A liberal arts degree is such a versatile degree, that it can prepare you for dozens of distinct careers from archaeologist to legislative researcher to United Nations staff. It may be difficult to believe, but this unique degree is nothing new and it has never really been considered an “experimental” or “alternative” degree. Liberal arts study has been around since ancient Greek and Roman times, but liberal arts colleges didn’t begin to multiply in North America until the early 1800s. In medieval European Universities, liberal arts covered seven subject areas including arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, grammar, logic, music, and rhetoric.

Today, there are more than 200 liberal arts colleges across the United States. These liberal arts degree programs promote the study of history, languages, literature, mathematics, philosophy, and science—subjects that form the basis of a general or “liberal” education. Many institutions describe the liberal arts curriculum as the study of three main branches of knowledge including: the social sciences, humanities (literature, language, philosophy, the fine arts, and history), and the physical and biological sciences. In addition to studying the three main branches of knowledge, liberal arts colleges allow students to focus on a particular major. Typical liberal arts majors include:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• History
• Languages (French, German, Russian, Spanish)
• Liberal Studies
• Literature or other Humanities
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Psychology
• Social Sciences
• Sociology

While the liberal arts curriculum is basically the same at all liberal arts colleges, these unique colleges come in all shapes and sizes. Liberal arts colleges may be secular, religiously affiliated, gender-specific, public or private, urban, rural, residential, independent or part of a larger college or university.

Graduates with a liberal arts degree are an attractive option for employers mainly employers feel that liberal arts graduates have developed the skills necessary to deal with today’s evolving career world. Employers also see a liberal arts graduate as an individual that has demonstrated the ability to learn and become successful in today’s working world. Liberal arts graduates have proven that they have the ability to uncover problems, find solutions, and implement them.

Although liberal arts degrees have benefits on a personal, community, and career level, this type of degree also has benefits on a financial level. Liberal arts graduates entering professional fields can expect starting salaries ranging from $38,620 (anthropologists and archaeologists) up to $80,560 (political scientists). Earnings increase significantly with  master of liberal arts degree (MLA).

If you are interested in obtaining a liberal arts degree, you should start by contacting one of the top schools for liberal arts. The following colleges ranked high on U.S. News & World Report’s National Liberal Arts Rankings for 2011.

• Amherst College, Amherst, MA
• Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
• Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
• Carleton College, Northfield, MN
• Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA
• Davidson College, Davidson, NC
• DePauw University, Greencastle, IN
• Furman University, Greenville, SC
• Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA
• Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA
• Haverford College, Haverford, PA
• Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
• Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA
• Pomona College, Claremont, CA
• Scripps College, Claremont, CA
• Sewanee: University of the South, Sewanee, TN
• Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX
• Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
• University of Richmond, Richmond, VA
• Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
• Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA
• Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
• Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
• Willamette University, Salem, OR
• Williams College, Williamstown, MA

For more information about the top liberal arts colleges and universities in the United States, visit U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2011 at http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/liberal-arts-rankings.

Jobs for Liberal Arts Graduates

• Account executive trainee
• Administrative assistant
• Affirmative action officer
• Anthropologist
• Archeologist
• Benefits manager
• Caseworker
• Caseworker
• Choreographer
• City manager
• College recruiting specialist
• Compensation manager
• Compliance officer
• Congressional relations officer
• Congressional staff member
• Consul
• Copywriter
• Cultural affairs officer
• Customer relations officer
• Customs agent
• Customs inspector
• Dancer
• Economic development coordinator
• Employee relations officer
• Employment interviewer
• Exporter
• Foreign language teacher
• Foreign service
• Fund raising/development
• Geographer
• Historian
• Immigration agent
• Importer
• Intelligence officer
• Interpreter/translator
• Investigator
• Job analyst
• Labor relations manager
• Labor relations researcher
• Legislative analyst
• Legislative assistant (federal, state & local)
• Legislative researcher
• Lobbyist
• Media buyer
• Organizational development specialist
• Personnel generalist recruiter
• Politician
• Press relations officer
• Producer
• Program analyst
• Program information officer
• Promoter
• Public affairs officer
• Public relations officer
• Publicity assistant
• Recruiter
• Research assistant
• Researcher
• Researcher
• Sales promoter
• Sociologist
• Speechwriter   
• Stage manager
• Training & education supervisor
• Training specialist
• Travel agent
• United Nations staff

An internship is an opportunity for students, and even individual’s that graduated from college years ago, to gain practical experience in any given field. Participating in an internship program is considered the fastest ways to get your foot in the door at today’s top firms—before graduating from college.

