Category Archives: careers

careers, gap year, parenting

Is your teen unsure about college?

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Not every student is excited about going to college. Is your teen unsure about college?

Sometimes they need a little push; and sometimes college just isn’t in their headlights. The simple truth is: The four-year college plan isn’t for everyone. For some young adults, the thought of college terrifies them. If they have struggled in school, they know college is going to be more academically challenging. Other students are simply burned out and need a break. But, with all the talk about college during high school, other options are rarely discussed.

What if your student simply won’t consider college?

My son never saw himself in college. He was an average student but from the time he entered high school, he had military aspirations. He joined the Naval Junior ROTC program and as a senior, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines. It was a good decision for him at the time, even though I protested strongly because I wanted him to go to college.

If your student seems disinterested in college, there are other options to consider. For example, a gap year might be in order. During a gap year or semester, students can work at an internship, learn a trade, or find a volunteer opportunity, at home or abroad. Another bold initiative would be to become an entrepreneur – start a business or invent a product to sell.

Your student might opt to work at a full-time job while researching career opportunities. There’s no better way to spark interest in a career path than to work in it for a bit. A career interest could spur them to research training opportunities or even consider college later down the road.

If your teen isn’t quite ready for college, here a few ideas from an article I wrote for TeenLife Media: Gap Years and Other Ideas for Teens Unsure About College.

academics, careers, college majors

How to Motivate Your Student Towards STEM

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STEMSome children fall in love with science right away – while others don’t. When your student has shown an interest in the field, you’re suddenly facing a fine balancing act of encouraging their interest without being pushy.

The joy of discovering the world of science should come from within themselves, of course, but a slight encouragement from their parents has never hurt anyone either.

Here is a handful of ways on how you can do exactly this in order to further their interest and make sure that their understanding continues to expand. That way, you know you’re doing a good job without pushing your own interest on your student.

Talk about science at home

Their interests will often be triggered in their own homes and usually because their parents also have an interest in the field. This means that the conversations come naturally and you’re likely to talk about the latest discoveries around the dinner table – but what if you’re not in the field yourself?

When your student is showing an interest in something you know very little about, it can be hard to know where to even start. It’s a good idea to have a look at a STEAM program, for example, and talk to their science teacher about what you can do to encourage their interest.

There are so many science-based games for students as well, by the way, and just the fact that you want to encourage the curiosity and thirst for knowledge in them without having any experience in the field yourself shows that you’re on the right path.

Encouraging curiosity

This brings us to the next point; the great thing about science is that it’s all about making sense of the world. That means that you don’t have to have the answer to each question they have and should instead try to make them think about an answer themselves.

This will help them to develop their own science skills as well, by the way, and you can show an interest without having too much understanding by encouraging them to explain their thoughts to you.

Try to avoid correcting them if they should say something that you know is incorrect, though, and help them to further their critical thinking by coming to the right conclusion themselves.

If they, for example, state that everything that is heavy will sink, you can try to guide them in the right direction by asking if they’ve ever seen anything heavy that may float – and which heavy things they know that sinks.

These are just a few of the ways you can help your science-minded student to understand a bit more of the world and develop their thirst for knowledge. Go for walks outside and talk about the things around you, and you’re doing a lot to give your child a great foundation.

careers

Ideal Careers for your Strong Student Leader

leaderIf your child has excellent leadership skills or wants to develop them more, it might be time to start looking at colleges and careers that are suitable for passionate leaders. Children and teenagers have plenty of opportunities to build their leadership skills through the years, and there are some interesting college majors and careers they can explore too.

Business and Entrepreneurship

For people who want to take the lead in their career, working in business or becoming an entrepreneur is often a top choice. It opens up opportunities for them to climb the career ladder and to both use their leadership skills and put forward their own ideas.

Education

Working in education is a good way to use leadership skills to inspire others. There are lots of ways to work in education, teaching different ages and different subjects. You might teach children or adults, ranging from being a school teacher to passing on your area of expertise to people looking for a new hobby or teaching key skills like the English language.

Legal Careers

Working in a legal career as a lawyer or another legal professional presents plenty of opportunities for leadership too. However, it’s likely to be in a different way to how someone might lead a class of people or even a team in an office. Leadership in the legal profession could involve working with a team or with someone one-on-one.

Nonprofit Organizations

If your child is interested in doing good in the world, they might be interested in the leadership skills necessary for working at a nonprofit organization as outlined in this infographic.


Infographic Design By USC

careers, parenting

Helping Your Student Find the Right Career Path

career pathChoosing a career path is something that everyone can feel pressured to do, and often from a young age. The truth is that many people never really know what they want to do “when they grow up” and can often change careers several times. But finding a path into a first career can still feel tough. By helping your child to find their way, you can encourage them to start with the right college choice.

