careers-in-america.com

Career Colleges asked:


As the economy suffers, many people are interested in finding a new career. Sometimes this is a personal choice, and sometimes, like in the case of people who have lost their jobs or have gotten laid off, it is a necessity. There are certain types of careers which become at risk when the economy takes a turn for the worse. A career in the medical field is not one of those risks.  If anything, a career in the medical field can be expected to increase in demand overtime, regardless of our economic situation. That is because the medical needs of the population are not necessarily driven by the status of the economy.  As the population grows the need for highly trained and qualified medical workers will rise. 

The Healthcare Job Outlook for 2008/2009 describes new job growth from 2006 - 2016 as excellent with over 3 million new jobs added for the period.  As well, the projected salary increase is 22% compared to just 11% for other industries combined.

The Department of Labor shows similar findings, projecting that medical assistant jobs are expected to increase over 35 percent over the next decade, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. The health care industry is expanding as our population grows and ages, and as technology advances, so will the need for highly trained health care workers such as a surgical assistant medical assistant, vocational nurse, computerized office assist, and so on.

A career in the medical field has been referred to as “recession-proof.”  Few industries can boast this kind of employment outlook.  If you’ve been laid off in another work field, this should not be a concern for you in considering starting training in a medical career.  It is highly unusual for medical layoffs to occur.

And if you are considering a career in the medical field, even if you have no medical training, or even a GED, it is best to get started right away, in order to take advantage of this growing industry. Medical career college courses are available for every type of lifestyle. You will receive hands on training, job placement assistance, and in some cases even financial aid. The career choices are nearly unlimited, from vocational nursing programs, to diagnostic medical sonographer training, to pharmacy technician careers, and so much more. Take your first step towards that new career today!



John

Alisha Dhamani asked:


Political leaders, tech executives, and academics often claim that the U.S. is falling behind in math and science education. They cite poor test results, declining international rankings, and decreasing enrollment in the hard sciences. They urge us to improve our education system and to graduate more engineers and scientists to keep pace with countries such as India and China.

Yet a new report by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, tells a different story. The report disproves many confident pronouncements about the alleged weaknesses and failures of the U.S. education system. This data will certainly be examined by both sides in the debate over highly skilled workers and immigration. The argument by Microsoft, Google, Intel, and others is that there are not enough tech workers in the U.S.

The authors of the report, the Urban Institute’s Hal Salzman and Georgetown University professor Lindsay Lowell, show that math, science, and reading test scores at the primary and secondary level have increased over the past two decades, and U.S. students are now close to the top of international rankings. Perhaps just as surprising, the report finds that our education system actually produces more science and engineering graduates than the market demands.

These findings go against what has been the dominant position about our education system and our science and engineering workforce. Consider reports on national competitiveness that policymakers often turn to, such reports as the 2005 “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” by the National Academy of Sciences. This report says the U.S. is in dire straits because of poor math and science preparation.

The report points to declining test scores, fewer students taking math and science courses, and low-quality curriculums and teacher preparation in K-12 education compared to other countries.

The call has been taken up by some of the most prominent people in business and politics. Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, said at an education summit in 2005, “In the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind.” President George W. Bush addressed the issue in his 2006 State of the Union address. “We need to encourage children to take more math and science, and to make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations,” he said.

Salzman and Lowell found the reverse was true. Their report shows U.S. student performance has steadily improved over time in math, science, and reading. It also found enrollment in math and science courses is actually up. For example, in 1982 high school graduates earned 2.6 math credits and 2.2 science credits on average.

By 1998, the average number of credits increased to 3.5 math and 3.2 science credits. The percent of students taking chemistry increased from 45% in 1990 to 55% in 1996 and 60% in 2004. Scores in national tests such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the SAT, and the ACT have also shown increases in math scores over the past two decades.

And the new report again went against the grain when it compared the U.S. to other countries. It found that over the past decade the U.S. has ranked a consistent second place in science. It also was far ahead of other nations in reading and literacy and other academic areas. In fact, the report found that the U.S. is one of only a few nations that has consistently shown improvement over time.

Why the sharp discrepancy? Salzman says that reports citing low U.S. international rankings often misinterpret the data. Review of the international rankings, which he says are all based on one of two tests, the Trends in International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMMS) or the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), show the U.S. is in a second-ranked group, not trailing the leading economies of the world as is commonly reported.

