How to decide if college is the right choice for you

How to decide if college is the right choice for youGet your degree if you want to succeed. This is pretty common advice for students who are trying to figure out what comes next in their lives. And education is always a good solution if you want to build knowledge and skills. Plus, a degree is usually a baseline requirement for more and more jobs out there, as many people find when they hit the job market with a high school diploma (or equivalent certificate) in hand. googlekalendertag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) But a college degree is also a significant investment of time, money, and personal resources, so its more important than ever to make sure its the right choice for your own life. Is it worthwhile for everyone? And more importantly, is it worthwhile for you? Lets look at the most important factors to consider as you decide whether or not to go for that college degree.Consider the debtAny conversation about college these days has to in volve the specter of staggering debt. Per CollegeData.com, the average price tag for a college education is $25,290 per year for a state college or university, and $50,900 for a private college or university. And tuition isnt the only cost to consider housing, books, and living expenses all factor in as well.Many students are able to make these ends meet with scholarships, grants, or working while they also attend colleges. But increasingly, students and their families are turning to student loans to cover college expenses. As of 2017, student loan debt is the second-highest consumer debt category, trailing only mortgage debt, per Forbes. The average student now carries $37,172 in student loan debt as they graduate and prepare to enter the workforce. Given that the average grad makes less than $50,000 per year to abflug, this can be a significant financial burden at the start of a career. And the default rate for student loans is 11.2%, suggesting that grads are not always able to c ope with this debt as they move on after college.but also consider the earning potentialWhile student load debt is becoming a significant national burden, its also seen as a kind of necessary evil when you look at how much college grads make vs. their counterparts who have a high school diploma or an incomplete college degree.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, college grads experience significantly lower unemployment the more advanced their degrees become. College grads also earn more, on average the median weekly earnings for someone with a high school diploma jumps from $692 to $1,156 if the person has a bachelors degree. To put it in even more concrete terms, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, a bachelors degree (or higher) adds $15,000 per year in income.So is college worth it?If were going by the stats, then, frankly, yes. On paper, college graduates are likely to make more and experience a lower unemployment rate. But life is rarely so straightforward and easy checked off by yes or no, so lets look at questions you need to ask yourself before you take this step.What are my goals?If you dream of becoming an accountant or a computer programmer, then these are fields that require specific expertise and academic credentials. If your ultimate goal is to work in retail management, then thats a field where experience can trump an education credential on a resume. The first step in any is college for me? debate is figuring out what your ideal future holds.Can I achieve those goals in a non-traditional way?Heres where alternative education programs become a crucial part of the dialogue. It may be that your target profession has specific education and certification programs that require less time and investment than a traditional college program, where you may be taking courses and meeting requirements that have nothing to do with your eventual profession. Allied health professions are a great example of thismany healthcare positions require a degree (like registered nursing or anesthesiologist), but there are plenty of jobs in the field that do not (like optician or surgical technologists) and instead require a job-specific certification and on-the-job training.Trade schools can be a valid alternative to a four-year program, providing exactly the knowledge and expertise youll need for your career goals, and often for a more affordable price than youd see at a traditional four-year school.Whats my financial plan?If you can afford to pay for college straight up, thats fantastic If you cant, then you need to have a plan. Whether its Harvard or a trade school, youll have to account for the costs of your future educational path. Based on your eventual job goals, how much will you be able to afford to pay on the average starting salary for that job? Sites like Salary.com and PayScale.com are great for helping you play around with that kind of math and determining what people are realistically making in you r potential field.Can I find a less expensive way to build your college degree?Many students opt to start off their college career at a community college, taking core classes and then transferring to a four-year college to finish the degree. This has a couple of benefits its less expensive than four years at a traditional college or university, may cut down on extra expenses like room and board if you can live at home, and also gives you time to decide whether youre on the right path, education-wise. If you get to the end of a four-year program only to discover that youve made a huge mistake in your major or concentration, then youve wasted both your time and (likely) a lot of money. If you take the community college route to study phlebotomy and discover in the process that maybe youre not destined to be a doctor because you cant stand the sight of blood after all, youve saved yourself a very expensive revelation later on.The bottom line is that college is an asset for the average person, but it might not be worthwhile for you, the non-average person. Its important to consider what your individual career goals are and whether you truly need the expertise and credentials that a four-year school can provide. You shouldnt feel roped into getting an expensive degree just because everyone is telling you that you should. Instead, it should be a decision based on careful thought about what the college degree would mean for your professional life, your future finances, and your ability to commit to that four-year degree. After all, youre unique, and your path to achieving your professional ambitions should be one that works for yourselfnot anyone else.

