Ask A Manager: how should students pick a college major?

When I was in school, if only someone could've counseled me on what I should've studied. And at that what I should've studied to set myself up for success in the long run. Well it's that and it's something that I should've sought for myself.

If only young people were reading this blog. Some are smart enough to do what I wish I did. And then you had some like me - while I was still in high school - who are still trying to figure that out. Indeed you need not figure it out in high school lots of students have changed majors, however, the sooner you figure it out the sooner you're done with college.

I wrote this comment in the post at Ask A Manager:

I have no regret about majoring in political science. Before I finally got a BA I also attended a community college and I should’ve taken some business classes although it likely would’ve affected what I’d have majored in before I transferred to a university. I didn’t entirely plan at all what I would do when I graduate, but sometimes I wish I had hit the ground running as far as jobs before I crossed that stage. Perhaps I’d be in a better position today.

Also the classes I took were great, but as far as my political science curriculum I wished there were more “governing” classes. Perhaps classes that would translate into a job in the real world and not more or less academic courses.

What I've had to learn is that college is too expensive these days to flip, flop, and flounder. Have a game plan and things will come up so make some adjustments. Of course while you're in school get some work experience especially internships in the field of your choice.

To be honest I was up for some internships but either the grades weren't right or there were some complications to ensure that it was good for college credit. Just some missed opportunities.

The main thing is, college is what you make of it if it's what you want to do. Get what you will out of it, especially learning and certainly preparing you for a career in the field of your choice.

Also, part of me still wouldn't mind going back to school and get a master's. Not sure in what yet, but when I first filed papers to take a major of political science one thing I certainly entertained doing was teach. Still wouldn't mind although I recognize that a college professor doesn't just teach. Of course that still depends on the school.

Megan McArdle: Part-Time Workers Deserve the Shift, Not the Shaft

To start this piece from Bloomberg's Megan McArdle isn't dismissive of low-wage retail jobs. Indeed the argument here is that right now it's difficult to find a full-time job to make a decent income. Another argument is mandating how much a business should pay their employees could cause more harm than good.

Conclusion: "Ultimately, this comes back to the weak job market. As long as the demand for low-skilled labor significantly lags the supply, workers will continue to struggle. Unfortunately, legislators can’t mandate a strong labor market. So we’re apt to end up mandating more labor market rigidity instead."

Via Instapundit!

These jobs are going away...

According to this article. It includes newspaper reporters, mail carriers, print workers, and even travel agents. I don't understand why farmers and flight attendants are going away. I would imagine they're always necessary in some capacity, food isn't going to grow and care for itself and passengers on a flight need attention the pilots can't get to them. Hopefully all these predictions won't come to fruition.

Ask a Manager: How do I know if I did well in an interview?

Question #2 over at Ask a Manager. A person wants to know how they know if they did well in an interview. Of course the blogger's answer over there is there no way to truly know and that if you think you did well you may still not get the job or you might do bad and still get the job. It's best to read her answer to that question.

I did use to have an easy answer to this question. Again I've had interviews such as this one I wrote about earlier this year where I thought the interview went great but still didn't get the job. Although in that case it was still a dodged bullet.

Still, I think it's easy to gauge from interviewers whether or not they like you. Unfortunately it's still hard to say whether or not they'll offer you the job. It seems in some of the comments over at Ask a Manager you may get an offer and the employer could always change their mind.

These days, however, only speaking from my experience it seems I'm wary of the statement that they're continuing to interview other candidates. Now again this probably isn't something you should consider too much of because it's only fair if there are other candidates lined up. Besides the odds may still be in your favor or it may not.

BTW, for additional reading another link was offered with Ask a Manager's response. If you can't help but consider your chances for getting the job this post should help you keep things in perspective. One answer to that is even if you're sure you got the job continue applying until someone gives you a solid job offer.

You Should Quit Your Soul-Sucking Miserable Job

Heh, I can sure relate to this article. If you don't like where you are perhaps it's time to let go of that job that isn't working out and go where you are appreciated. See what's out there and hopefully evaluate whether or not they're right for you. That is where I am now.

