Archives for May 2013

Your Competition

Posted on May 21, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Many are questioning how wise it is to earn a college degree. Those arguing against the decision cite the number of taxi cab drivers with bachelor degree as evidence on why you should not invest in your own education.

It is true that the most recent recession and high unemployment has made jobs scarce for some time. The result has been more educated individuals taking what ever jobs are available just to have an income.

There is another side to this conversation however. Even in the face of slower job growth, the supply of well educated competitors for your future continues to grow. The data from the Pew Research Center shown in the BUZZ Today insert shows that more individuals are earning a degree.

Buzz Today Source: Pew Research Center Title: American Adults Better Educated Than Ever Before In 2012, about three-in-ten Americans 25 and older had completed at least a bachelor’s degree. In 1971 only 12% of adults ages 25 and older had completed at least a four-year college degree. For 2012, a record share of the nation’s young adults ages 25 to 29 (90%) had finished at least a high school education. And another record share – 63% — had completed at least some college.

For those with some college education the competitive implications are clear. Depending on how many credits you have, the additional courses you might need to take can be significantly less than earning a bachelor degree from scratch. Indeed, there are several very attractive ways to get some of the credits you need to complete your degree.

CLEP and DSST examines allow you to earn credit for subjects you are already proficient in. Prior Learning Assessments (PLA) are available from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and some colleges will articulate corporate and/or military training for credit. To see how you can use each of these alternatives to your personal advantage read Your Future is Calling.

Filed Under: Adult learning, Career, College degrees, Income // Tagged: , , , , ,

Getting Silly

Posted on May 20, 2013 // Leave a Comment

It’s very much in fashion today to bash colleges and universities. Headline after headline totes how bad a decision it is to get a college degree. The latest is now being reported as coming from the billionaire mayor of New York City.

Buzz Today Source: Fox News. Pipe dream: “Skip college, become a plumber, NYC Mayor Bloomberg says” reads the headline. “Compare a plumber to going to Harvard College — being a plumber, actually for the average person, probably would be a better deal,” he reportedly said. “You don’t spend … four years spending $40,000, $50,000 in tuition without earning income,” said the Mayor

The US Department of Labor estimates on their O*NET WEB site that plumbing is a profession with growing demand and what they call a bright outlook growing over 20% per year through 2020. The average salary for plumbers is $49,140 per year.

These are attractive prospects, relative to some other career options, but there are two problems here. The first problem is that if everyone were to take the Mayor’s advice and become a plumber instead of going to college there would be millions of plumbers. Furthermore, those persons actually with a plumbing job would be making next to nothing. Why would those working plumbers be making so little? Because supply and demand determines wages. With the demand for plumbers set by the market forces described, the Mayor’s recommendation would result in an explosion in the supply of plumbers, thus driving down the wages paid.

It’s true that the plumbing profession has a bright outlook with projected significant growth. The problem is, that even with all of that growth, the estimated number of plumbing openings is 228,800 between now and 2020. The simple fact is that if the millions of college students that will enroll between now and 2020 actually became plumbers instead, there would be lots of unemployed plumbers.

The other problem with the advice, is that you simply may not enjoy what plumbers do. Here O*NET is again helpful. What the WEB site tells us is that a day in the life of a plumber is filled with activities such as:

  • Measure, cut, thread, or bend pipe to required angle, using hand or power tools or machines such as pipe cutters, pipe-threading machines, or pipe-bending machines.
  • Locate and mark the position of pipe installations, connections, passage holes, or fixtures in structures, using measuring instruments such as rulers or levels.
  • Assemble pipe sections, tubing, or fittings, using couplings, clamps, screws, bolts, cement, plastic solvent, caulking, or soldering, brazing, or welding equipment.
  • Install pipe assemblies, fittings, valves, appliances such as dishwashers or water heaters, or fixtures such as sinks or toilets, using hand or power tools.

Remember, your future is about what you will be doing every working day of your life. If these plumbing activities are not what you want to be doing everyday in your future than the Mayor’s advice is not for you. It just does not match who you are.

The point is, that the sweeping generalizations even thoughtful people are making about your future is not very helpful for the decisions you have to make. After all, it is your future, not that of the billionaire Mayor we are talking about here. You need a clear road map to a future that matches who you are. Go to Your Future is Calling for the best advice I can give you.

