The U.S. Career Institute is an online-only school based in Fort Collins, Colorado. The school offers online certificate programs to students nationwide. It was founded in 1980 in California and moved to Fort Collins in the 1990s. In 2003, it earned accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It is a for-profit institution, owned and operated by Weston Distance Learning Inc., a privately held education company which also operates McKinley College and At-Home Professions. The Institute focuses exclusively on training certificates, offering 23 certificates in five subject areas. Health care and business are its primary subject areas, with certificates also available in legal fields, wellness fields and certain types of services. Nine of the 23 certificate programs are in health care fields. The certificates cover both office and clinical assistance and data entry and management. The certificates in the latter group offer the potential to work from home. Programs in clinical assistance include dental assistant, medical assistant, patient care technician, pharmacy technician and health care office manager. Most of these certificates promise salaries of $20,000-$30,000 per year. Programs in computer related fields include medical billing specialist, medical coding specialist and medical transcription. In many cases students can work from home in these fields. Salaries are typically in the $25,000 to $40,000 range. In the business subject area, the school offers five certificate programs. Four are designed for specific careers. The fifth, Computer Essentials, provides basic skills for all careers. The four primary programs are Accounting Services Specialist, Book Keeping Specialist, Insurance Claims Adjuster and Office Administrator. Salaries in these fields range from $20,000 to $55,000. Other programs cover a wide range of fields. Wellness programs include personal training and message therapy certificates. Legal certificates offered are in criminal justice, legal transcription and paralegal. The remaining programs include child day care, home inspection, veterinary, and event planning certification. The school offers financial aid assistance through Federal programs and US Military programs. It is a Better Business Bureau accredited business with a rating of A-plus. For more information, visit uscareerinstitute.edu or westondistancelearning.com.