Asking the interviewer questions

Lately most of my interviewers opened the interview up to questions. Often it's uncharted territory for me, however, I've grown most comfortable doing so with thinking of the right questions. For the most part it's really not my style to ask a lot of questions.

Lately I changed strategy on asking questions. That is focusing my questions on the role that I would have as opposed to just asking questions. Perhaps asking about routine, expectations, and my usual question that I've developed which is to ask about the background of the interviewer - for example asking them what brought them to the job.

One should always ask about the role for which they're interviewing or applied. Whatever your qualifications were that got you the call for an interview you should always consider the role for which you applied.

In some of my interviews thinking I was showing some ambition I often asked about moving up. Some are willing to answer that question, but at times it seems the interviewer shut down on me anyway. However, if I knew a higher-level position that I was either interested or qualified for perhaps there is a way to inquire about how to get that position but without taking myself out of consideration for the position that I applied for.

At times my questions to interviewers were often random. While it's OK to ask questions about the company for which you want to be employed again show your interest in the position you applied for.

So far though I feel great asking about the role for which I applied and if the interviewer asks for questions it's what you should do. Now the next step to figure is whether or not you should ask about salary during the interview. Besides many of us have been told this is a no-no before you've been offered the job.

WSJ: Job Hunting? Dig Up Those Old SAT Scores

It sometimes threw me off when you apply for a job and there's space for GPA. Although in some respects I understand, if there's barely any job experience shown seen then you need something. Not that GPA is an indication of future success at work.

Still, it would throw me off even more that hiring managers would be interested in SAT or ACT scores. When I was in high school - Go Falcons - my ACT score wasn't that good so I wouldn't be entirely happy if I go for a job, get interviewed, and then my scores were requested. Even if it had been a decade out of high school, even if I had already gotten my degree, and even if I should've established a decent work record.

All the same, this aspect of this Wall Street Journal article concerns me:

Putting too much stock in standardized tests can put minority candidates at a disadvantage. In 2013, SAT test-takers in the "Black or African-American" category scored an average 431 on the exam's critical reading section, 429 on math and 418 on writing. White test-takers, meanwhile, scored nearly 100 points higher on average in every section. There is a racial divide for ACT score reports as well.

In any case, that article explores all aspects of this practice. Even notes companies that stopped this practice. Unfortunately this "fad" may not go away any time soon, however, it's good to know it's being evaluated and some just choose to go another direction.

It's like many ways that employers seek to screen out candidates. It's often unfair, but it's what they use and especially frustrating in an economy with high unemployment.

As far as "fads" perhaps one day employers won't even bother with these pre-employment assessments anymore in the future. Are those an indicator of future success?

Hat-tip for my new favorite blog - Ask a Manager - where a commenter on her blog pointed readers to that Wall Street Journal article. There was a question about whether or not an applicant for an office manager position should provide old SAT scores.

The Atlantic: Ex-journalist's life as a retail worker...

I tweeted this story earlier today about a ex-journalist who was forced to take a retail job after having a long prosperous career. Then unfortunately he made one bad move and he was out of a job. In some respects I sympathise with him because I'm sort of in the same boat as he is.

My situation is slightly different than his in his case he got off to a great start until one event caused his career to unravel. In my case, I'm still looking for mine and illustrated one example recently where unfortunately it didn't work in my favor.

Every now and then we hear stories about how x-amount of jobs were added to the economy, but seemingly not enough to offset the number of unemployed right now. Thankfully I do have a job, but at the same time you got your start now it's time to move ahead to something better. The question that keeps hitting my mind is what does it take?

We got to keep moving and we got to keep plugging away. Best wishes to those out there looking.

Hat-tip Woodlawn Wonder!

Law school grad writes about losing his last shred of dignity

Well you know I just see this as a sign of the times. You have debt and you have to find a job wherever you can find one. In this case, if you've got student loan debt and there's not a job as a lawyer available then you may be forced into retail.

This article is hilarious:

The funny parts often involve his coworkers assuming he can answer every law-related question they have. His coworker Shaina grills him after it's discovered that another coworker named Julian is apparently "robbing the stock room blind." Here's the exchange:

"LawGrad, you a lawyer," Shaina began, "can Julian sue the store?"

"For what?"