In fact, the few countries that place higher than the U.S. are generally small nations, and few of these rank consistently high across all grades, subjects, and years tested. Moreover, he says, serious methodological flaws, such as different test populations, and other limitations preclude drawing any meaningful comparison of school systems between countries.

As far as our workforce is concerned, the new report showed that from 1985 to 2000 about 435,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents a year graduated with bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in science and engineering. Over the same period, there were about 150,000 jobs added annually to the science and engineering workforce.

These numbers don’t include those retiring or leaving a profession but do indicate the size of the available talent pool. It seems that nearly two-thirds of bachelor’s graduates and about a third of master’s graduates take jobs in fields other than science and engineering.

Michael Teitelbaum, vice-president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which, among other things, works to improve science education, says this research highlights the troubling weaknesses in many conventional policy prescriptions.

Proposals to increase the supply of scientists and engineers rapidly, without any objective evidence of comparably rapid growth in attractive career opportunities for such professionals, might actually be doing harm.

In previous columns, I have written about research my team at Duke University completed that shattered common myths about India and China graduating 12 times as many engineers as the U.S. We found that the U.S. graduated comparable numbers and was far ahead in quality. Our research also showed there were no engineer shortages in the U.S., and companies weren’t going offshore because of any deficiencies in U.S. workers.

So, there isn’t a lack of interest in science and engineering in the U.S., or a deficiency in the supply of engineers. However, there may sometimes be short-term shortages of engineers with specific technical skills in certain industry segments or in various parts of the country.

The National Science Foundation data show that of the students who graduated from 1993 to 2001, 20% of the bachelor’s holders went on to complete master’s degrees in fields other than science and engineering and an additional 45% were working in other fields. Of those who completed master’s degrees, 7% continued their education and 31% were working in fields other than science and engineering.

There isn’t a problem with the capability of U.S. children. Even if there were a deficiency in math and science education, there are so many graduates today that there would be enough who are above average and fully qualified for the relatively small number of science and engineering jobs. Science and engineering graduates just don’t see enough opportunity in these professions to continue further study or to take employment.

With U.S. competitiveness at stake, we need to get our priorities straight. Education is really important, and a well-educated workforce is what will help the U.S. keep its global edge. But emphasizing math and science education over humanities and social sciences may not be the best prescription for the U.S. We need our children to receive a balanced and broad education.

Perhaps we should focus on creating demand for the many scientists and engineers we graduate. There are many problems, from global warming to the development of alternative fuels to cures for infectious diseases, that need to be solved. Rather than blaming our schools, let’s create exciting national programs that motivate our children to help solve these problems.



Colby

Kelli Smith asked:


Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Yet sometimes it seems that Americans are obsessed with self-examination and constant change. Individuals once spent an entire lifetime with a single employer, but most people today evaluate their career and lifelong goals every few years. It’s common to leapfrog from opportunity to opportunity and to re-make a professional identity several times over.

If you’re entering college and are perplexed about your future goals, join the club. Even as graduates enter the workplace, they continue to assess their skills and dreams to find lasting success and happiness.

Psychologists, educators, and employers have developed a battery of tests that measure your likes and dislikes, your aspirations and aptitudes. A dizzying range of online personality and career assessment tests are free for the taking to help you discover your heart’s desire or make mid-life course corrections.

Some help you find out whether you’d rather pick flowers in Holland in the summer or drive an 18-wheel truck in blizzard conditions along the Al-Can highway. Employers administer assessments to see how well you’ll do in a team environment, if you can take direction, supervise others, or prefer to sit alone in a cubicle listing to your iPod.

You’ll find dozens–if not hundreds–of online career and personality tests. Many are free, while some companies charge money. Most offer a free topside overview, with more complex analyses available for a price. Beware, however, for aptitude assessment tests are not always as advertised.

Measuring the Tests that Measure You

No one likes being lumped into a career or personality group. In America, especially, we’re individuals to the very end. It helps to think of online test results as an effort to spot your tendencies, rather than making your choices for you. Above all else, you’ll want to focus your time on tests that rely on time-tested psychological models to drive the assessment. Examine the Web sites you visit for information on the methodology–and eschew tests that are glib, bizarre, or downright flakey.

Let’s look at four standardized aptitude and profile assessments used by professionals.

