Few events have sparked so much conversation in this country on workplace issues like the bizarre story of Steven Slater and his strange meltdown at work. He’s now a celebrity with legions of Facebook fans and constant coverage on cable news, but his story does raise serious questions about workplace conditions, stress on the job and losing control under pressure.
The Seattle Times has a story about how flight attendants get most of the brunt of customer anger over things like baggage fees and other stresses of flying.
The recession has been difficult for many people, but it has been particularly difficult for anyone who has lost their job.
Some are taking matters into their own hands and using a job loss as an opportunity to find a new career doing something they love. I understand this isn’t a real option for everyone. Paying the bills and supporting a family in the short term always come first.
That said, many people who lose their jobs are in a position to re-evaluate their jobs and careers and change course. If you can create a situation where you love your work, you can lead a much happier and productive life.
BusinessWeek addressed this issue in a recent article and also explained how certain developments can accelerate this trend. The article posed the issue as choosing between your passion vs a steady paycheck.
After more than a decade in the advertising business, Erik Proulx found himself on the wrong end of a pink slip. What most people might have deemed a setback, though, he saw as an opportunity. Instead of looking for another job making TV commercials, Proulx dove into a longtime dream: filmmaking. Last December he released a documentary called Lemonade, which chronicles the lives of ad industry veterans who reinvented themselves after being laid off: a coffee roaster, a nutrition coach, an artist, and others who, like Proulx, decided to pursue their passions rather than return to careers that were no longer inspiring.
With the unemployment rate apparently stuck at or near double digits, more people seem to be choosing a passion over a steady paycheck. Rather than waiting for companies to open up their payrolls, these people are taking matters into their own hands and defining their own jobs, going online to find each other, leverage each other’s capabilities and services, and learn faster by working together. That is a big risk, but these people realize that they’ll be far happier if they can find something they love doing and figure out creative ways to make a living from it. Focusing on work that offers greater meaning makes it easier to withstand the perils and roadblocks they will face as they leave the corporate fold.
The author then explores whether this new trend is sustainable and whether it can spur economic growth. He cites two significant factors that will push this along – cloud computing and social media. The answers are fairly obvious, but the article is worth reading. Also important is something called the cheap revolution championed by writers like Rich Karlgaard.
BusinessWeek has a recent profile on for-profit college EDMC and the involvement of Goldman Sachs. The article is balanced, as they gave EDMC the opportunity to present success stories, but many of the stories are unfortunately similar to others we’ve heard regarding for-profit colleges – too many students paying huge tuition costs, racking up huge student loans, and then not being able to get high-paying jobs they expected (or were sold on by recruiters). One student profiled in the article got a bachelor’s degree in game art and design at EDMC for a cost $70,000 in tuition and fees. After she graduating she got a job that paid $12 an hour recruiting employees for video game companies. She eventually lost that job and now she’s stripping.
We’re seeing more and more lawsuits in this area, and the article points out some lawsuits against EDMC. Changes are also coming from the Obama administration.
On July 23, the Obama Administration proposed restricting—and in extreme cases, cutting off entirely—programs whose graduates end up with the highest debts relative to their salaries and have the most trouble repaying their student loans. EDMC will be affected more than most other for-profit companies because of its focus on “passion” fields, such as art and cooking, rather than more practical accounting or business degrees, says Jeffrey M. Silber, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets in New York. Cooking, fashion, and arts jobs tend to have low starting salaries: A beginning cook, for example, earns an average of $18,000 a year, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, while a two-year culinary degree can cost $40,000 to $50,000. EDMC spokeswoman Jacquelyn P. Muller says Art Institute students tend to earn more, with those holding culinary degrees starting at $28,000.
You have to do your research if you’re thinking of attending one of these schools, and don’t fall for high-pressure sales tactics!
Ads for online schools are all over the Internet, plastered on billboards in subway cars and on television. The University of Phoenix, with nearly 500,000 students, is the biggest for-profit college. But some former students said they were duped into paying big bucks and going deeply in debt by slick and misleading recruiters.
“I don’t want anyone else to be sucked in,” said Melissa Dalmier, 30, of Noble, Ill.
The mother of three had big dreams to be an elementary school teacher, so when she saw ads for the University of Phoenix pop-up on her computer, she e-mailed them for more information. A few minutes later, Dalmier said she got a call from one of the school’s recruiters, who she said told her that enrolling in the associate’s degree in education program at the University of Phoenix would put her on the fast-track to reaching her dream.
