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.