• Myers Briggs Personality Test (MBPT)

The granddaddy of most personality and job assessments, the MBPT is most likely the model behind the tests you’ll discover at online evaluation sites. You’ll be categorized onto one of 16 personality types, based on your responses to questions that evaluate how you deal with life (extroversion vs. introversion), how you process information (sensing vs. intuition), how you make decisions (thinking vs. feeling), and how you organize your life (judging vs. perception).

• The Six Factor Personality Questionnaire (SFPQ)

The SFPQ is a well-respected assessment tool that measures six personality factors, with each factor broken into categories that are calculated by 108 Likert questions. Likert questions ask you to identify with a given statement using the following scale–Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neither agree nor disagree, Agree, or Strongly agree.

SFPQ personality factors include Agreeableness, Extraversion, Independence, Openness to Experience, Methodicalness, and Industriousness. A SFPQ test can help you understand your traits with respect to temperament, autonomy, endurance, achievement, logic, and resistance to or acceptance of change.

• The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)

Tests based on the HPI model measure your personality, your traits in respect to on-the-job performance, and your attitude. HPI tests fall into one or more of the following assessment categories–the Hogan Development Survey, Motivation, Values, and Preferences Inventory, and Hogan Personality Inventory.

HPI questions produce personality trait identifiers and motive qualities that can include colorful, dutiful, bold, imaginative, altruistic, power, security, cautious, and excitable. Occupational aptitude measurements rank you in categories that include integrity, leadership ability, initiative, decision-making skills, communication skills, self-esteem, curiosity, sense of responsibility, and creative potential.

• Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey (GZTS)

The GZTS is strictly a personality evaluator, used to measure learning potential, possible learning disabilities, personality, and temperament as it applies to the workplace, conflict, and personal relationship skills. Scales measure quantifiable responses to qualities of restraint, emotional stability, objectivity, friendliness, and thoughtfulness.

• 16 Personality Factors (16PF)

The 16PF text was created by psychologist Raymond Cattell to measure so-called primary factors that show your tendencies in major assessment categories of warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, dominance, liveliness, rule-consciousness, social boldness, sensitivity, vigilance, abstractedness, privateness, apprehension, openness to change, self-reliance, perfectionism, and tension.

Beyond the Personality Testing Numbers

You’ll no doubt discover a broad range of online career tests that are based on these highly regarded methodologies. While the governing categories may not be immediately visible, they are there. Instead of dry category breakdowns, you’re more likely to see questions based on the SFPQ model. You’ll be given a direct statement and asked to rank your identification with it. Sample questions/declarations might include:

• I love to work alone.

• I have difficulty reaching decisions.

• I prefer not to always show how I feel.

• I’d rather be a farmer than a stockbroker.

Your responses to these statements translate into raw numbers that fit the 16PF or SFPQ qualities.

If you’re taking a personality or career assessment test online, it’s vital to consider the results as sweeping generalizations about your career or life-goal tendencies that give you guidance but not clear-cut directions. Think of suggested career choices as options, and then see how you respond emotionally to detailed career descriptions you find elsewhere in your search.

As a bonus, a test may reveal broader career fields than you imagined for yourself as well as greater self-wisdom about your likes, dislikes, aptitudes, and skills. Remain open to suggested fields. If a test sends you into unexplored territory and you respond with energy and delight, you may have hit the jackpot.

Caveat emptor–buyer beware. Online career testing is at best uneven and, at worst, misleading marketing junk to promote a paid survey. Don’t take yourself–or the results–too seriously. Before entering personal information other than your email address on an exam site, look for privacy declarations or contact the Webmaster. Before you ante up for extras or detailed analyses, look at the quality and sensibility of your free results.



Arthur

Rigoberto T asked:


I’m right now studying Aircraft Mechanics… but I feel that I need a better thing for me… I’m a good student and I want to be and Engineer and a good one!! So I want to study Aerospace Engineering, but I don’t konw how much I have to pay to study this career in U.S.A. HELP ME PLEASE!! Thanks

Alvin

Disillusioned In Corp America asked:


After years of being on the treadmill, I’ve had it with the internal politics, unwritten rules, brazen inconsideration, and the c-y-a actions of all who live in fear of job loss. I’m still relatively young (38), and I am contemplating selling my house/possesions, taking the proceeds and taking the plunge into de-toxing myself from Affluenza & Corp America. I have no kids or a husband, so I figure the best time is now before I completely disintegrate. My health has also suffered in the process. It’s been very difficult to talk with family or co-workers as they are conditioned by the “treadmill of success”. My degrees are in psychology (by choice because I simply love the subject), and I love anything having to do with holistic living. I don’t want just a career change, but a lifestyle change. All advice/ experiences of jumping off the ‘treadmill’ is greatly appreciated. I don’t want to be rich, I just want some peace of mind, spiritual/body wholeness, food, clothing, and shelter.