“[The recruiter said] they had an agreement with Illinois State Board of Education and that as soon as I finished their program I’d be ready to start working,” she recalled.
Within 15 minutes, Dalmier was enrolled. Since she didn’t have enough money to pay for tuition, she said the recruiter helped her get federal student aid. In total, she took out about $8,000 in federally-guaranteed student loans.
But just a few months after Dalmier started, she said she learned the horrible truth: the degree program she was enrolled in would not qualify her to become a public school teacher upon graduation in Illinois.
“It was an outright lie. A bold faced lie,” she said.
ABC News did its own undercover investigation, and found the same despicable practices. Recruiters also push prospective students to load up on the student loans. Read the rest of the story and check out this video.
Deciding to enter the business world as a career choice takes some consideration; actually going out and getting a job or starting a company requires some education. There is a wealth of ways to enter the business world. Some people decide to become accountants, managers of companies, or to start a company; education to teach people the necessary skills to be successful in these areas is available in a variety of formats.
Education at a college — community college, traditional college or online university — can offer course work in accounting, business, management or project management. Today attending college even as a non-traditional student — a student who did not enter school directly after high school or is working while attending school — is much easier than it was before. Classes can be taken when the work day is over or classes can be taken online. Gaining additional knowledge to move forward with a business career is attainable for a wider group of people than before.
Another key to entering the business world is making connections with possible clients or contacts that can assist in the ultimate goal. Local and national business groups hold networking events where like-minded business people can meet and exchange contact information. These groups also hold small education seminars on many subjects about how to succeed in business. National business organizations also hold annual conferences where an aspiring business person can meet useful contacts and take intensive courses; these conferences are generally a good mixture of education, business and fun.
For people who want to start a company, another mechanism for entering the business world is through affiliate programs. This method can increase revenues and increase worldwide business contacts and clients. Most of these programs offer education for the business owner on how to be successful with the process.
Each of these techniques can be used separately or combined for complete business plan for success.
Tired of that dead-end job that seems to be leading you nowhere? Tired of seeing your friends take advantage of their education while purchasing a new home or vacationing to some exotic location? Tired of putting money into that rusted out, car that you’ve been nursing along for the last hundred thousand miles?
If you have questions or concerns on the direction your education is taking your career, then it might be time to investigate the possibilities of improving your life with online college programs.
With improvements in teaching and technology over the last decade, there are now thousands of accredited universities across the country that offer online learning. The scope of learning from these institutions teaches everything from business to online Culinary management programs. Other programs that millions of career minded individuals are studying online include: Nursing, Accounting, Engineering, Communications, Computer Science, Meteorology and Information Technology.
Furthering your education can be as easy as spending several night per making a commitment to your education. In order to better prepare oneself in today’s selective job market, those that consider improving their education have an advantage over those that do not.
Be prepared to be overwhelmed by the number of institutions that offer online learning. For those looking to better themselves through education, don’t just start finding your career without some investigation. The internet is a plentiful source of information for these cyber, learning institutions. By spending a few hours perusing the kind of degrees available, and the leaning institutions that offer those degrees, you may be able to narrow your education focus and complete your degree faster.
Spending some time prior to your education experience will help narrow your career options. If you minimize the time pursuing your education, you will be earning the money you think you deserve in a career that you love.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He presided over our nation during the bloody civil war, holding the union together during that searing, unspeakably tragic conflict. His courageous leadership helped bring about the end of slavery. Add to all this, Lincoln was also regarded as one of the greatest public speakers of his time, or any time.
A lawyer, senator, and renowned orator before becoming President, Lincoln was largely a self-educated man. According to Lincoln himself, he studied “with nobody.” His humility and humor were two of his greatest attributes. Somehow, without access to much in the way of a formal education, he developed a keen mind for reasoning and argument, and forged a successful law practice and a career in politics.
How did he do it? He read. He committed to a life of learning, all on his own. He studied law, he studied argument, he knew the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare backwards and forwards. He developed his skills as an orator and communicator.
In the 1800s it was still possible to practice law without a degree. Lincoln’s own self-directed course of study so prepared him for a career in law, however, he was admitted into the Illinois bar association in 1837. His great abilities as a writer and orator brought him notice in the community, and his great debates against Senator Stephen Douglas brought him national renown, and ultimately, the Presidency.
No, Lincoln didn’t have a degree, he didn’t go to law school and he didn’t take the LSAT prep course. However, any aspiring young lawyer can take inspiration from Lincoln’s example. Study English, study writing, practice public speaking and debate and study the great books. Take the LSAT prep course, apply to law school and commit to a life of learning.