"You know, accusing him of stealing because he’s Mexican."

"But he was stealing."

"So he can’t sue?"

"No."

Well, it goes from there. This makes me want to read this blog some more.

Then it makes me wonder if it's worth going to law school to incur more debt only to be at square one. At this point it would bother me much more than my current situation.

BTW, found this via Instapundit who says there's nothing undignified about honest work - here, here - and he further adds: "Check your class privilege, dude."

While I can't say that I saw that in the article, well let me take that back in some respects as far as his law degree he may well see working as a cologne salesman as beneath him. He shouldn't feel too bad that classmates may spot him at the store. If he could look at the big picture an opportunity may arise for him!

How does the economy work now?

There are two items from The 312 blog posting courtesy of Chicago Mag. The one that caught my attention the most was how temporary workers were being screwed by the system. The linking article noted how temp workers can find themselves being paid below the minimum wage in Illinois. One way that happens, when you finally connect with a gig, you will somehow still get charged for transportation fees.

Alas in America it's reported that a temp agency is the second largest employer in America. Walmart is still no. 1 although the also use temp workers.

Of course it's that just under another brief write-up on how Doctors determine how to charge for their various services.

Those two combined is how the economy works right now!

Well actually you don't need a college degree for a cashier's job at McDonald's

An update to an earlier post also found on Instapundit. It turns out that job listing for Micky Ds was erroneous.

Good news for teenage job seekers: You don’t really need a college degree to work at a Massachusetts McDonald’s.

A report buzzing around the Internet Thursday claimed the McDonald’s restaurant in Winchendon had posted an opening for a cashier position that said applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and two years experience.

No, they do not.

“We do not require a bachelor’s degree for employment,” said Joe Ruscito, owner of the Winchendon fast-food outlet, in a statement. “My organization is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse work force.”

The bogus posting for the McDonald’s position was listed by an independent job search site called www.jobdiagnosis.com. A spokesman for the site’s owner, VHMnetwork LLC, confirmed the posting contained inaccurate information.

Well young people, continue searching and PLEASE stay in school.

Washington Examiner: McDonald's want ad demands bachelor's degree, two years experience for cashier

Wow, this is unbelievable. A bachelor's degree to even operate a cash register and sell hamburgers. This is a classic McJob and to start probably won't make enough money to pay off student loans. There had better be opportunities for growth here! Why take it if you won't go anywhere in the business?

Via Instapundit!

College Grads May Be Stuck in Low-Skill Jobs

As a college graduate who isn't exactly in a high-skill job this article is depressing. This is a week economy and if college grads are in the running for these low-skill jobs then there's another side effect.

The recession left millions of college-educated Americans working in coffee shops and retail stores. Now, new research suggests their job prospects may not improve much when the economy rebounds.

Underemployment—skilled workers doing jobs that don't require their level of education—has been one of the hallmarks of the slow recovery. By some measures, nearly half of employed college graduates are in jobs that don't traditionally require a college degree.

Economists have generally assumed the problem was temporary: As the economy improved, companies would need more highly educated employees. But in a paper released Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a team of Canadian economists argues that the U.S. faces a longer-term problem.

They found that unlike the 1990s, when companies needed hundreds of thousands of skilled workers to develop, build and install high-tech systems—everything from corporate intranets to manufacturing robots—demand for such skills has fallen in recent years, even as young people continued to flock to programs that taught them.

"Once the robots are in place you still need some people, but you need a lot less than when you were putting in the robots," said Paul Beaudry, an economist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the paper's lead author. New technologies may eventually revive demand for advanced skills, he added, but an economic recovery alone won't be sufficient.

David Autor, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has studied issues of skills and education, called Mr. Beaudry's thesis "provocative" but also "speculative." There is no question, Mr. Autor said, that the wage premium enjoyed by college graduates hasn't grown as quickly during the 2000s as in earlier decades. But whether that is the result of a glut of degree holders or some other explanation isn't yet clear.

And now the side effect:

Better-educated workers still face far better job prospects than their less-educated counterparts. The unemployment rate for Americans with at least a bachelor's degree was 3.8% in February, compared with 7.9% for those with just a high school diploma. College-educated employees also tend to earn more and advance more quickly even when they are in fields that don't require a degree.