Explore Their Interests

A career doesn’t have to be based around something that you’re extremely passionate about. However, exploring your interests and the things you enjoy can help you to find something that you would be good at. You can help your child to explore their interests and what careers they might relate to.

Research Potential College Options

Taking a look at available college options that might help your child explore their interests and their strengths can help them find their career path. You might consider colleges that have plenty of support for exploring careers and opportunities for work experience and internships.

Traits and Characteristics

Your child’s characteristics and personality traits can play a big role in their exploration of what sort of career might suit them. If they already have something in mind, it can help them decide whether it’s the right choice for them. Finding out what their personality type is can give them some good guidance on whether a certain industry or role could be a good idea. For example, some personality types are better suited to certain tasks in sales roles as explained in the infographic below.


Infographic Design By University of Alabama Birmingham

careers, networking, social networks

A Simple 5-Step Guide to Becoming More Employable After Graduation

employableBecoming more employable is something anybody can do with a little patience, determination, and commitment. When you take the time to make yourself more employable, you become a valuable member of any team. You should get more offers, do better in the application process (although you’ll still need to nail the interview), and better yet, gain confidence and learn more about yourself and what you want to do.

In this post, we’re going to discuss 5 simple steps you can take to becoming more employable. Read on if this is something you want to do:

Build Your Social Media Presence

Start by working on your social media presence. Pick your platform and figure out ways to target your audience – are they on twitter, facebook, or instagram? How will you engage them and provide them with valuable content?

Sites like instagram are great because you can share attractive images alongside ‘microblogs’ that can help to give people useful info. You must be consistent. You can’t expect to gain thousands of followers overnight, but you will get to where you want to be if you’re consistent.

Keep Your Resume Up To Date

Make sure you have a high quality resume and that you keep it up to date. If you know the role you want or the industry you want to be in, make sure it’s targeted to that and don’t include anything that may be irrelevant. Make sure your resume will stand out against others. For example, if you’re applying for an online marketing agency, could you show off your skills with an online, interactive resume?

Continue Your Education No Matter What

Make sure you’re committed to continuing your education no matter what. There’s always something new to learn. You might look at something like https://librarysciencedegree.usc.edu, or even a simple online workshop/course. There are a ton of free resources, as well as courses you can pay for and courses you can get funding for depending on what you want to do. Know your strengths and weaknesses and work on them. Just make sure you have fun at the same time!

Network

They say it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, and for the most part it’s true. Networking allows you to introduce yourself to people in industries you may be interested in, and you should find yourself with new doors and opportunities opening for you this way. Network both online and offline. This can be scary, but you can practice by setting yourself goals to meet each day; for instance, starting a conversation with a stranger in a store queue.

Work Placements And Volunteer

By working placements and volunteering, you show that you are committed to your chosen role/industry and your own growth. You also show that you have empathy, and that you have experience, which both make you employable, even if you haven’t held a paid role!

This 5 step guide should help you to become more employable, providing you’re committed to working on it consistently.

career colleges, careers

Is Your Student Interested in Pursuing a Skilled Trade?

 

skilled trade

Is your student looking for a hands-on career that pays well but isn’t on your traditional college major radar? With an estimated 31 million skilled trade vacancies by 2020 and a potential oversaturation of IT employees, the following jobs are smart choice for young adults.

HVAC technician. HVAC techs don’t just provide tune-ups to residential heating and cooling systems. Many HVAC professionals work on industrial refrigeration equipment, boilers, heat pumps, and air handling systems. The Advanced Technology Institute reports that HVAC jobs will grow by more than 20% through 2022 and claims the top professionals in the field earn more than $68,900 annually.

Machinist. Creative minds that lean toward problem solving might like a career as a machinist. A machinist repairs or creates large machines and often makes their own tools to get the job done. A high-school diploma and some manufacturing experience can help a budding industrial machinist take home $42,000 each year.

Electrician. Electricians are the men and women who work to ensure that buildings, vehicles, and ships are wired correctly and that that wiring is safe. Earning more than $25 per hour in the early years, an electrician can charge $75 per hour or more as an independent contractor or business owner in less than a decade.

Plumber. Plumbers are the people you call when your toilet, drains, or hot water heater fail to function. But they are also important in construction as these professionals are knowledgeable in everything from drainage to pipefitting and how a building’s design might affect its plumbing system. Plumbers help create blueprints and may work alone or with a team on large projects. With an expected $50,620 salary and 12% job growth through 2024, it’s a career that isn’t going down the drain any time soon.