Osvaldo

Tara asked:


i want to move to america to pursue a career in acting when i am 18 (i am 14 now) which place are you most likely to find fame

Tommy

Heather Eagar asked:


The path to finding the career of your dreams can sometimes feel so daunting. To make matters worse, it can seem that while you struggle to figure out just what it is you want to do, others have the good fortune of recognizing and living out their dreams everyday.

But rest assured that these people are by far in the minority. So if you’re a part of the majority and are trying to figure out how to do what you absolutely love - or even figure out what you love - there are ways you can get this done. Let’s look at ways you can move toward settling into your dream career …

Look at What Sparks Your Interests

Okay, this is going to take a lot of nerve on your part, but if you want to find your dream career, you’re going to have to go after what you like. Scary, right? You’ve spent so much of your life doing what others have wanted you to do that it’s hard to believe that you are actually allowed to do what is interesting to you. But you are.

Think about it, there are people making a living playing their favorite instrument, dressing up in makeup and “clowning around” or going the traditional route of joining the ranks of Corporate America - and you can do it too. The main way for you to accomplish this goal is to take note of the projects you absolutely love then explore ways to turn that love into a tangible career.

Take Personality Tests

This may sound like an unorthodox route to take, but if you really want to tap into a career that suites you specifically, there are tests you can take to help you determine, based on your interests, what careers would be best suited for you. Two tests you can take online are the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and Ansir Self-Perception tests.

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter is the most widely-used personality test in the world. By looking at your temperament, communication and action characteristics, it helps you determine your organization, career, and personal development attributes. The Ansir Self-Perception test is another personality test that is widely used. It was created to help you identify your dominant strengths and innate potential so that you can quickly move toward what best suits your personality. Both of these tests work well to give you insight into aspects of your personality that you may not have been aware of. But most importantly, they help you correlate those personality traits with various career options, helping to make finding your dream career a little easier.

Try Temporary Work

A third way that you can make strides toward your dream career is by taking on temporary work. Whether you’re linking up with the traditional temporary agency for clerical work, or one that focuses on specific professions, this is a great way to test the waters of different careers without having to commit permanently to any.

The more you’re willing to get out there and search, the more likely you are to find what it is you really love. So don’t be afraid to go after your dream job. You may find it to be the best decision you’ve ever made.



Shawn

Amy Howard asked:


There are some interesting surprises on the list of top growing career fields as well. For example, there is expected to be a 32 percent increase of college professors by the end of the next 10 years and 33 percent more preschool teachers. This is just another result of the baby boomer generation however. The children of the baby boomers are beginning to have children of their own and requiring preschool services. Some children of baby boomers are rapidly reaching the college age as well.

 

The baby boomer generation has affected nearly every facet of American life, so it goes without saying that they would be largely responsible for the faster growing careers in the US today. Due to the fact that this generation is aging, most of the fastest growing careers have to do with the health care industry. Of the top 10 fastest growing careers, 7 of them are in the health care industry. In the top 30, 17 are health care related based on data provided by the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Labor. The baby boomer generation is fairly well off financially and therefore able to afford the more expensive medical treatments.

 

Surprisingly, doctors and nurses aren’t included in these fastest growing careers. The medical industry is changing rapidly and its hiring practices are now focusing on lower-wage, lower-skilled employees such medical assistants, dental assistants and physical therapist aides for example. All this is being down in order to waylay the ever growing health care costs in America. On the top of the list of fastest growing careers is the Home Health Care Aides profession. This profession is expected to grow by 50 percent within the next 8 years. While most baby boomers are not at the point of needing this care yet, they will be in the following years. Most are opting to hire home health aides for their parents who have reached the age where they need it.

 

Even though there are no Accounting or Finance jobs on the list of fastest growing careers, the Bureau of Statistics is still recommending them as a solid field that is still growing to a fairly good extent. One of the fastest growing careers in the US is the Technology field. Technology affects us in so many ways today and we have in fact become dependant on it. Software analysts and network systems make up the top 10 growing fields overall. One reason for the sharp increase in their demand is security fears.

