhaps a Series 7 securities license, you can help your clients purchase equity investments and assess an asset portfolio.
Financial Manager: In this profession, you will help your employer allocate assets, manage debt, and generally keep the financial ship afloat, and thriving. You might have a team of analysts under you to do the day-to-day assessment of how the company is doing, but you will need to synthesize that information into a cohesive narrative and then report to your Chief Financial Officer.
Consultant: Many accountants work as consultants who enter a business and conduct an audit. In your job you will not only assess the financial ledgers, but you will look at how systems function in a business with an eye towards eliminating inefficiencies.
Best Illinois Schools for Accounting
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DePaul University
University of Chicago
Northwestern University
University of Illinois
Top Business Careers and Salaries
CAREER NAME
CURRENTLY EMPLOYED
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
Marketing
21,980
$65,900
Logistician
9,190
$58,500
Management
36,340
$87,700
Management Information Systems
20,370
$80,600
Bookkeeper
55,900
$43,500
Marketing: Every product needs to be marketed, thus marketing departments and firms have risen up to help companies access those markets. As a marketing professional, you will study market data to determine the best ways to sell your firm's products. You will determine demand, compare prices against similar products, and otherwise position your firm for success.
Logistician: This field is sometimes called Supply Chain Management, as it is concerned with how supplies move throughout the nation and world. Logisticians help determine the best, most efficient ways to move those goods.
Management: Every firm needs a team of managers to motivate employees, maintain the bottom line, and press the company forward. Managers are found in fast food restaurants, Fortune 500 IT departments, and any other business you can think of.
Management Information Systems: This hot new(er) field attempts to optimize the relationship between human employees and the sea of data stored in their databases. In this position, you will consider hardware and software solutions for your team.
Bookkeeper: All businesses need accurate, detail-oriented bookkeepers to record sales, expenses, and more. Bookkeepers consolidate all of their figures and then accountants review it all in an audit or for quarterly tax filings. This is both a fantastic career and a springboard for accounting students who are working towards attaining their Illinois CPA license.
Best Illinois Schools for Business
University of Chicago
Northwestern University
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Loyola University
University of Illinois – Chicago
Top Engineering Careers and Salaries
CAREER NAME
CURRENTLY EMPLOYED
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
Civil Engineer
11,080
$67,100
Chemical Engineer
750
$75,300
Aerospace Engineer
63,200
$84,800
Environmental Engineer
1,350
$66,100
CAD Technician
2,580
$47,500
Civil Engineer: If you want to build bridges, roads, and buildings all in the course of a career, then you need to be a Civil Engineer. These engineers create so many of the structures that help guide our daily lives. In Chicago, for instance, engineers figured out how to create the world's first skyscrapers, then they turned around and reversed the flow of the Chicago River.
Chemical Engineer: Chemical Engineers study how to manipulate chemical reactions to create new food, fuel, pharmaceuticals, and plastics. Your job might be in a lab, conducting research and developing new chemical solutions, or you might work in a refinery, or other industrial environment, monitoring operations and troubleshooting problems.
Aerospace Engineer: While we have become very used to airplanes and even space ships, there is still a vast frontier yet to be explored. Some Aerospace Engineers are developing personal aircraft that we will one day call flying cars, and private corporations are working hard on commercial space missions, and other exciting advances in rocketry. Your job will not be easy, but your projects will drive the future.
Environmental Engineer: As the natural world continues to evolve, there is ever more demand for Environmental Engineers to help us work with and solve issues related to the environment. In Chicago you could work on issues related to the lake and the seawall or studying whether Lake Michigan will one day wash onto Michigan Avenue.
CAD Technician: Engineers all work with Computer Assisted Design software to create their projects. They then employ CAD Technicians to turn their ideas into plans that construction supervisors implement on the ground.
Best Illinois Schools for Engineering
Northwest University
Illinois Institute of Technology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bradley University
University of Illinois-Chicago
Top Health Administration Careers and Salaries
CAREER NAME
CURRENTLY EMPLOYED
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
Medical and Health Services Managers
14,510
$69,400
Financial Analyst
20,510
$61,400
Healthcare Informatics
12,730
$68,400
Communications
-
$52,900
Medical Equipment Sales
13,030
$59,500
Medical and Health Services Managers: The healthcare industry has its own specialized managers. If you pursue healthcare administration in Illinois, you will learn a lot about the medical world, enabling you to work with the doctors, nurses, and other medical staff. You'll know how to serve the bottom line for the company, but also how to ensure that your staff delivers optimal care to patients.
Financial Analysts: Financial analysts in healthcare will need to understand the reasoning behind certain expenditures. While a new MRI machine may look out of place on your spreadsheets, you'll also understand the importance of keeping up-to-date with current medical technology.
