education

Find Opportunities To Boost Your Military Career When You’re In A Slump

November 23, 2021 by Tim McMahon

Many people reach a point in their career where they feel stagnant, even people employed by the armed forces. When this happens, it’s important to take control of the situation by utilizing the resources available to you. Here are some things you can do to give your military career a boost when you’re in a slump.

Online College

If you want to get ahead, you can benefit from obtaining an advanced degree in your field. As a member of the military, you may even qualify for free classes. However, going back to school may not appeal to you if you have a full-time job and personal obligations to tend to. When will you find the time?

Online colleges for military personnel allow you to take classes on your time. You can also take a whole class load or take just one or two classes at a time. College advisors can offer you guidance on managing your schedule and choosing the most necessary or useful classes.

Get Involved in the Community

As a member of the armed forces, you serve your Country. Connect to the people you serve by supporting work-related community efforts.

Your superior will appreciate your effort and keep you in mind when a promotion becomes available. You’ll also feel good about doing something good for the people in your area, increasing the bond between soldiers and civilians. [Read more…] about Find Opportunities To Boost Your Military Career When You’re In A Slump

How Military Service Can Set You up for a Good Education/Career

August 19, 2021 by Tim McMahon

Military service usually lasts more than two years, which will put you in a good position to apply to schools. Military service can provide students with skills and opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise. It could be easy for them to get into a school after their service because they already have the experience and connections that are necessary for admissions.

Benefits of Joining the Military

Military service often means leaving home and moving away from family members, friends, and other personal supports that may not be easily replaced elsewhere. After serving your country, you have two options. For some, military service is a way to become more independent and make a career for yourself. Others become officers in order to continue to serve their country. In short, there are many opportunities that can help you with your current financial situation.

Acquiring a Military Education

Online colleges for military education are not just a means to help students get into a good university or college. [Read more…] about How Military Service Can Set You up for a Good Education/Career

How to Go Back to School as an Adult: The Steps Explained

January 20, 2021 by Guest Contributor

Are you among the 36 million Americans with some college education but no degree? Or maybe, for one reason or another, you never had the chance to attend college in the first place. Either way, it’s never too late to consider going back to school as an adult. In fact, in 2020 there were 7.5 million college students enrolled who were over the age of 25.

These are encouraging numbers, but what about you and your unique circumstances? How can you find the time, money, and motivation to reach your goals?

In this post, we’ll explain how to go back to school as an adult and provide actionable steps you can take to make it happen. Your educational journey begins now, so keep reading!

Clarify Your Goals & Expectations

We all have different reasons why we didn’t finish (or start) college right out of high school. Likewise, we all have different motivations for deciding that “now” is the time to go back to school.

Do any of the following scenarios apply to you?

You took time off for personal reasons and now you’re ready to finish your education
You need specific training or a higher degree to advance your career path
You want to increase your earnings and move into a higher income bracket
You want to switch to a career field you’re truly passionate about
You need further qualifications to remain competitive in your current field

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers here. It’s all about defining your reasons and getting clear on your “why for returning to school.

Do you want to open your own business? Enter a field you love? Achieve financial security? Or just broaden your horizons and learn for the sake of learning? The more specific your goals, the more likely [Read more…] about How to Go Back to School as an Adult: The Steps Explained

September Employment Up 1.25 Million not 661,000

October 3, 2020 by Tim McMahon

Employment Increased by 1.25 Million in September

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its employment / unemployment report for September on October 2nd.

Unadjusted U-3 was Down from 8.5% to 7.7%!
Adjusted U-3 was Down from 8.4% to 7.9%!
Unadjusted U-6 was Down from 14.3% to 12.4%!
Labor Force Participation fell from 61.7% to 61.4%.
Unadjusted Employment up from 140.718 million to 141.855 million.

According to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 661,000 in September, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.9 percent. These improvements reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it.

In September, employment continued to increase in several industries, with the largest gains in leisure and hospitality, in retail trade, in health care and social assistance, and in professional and business services. By contrast, employment declined in government, mainly in state and local government education.”

Of course, he is talking about “Seasonally Adjusted Jobs” from the “Current Population Survey (CPS)” rather than looking at the results reported by actual companies in their “Current Employment Statistics survey (CES)”

But looking at the CES report we see…
Originally the BLS reported 140.598 million jobs for August, they added 120,000 jobs since that estimate.
So currently they are saying 140.718 million jobs for August and 141.855 million jobs for September which is actually an increase of 1,257,000 jobs based on their original estimates.

Industries Begging for Applicants

November 15, 2019 by Tim McMahon

It often feels like the job market is stagnant. You can send out hundreds of applications and never hear anything back. If you’re looking for a job, though, you might do better by looking into these four fields that are begging for new applicants.

