As education could be a long road, the adult student has to be prepared to cover their expenses during their time of study. It could necessitate obtaining part time employment when they are not working, a spouse going back to work, taking on extra hours at a current job or even cutting out some unnecessary expenses.
Returning to formal education can be a challenge for one who has not been in the classroom for several years. They must get used to the routines of being in the classroom, budget time for homework and studying for tests. Their families have to allow them quiet time to study and the student has to make sure they are not taking on too many hours at work.
In assisting many adult learners in the past, they have struggled to balance family obligations and the need to earn a salary with completing a degree.
Some suggestions for getting family on-board:
1) Clearly define for the path that you are taking. How the end result will not only be beneficial for you but for your whole family.
2) Create a ‘time budget’ with your family. This general structure would include the times you are available for family time/activities along with the time you are in school and must work.
3) Create an actual budget with your family. If you are working less or just paying additional tuition, resources will be tighter. Before the stress begins, speak with your family and explain your new financial situation while you are in school.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Career Development. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Career Development. Tampilkan semua postingan
Rabu, 26 Januari 2011
Senin, 24 Januari 2011
Keeping (and advancing in) your current job
There are a few strategies employees can take to help solidify their job status and stand a better chance of keeping their jobs in difficult times:
1) Be visible. Take your area of expertise and look for opportunities to increase your visibility by representing the company to the outside. One could pursue opportunities to speak at conferences in your area of specialty or publish scholarly articles bringing prestige to the company.
2) Take on additional roles at work. Increasingly companies have been posting jobs with a duality of roles for a position. Why not let the company know what else you are capable of accomplishing in expanding your role? If you are a PR or Editorial Assistant and can help maintain the website by coding in HTML, great. The more responsibility you can take on, the greater your value will be.
3) Help the company make and/or save money. If you can suggest and/or implement ideas that help the organization to make more money or save money, your value to the company and its bottom line will increase. Suggestions can include finding government grants appropriate to the organizations business, new sources of revenue or better ways of doing business. Creating reports and finding contacts to help facilitate these ideas will prove your seriousness to helping companies succeed.
4) Go with the flow and flow with the go. Tough economic times are an easy excuse for managers to get rid of employees who have been a thorn in their side. Be as open and agreeable as possible to do what you are asked to do, especially when the company is understaffed.
1) Be visible. Take your area of expertise and look for opportunities to increase your visibility by representing the company to the outside. One could pursue opportunities to speak at conferences in your area of specialty or publish scholarly articles bringing prestige to the company.
2) Take on additional roles at work. Increasingly companies have been posting jobs with a duality of roles for a position. Why not let the company know what else you are capable of accomplishing in expanding your role? If you are a PR or Editorial Assistant and can help maintain the website by coding in HTML, great. The more responsibility you can take on, the greater your value will be.
3) Help the company make and/or save money. If you can suggest and/or implement ideas that help the organization to make more money or save money, your value to the company and its bottom line will increase. Suggestions can include finding government grants appropriate to the organizations business, new sources of revenue or better ways of doing business. Creating reports and finding contacts to help facilitate these ideas will prove your seriousness to helping companies succeed.
4) Go with the flow and flow with the go. Tough economic times are an easy excuse for managers to get rid of employees who have been a thorn in their side. Be as open and agreeable as possible to do what you are asked to do, especially when the company is understaffed.
Senin, 17 Januari 2011
The value of an online degree
There is currently a firestorm of controversy surrounding the value of for-profit colleges. Many for-profits have a strong online presence- either holding all, or many, classes virtually. Online degree programs tend to oversell the value of the degree. If you are trained correctly, your online degree may have some vocational application but will lack academic credibility.
The value in online learning is the skill you learned as opposed to the degree received. Many online institutions, especially those not linked to a brick and mortar school, will command less respect when you see their name on a resume, as opposed to a well known established institution of higher learning.
An online degree may be helpful for an Information Technology professional who would like to take a continuing education course in a new programming language or a Bookkeeper who needs to upgrade their knowledge of accounting software in order to be more competitive for the job market.
By coupling up to date skills gained through continuing education (potentially including online programs) and prior work experience, job seekers can remain competitive in the market.
Take a real assessment of what your needs are to obtain employment or advance in today's job market before making a serious commitment to obtaining an online degree.
The value in online learning is the skill you learned as opposed to the degree received. Many online institutions, especially those not linked to a brick and mortar school, will command less respect when you see their name on a resume, as opposed to a well known established institution of higher learning.
An online degree may be helpful for an Information Technology professional who would like to take a continuing education course in a new programming language or a Bookkeeper who needs to upgrade their knowledge of accounting software in order to be more competitive for the job market.
By coupling up to date skills gained through continuing education (potentially including online programs) and prior work experience, job seekers can remain competitive in the market.
Take a real assessment of what your needs are to obtain employment or advance in today's job market before making a serious commitment to obtaining an online degree.
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