But as college-educated workers have been forced to take lower-level jobs, they have displaced less-skilled workers, leaving those without degrees with few job options. "You eventually push the lowest skilled out of the market," Mr. Beaudry said.

WOW! Here's hoping you're not in this boat.

Via Instapundit!

Capitalism, Part 4

I wanted to do another capitalism post and then I thought about this movie I casually watched years ago entitled The Company Men. Lately I can relate to some of these movies that take place in the workplace or at least the job hunting arena whether serious or otherwise.

In any event The Company Men starred Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, and Kevin Kostner. Affleck's character is forced to take a job with his brother in law Kostner's character in order to make end meet after a downsizing. Jones is a long time employee of a company and after questioning the need for downsizing while the company is engaging in more spending on other projects he himself gets laid off. Cooper's character went from factory floor to a managing role at this company until he was laid off and is the most frustrated out of this whole group and he meets an unfortunate end in this movie.

In thinking about this film, I thought about how many people are faring in this era of slow economic growth. The recession of the last five or six years has been very difficult without a doubt and I'm sure it depends on where you may reside. It's also more difficult with the uncertainty coming from our elected officials who have to come to grips with various financial problems from taxes, new mandates, or even pensions.

With this uncertainty come the response for those of us who have jobs. Some may work at jobs that elect to cut their hours. Some may be concerned about being downsized. Right now it's not a very safe environment depending upon where you work today.

Also another thing to consider what you see in the movie is the battle with upper management as portrayed in this film by Craig T. Nelson. He's doing just fine, because he's stepping on his employees to keep himself in good shape and everyone else well their expendable as long as he's doing his job. One way to look at it is that he not only doing what's best for his company and the shareholders he's certainly doing what's best for himself.

That in and of itself is no big deal. What's problematic I suppose is how he's going about it. We could ask if it's OK for a CEO to take a paycut in a time of slow economic growth. Nothing says the man in charge has to make an inordinate amount of money and only to afford luxuries he doesn't necessarily need. Alas that mentality is out there and as long as anyone above him sees no problem, there isn't one.

BTW, I had to think. I don't follow business news as often as I should but it's still not often that we hear about layoffs. It used to be big news you could turn on the TV anytime and see some corporation downsizing people. In fact my mother herself was downsized from a downtown bank years ago and that round of downsizing was probably news in Chicago. Although let me take that back. It's news recently that the Sun-Times is downsizing their suburban operations to consolidate their downtown offices.

In any event even in this economy as we see in Company Men, Jones' character used many of the downsized people from his former company to staff his own venture. He was a high level executive so he's shouldn't have been struggling that much.

Knowing that a lot of ground was covered between a movie and some real life examples it still doesn't shake my belief in capitalism. Realizing the environment is tough right now that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities. Still here's to me wishing that in the future the environment will get much better for us all!

Looks like the NHL will be back in 2013!

[VIDEO] At least the NHL won't appear to make a colossal mistake of cancelling the whole season as they did back in 2004-05. And again NHL is the only North American professional sports league to have had to cancel an entire season due to labor issues.

What you see above is a press conference provided by the AP. Now an AP write-up:

The NHL and the players' association reached a tentative agreement early Sunday to end a nearly four-month-old lockout that threatened to wipe out what was left of an already abbreviated season.

A marathon negotiating session that lasted more than 16 hours, stretching from Saturday afternoon until just before dawn Sunday, produced a 10-year deal.

"We've got to dot a lot of Is and cross a lot of Ts," Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

The collective bargaining agreement still must be ratified by a majority of the league's 30 owners and the union's membership of approximately 740 players.

Under the negotiated CBA, free-agent contracts will have a maximum length of seven years, but clubs can go to eight years to re-sign their own players. Each side can opt out of the deal after eight years.

The pension plan was "the centerpiece of the deal for the players," said Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey, who took part in negotiations throughout the process.

The actual language of the pension plan still has to be written, but Hainsey said there is nothing substantial that still needs to be fixed.

