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Career

Financially Hobbled for Life: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off

July 9, 2021 Leave a Comment

Columbia and other top universities push master’s programs that fail to generate enough income for graduates to keep up with six-figure federal loans. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Recent film program graduates of Columbia University who took out federal student loans had a median debt of $181,000. Yet two years after earning their master’s degrees, half of the borrowers were making less than $30,000 a year. The Columbia program offers the most extreme example of how elite universities in recent years have awarded thousands of master’s degrees that don’t provide graduates enough early career earnings to begin paying down their federal student loans, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Education Department data. Recent Columbia film alumni had the highest debt compared with earnings among graduates of any major university master’s program in the U.S., the Journal found. The New York City university is among the world’s most prestigious schools, and its $11.3 billion endowment ranks it the nation’s eighth wealthiest private school.

For years, faculty, staff and students have appealed unsuccessfully to administrators to tap that wealth to aid more graduate students, according to current and former faculty and administrators, and dozens of students. Taxpayers will be on the hook for whatever is left unpaid. Lured by the aura of degrees from top-flight institutions, many master’s students at universities across the U.S. took on debt beyond what their pay would support, the Journal analysis of federal data on borrowers found. At Columbia, such students graduated from programs including history, social work and architecture. Columbia University President Lee Bollinger said the Education Department data in the Journal analysis can’t fully assess salary prospects because it covers only earnings and loan repayments two years after graduation. “Nevertheless,” he said, “this is not what we want it to be.”

At New York University, graduates with a master’s degree in publishing borrowed a median $116,000 and had an annual median income of $42,000 two years after the program, the data on recent borrowers show. At Northwestern University, half of those who earned degrees in speech-language pathology borrowed $148,000 or more, and the graduates had a median income of $60,000 two years later. Graduates of the University of Southern California’s marriage and family counseling program borrowed a median $124,000 and half earned $50,000 or less over the same period. “NYU is always focused on affordability, and an important part of that is, of course, to help prospective students make informed decisions,” said spokesman John Beckman. Northwestern spokeswoman Hilary Hurd Anyaso said the speech-language pathology program is among the best in the world, leading to a “gratifying career path that is in high demand.” USC spokeswoman Lauren Bartlett said providing students financial support and employment opportunities was a priority for the school.

Jobless Claims Hit Record 3 Million Due to Wuhan Virus

March 26, 2020 Leave a Comment

Americans displaced by the coronavirus crisis filed unemployment claims in record numbers, with the Labor Department reporting Thursday a surge to 3.28 million. CNBC reports:

The number shatters the Great Recession peak of 665,000 in March 2009 and the all-time mark of 695,000 in October 1982. The previous week, which reflected the period before the worst of the coronavirus hit, was just 282,000.

Consensus estimates from economists surveyed by Dow Jones showed an expectation for 1.5 million new claims, though individual forecasts on Wall Street had been anticipating a much higher number. The surge comes amid a crippling slowdown brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

Businesses across the country have shut down amid a policy of social distancing aimed at keeping the virus’s growth in check. Individual states have reported websites crashing amid a rush to file.

New and Free Way to Find Jobs on Facebook

March 1, 2018 1 Comment

In a move to compete with LinkedIn, Facebook is rolling out facebook.com/jobs to help people find jobs and help local businesses hire the right people with the ability to apply to jobs directly on Facebook.

Facebook already introduced job postings on Facebook in the US and Canada last year. Today, it expands the service to apply to jobs directly on Facebook to more than 40 countries.

Finding a job is quick, easy and free. You can find jobs in the Jobs dashboard at facebook.com/jobs and the “Jobs” option in the “Explore” section on mobile, by clicking the Jobs icon in Marketplace, or visiting the Jobs tab of a business’ Page. When you’re ready to apply for a role, you can create an application, which will populate with job history and other information in your Facebook profile. You can edit your application before you submit it. Once you finish applying, a Messenger conversation will open with the business’ Page so you can have direct contact with the employer and confirm when your information has been received.

Meanwhile, businesses can attract the right applicants and hire quickly, easily and affordably by posting job openings to a Jobs tab on their Page with details like job title, job type (full-time, intern, part-time), salary and more. Job posts will appear in multiple places on Facebook, including on a business’ Page, in the Jobs dashboard, in Marketplace, and in News Feed. Job posts can appear in News Feed similar to other Page posts, and businesses can choose to boost posts to reach the right candidates. Businesses can also manage their applications and communicate with applicants, including scheduling interviews and sending automated reminders, directly through Messenger.