Filed Under: Adult learning, Career, College degrees, Income, Money, Uncategorized // Tagged: , , , , ,

All and Every

Posted on May 19, 2013 // Leave a Comment

The current discussion about the value of learning is entangled in a very public debate about college and degrees.  To begin with, colleges and degrees are way too narrow topics when it comes to your future.  What we are talking about here is you: not everyone – all – only.

Buzz TodaySource:  Aspen Ideas Festival   “Is College for Everyone?”   Source:   Brookings Institute   “Should Everyone Go to College?”  Source: Jobs.aol.com   “Has the MBA Become a Worthless Degree?”  Source:  Washington Times Book Review:  “Is College Worth It?”  The first thing that has to change is the belief that we are failing as a society if everyone doesn’t go to college.  Source:    CNN Money    defying history and stereotypes by proving that a bachelor’s degree is not, as widely believed, the only ticket to a middle-class income.

Unfortunately, the sweeping headlines do not help you make the decisions that are right for you. You are not all or everyone. You are who you are.  What you need is specific information to make the choices that create the future that fits who you are.  Careers matter.

Even when it comes to careers choices there are lots of skeptics. There are some who believe that it is not possible to accurately predict what jobs will exist five years from now. It is true that those forecasts will not be perfect, but there are some good data sources that give a lot of valuable information even if it is not perfect.

The best of those sources in my opinion is the US Department of Labor WEB site called O*NET.  The design of the WEB site is especially valuable for finding key information about careers and jobs.  Your job is to explore that data to find what best fits who you are.  The road map for using the data is clearly spelled out in my book Your Future is Calling.

Filed Under: Adult learning, Career, Money, Uncategorized // Tagged: , , , ,

Another Book on the Topic: “Is College Worth It?”

Posted on May 15, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Yet another book is out about the cost and value of a college education.  This one is from former Secretary of Education William Bennett.  Unfortunately, this book, like so many publications before focuses on universities and public education funding issues.  These are important, but they do not help you make better choices about your own future.  You need specific guidance on how to invest in your own future.  Under every scenario, learning is key to that future.  Buzz Today Source:  Washington Times book review – “Is College Worth It?”    College has simply become too expensive… A bachelor of arts degree in political science at a price of more than $150,000 now seems like a bad choice…It is a horrible return on investment to spend four years and six figures on a degree in women’s studies and a minor in religion.

I want to add a few observations to this “Is College Worth It?’ conversation.  I think it is the wrong question.

It is true that in the twentieth century, earning just about any college degree vastly increased the odds of getting a well paying job and a secure future.  The world has changed.  Two important things have happened since these simpler days of old.  First, the world has not only changed it is changing at an ever faster pace.  This makes it more difficult to select a career that make your future more predictable.  Today, every choice involves greater uncertainty.

The other thing that has changed is the cost of education.  A college degree has become very expensive.  This is one of the main complaints of authors like those in the BUZZ Today reference.  It is important to not mix cost with value.  Is it valuable to learn?   The answer without a doubt is yes!  Is it more difficult to decide what to learn?   Again Yes!   Because it is more expensive to take the traditional route of a college degree should you avoid learning?  Absolutely not.

What has not changed, and is important to you, is that the best route to a more prosperous and fulfilling future for you is still through learning.  It is simple to say don’t go to college.  Unfortunately this leaves you with the challenge of deciding how to get to your better future.

One of my strong reactions to the points in BUZZ Today is that it is not for me or anyone else to tell you what choices you should make about your future.  The BUZZ Today authors can help you with facts and data about investments and returns.  Financial costs and returns are appropriate for you to consider in your decision.  What I think is not appropriate is for me or anyone else to tell you that you should not study for a college degree in women’s studies and religion.  If these are subjects that you want to be a part of your future – go for it.  But in the end you have to make choices like this.  No one else can make them for you.

My advice is that your choices involve your journey to your future.  The key elements that I have you focus on are specific choices that make your personal road map from “who you are” to what “you will be doing” in the future.  Help on these important issues are outlined in detail in Your Future is Calling.

Filed Under: Adult learning, Career, College degrees, Debt, Income, Money // Tagged: , , , ,
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