While many internships do not offer a salary, a select few do actually pay. Paid internships are typically offered in the technical field, medical, and government, to mane a few. Most unpaid internship programs typically offer course credit upon completion of an internship, but some colleges do not give academic credit for internships. However, these colleges are the exception, not the rule. Internships are either full or part-time and they are typically completed during the summer or during a regular semester.   

Internships are beneficial in several ways. In addition to playing a significant role in your university experience, an internship can help you learn more about your chosen career field or other career fields you might be interested in. An internship can help you:

• Gain confidence in your abilities
• Gain valuable experience to include on your resume
• Learn more about what your future work environment will be like
• Meet people in the industry and gain invaluable contacts
• Obtain references that will boost your credibility when applying for other positions

When searching for an internship, you should be just as selective as you would be during your search for a paid full-time position. You should look for opportunities that match your career interests and skills. An internship should also enhance your academic program and work well with your current class schedule. In addition, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. Can I afford to work an unpaid internship or do I need a paid internship to help with tuition costs?
2. Do I want career-related experience or just work experience?
3. How long is the commute?
4. How many hours can I afford to work without interfering with my studies?
5. Would I like the opportunity to travel?

Think about these questions ahead of time, this way you won’t be overwhelmed with too many choices. These questions should help narrow your list of internship opportunities considerably.

When it comes to timing your internship, it is important to understand that employers with the most competitive programs begin the selection process several months before the position will begin and others might begin the process even earlier. In fact, some programs have application deadlines at least a year (or more) in advance. Companies with summer internship programs typically begin looking for summer interns between January and late March. Internships for fall and spring are usually advertised late in the previous semester or very early in the current semester. Most students may intern anytime after their freshman year, but the majority of students intern in their junior or senior year, when they are already well into their major courses. This is a good idea, as the internship will serve as an excellent supplement to major course studies.

Getting Started with your Search for an Internship Program

Once you have decided that an internship program is for you, you should visit your school’s career services office. Your internship coordinator will have a list of current internship opportunities, a list of companies that offered internship opportunities in the past, and lists of students and alumni that have completed internships. These students and alumni are always more than willing to share their experiences with you.

If you attend a smaller college or university and it does not have an internship coordinator, your career services office will still be able to help you. You can also search for internship opportunities on your own by visiting the websites listed below. When applying for internships, it is important to follow the application instructions to the letter. Incomplete applications are usually discarded without further review. It is also important to pay close attention to deadlines. Internship programs rarely accept applications after the deadline.

Top Internship Websites

Studentjobs.gov
The Internship Series Online
Backdoorjobs.com
The Princeton Review
CampusCareerCenter.com
CoolWorks.com
Internshipprograms.com
MonsterTrak

Forbes Top Internships for 2010

Capital Fellows Program
Garmin International
General Electric
Google
Inroads
J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
KPMG
Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Smithsonian Institution
Steppenwolf Theater Company

A recent msnbc.com careers report just might save thousands of unsuspecting employees from the shock and humiliation that comes with getting fired or laid-off. It’s perfectly fine to play defense, especially in the workplace today, so whether you’re feeling a little paranoid about your benefits being cut or your company’s loyalty to its employees is questionable,the 8 signs listed below will help you beef up your defensive game—so you can stay ahead of the game.

1. Your company is sold
Tough times can mean lots of mergers and acquisitions — was your company bought out or taken over recently? Even if you’ve been told your job is safe, these kinds of corporate moves always mean the deck will be shuffled, so make sure you hold you cards firmly. Make a list of your accomplishments and contributions, and be ready to give a sales pitch on your worth to the company should you be called in by your boss or a consultant.

2. Pay or benefits are cut

3. Co-workers are fired
Pink slips are handed out all around you, but you’ve been told your job is safe. If layoffs have happened at your work, don’t be naive enough to think you couldn’t be next. Make sure you have your resume ready, and scope out the job market. The worst thing is to be laid off and unprepared, so be ready — just in case.

4. You’re left out of meetings

5. You don’t get along with your boss
This one may be obvious, but just in case: If you and your boss aren’t getting along, your job is in jeopardy. Think about it: When he or she is asked whom to give a pink slip, you’ll have a bull’s-eye on your back. If this is you, look for ways to move within your company. Not possible? Suck up to the boss a little. It may be hard, but it might just save your job.