Brick mason. A brick mason gets to build things with their hands, from mailboxes to courthouses to chimneys. It’s a job that requires heavy lifting, a keen eye for detail, and the ability to follow detailed instructions. There is little room for errors in this job, as a brick mason’s handiwork is literally set in stone.  Although many in the industry work as an apprentice instead of undergoing formal education, there are a number of college programs that offer certification in masonry. Brick masons that work for local governmental agencies can earn more than $93,000; the median salary in the private sector is $46,650.

Civil engineer. A civil engineer works on a large scale to create infrastructure plans in towns, at airports, seaports, and along the highways and byways. There are virtually no areas where civil engineers don’t touch. These construction and architectural experts are the ones responsible for keeping tragedy at bay and must understand natural disasters, such as flooding and tornadoes, in order to minimize their impact on the community. Civil engineers can earn up to $100,000 or more depending on location and expertise.

Industrial engineer. An industrial engineer works to increase operational efficiency. This job offers the best of both worlds: the ability to work on-site as well as time in the office. Industrial engineering jobs are expected to grow at a rate of 10% through 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And with a median salary of $84,310, it’s a high-paying career with growth opportunities.

Construction and manufacturing industry experts hope to fill these and other open positions with new workers in the coming years. And each of these industries is adding jobs quickly as Baby Boomers begin to age out of the employment pool. This is good news for young adults is that job growth has a positive impact on the economy today and builds the foundation for tomorrow’s homebuyer. More jobs leads to higher wages, which leads to more people buying homes, which ultimately leads to lower interest rates and more favorable loan terms across the board. Getting in the door to these fast-growing careers now is one sure way to pave the way for a bright financial future.

And believe it or not, there are scholarships available to help you pay for this type of training:

2017 Technicians in Residential Plumbing, HVAC or Electrical Scholarship & 2017 Troops to Trades Training Grants and Scholarships

2017 Skilled Labor Shortage Scholarship

Women in Skilled Trades Scholarship Program

National Housing Endowment Student Scholarships

World Plumbing Council Scholarship Program

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air-Conditioning Engineers Scholarships

career colleges, careers

Careers in the Medical Field (other than a doctor or a nurse)

 

medical

Is your college-bound teen interested in the medical field but doesn’t want to become a doctor or nurse? It’s good to know there are other avenues they can pursue, and some are even available online.

Who are medical assistants in the medical field? They are the people usually working under doctors. They work in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Their work is basically to take care of administrative, clerical and clinical tasks. These may include tasks such as scheduling appointments, blood preparation, recording patient history and information,helping with examinations, and recording vital signs.

There are many different medical assistant programs out there. This makes the decision to enroll in a medical assistant program a difficult one. As a potential student, how do you balance your choices from the different programs? I suggest you compare the costs and the length of the program. Different schools out there offer programs, some even offer online programs. You can tell just by logic the convenience of an online program.  I mean can, students get to save a significant amount of money and still be able to study from anywhere.

I have looked at a couple of medical assistant online programs which have been compiled based on affordability and quality. Do you want to graduate with a certification, a diploma, or an associate’s degree? Keep in mind that a diploma or certification takes less time to complete and can get you into the workforce right away and an associate’s degree takes a longer time and its quite useful when you want to a fast track to the top. Medical assistant online courses, make it possible to keep your current lifestyle while pursuing your medical career.  Here are several choices.0

1.The College of Health Care Professions (CHCP)

This college offers a medical assisting certificate and a Healthcare Management degree for further career advancement. To make it legitimate, this school is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). Medical assisting online courses from this school allow students to complete labs and lectures online with the option of in-field clinical experience at local campuses across the U.S. This quality training requires a tuition fee of $24,133.

2.Kaplan University

This is going to impress you. It is very important to note that this program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. Kaplan University’s online bachelor’s program is known for their quality online medical degrees, and it’s no different for their medical assisting online program either. You can get this quality training for $14,241. If you are not able to fully fund yourself, the school offers financial aid based on the FASFA application.

3.Harrison College

Harrison College is a for-profit college that offers a degree and diploma in medical assisting. Harrison is one of two distance learning CAAHEP accredited medical assisting programs in the nation keeping in mind that CAAHEP is the largest programmatic accreditor in the health sciences field. The online associate of applied science in medical assisting program takes two years, with a medical assistant externship included in the tuition fee which is just $17,100.

4.Liberty University

This is one of the world’s largest online universities. Liberty is a non-profit, Christian school that offers degrees from the certification to the doctoral level. Too good to be true? It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. This school offers an Associate of Applied Science in Medical Office Assisting program that prepares students to work as assistants in healthcare environments.The tuition fee caps at $20,109 which is fair considering the school’s rep and the quality of training provided.