New Graduate These 3 Blogs Will Help You Find a Job - Jobscan Blog

New Graduate These 3 Blogs Will Help You Find a Job - Jobscan BlogPosted on June 10, 2015October 29, 2018 by Trista Winnie New Graduate? These 3 Blogs Will Help You Find a JobIts graduation season, which means countless college seniors are thinking about the clever things they could write on the top of their mortarboards. Perhaps theyre also thinking about details such as how theyre going to find a joband excel at it once they do.If youre among the recent or soon-to-be graduates, congratulations on the milestone To help you prepare for the next oneyour first jobhere a few blogs you should peruse.Youve probably already noticed that there are countless sites out there targeted at the college student/millennial/young professional crowd, but its easy to see that many of them miss the mark.These three blogs are worth your time1. Corn on the JobAs an unabashed fan of terrible puns, I have to admit this blog first caught my attention because of its name. But it didnt take long to see that i ts really a valuable resource.The blog was created by Rich DeMatteo, who has both agency and corporate recruiting experience. That means he knows what its like to try to find a job for an individual, and what its like to try to find the right individual for a specific job.As you might have guessed from the blog title, some of the topics and advice are a little off the beaten path. If that might suit you, check it out.Three key postsIT Certifications What Database Professionals Need to Get the Best JobsThe Best Hands-On Jobs for Active People6 Tips to Overcome Shortfalls in Job Qualifications2. My Career AdvisorWhile this blog is written by several staff members at the American University Career Center, you dont have to be an AU student or alumor even live anywhere near Washington, D.C.in order to benefit from this blog.The posts are straightforward, and packed with actionable advice. Theres no fluff or clickbait herejust practical advice that you can use right away.The tag cloud mak es it easy to find posts on the topics that interest you fruchtwein internships, entrepreneurship, federal jobs, social media, and mora.Three key postsCreating the Best Writing SampleInterviewing with Employer by Phone? Heres 9 Tips2015 Summer Reading List for Your Career Development3. Position IgnitionBehind this blog is a career consulting company. They work with both individuals and corporate clients (including Etsy, Motorola, and other household names). Based in the UK, their advice is practical and useful for people anywhere in the world. They publish frequentlyand thoughtfully.The blog will still come in handy even after you find a job. It covers a range of workplace topics, many of which wouldnt be obvious to someone who hasnt spent muchor anytime in a professional setting.Three key postsWhy Identifying Your Skills is Vital Pre-Job Search10 Ways to Develop Transferable Skills5 Ways to Enter an Industry Without Prior ExperienceSpend some time reading these blogs and youll come away more informed and better prepared for your job searchand prepared to succeed on the job.Facebook Commentswpdevar_comment_1 span,wpdevar_comment_1 iframewidth100% important

Who Else Is Misleading Us About Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience?

Who Else Is Misleading Us About Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience? Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience - Dead or Alive? Obviously, a lot of you will be searching for good resume examples so that you are able to prepare your resume for immediate delivery to prospective employers. A strong summary statement at the peak of your resume can increase the possibility of them noticing what youve got to offer from the beginning. Stick to the tips above, and youll have a resume that compensates for the deficiency of expertise and gets you the interview. As stated earlier, you may simply copy and paste the examples of present resumes, but be sure that you do well, and check with the hints youve shared. Writing a resume summary statement is particularly vital for web development professionals since there are a lot of standard software and programming competencies that employers try to find. Writing a resume isnt the exact same as writing an essay. You can open a fr eelance writing career with zero experience. The Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience titel Up In the event you merely dont have any sort of experience then the very best point to do is exit and volunteer. Youve done things that allow you to get valuable. You have a great deal more to offer than you believe. Top Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience Secrets If youre a college student or recent graduate trying to land your very first job, you might disdeckblatt the sample below very valuable. On the flip side, the moment the work applicant has strong experience, there isnt any need to trust the academic training any longer and it doesnt need to get mentioned. When do not have any experience whatsoever, add your volunteer work in your principal work history section. When youve been employed as a professional for a couple of years, your Work Experience section will fill most of your resume. What Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience Is - and What it Is Not Now you need to know how to compose a resume with no experience thats compelling and distinctive, ideal for a high school resume or a beginners resume for teens. For instance, if youre asking for a job as an administrative assistant, you dont will need to discuss the way your job for a babysitter helped improve your childcare skills, but you might share the way the experience helped you cultivate time management abilities and the capacity to juggle numerous tasks simultaneously. Remember, however, that you have skills and individual characteristics and a history of accomplishments away from the workforce. If youre a stay-at-home mother, you might have many skills that will be highly valuable to a prospective employer. Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience and Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience - The Perfect Combination Even if your work experience is ideal, a subpar resume could sink your probability of getting a work interview. Consider the job requir ements. You ought to find specific job opening posted by a particular company that you would love to submit an application for. While it isnt hard to have a job for a web developer, its really hard to find a cake job. The Demise of Writing a Great Resume with Little Experience Even if one isnt required, its generally a great idea to send a quick cover letter together with your resume. When youre writing cover words to utilize for jobs, it is really a very excellent notion to assess types of cover words that are related to the job which youre applying for. The resume cover letter shouldnt be excluded, as it supplies you with a chance to offer yourself to the employer. It should be ideal.