6. You’re given a dead-end task

7. Your projects are stalled
Feel like all of your work is stopped in its tracks because no one seems to be interested? Watch your back: Having your projects stalled out on someone’s desk is like a big neon sign, announcing that you may be fired soon. Look for projects that you can get accomplished, to show you can contribute to the company’s objectives.

8. You see your job advertised

There are two things you can do if you suspect that you are about to get fired. You can do whatever it takes to stand out at work if you think your job can be saved or is worth saving, or you can start looking for a new job so you can do the walking on your own.

While the healthcare industry still holds the crown for most jobs created for the 2008-2018 projections decade, the leisure and hospitality industry is showing strong signs of bouncing back from the recession.

Buffalo Business First analysis of new federal data indicates that 30 states and the District of Columbia have experienced increases in leisure and hospitality employment during the past year. Buffalo Business First is a sister newspaper of the Birmingham Business Journal.

Florida registered the biggest gain, adding 21,400 jobs in the sector. Alabama came in 12th, adding 4,800 jobs over the previous year. Alabama ranks seventh for its 10-year change of 16 percent or addition of 24,500 jobs since 2000.

The nation lost 505,000 leisure and hospitality jobs between November 2007 and the same month in 2009 as the recession drastically reduced discretionary spending. But the sector has rebounded during the past year, regaining 150,000 of those jobs.

Other large increases belong to Texas (up 19,100 jobs), California (up 13,400), Pennsylvania (up 11,000) and Minnesota (up 10,400).

The leisure and hospitality industry includes arts organizations, bars, entertainment services, hotels, motels, recreation services, and restaurants.

No matter what level of education you have right now, you may want to go on to graduate school. If you decide to do that, you’ll need to take the GMAT so you can get into business schools that offer advanced study. If you don’t pass the test you won’t get in – and you generally need to get a certain score before you’ll be admitted to a particular program. The good news is that you don’t have to flounder through the test, hoping that you’ll get a good score. You can take the GMAT prep and be better-prepared.

While the course won’t give you all of the answers, it will help you see what kinds of questions are offered on the test. It will also allow you to pinpoint your weaknesses. If you do this early on, well before you actually have to take the test, you can find those weaknesses and work on them. You might not fix them completely, but you’ll have time to improve them so that you can be better suited to take the test and do well on all portions of it. Some people are better at certain areas of the test than others, so finding where you do well and where you struggle is vital.

Once you take the course and then take the test, you can go on with your schooling. Having an advanced degree in business is something that not everyone is able to achieve. This will set you apart from the rest and set you up for higher chances of promotion. You’ll also be better able to start your own business if you decide that you want to do that. Your options will be a lot more open and interesting.

With so many job cuts happening as a result of the credit crisis, many people are finding themselves out of work and unable to cover their expenses each month. Not only have people who lost their jobs missing a regular paycheck, but they have also lost access to some of the financial solutions that they may have previously used to cover shortfalls. By securing a part time job, people can still access short term credit by applying for payday loans. Still, it is imperative that those without full-time employment begin to bring in good money again as soon as possible.

What money-making options are available when you can’t secure a traditional full-time job? One popular option that many people are currently exploring is being self-employed by working from home. With many people having home Internet access and with the constant improvements in communications technology, more people are finding remote work or working from home jobs. When considering a work at home arrangement, people who have lost their jobs should consider their existing skill set. Do they have expertise in a certain area that they may be able to put to use in a work at home position? Teachers, for example, should search online for tutoring and examination grading opportunities, while those who have good literacy skills may wish to consider a career in freelance writing.

Beauty therapists who no longer have a secure position at a salon could use their existing skills in a home-based sales position for a cosmetics company. Those with experience in the catering field may be able to provide a travelling chef service, visiting people’s homes to cater parties or even give lessons in basic cooking. The key to finding a self employed or work from home position is to think laterally and look beyond the constraints of previous jobs for new opportunities.

If you’re looking for a new job or career, one thing that you will most definitely want to have is a great set of business cards. Being able to hand these out to prospective employers is important. Not only do these have your contact information, but it also looks extremely professional to have business cards. Whether you give them out like candy at parties or you save them for only extremely potential employers, being able to show that you are a professional person can be extremely advantageous for most people.

The economy today is very difficult. It can be extremely hard and frustrating to find work. For many professionals out there, it has become a long process of trial and error. One thing to help you rise above the rest of the pack is to have professional business cards that you can hand out. Another thing that may help you is to have a professional looking resume. Knowing someone else in the field or in the company that you are applying at can also help significantly. A lot of times you will be competing for a certain job with many other extremely qualified candidates. Anything and everything that helps the company see that you are a great choice is a good idea.