Want Better Pay? Learn to Sit in Front of a Computer

November 21, 2017 Leave a Comment

Sitting in front of a computer may be bad for your health, but it’s great for your paycheck. Jobs that have become the most digital in the past decade have seen the fastest wage growth, while those that use computers less frequently have seen pay increase sluggishly, according to a Brookings Institution paper.

Worker productivity is an important driver behind the difference in pay gains, according to the research. The Wall Street Journal reported:

Highly digital jobs clocked more than 2.6% wage growth between 2010 and 2016. Over the same period, jobs with medium digital scores saw average wages grow by 1.4% and those with low digital scores by just 1.3%.

In essence, Americans who use computers at work tend to be more productive. That helps explain why some health-care professionals are experiencing faster pay increases than plumbers or truck drivers.

“All things being equal…the more digital skills a worker has, the greater their productivity and pay,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at Brookings and one of the authors of the paper. “Most productive firms and organizations are rapidly rolling their processes into digital platforms.”

The mean annual wage for workers in highly digital jobs was $72,896 in 2016, while workers in mid-level digital jobs earned about $48,274 and those in low-digital positions earned $30,393. In the U.S., the mean annual wage across all occupations was $49,630 in 2016, according to the Labor Department.

Quitting to Get Ahead in Your Career

July 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

When employees are treated as short-term assets, they reinvent themselves as marketable goods, always ready to quit. As more and more companies are no longer loyal to employees, in return employees are also no longer being loyal to companies. Aeon magazing reported:

The CEO of Me, Inc is a job-quitter for a good reason – the business world has come to agree with Hayek that market value is the best measure of value. As a consequence, a career means a string of jobs at different companies. So workers respond in kind, thinking about how to shape their career in a world where you can expect so little from employers. In a society where market rules rule, the only way for an employee to know her value is to look for another job and, if she finds one, usually to quit.

If you are a white-collar worker, it is simply rational to view yourself first and foremost as a job quitter – someone who takes a job for a certain amount of time when the best outcome is that you quit for another job (and the worst is that you get laid off). So how does work change when everyone is trying to become a quitter? First of all, in the society of perpetual job searches, different criteria make a job good or not. Good jobs used to be ones with a good salary, benefits, location, hours, boss, co-workers, and a clear path towards promotion. Now, a good job is one that prepares you for your next job, almost always with another company.

Your job might be a space to learn skills that you can use in the future. Or, it might be a job with a company that has a good-enough reputation that other companies are keen to hire away its employees. On the other hand, it isn’t as good a job if everything you learn there is too specific to that company, if you aren’t learning easily transferrable skills. It isn’t a good job if it enmeshes you in local regulatory schemes and keeps you tied to a particular location. And it isn’t a good job if you have to work such long hours that you never have time to look for the next job. In short, a job becomes a good job if it will lead to another job, likely with another company or organisation. You start choosing a job for how good it will be for you to quit it.

Google Launches an AI-Powered Jobs Search Engine

June 21, 2017 Leave a Comment

Google officially launches a new jobs search powered by artificial intelligence right on its search result pages that lets you search for jobs across virtually all of the major online job boards such as LinkedIn, Monster, WayUp, DirectEmployers, CareerBuilder and Facebook and others. In doing so, Google turns its powerful search engine into an employment engine.

Job hunters will have a comprehensive way to search for jobs across the internet. Google will streamline job listings and eliminate duplicate jobs posted on different sites. The results will also include employer ratings from current and former workers, as well as typical commute times to job locations.

With its AI-powered jobs search engine, Google will help job seekers to find a new job as efficiently as possible. Google’s search results will displace jobs pulled directly from the biggest job sites on the internet. Job seekers can search for available jobs without having to go to multiple sites only to find duplicate postings and lots of irrelevant jobs.

Interns at Apple, Facebook and Google Out-Earn the Average American

May 9, 2017 Leave a Comment

The average full-time working American makes $51,350 a year. According to jobs website Glassdoor, interns at Apple, Facebook and Google out-earn the average American. The list of 25 companies who are paying interns more than what the average American is dominated by technology and finance companies.

