Education

Choosing Your College Major and the Best Career Path

June 20, 2017 by Guest Contributor

You can’t just dive into the subject matter you’re most passionate about, the real world requires you to give your career choice careful consideration. In fact, many students cannot decide on a single, strongest interest to begin with, and more often than not, they find themselves stuck at the prospect of choosing a major, let alone a career.

The awareness that your entire professional path could be decided by this single choice doesn’t make things any easier, so before you take the plunge, here are the most crucial factors to consider so that you can make the most of your academic education, and choose the right direction.

Explore Your Interests

High-school alone gives you a whole range of subjects to explore and discover which areas are your strongest in terms of ability as well as interest. Since you want to spend your higher education dealing with topics that inspire your curiosity and spur your development, as you approach the final year of your high-school studies, you can start reflecting back on your achievements and assignments that you found most appealing and rewarding.

However, parents have probably encouraged you to

Deciding Which Engineering Degree is Right for You

June 4, 2017 by Tim McMahon

If you think you’d like to become an engineer but aren’t sure which program is right for you there are several factors that you should consider. Often High School graduates only think about how much money they can earn and forget that there is much more to a job than that. You don’t want to spend the next 30 -40 years doing something you don’t enjoy so it is important to look at what the job entails and the environment it is done in. Some engineers spend a lot of time in the field on a job site… others spend their time in an office. Some work with their hands while others work on computers or with chemicals. And finally you have to consider job availability no matter how much you enjoy designing horse saddles if there isn’t much demand for horse saddle engineers you probably won’t be able to find a job doing it.

In the table below we have compiled information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on various fields of engineering, median annual salary, job growth and a basic description of what the position entails. [Read more…] about Deciding Which Engineering Degree is Right for You

How Can Your College Choices Affect Your Career?

May 24, 2017 by Guest Contributor

In the long run, planning your career (which includes the certificate programs and degrees you need), can make a big difference. Timing counts for a lot in life, so your career progress can be slowed down by doing the right thing at the wrong time. When the time comes for a person to choose a college, the decision can often be dominated by this line of reasoning – “The more prestigious the school I attend, the larger the paycheck will be after I graduate.”

However, this formula doesn’t always work. Guided by this, parents try to get their children into the best possible college, thinking that they are maximizing future earnings if they’re paying more tuition now. Things aren’t that simple and certain, and graduates can eventually be left with more debt than necessary after they finish school.

Everything depends on the field of work

Having a diploma from a prestigious school doesn’t make a difference in some fields, while in others it can boost future earnings. In example, for fields like engineering, technology, math and science, it doesn’t matter whether students go to an expensive and prestigious school or a low-priced one, while liberal arts and business majors can benefit from their school’s prestige (and have different expectations regarding their future earnings). [Read more…] about How Can Your College Choices Affect Your Career?

How to Increase Your Earning Potential

December 28, 2016 by Tim McMahon

We all seem to be too busy, you know how hard it is to find extra time in your schedule to plan any new projects. This is a common problem for people who want to increase their earning potential. You want to improve life for your family, but fitting in new activities seems impossible. Here are four ways you can increase your earning potential while taking care of your family and other responsibilities.

Earn a Certification

If you don’t have time to return to school full-time, you should consider getting certified for a skill or program that’s in demand. This is something you can do by taking a single course. Community colleges commonly offer certification courses. Some possibilities include computer programming languages, Microsoft Office Specialist or Notary Public. If you can’t see yourself taking even a single course, you can do [Read more…] about How to Increase Your Earning Potential

5 Rewarding Careers in Economics to Consider

October 20, 2016 by Guest Contributor

According to Dictionary.com Economics is “the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind.” Some courses a person majoring in economics may take include finance, statistics, law and international trade. Graduates with an economics degree can find employment in businesses, economic research, and government agencies.

Business Analysts

Business analysts are professionals who analyze business data, processes and systems to help businesses achieve long-term financial performance. Profit margins and company revenues are some the main types of data used by business analysts. You must have a bachelor’s degree in business administration or economics for you to be employed as a business analyst. Consulting firms, government agencies, and business firms usually employ business analysts. As of 2015, the average salary of a business (or Management) analyst according to the Bureau of Labor statistics (BLS) was $81,320 annually and job growth was expected to be much faster than average.

Financial Examiners

The main responsibility of financial examiners is [Read more…] about 5 Rewarding Careers in Economics to Consider

Becoming a Good Mentor

May 10, 2016 by Tim McMahon

Serving as a mentor in business can be rewarding and valuable for both you and the person to whom you are providing this service. Becoming a good mentor requires thinking about the qualities that have enabled you to be successful in business in the first place. If you are looking to lead others through the path you followed, research your own success and use these skills to offer good advice and become respected in your community.

Leadership

Skilled leaders draw followers and are often sought as mentors. They understand the need to show both confidence and compassion when making decisions. They are not above doing tasks themselves, but are also confident enough to delegate responsibility and not micromanage. Effective leaders understand the benefit of hiring team members who shore up their strengths and are not threatened by such individuals. Demonstrating this balance of strength and humility to mentees is incredibly valuable. If you are serious about strengthening these skills before offering advice, see if getting a master in leadership online or from a local course could help develop and hone these skills.