President Obama has signed into law the student loan reform that was attached to the health care bill. It’s a huge triumph against bank lobbyists and a significant victory for students who have been victimized by aggressive loan techniques used by the banks that are similar to the tactics they used for credit cards. Millions of young Americans are saddled with debt with onerous interest rates and penalties.
The new law is also a victory for taxpayers who no longer have to subsidize bankers preying on students.
The new law will eliminate fees paid to private banks to act as intermediaries in providing loans to college students and use much of the nearly $68 billion in savings over 11 years to expand Pell Grants and make it easier for students to repay outstanding loans after graduating. The law also invests $2 billion in community colleges over the next four years to provide education and career training programs to workers eligible for Trade Adjustment aid.
The law will increase Pell Grant grants along with inflation in the next few years, which should raise the maximum grant to $5,975 from $5,550 by 2017, according to the White House, and it will also provide 820,000 more grants by 2011. Including money from last year’s stimulus program and regular budget increases, the White House said Mr. Obama has now doubled spending on Pell Grants.
Students who borrow money starting in July 2014 will be allowed to cap their repayments at 10 percent of their income above basic living requirements, instead of 15 percent. Moreover, if they keep up their payments, they will have any remaining debt forgiven after 20 years instead of 25 years – or after 10 years if they are in public service, such as teaching, nursing or serving in the military.
Mr. Obama portrayed the overhaul of the student loan program as a triumph over an “army of lobbyists,” singling out Sally Mae, which he said spent $3 million to stop the changes. “For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks,” he said. He said the money “was spent padding student lenders’ pockets.”
Hopefully this will enable more Americans to chase the American Dream.
You need to read this article from The New York Times if you’re considering going to a trade school or for-profit college.
One fast-growing American industry has become a conspicuous beneficiary of the recession: for-profit colleges and trade schools.
At institutions that train students for careers in areas like health care, computers and food service, enrollments are soaring as people anxious about weak job prospects borrow aggressively to pay tuition exceeding $30,000 a year.
But the profits have come at substantial taxpayer expense while often delivering dubious benefits to students, according to academics and advocates for greater oversight of financial aid. Critics say many schools exaggerate the value of their degree programs, selling young people on dreams of middle-class wages while setting them up for default on untenable debts, low-wage work and a struggle to avoid poverty. And the schools are harvesting growing federal student aid dollars, including Pell grants awarded to low-income students.
The article goes on to quote a woman who left her job with one of these schools as she became concerned with deceptive recruiting tactics.
It’s stunning to me that these schools are charging $20,000 to $30,000 per year. Unfortunately, it’s another example of good intentions gone bad and the fact that Congress is bought and sold every day. We want to help kids and adults pay for school to improve themselves and find a career, but with all that money comes a new industry that preys on people looking for a new option in life.
Be careful so you don’t end up in a situation where you’re loaded up with debt that you can’t pay back.
One option we should consider is limiting financial aid from the government to public colleges, non-profit schools and accredited private schools.
Bright, eager—and unwanted. While unemployment is ravaging just about every part of the global workforce, the most enduring harm is being done to young people who can’t grab onto the first rung of the career ladder.
Affected are a range of young people, from high school dropouts, to college grads, to newly minted lawyers and MBAs across the developed world from Britain to Japan. One indication: In the U.S., the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds has climbed to more than 18%, from 13% a year ago.
For people just starting their careers, the damage may be deep and long-lasting, potentially creating a kind of “lost generation.” Studies suggest that an extended period of youthful joblessness can significantly depress lifetime income as people get stuck in jobs that are beneath their capabilities, or come to be seen by employers as damaged goods.
Equally important, employers are likely to suffer from the scarring of a generation.
This danger of “scarring” seems real, but if you find yourself in this group you have to be proactive and NOT let this hurt you. That may sound easy, as options are now clearly limited. However, on the other hand, the dire condition of the economy can also be used to alter your perceptions of what you need at this time in your life. Many graduates expected to get a high-paying job immediately upon graduation, and now many of those job aren’t available. Yet is that what you really need RIGHT NOW?
In many cases the answer is no. Maybe you can now consider a cool internship that pays little but offers an incredible experience. Perhaps you can take a much-needed break and go on that backpacking trip that you dreamed of doing after college. This of course depends on your funds, though the cost of travel has plummeted.
Alternatively, you can be aggressive about doing something entrepreneurial or contracting out services online.
We know if sucks out there, but you have to make the best of the situation you’re facing. Get motivated, and good things will happen!