 

As you can see, these are just but a few options. There are other schools out there that offer such programs. This article has highlighted the best in quality and price to make it easier for your student to make a better decision.

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career colleges, careers

4 Questions to Ask Your Child Before They Decide to Study Medicine

 

study medicine

There is many a student out there with grand ideas of entering the medical profession, with all the prestige, salary, and pride that goes along with doing a job connected with helping others. However, while you’ll understandably be excited that your child is showing an interest to study medicine and join such a worthwhile profession, it’s important to remember that the cost of putting a child through medical school is expensive. As such you’ll need to make sure your child is fully determined to see the course through if you’re going to part with your cash. Below, we take a look at five questions you should be asking your child before they decide to study medicine; it might make them think twice, or give you all the encouragement you need to fund their education.

1. Why?

It’s easy to fall for the image of being a doctor or other medical professional, but the image and the reality are worlds apart. Your child might have a solid understanding of what is driving them towards the medical industry, but you won’t know until you’ve asked them. If they’re especially interested in helping people, understanding how the body works, and working hard, then it might be the right career choice for them. If they have only a vague desire, then try to draw out of them what they want to do – it might not be becoming a doctor, and you’ll be setting them on the right path.

2. Do They Know the Commitment?

Nothing worth having comes overnight, and this is true for becoming a medical professional. It requires a lot of schooling, right through from the time at college, to postgraduate studies, to getting experience in the hospitals. All in all, it’ll be well over a decade until they’re finished with their studies and bringing home a good income. Are they willing to play the long game to get their dream job?

3. Will they be Happy with the Work/Life Balance?

Working in the medical industry isn’t so much about having a job as it is adopting a lifestyle. For instance, asking “how much does a Radiologist make?” is a good question to ask, but it’s important to weigh he potential income (which is high) against the number of hours worked. The good news is that doctors do tend to get more free time as they get more experienced, but the early years can be particularly draining.

4. What Branch of Medicine?

Obviously, the medical field is massive, and as such there are many jobs that a person going down the medical route could end up doing. They could become a surgeon, general hospital doctor, a cardiologist, radiologist, or a whole host of other options. It’s not so important that they pick which discipline they’re most interested in before they start, but it’s good to keep an eye on which jobs will be safe for the future; doctors will always be in demand, but some surgeons might see their procedures automated.

If they can answer all these confidently and positively, then you might have a future doctor on your hands!

careers, technology

The Pros and Cons of a Digital Career

 

digital career

With the Millennials and Generation Z becoming more and more tech-savvy, there’s no doubt that a digital career is something most young people could consider. After all, in a world where people buy, talk, and organize their appointments through the simple principle of clicking their way through the web from their smartphone, now is the best possible time to embrace a digital career – or to study towards one. However, before encouraging your kids down to the path of digital technology, it’s probably a good idea to consider the advantages and inconveniences of studying for a digital career. Given the current costs of studies – including tuition fees and the cost of living – it’s important that you know whether this is the right decision for your child.

#1. Digital careers are trendy

With most things living in the digital sphere nowadays, you don’t need to think for long to understand how trendy digital careers are. While some digital careers seem to have fallen into oblivion, there are still career paths that continue to thrive despite the constant changes in the digital technology. For instance, careers that relate to security, and especially the analysis of potential risks and identification of targets for hackers, are a staple of the digital industry. As long as the information exists online, there will be cybercriminals. Additionally, careers in data management continue to attract newcomers, because it’s a never-ending path. Indeed. With the growth of the Internet of Things, companies collect more and more data, which needs to be interpreted and organized in a meaningful way for business intelligence processes. Data is only valuable if it can be read and understood for future decisions. Additionally, careers that specialize in the design of technology, either from a product’s perspective or in the nano branch will impact on the evolution of our economy and health system in future years.

#2. High-end skills are expensive

However high the demand is for specific digital skills, it seems that the study costs are following the same pattern. In fact, it’s not uncommon for students to struggle with credit debts as they try to manage their tuition fees, the cost of living and the cost of studies equipment. As repair.credit notes, the most effective way to tackle your finances is to accept the debt and consider debt consolidation to manage repayments. So debt is unavoidable unless you come from a wealthy family. But, according to springboard.com a digital career such as digital analyst can be extremely lucrative so that it can help to repay your student debts faster. With an average entry-level salary of $50,000 to $75,000, data analysts are paid well above the median household salary in the U.S. The same argument applies to a variety of technical digital careers, excluding digital marketing.