Education

There is a definite shortage of teachers in the United States, with some schools turning towards long-term subs just to fill gaps in their scheduling. Depending on the school district, there are even bonuses offered for teachers in hard-to-recruit subjects like Math. While teachers have significant workloads, the field is fairly stable and there are plenty of chances to move within districts and even to new locations. This is one career that’s sure to be around for many years to come, but applicants are still in high demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook, the median salary for a high school teacher was $60,320 in 2018. Middle School teachers made $58,600/ yr. and Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers averaged $57,980 / yr.

https://youtu.be/wth4CiF9i9M

September Unemployment Rate Hits 50-Year Low

October 5, 2019 by Tim McMahon

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its employment / unemployment report for September released on October 4^th. Unemployment is at record lows. According to the BLS, the “Seasonally Adjusted” Unemployment Rate for September fell to 3.5% after spending 3 months at 3.7%. The last time unemployment was this low was in December 1969 almost exactly 50 years ago.

According to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 3.5 percent in September, and nonfarm payroll employment increased by 136,000. Employment continued to trend up in health
care and in professional and business services… Health care employment rose by +39,000 in September… employment continued to trend up in professional and business services +34,000… Employment in transportation and warehousing edged up by +16,000… Government employment also continued to trend up in September +22,000…”

Of course, he is talking about “Seasonally Adjusted Jobs” in reality last month the BLS reported there were 151.517 million people employed in August and this month they are reporting there are 151.949 million employed in September, so that is an increase of 432,000 jobs.

For more info see our Current Unemployment Chart and Current U.S. Employment Chart commentary:

Key September Employment and Unemployment Numbers

This month’s Unemployment report was full of positive news.

Adjusted U-3 Unemployment- 3.5% down from 3.7% June through August.
Unadjusted U-3 Unemployment- 3.3% down from 3.8% in August and 4.0% in July, it was 4.4% in January.
Unadjusted U-6 Unemployment- 6.5% down a whopping -0.8% from 7.3% in August.
Unadjusted Employment (Establishment Survey)- 151.949 up from the 151.517 million the BLS reported in August.
Labor Force Participation Rate- 63.2% unchanged from August but up from 63.0% in July, and 62.9% June.

Key factors in the BLS report were:

Health care employment increased by 39,000

Professional and business services increased by 34,000

Transportation and warehousing increased by 16,000

Government employment increased by 22,000 approximately 1,000 of those were related to the upcoming census.

Hispanic and African American unemployment are both at the lowest levels on record.

July Unemployment Unchanged But…

August 3, 2019 by Tim McMahon

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly unemployment survey results for July on August 2^nd. Unemployment is still near record lows but this month’s Unemployment report was a bit of a “mixed bag” with some positive news and some not quite so positive.

According to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 164,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent. Notable job gains occurred in professional and technical services, health care, social assistance, and financial activities.

The July increase in payroll employment was in line with the average monthly job gain in the first half of the year (+165,000), but below the average monthly job gain of 223,000 for 2018. (Incorporating revisions for May and June, which decreased employment by 41,000, monthly job gains have averaged 140,000 over the past 3 months.) ”

Of course he is talking about “Seasonally Adjusted Jobs” in reality there were 152.307 million people employed according to the BLS’ June report and then they adjusted it down to 152.242 million but in July there are only 151.183 million employed so there was either a decrease of -1.059 million jobs based on the new numbers or a decrease of -1.124 million based on the original numbers. But there were only 148.295 million employed in January so there about 2.88 million more people employed in July than in January.

For more info see our Current Unemployment Chart and Current U.S. Employment Chart commentary:

Key July Employment and Unemployment Numbers

Adjusted U-3 Unemployment- 3.7% Unchanged from June
Unadjusted U-3 Unemployment- 4.0% Up from 3.8% in June and 3.4% in May but still below 4.1% in February, and 4.4% in January.
Unadjusted U-6 Unemployment- 7.3% down from 7.5% in June Up from 6.7% in May. It was 7.5% in March, 7.7% in February and 8.8% in January.
Unadjusted Employment (Establishment Survey)- 151.183 million down from 152.307 million in June up from 148.295 million in January.
Labor Force Participation Rate- 63.0% up from 62.9% June, 62.8% in April and May but unchanged from 63.0% in March and still below the peak of 63.2% in February.

Although they rose a notch in June (and stayed there in July), current Seasonally Adjusted U-3 levels are still below the 3.8% lows of 2000. Prior to that, we have to go all the way back to 1969 to see better unemployment levels than we have currently. If we break below 3.4% we have to go all the way back to 1953 (during the Korean War) to find lower levels. And we must remember that there was a massive loss of the workforce due to the war, and a higher percentage of the population was not counted due to “farming”, so we probably won’t see levels that low again. The 1969 lows occurred during the Vietnam war. Prior to 1969 was a low of 3.7% in 1957 so we are currently at that level. As we can see from the above chart we are in one of only 5 “green zones” where unemployment levels are below 4%. Not even the “boom” period 2006-2007 reached such low levels.

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?

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

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