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Consider the Past; Reassess the Present; Then Move On
Q: Twenty years ago, my university's undergraduate engineering program had co-op internship relationships with many local engineering firms. Students who enrolled in the degree program worked full time for 12 months, spread over the last 2 1/2 years …
Job Elimination Allows Worker To Receive Unemployment
Q: I was let go because, according to my termination letter, my job was being eliminated. I discovered later that my job was not eliminated. The company simply trained an employee in another department in the company to do the work. I had been in …
Depressed Employee Stops Personal Hygiene but Shows for Work
Q: I am a self-employed accountant with a busy practice; I work seven days a week during the tax season and four to five days a week during the rest of the year. I have one assistant, whom I have trained to schedule appointments and help me, and she …
Career Changes Aren't Easy, But Perseverance Should Pay Off
Q: I have worked for a local high school for 18 years. I started as a teacher's aide and have worked my way up to administrative assistant to the assistant principal. I did not have a degree, but I took classes at our local university and first …
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Choosing To Work or To Go to School Takes On Its Own Education: Research Pays Off Before Making Life DecisionsQ: I'm not working and looking for a job now, but I'm not getting anywhere. I see ads telling people to go back to school, but I never went on to college. I have a bunch of questions. How do I know whether going to school will really make a difference? How do I know what to choose as a major if I don't know what I want to do? How will I know whether I will be able to get a job after I graduate? Finally, how will I know whether it will be worth the money? A: Life offers no guarantees on anything — dating, marriage, relocation, education. Nothing comes with a ready-made outcome, but educating yourself before deciding is crucial. All education is valuable, even if you change fields halfway through, as long as you choose an accredited school. Don't pick a field for the money you think you will make. Job popularity changes year to year, whether it's a so-called white-collar job or blue-collar job. If you don't know what you want to do, start in a liberal arts program and take a variety of courses before committing to a specific field. Only consider accredited schools for a formal education; rankings will show you which schools are more "valuable." The higher the ranking the better the school, which means a greater chance of getting a good job once you graduate. Also, use common sense in choosing schools and programs. Online education is popular now, but if you want to be a dog groomer or a cosmetologist, don't enroll in a program that offers no hands-on experience. Provost David Clinefelter of Kaplan University — an online university with 10 ground campuses, in Iowa, Nebraska and Maryland, and 54,000 students — offers these tips: Make sure the online university is accredited and meets the requirements for academic content and rigor. Confirm that the school offers a degree that is valued by professionals in the field you want to pursue. Find a school that will accept transfer credits, if you have them, so you are not taking courses twice. Check into the academic quality control, such as whether it has consistent curricula and faculty with academic credentials. Decide whether your learning style is suited to the school's approach. (For example, if you are not independently motivated, find a school with a lot of teacher-student contact.) Access to faculty and other students is critical for some students to succeed. Also look for a school that offers career assessments, academic advising and a range of student support services. Once you find that school, meet with the financial aid department to see what loans and scholarships are available. Understand what you are taking on — the interest rates during school and after graduation. Naiveté benefits no one. Please send your questions to: Lindsey Novak, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. E-mail her at LindseyNovak@yahoo.com, or visit her Web site at www.LindseyNovak.com. She answers all e-mails. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.
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