Facebook interns, the top-earning summer interns in the country, make an average of $8,000 per month. The monthly salary is way ahead of the average $4,300 per month for the average American.

Microsoft interns come in a close second, making an average of $7,100 per month. Apple and Google interns earn $6,400 and $6,000 per month, respectively. In general, people in tech and finance jobs make more than the rest of the country.

Highest paid internships and monthly income

Facebook $8,000
Microsoft $7,100
ExxonMobil $6,507
Salesforce $6,450
Amazon $6,400
Apple $6,400
Bloomberg $6,400
Yelp $6,400
Yahoo $6,080
Vmware $6,080
Google $6,000

 

Interview Questions That Job Seekers Fear Most

May 8, 2017 Leave a Comment

Many people get nervous when it comes to job interviews. But if you get scared during the interview, rest assured you’re really not alone. However, there’re some interview questions that people are more scared than others.

A survey conducted by recruitment website Totaljobs questioned 6,000 people looking for work. There are three questions that job seekers fear most. Here are the most feared questions:

  1. “Why should I hire you?”
  2. “Tell me about yourself”
  3. “What is your biggest weakness?”

Preparation is the key. Here’s how to answer “why should we hire your” in job interviews. With time on your side, you can research and rehearse your answers.

How to Answer ‘Why Should We Hire You?’ in Job Interviews

April 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

One of the most common job-interview questions is “why should we hire you?” According to Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert, perfect answer to the “why should we hire you?” question is the surest way to score the deal in job interview.

“This is an opportunity to say, ‘You need X, and I am the best person for the job because of Y.’ You want to convey that not only are you a safe choice with minimal risk — but also a great choice,” says Taylor. Make sure you have the right body language during the interview as first impressions count. Rehearse in front of the mirror or with a friend or relative to build up confidence.

You should do your research homework on the potential employer and prepare to communicate clearly your answer. Taylor suggests, “one useful technique is to have three major points in mind on why you’re an excellent choice. This is a default framework you can come back to in the interview to sell yourself. It will become more refined as the interview proceeds.” Rehearse

Here are five tips for answering the crucial “why should we hire you?” interview question:

  1. Listen for real-time cues
  2. Focus on key points
  3. Prove you’d be a great investment
  4. Be enthusiastic
  5. Be as specific, but brief, as possible

Professional Panda Cuddler as the World’s Best Job for $32,000 per Year

March 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

Are you a kind and caring person who loves to cuddle pandas? Xinhua News Agency reported that the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Ya’an, Sichuan province is looking for a panda caretaker with a salary of 200,000 yuan or $32,000 per year.

So what does the fun-filled job of a professional panda cuddler do everyday? “Your work has only one mission: spending 365 days with the pandas and sharing in their joys and sorrows,” organizers said.

This position as a panda caretaker also has a privilege of using an SUV and receiving free meals with accommodation. Applicants should be at least 22 years old and have some basic knowledge of pandas.

“Many people at our center do the same job, but the salary was never that high,” said Heng Yi, a publicity official at the panda center. Volunteers at the center, who account for 80 percent of the base’s staff, are mostly from Japan, Europe and the United States, Heng said.

Best job in the world: Panda cuddler for $32,000 per Year. See below as cute pandas looking for hugs.

Robots Will Take Over If You Work in These Jobs

March 24, 2017 Leave a Comment

According to the analysis by accounting and consulting firm PwC, 38% of U.S. jobs could be at high risk of automation by the early 2030s, compared with 30% in Britain, 35% in Germany and 21% in Japan.

If you work in these types of jobs, robots could take over within 15 years:

  • Financial and insurance sector
  • Hospitality and food service
  • Transportation and storage

According to the report, jobs that require less education are at higher potential risk of automation. Other industries that could be at high risk include hospitality and food service and transportation and storage. Also, analysts have said truck driving probably will be the first form of driving in the U.S. to be fully automated.

If your jobs involve international markets, instead of domestic retail market, they would be much harder to be replaced. Health care that involves complex interactions with other people will be safe from automation. As robots take over more jobs, sectors that are harder to automate could see a rise in jobs.

College Degree Could Cost $500,000 in 18 Years

March 20, 2017 Leave a Comment

Use This Calculator to See If You Can Afford Life After College

In 18 years, a college degree could cost about $500,000 according to an article in BuzzFeed.