#3. Digital technology moves faster than studies

Unfortunately, digital technology moves extremely fast, so that it’s likely that your digital degree may be outdated by the time you come out of university. In 28% of graduates feel that their digital study courses were outdated and didn’t prepare them adequately to the expectations of the modern world. Across the world, similar complaints can be heard in the USA, in Europe and Asia. In fact, while studying digital technology opens the path to an exciting career, it is pointless without proper work experience.

In a word, a digital career offers the promise of high-paid jobs, but it comes at the risk of encountering debts and coming across outdated knowledge. Tread carefully on the digital path!

careers

Is Nursing Right for Your Student?

 

nursing

One of the most important things that everyone should do before choosing a career is to look into their chosen field in great detail. This should include the bad and the downright ugly bits as well as just the good stuff. Why? Well, it’s because only by knowing the challenges you will come up against will students be able to determine whether it is truly something that they want to dedicate their life to, or whether their talents are better used elsewhere. With this in mind get your students to check out all three parts of this post introducing nursing,  to see whether it is a good match for them.

The Good

Helping people

Of course, at the top of many students’ lists is finding a career that enables them to help others. Nursing is great for this because not only do they get to provide physical care and aid with people recovery, there is also the aspect of bedside manner. The emotional care that can help people feel better when they are in difficult situations. In fact, this element is often cited as a reason why people chose nursing over being a doctor because they have more one to one time with patients to be able to establish this.

Doing an essential job

Nursing is also a great role, for those that are concerned with doing a job that is essential to society. Nurses are vital and will remain so. Meaning anyone studying in this area can be confident in the fact that they will be doing a useful and meaningful role once they are qualified.

Specialisms

Another appealing facet of going into nursing is that their air many areas that individual can specialize in. From things like wound care, gerontology, and intensive care work, to outpatient rehabilitation and new baby checks. It’s likely that there will be something in this field that is the perfect match for most students.

Flexible training life long learning

Nursing is also a profession where you are expected to never give up learning. Always being on the ball with new research in your area as well as being able to do additional training to help you move up the career ladder. In fact, you can even do an Online RN to BSN Degree now. Meaning that you can continue working in your RN position and study for your BSc in a flexible way. Something that can save on cost, and also is much more convenient as you can work on your assignments at home around your shifts.

Lots of jobs

Something else that is most definitely in favor of choosing a nursing career is that it’s a role where there is nearly always a demand for employees. This is great news for students going into the profession because they can be fairly sure that they will have job security. Something that is very important to many, especially when they have bills to pay and a family to support.

Can travel the world

Lastly, in the good section, it’s worth mentioning that nursing is one of those careers that provide you with the opportunity of traveling while you work. This is because nurses are often categorized as essential workers. Meaning that getting a temporary work VISA in another country, and well as emigrating permanently is often a lot easier than it would be if you have another profession.

The Bad

Shift work

Of course, nursing isn’t all roses, and there are some things that student need to know about this profession before they take the leap. In particular, that shift work that can be at night as well as in the day can be a challenge for many. Either because it can mess with their own sleep routine, or it can create problems with relationships and even childcare.

On feet all the time

Nursing is also one of those professions where it’s all go a lot of the time. That means nurses are often always on their feet, with little chance for breaks or rests in between tasks. This can be incredibly exhausting, especially when done over a long period of time. As the body never gets to rest and rejuvenate probably. This can lead to issues with things like plantar fasciitis, back pain, and strains that can be painful, and impede a nurse’s ability to work.

Understaffed and low budgets

Lastly, in the bad section, it is worth noting that depending on the area you work in as a nurse you may come up against issues such as there not being enough staff for the work that there is. This is often a budgetary issue and is more likely in facilities that provide care for those that cannot pay for it themselves.  

Of course m if you do find yourself working in such a situation, it can be stressful as well as rewarding because you will be asked to do so much more, as there isn’t anyone else there that is qualified to do it.

The Ugly

Have to deal with the public when they are their worst

It’s also worth mentioning that while the chance to make an emotional difference in someone’s life is a vital aspect of nursing. It’s not all about mopping fevered brows and offering words of wisdom. Nurses also have to deal with the public, usually, when they are hurt, ill, or in pain. Meaning that they are not always at their best. This can be something that is truly stressful and difficult and is definitely an issue to be aware of before embarking on the profession.  

Strong constitutions

Lastly, being a nurse definitely not a career for students that are faint of  heart. As they have to deal with extreme situations, injuries, bodily fluids and even the fragility of life each and every day. This is something that can be particularly tough to get to grips with, and as nurses are really on the front line with regard to these issues, it should be something that is factored into any career decisions before they are made.