Accountability

As a mentor, it is important to demonstrate both a willingness to accept responsibility for your mistakes and the mistakes of your direct reports as well as an ability to develop solutions to avoid similar future occurrences. In addition, providing the necessary training and tools for your team members to do their jobs well is critically important.

Building Relationships

Developing a strong and trusting relationship with individuals being mentored as well as colleagues, superiors, and subordinates is significant in the business world. A successful leader and mentor will provide a safe and trusting environment in which to ask any questions comfortably and learn from the discussion. A strong mentor will truly listen with interest, empathy and concern for the individual and provide information and guidance based on experience. The mentor will display consistent patience.

Be Current

Be current with the latest industry trends, staff development concepts, tools, and technology. A true mentor wants to pass on their wisdom and knowledge, but recognizes the importance of consistently keeping their skill set refined and current.

Diversity is

It is not necessary to mentor someone who is of the same race, gender, socioeconomic background, or educational history. While it’s important for them to relate to each other, diversity actually provides greater perspective and insight. A mentor is like a parent, teacher, and trainer all rolled into one. Lines are blurred, and this should be a more intimate, deeper relationship. This is not contingent on a grade, a promotion, or a familial obligation. An individual being mentored should walk away from the experience feeling more business savvy, confident, and have an enhanced tool kit with which to navigate the business world.

Becoming a business mentor is a great opportunity. If you’ve been sought for advice before, use your current skills and hone the ones you lack to become a more permanent fixture in your industry and a respected mentor to others.

Outside the Box: Employers Aren’t Just Whining: The “Skills Gap” Is Real

August 28, 2014 by Casey Research

By John Mauldin

Paul Krugman and other notables dismiss the notion of a skills gap, though employers continue to claim they’re having trouble finding workers with the skills they need. And if you look at the evidence one way, Krugman et al. are right. But this week an interesting post on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network by guest columnist James Bessen suggests that employers may not just be whining, they may really have a problem filling some kinds of jobs.

Unsurprisingly, the problem is with new technology and the seeming requirement that workers learn new skills on the job – you know, like when the student pilot has to take the helm of a 747 in a disaster movie. Perhaps there’s not quite the same pressure in the office or on the factory floor, but the challenges can be almost as complex. Most of us have had the experience of needing to learn completely new ways of doing things, sometimes over and over again as the technology for whatever we’re doing keeps changing.

The proverb about
[Read more…] about Outside the Box: Employers Aren’t Just Whining: The “Skills Gap” Is Real

Wages Flat Since Last Year but Depend Upon Education

July 26, 2014 by Tim McMahon

Median Salaries Unchanged from Year Ago

According to the current Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS ) news release on weekly earnings for the second quarter of 2014, the median weekly earnings for a full-time worker was $780 virtually unchanged from year ago levels. The median wage indicates that the same number of people earned more than $780 as earned less working a full-time job.

The data was collected as part of the Current Population Survey, a nationwide sample survey of households conducted by the BLS.

Wages By Education

Wages vary based on a variety of factors including experience but education played a major factor. Full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of only $492. Assuming an average 40 hour work week that would be an average of $12.30/hr. High school graduates with no college earned an average of $666 per week, those with a Bachelors Degree earned an average of $1098 while those with advanced degrees earned an average of $1,377. [Read more…] about Wages Flat Since Last Year but Depend Upon Education

Life in the Shell: Five of the Best Jobs for Introverts

April 1, 2014 by Guest Contributor

If you’re an introvert, and are planning to go to college, degree programs like communications and education may terrify you. Many programs tend to suit extroverts better than introverts, but there are still many degrees that you might love. For some ideas, take a look at these five programs.

Computer Science

If you get this kind of degree, you’ll be able to land a job that pays well, plus you’ll be able to spend your time working alone in a quiet location. Many introverted people who don’t like or understand the way most people act, love working with computers. After-all, computers are predictable and once you take some programming classes, you’ll be able to make them do what you want. If you have a technologically inclined mind, computer science can be the perfect gateway to a job you’ll love.

Writing

Learn how to write, then [Read more…] about Life in the Shell: Five of the Best Jobs for Introverts

Ways to Further Your Education While Teaching

January 3, 2014 by Tim McMahon

As a teacher it is essential that you continue to keep your education current. Most school systems require that you take a certain number of credits or in other ways maintain your education. But like a muscle it is also important that you continue to “exercise” your brain and stay in the habit of learning new things. In addition to taking classes for credit there are many other ways for you to continue to expand your education. And with modern technology the avenues for education are expanding on an almost daily basis.

Here are just a few ways you can broaden your educational horizons while working in the field.

Free Online MOOCs

As many people discover the advantages of taking classes online, more top-tier universities, such as Harvard, Yale and MIT are providing “MOOC’s” or massive open online courses . These online lectures are often available free of charge. Stanford has the most popular free course: Introduction to “AI” with 160,000 students from 190 countries.

Subjects range from economics to psychology and offer wonderful ways to hear cutting-edge professors explain their areas of expertise.

In addition to MOOCS some universities are offering classes, lectures and books via mp3. So, many people interested in expanding their educations can now learn on the go anytime they want. Whether on the bus or out for a jog, listening to podcasts from institutions such as Oxford University can provide hours of enjoyment and deeply meaningful learning experiences. For many teachers, the ability to learn from Oxford professors while keeping their day job is a dream come true.
[Read more…] about Ways to Further Your Education While Teaching