“People worried about college affordability today can at least take this to heart: it could get much, much worse.

Tuition has been rising by about 6% annually, according to investment management company Vanguard. At this rate, when babies born today are turning 18, a year of higher education at a private school — including tuition, fees, and room and board — will cost more than $120,000, Vanguard said. Public colleges could average out to $54,000 a year.

That means without financial aid, the sticker price of a four-year college degree for children born today could reach half a million dollars at private schools, and a quarter million at public ones. That’s for a family with one kid; those with more could be facing a bill that reaches seven figures.”

How much does college cost per year in the future?

Source: Source: The College Board, “Trends in College Pricing,” 2014 from Vanguard

With the price tag of $500,000 for a college education, it might make sense to invest the money into a moderately aggressive portfolio at the age of 18 that makes you extremely wealthy by retirement age. Why waste half a million on a college education that may or may not get you a job. At this rate, college tuition cannot continue to increase forever. In another words, 4% real increases in college costs cannot continue indefinitely.

Millennials Struggle As College Degrees Don’t Guarantee Jobs

March 12, 2017 Leave a Comment

Millennials are finding that education only guarantees debt, not a stable job. Even in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), graduates are struggle to find a good job. CBC News reported that 33% of the engineers in Ontario are now underemployed. “I actually thought that coming out of school I would be a commodity and someone would want me,” said one 21-year-old mechanical engineering graduate. “But instead, I got hit with a wall of being not wanted whatsoever in the industry.” He’s applied for 250 engineering jobs, resulting in four interviews, but no job offer, and he’s since broadened his job search to the deli counter at the local grocery store, because “It’s a job.”

“More than 12% of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 24 are unemployed,” reports CBC News, “and more than a quarter are underemployed, meaning they have degrees but end up in jobs that don’t require them. The latest numbers from Statistics Canada show that the unemployment rate for 15-to-24-year-olds is almost twice that of the general population… A 2014 Canadian Teachers’ Federation report found nearly a quarter of Canada’s youth are either unemployed, working less than they want or have given up looking for work entirely.”

CBC News also points out that the number of students enrolled in Canadian universities has more than doubled since 1980, from 800,000 to over two million. More graduates will soon find out that a post-secondary education is no longer a guarantee of stable employment. (cbc.ca)

Highest Paying Jobs in America

March 12, 2017 Leave a Comment

Job site Glassdoor collected data from employees with positions that have at least 100 reported salaries to come up with the list of highest paying jobs in America. There’s no surprise as physicians occupied the top spot with a median base salaary of $187,876. Medical and STEM fields dominate the list. Here’s the top 25 jobs along with median base salary.

Highest Paying Jobs

1 Physician $187,876
2 Pharmacy manager $149,064
3 Patent attorney $139,272
4 Medical science liaison $132,842
5 Pharmacist $125,847
6 Enterprise architect $112,560
7 Physician assistant $112,529
8 Applications development manager $112,045
9 R&D manager $111,905
10 Corporate controller $110,855
11 Software engineering manager $109,350
12 IT architect $105,303
13 Software architect $104,754
14 Nurse practitioner $104,144
15 Solutions architect $102,678
16 Data architect $102,091
17 Actuary $99,507
18 IT program manager $98,883
19 UX manager $98,353
20 Systems architect $97,873
21 Plant manager $97,189
22 Scrum master $95,167
23 Financial planning and analysis manager $94,862
24 Nuclear engineer $94,852
25 Attorney $94,695

[Read more…]

Study: Americans Believe Robots Will Take Everyone Else’s Job But Theirs Will Be Safe

March 6, 2017 Leave a Comment

CNBC report: “You may accept, by now, that robots will take over lots of jobs currently held by human workers. But you probably believe they won’t be taking yours. Though other industries are in danger, your position is safe.

That’s according to a report released Thursday by LivePerson, a cloud-based messaging company that provides customer service messaging software to companies and which surveyed 2,000 U.S.-based consumers online in January. Their researchers find that only three percent of respondents say they experience fear about losing their job to a robot once a week. By contrast, more than 40 percent of respondents never worry about it.

And a whopping 65 percent of respondents either strongly or somewhat agree that other industries will suffer because of automation, but theirs will be fine.”

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