Equal Pay For Equal Work
The headline reflects a goal that has served as a rallying cry for feminists. Various studies show a large discrepancy in pay scales for women versus men for similar types of jobs, but I recently came across an article that opened my eyes. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, across the […]
The Surprising Truth About College Completion Rates
College dropout rates are higher than you think. The number of students who haven’t completed the courses require to graduate are higher than you might believe, as well. If there’s any good news to this scenario, it’s that both dropout and non-completion rates are improving. Still, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that only […]
Tips On Choosing A Career
If you’re in high school right now, you’ll have to work until you’re 67 years old before being fully entitled to your Social Security retirement benefits. It means you’ll be working for 50 years or maybe even more. Deciding on a career and your next level of education has never been more important than it […]
Connecting With A Career You Will Love
Yes, you are supposed to love what you do for a living. You’re going to spend about eight hours a day doing it, so it makes sense to be sure you’ve made a wise choice. Is every minute of a good job going to be enjoyable? That’s an unrealistic expectation. Most of the time, though, […]
Jobs, Careers, And Vocations: Figuring Out What To Do With Your Life
It’s both interesting and frustrating. When it comes to language, seldom is there just one and only one word to describe something. It’s why some of us say we have a job, while others say it’s a career, and yet a different group might refer to it as a vocation. These three terms generally mean […]
Why Do So Many People Go To College?
Many social pressures compel people to go to college whether they want to or not, whether they can afford to or not. This wasn’t always the case. Prior to World War II, less than 5% of American adults held a college degree. Only jobs at the highest professional levels required one. A big change occurred […]
What’s In It For Them?
In my last blog, I pointed out that in many cases no experience is necessary for people looking at a trade career. Many employers, trade service firms in particular, place a higher value on personality than past experience. As long as you have a mechanical aptitude, they can train you in a relatively short time […]
The Trades Via A Back Door
Many people who enter the trades go in through the back door. By that I mean they had no intention of looking for a job in the trades, but a job found them. How does that happen? Well, there is a severe shortage of skilled trade workers and that causes many employers to develop their […]
College vs A Trade: You Can Do Both
Many people in the trades express admiration for the trade apprenticeship programs in Germany and some other European countries. As this article points out, whereas in Germany some 60% of young people train as apprentices in various skilled trades, the comparable number in America is only 5%. That’s a stark difference, yet upon closer examination […]
Is There A Trade School Trade-Off? Yes, But Only Benefits!
It’s college’s “ugly stepsister.” Many students don’t even consider trade schools as a next-step after high school. Even parents register concerns due to completely misplaced ideas and stereotypes about career opportunities after completion. The truth is that trade schools are ideal for some students – especially when the career path they choose to follow includes […]