Whether you have had training in your field, have worked in it previously, or are trying to break into a new type of work, these are all important things to keep in mind. Look and act in a professional manner any time that you may be meeting with potential employers. Do not burn bridges. The more you burn bridges, or have in the past, the more it gets around. You do not want to be passed over for a job because the interviewer heard about the way you left your previous job — and it wasn’t good at all.

The benefits of digital marketing are significant, and as there are more ways to measure the success of digital marketing initiatives in terms of brand messaging and visibility and return on investment, more organizations are incorporating digital marketing methods into their overall marketing strategies as they are quick, effective and cost-efficient.

Among the many types of digital marketing out there are search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing, both of which involve using the Internet as ways of promoting their organization’s products or services.

Search engine optimization involves using keywords and keyword phrases to help direct potential clients to an organization’s website. Once the keywords are identified, they are used in the meta tags and meta description of the organization’s website as it appears on a search engine results page. From there, the keywords are tied to the website’s page headers and page titles, and woven into the website’s content, all working together to form a tightly integrated method of helping propel your organization’s website to the top of a search engine results page, thereby increasing the website’s visibility to clients, which leads to increased web traffic and e-Commerce.

Social media’s role in marketing is more focused on quickly reaching clients by releasing news bites, promotions and other types of information in real time. By using social media, an organization can distribute its own press releases without having to go through a wire service, alert customers to promotions and even solicit feedback. And thanks to social media monitoring, organizations can manage their online reputations and quickly respond to any client concerns that are voiced on online forums. Social media programs are also great for engaging clients via online discussion forums and relaying information on new products and services.

Internet star Ariana Huffington has been highlighting the innovation of displaced workers as part of the publicity tour for her book Third World America. Huffington first rose to fame as the wife of a rising political star in California. The then Republican, Huffington earned a reputation as outspoken, which served her well as her views and position changed.

Huffington went through a scandalous divorce and shifted her political views to the left as she branched off on her own. She founded the successful blog and news site HuffingtonPost.com and has become a regular guest on television shows. Huffington reinvented herself amid adversity, something that she says the American worker must do in the midst of a global economic meltdown.

Global finance created the mortgage bubble, which has resulted in millions of homes going into foreclosure and a multitude of lawsuits that could take a decade to resolve. Despite the volatility of this environment, Americans must find ways to survive as the corporate structure reorganizes.

Huffington seeks out stories of innovation. On a trip to Atlanta she highlighted the efforts of a grandmother who had no experience with business or online marketing. She outsourced the work that she did not understand and created a business to sell homemade pralines online. The business adapted to the marketplace by seeking out a niche market that the grandmother understood.

Huffington’s effort to highlight these stories has been recognized by heavyweights including investor Warren Buffet. Buffet has noted that the slow economy is causing the nation to waste the talent of its workers. Rather than waiting for the economy to turn around Buffet has encouraged workers to volunteer or start their own companies.

Due to resources such as Subscription.com, innovators can find resources to help them turn an idea into a profitable business. While it might not turn into a career, the experience could help workers fight through uncertain economic times.

If you’re considering an online education, psychology is an option of study that you may not be aware of. Many people take online courses and graduate with a variety of degrees, but not everyone realizes that an elite course such as psychology is also available through an online degree program. With work and discipline, you can get an accredited degree in psychology right from your own home.

There are many different fields you can enter after graduation with a degree in psychology. Applied psychology, school psychology, counseling, clinical psychology and mental health are just a few of the many areas available. What is even more promising is that an official degree can be obtained without having to physically go to a college campus. The convenience of an online degree means you can work your class schedule around you job and your family life.

It’s important that you research the many fields available in psychology to find the one that fits your interests. Then find out what the requirements are for entering that particular program so you can locate the best online college. With a solid academic foundation it may be easier to get your degree than you realize.

The income that can be earned with a psychology degree varies greatly and all depends on the field you plan to master. The most important aspect is to choose a field that you are truly interested in instead of picking one just because you think it earns the most money. While most psychology fields can earn quite a substantial income, enjoying the work that you do is paramount to success in any field. If you love your job, you’ll want to continue to learn about it and you’ll find it more fulfilling throughout your career. If you decide to get an online education psychology degree, there are many exciting opportunities waiting for you.