Healthcare Informatics: Health systems rely on data and, as a Healthcare Informatics professional, you will know how to pull and analyze facts and figures that help the doctors deliver optimal care. This is a fascinating field that bridges Information Technology, Computer Science, Public Health, and Management, among others.
Communications: When you have a huge medical campus that is doing hundreds of brilliant things every day, you need a communications team to collect and report those stories. As a communications professional in healthcare, you will help deliver a positive message to the public about the cutting edge work your organization does.
Medical Equipment Sales: You might study Healthcare Administration, but not have a real feel for sitting in an office. If you'd rather be in the field selling new prosthetic limbs to orthopedic surgeons, or assessing a hospital's need for new wheelchairs, you can do that. With an industry-specific degree you will understand the issues behind the equipment you sell, and you'll be able to have productive consultations that will yield bigger sales.
Best Illinois Schools for Health Administration
Northwestern University
Loyola University
University of Illinois-Chicago
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bradley University
Top Health Sciences Careers and Salaries
CAREER NAME
CURRENTLY EMPLOYED
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE
Occupational Therapist
5,790
$66,600
Physical Therapist
10,170
$71,500
Radiology Technician
8,260
$48,100
Medical Assistant
22,940
$34,300
Nurse Practitioner
6,750
$97,500
Occupational Therapist: These health science professionals work with a wide range of populations, ailments, and goals. Some work in the field with adolescents who suffer with mental illness. Others work in assisted-living facilities and help the residents cope with issues related to aging. You might work with people recovering from traumatic brain injury, for instance, while your colleague specialized in dementia.
Physical Therapist: When people lose mobility or suffer injury, they rely on Physical Therapists to help them recover. Your day might include working with a patient recovering from a temporary paralysis, or someone learning to cope with life in a wheelchair.
Radiology Technician: All doctors need accurate information on which to base a diagnosis and Radiology Technicians provide that data by way of MRI, CT Scans, X-Rays, and PET. You will know how to keep your equipment perfectly calibrated and even learn how to read the results.
Medical Assistant: In healthcare, professionals work either on the administrative or clinical slide. However, as a MA, you will work on both sides, which makes this the perfect job for those who want both. Over time, you may discover that you’d rather specialize in one area or the other.
Nurse Practitioner: If you love medicine but don't want to be a doctor, this is a great profession. Nurse Practitioners perform many of the same functions as doctors: diagnosis, treatments, writing prescriptions, etc. However, they do not have medical licenses at stake. Instead, they work under a doctor who signs off on their work.
In Illinois, students can choose amongst nearly 50 public community colleges that offer associate degrees in various educational arenas. You can find amazing two-year degree programs all over the state. For those interested in the top associate programs in Illinois, look for degrees in nursing, engineering, biology, social work, liberal arts, business, or social and behavioral sciences. No matter your interests. It’s never a bad idea to start out with an associate degree.
Consistently, the best colleges in Illinois offering a variety of majors in which you can earn a bachelor’s degree. Keep in mind that effective and influential bachelor’s degree programs can be found at over a dozen higher learning institutions in Illinois. Here you can see which one will be the right fit for you. The top bachelor’s programs in Illinois include business, education, research, digital forensics and internet security, management, marketing, biological and biomedical sciences, health professions and, psychology.
Advanced degrees in Illinois are widely available in every region of the state. Some of the most well-regarded colleges and universities in the state offer full post-graduate degrees in a variety of majors. These degrees can earn you access to promotions and salary increases or let you pivot your career toward something new. Each of these colleges and universities has a number of exceptional master’s and doctorate degrees including healthcare management, education, MBAs, law, medicine, public policy, social sciences, business, biological sciences, economics, journalism, engineering, communications, and finance.
College Type 4-year, primarily associate's, Private for-profit
Campus Housing No
Student Population 2,438
Graduation Rate 31%
Net Price $18,511
Grads Salary $59,000
Columbia College Chicago
College Type 4-year, Private not-for-profit
Campus Housing Yes
Student Population 6,947
Graduation Rate 50%
Net Price $28,568
Grads Salary $58,700
Lincoln Christian University
College Type 4-year, Private not-for-profit
Campus Housing Yes
Student Population 672
Graduation Rate 43%
Net Price $19,561
Grads Salary $49,300
DeVry University-Illinois
College Type 4-year, Private for-profit
Campus Housing No
Student Population 20,832
Graduation Rate 22%
Net Price $29,090
Grads Salary $70,000
University of Phoenix-Illinois
College Type 4-year, Private for-profit
Campus Housing No
Student Population 17
Graduation Rate 13%
Net Price NA
Grads Salary $77,000
Cost of Illinois College Education & Salaries
An Illinois bachelor's degree is not a cheap proposition. Those four or more years of study often mean that you aren't able to work full-time and that you graduate with a large amount of debt. That might seem daunting. However, consider that there are ways to ameliorate your tuition and other expenses.