The players' share of hockey-related income, that reached a record $3.3 billion last season, will drop from 57 percent to a 50-50 split. The salary cap for the upcoming season will be $70.2 million and will then drop to $64.3 million in the 2013-14 season. All clubs will have to have a minimum payroll of $44 million.

After the sides stayed mostly apart for two days, following late-night talks that turned sour, federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh worked virtually around the clock to get everyone back to the bargaining table.

Time to get ready for some Black Hawks action. Besides, some team can unexpectedly win the Stanley Cup as the New York Rangers did in 1994 after a lockout that cost the NHL half a season.

What's a liberal arts degree worth nowadays?

I went to a liberal arts college - Morehouse College - and well I hear a lot about those students who graduated and are doing very well in their lives. What most students who attend and eventually graduate may not hear the reality. That is how to many of them start off before they do very well? 

Doomsayers be damned: America’s higher-education model, and its price tag, ain’t broke. So says Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro. In a recent op-ed for the L.A. Times, Schapiro and Lewis & Clark College President Barry Glassner argue that the college premium — the ratio of college earning to high school earnings — justifies the investment in higher education. Individuals with a college degree now make almost 85 percent more over a lifetime than those with only a high school diploma.

But statistics are tricky — while one economist opts to focus on the long-term returns, another is focused on the immediate future, which, for many recent college graduates, is bleak. More than 50 percent of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 were jobless or underemployed in the last year. So if and when a college graduate gets a job, he’s likely to earn, on average, $20,000 more annually than a person with a high school diploma. But when the average student is graduating with $25,000 in student-loan debt, he or she might be a bit more focused on getting a paycheck, any paycheck.

This might explain why, as Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder is quick to point out, there are 80,000 bartenders and 115,000 janitors with bachelor’s degrees.

Looking at a graphic at the WBEZ article, I chose the wrong major. Should've majored in a science or engineering related field. If only I hadn't been so intimidated by science and math when I was in school!

BTW, to be fair I wasn't as aggressive as other graduating seniors when it came to looking for the next step in their futures. I never thought seriously about law school or graduate school in any way. It was more important to me to find a job, however, my search didn't really start until I finally graduated. Safe to say the ball was dropped and the situation today is what it is. 

Via Newsalert!

Time: 3 Ways to Handle a Colleague You Dislike

To be honest I feel the same way myself about some of the people whom either I have worked with or who currently work with me now. This option well would be very difficult for me:

Work together. It’s counterintuitive, but by spending more time together you may develop empathy for your colleague. You might discover reasons for his behavior: stress at home, pressure from his boss, etc.

Even at that it would have to depend on if they even work. If they have the tendency to not do anything then no I don't want to know what their problem is! Some things on the other hand provided they can do the job and well can be overlooked.

Of course there are two other points to look at in this article. Check it out!

The Atlantic: Why the U.S. Economy Is Biased Against Men

Oh I wonder how so?

The 77-cents-on-the-dollars statistic is calculated in a way that is biased against men. For example, while among all physicians, men earn more than women, men are more likely to be in specialties requiring longer training, high-stress, and irregular hours, for example, surgery and cardiology. In contrast, women are more likely to be pediatricians. Despite that bias, across all careers, surveys report that childless women under 30 make more than men. More than 90 percent of workplace deaths, military deaths, and severe workplace injuries (e.g., amputations, black lung disease) occur to men. Such dangerous work justify higher pay for men.

Visit American workplaces, especially major corporations, and you'll find that anti-men practices are not only tolerated but routinely imposed by employers. Women but not men are encouraged to form committees and caucuses to advance their sex's causes in the workplace, often at men's expense. Examples:

• Mentor programs for women only

• Special training for women only

• Fast-track-to-executive position for women only

In honest conversation, most people will agree that, on average, men are more often willing to do the things it takes to get promoted, for example, to make time to take advanced technical courses by forgoing recreation such as sports or shopping. Men are more likely to be willing to move to a God-forsaken place (Montgomery, Alabama, anyone?) for a promotion, and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to work longer hours.

Hmmm, I wish I had an excuse to move to Alabama and that's not the only place I would like to go. There are other places in the south or even in the west I would like to live.

That being said you should read the whole thing! This is looking like a good article.

Hat-tip Newsalert!