 

Hydrology is a rapidly growing field as well due to the ever increasing population growth. This career field contains water experts who specialize in flood control and environmental preservation.  In the next 10 years there is expected to be a 32 percent increase. Related to this is the job growth in the environmental engineering field. More companies are trying to increase their environmental efficiency and develop alternative energy fuels. This will have a major impact on the type of people that major corporations are going to be hiring in the near future.



Chester

Smartie Arties asked:


Veterans struck with wanderlust usually opt for trucking as a civilian career option post separation from the military. It provides them with the freedom they enjoy and a satisfying and fulfilling career, which also carries a reasonably good monetary compensation package.

The trucking industry offers a wealth of career opportunities for veterans. As per statistics available with the US Department of Labor truckers in America number approximately 3 million. This figure is expected to increase at a rate of 10 to 20 percent every year up to 2012. On an average truckers earn between $40,000 to $58,000 annually. Currently there is a shortage of about 20,000 long-haul freight drivers. It is estimated that by the year 2014 total shortage for truck drivers is going to climb to nearly 111,000. In this scenario, the trucking industry is looking for people with a former military background who are interested in pursuing a career in the trucking industry.

The time that a trucker will be away from home will vary depending on the carrier company and the route on which the trucker operates. However, as mentioned earlier, the pay is quite good with many companies offering signing bonuses of $2000 to $4000 along with entry-level annual pay packages of $40,000 to $42,000. There are companies that even offer to pay all training expenses if the prospective trucker agrees to a job commitment of one or two years. 

The trucking industry prefers to have ex-servicemen on their rolls because of the natural discipline and commitment to work inherent in them. They are free from drug problems, are disciplined and follow instructions meticulously. Because having military people working for them is beneficial to the trucking industry in many respects it is now working to remove barriers for such people because it wants them to join the industry. The talents, values and attributes learned during a military career work very well for a trucking career. Truckers need to work alone for long hours without any supervision. Cargo hauling though appearing as a mundane task to many people in fact can be successfully done only with a sense of commitment and self-discipline. These things fit in very well with the mental make-up of people with a military background who are trained to have established goals and make sure to get the job done even if they need to go out of their way. They are sincere and extremely reliable.

Generally the career path chosen by veterans in this field is to buy their own trucks and set up an independent business. However, there are a several different opportunities that exist which can provide veterans a better way of advancement in the trucking industry. They can opt to become trainers/instructors for a carrier company for training new truck drivers. If equipped with a bachelor’s degree it may be possible to reach supervisory/managerial positions. The average salary of a freight manager is around $70,000 per annum. Transportation and distribution managers are paid between $40,000 to $115,000.

Transportation is a field that offers a high number of openings for entry level positions with great scope for career advancement for veterans.



Andrew

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Training loans for career in America are only possible if being a permanent resident of US, or if you bear proper history of lines of credits. It is also mandatory to obtain loan for career that the institution which you are about to apply must be certified by the local division and proper accreditation is necessary.

The training loans are of immense help for the future life of each and every student as they act as an investment for your future. It helps in financing your training and higher education. It is becoming one of the high pace sources of financing the education.

The best features of training loans are it offers exiting interest rates that helps in compensating a good credit. The repayment terms can be extended up to a span of 15 years. Even if don’t posses a credit card you can obtain the loans by application with a sponsor who is creditworthy and who serves you money for both tuition and educational expenses. In addition the rate of interest on loans for training keeps changing and reset every 30 days.

During the time of repayment of career loans there are 3 options which can be chosen. One is the normal repayment technique where the monthly payments are made with the respective interests. Next is by paying only the interest amount during the course of study and to pay the interest with the original amount of loan after the course program is fully completed. The last is the payment of ten-dollar every month which is a deferred kind of payment. The amount needs to be paid correctly every month and the final settlement is made with the calculated interest and principle amount is paid by the end of the course period.

There are numerous institutions located all over the countries which act as service providers for career loans. These are affordable and promise you a high paying job. Other than it is affordable it becomes an advantage when you shift jobs as these loans are designed for this purpose too. They provide materials like supplies, books, living expenses and tuition fees during the course period. Some of the programs also include the customization of low-cost loans

Now being aware of the loans for career training, to get an idea about the impact of these loans for career training is very important as it serves and helps you attain your ultimate goal and also to improve your lifestyle.



Royce