One way to offset college expenses is by starting out at a community college. You can complete your core curriculum at a two-year school and then save the more expensive courses for when you move up to a four-year institution. It's also important to remain in-state for public education. When you travel out-of-state for your bachelor's degree you are likely to be charged two or even three times the in-state tuition. For the same money you could pay for a private school education.
Yet another tactic to employ when reducing the cost of your Illinois bachelor's degree is applying for scholarships. Many students overlook this possibility, or erroneously assume that scholarships aren't for them. Thus, lots of money is left lying on the table every year. Plus, consider the prestige that comes with a scholarship. Even if an award barely dents the bill for your books and materials, you will enter the job market with an award on your resume that someone else didn't feel was worth their time.
Finally, take a look at how much more you stand to earn with a bachelor's degree than without. Your job satisfaction level may be higher as well. You could perhaps find happiness installing electrical devices in residences, but it would probably be far more gratifying to install a communications infrastructure as an Electrical Engineer. That sort of satisfaction is priceless.
College Cost Analysis - Illinois vs National
Average Illinois Tuition & Fees at 4 Year Public Schools
In-State Tuition - $14,259
National Average – $9,580
Out-of-State Tuition – $28,522
National Average – $27,437
Percentage of Students Receiving Financial Aid
Illinois is among the top five states with the most financial aid. In Illinois, 62% of all FAFSA applicants receive aid for their bachelor's (or other) degrees. Of those that receive aid, 276,800 qualify for grants which need not be repaid. Meanwhile, 353,500 students take out loans at a rate of $12,600 per student. However, keep in mind that Illinois is a highly populated state that places a high value on education.
Financial Aid
Illinois
Nationally
Received Federal Grants
36%
37.7%
Average $ per Recipient
$11,426
$10,927
* Institutional aid represents grant and scholarship funds directly awarded by a postsecondary institution. * Financial aid data represents 4-year public and private nonprofit schools only.
Best Scholarships for Illinois
Scholarships and grants are a tremendous benefit for a few reasons. Most obviously, they provide much-needed funds to help pay for tuition, books, and even room and board. Secondly, it is an achievement to receive a scholarship or grant and thus will be a happy addition to your resume. So, while you may only receive a few hundred dollars of scholarship money, it may just continue paying dividends in the long-run. Here are a few scholarships for Illinois students:
CFNI
Community Foundation of Northern Illinois
https://www.cfnil.org/scholarships/ Amount: $500-$10,000 Deadline: February 1 The CFNIL is a philanthropic organization that manages a wide range of scholarships for students in the state. They maintain scholarships that help firefighters, engineers, musicians, architects, and many more. Many of the scholarships are only available for students in Northern Illinois towns and counties such as Rockford, Winnebago County, Boone, Rochelle, Pecatonica, and Hononegah, to name a few. If you are headed to college from Northern Illinois, you should check it out.
SMCC
The Six Meter Club of Chicago Scholarship
http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-descriptions Amount: $500 Deadline: January 31 The American Radio Relay League offers a scholarship to students who hold Amateur Radio licenses in Illinois. The award is $500 and is awarded to students with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better. You can apply no matter what level of undergraduate degree you are seeking.
QCS
Chapter 23 - Quad Cities Scholarship
https://www.smeef.org/sme-education-foundation-scholarships/scholarship-opportunities/ Amount: $1,000-$6,000 Deadline: February 1 If you seek a bachelor's degree in a field related to manufacturing, engineering, manufacturing technology, or integrated manufacturing systems, this award can help with books, fees, or tuition. The first preference is to award the scholarship to an SME Student Chapter member, but students from Iowa or Illinois are welcome to apply.
JFA
Jewish Federation Academic Scholarship
https://www.jcfs.org/jvsscholarships Amount: $1,000-$8,000 Deadline: February 1 If you are Jewish and from Chicago, you can apply for this scholarship award. The Federation prefers to disburse funds to students who are studying in a career-oriented field such as engineering, law, fine arts, medicine, or business, among others. When you apply you should have plans to remain in the Chicago area, demonstrate financial need, and show career promise. The application requires an in-person interview in either March or April (ending the 20th.)
SWE
The Society for Women Engineers Scholarships
http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/scholarships Amount: $1,000-$15,000 (Some are renewable) Deadline: May 1 (Freshman), February 15 (Sophomores-Graduate Students) The Society for Women Engineers strives to promote women who seek to enter the field. To apply for one of their many scholarships, you should be in your final year of high school or a college student, enrolled or accepted to an ABET-accredited engineering program. To apply, submit two letters of recommendation, and your official academic transcripts.
