Online Classes Offer Balance

Online Classes Offer Balance

Online classes offer a variety of advantages for working adults who have enough on their plate without adding the stress of finding time for an education.  Probably the hardest part of attending a traditional university, for me, was finding time to fit it into my schedule.  I worked the traditional workday and then I had to make it to three-hour class four nights a week.  This was brutal because by the time I drove home and got to bed, it was close to midnight.  I would have to get up at 6 am and start all over again.  Thankfully I was in my early 20s at the time.  I honesty do not think I could handle that sort of schedule now.

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Which Degree Will Make You The Most Money

If you are considering going to school or going back to school, check out some of these figures gathered from over 11,000 graduates.

Website Helps Teens Prepare For College

I am always interested in any technology that helps young adults prepare for college and beyond.  Arizona has a new website that is aimed at helping high school grads pursue a college degree. Check out this article by Eugene Scott at the Arizona Republic:

A new online portal to help high-school students prepare for college is part of a public-private education initiative aimed at boosting the number of Arizonans with a college degree.

The High School Portal, which is found at AZTransfer.com, streamlines information from all public universities and community colleges into a central source.

The portal is touted as a key tool to help students transition into college. It outlines steps that teens must take to attend college, begin earning college credit and figure out what careers may be best suited for them.

Choosing a College Minor or Co-Major: What Degrees Pay the Most and the Least

When I received my BS in Business Management from Arizona State University in the 80s, choosing a minor was a common thing.  I chose Personnel Management at the time, because I was very interested in the human relations side of management.  It seems you don’t hear as much about students picking a minor lately.

Today, the Arizona Republic ran an article about students choosing to have a minor more often when obtaining their degree.  According to the article, “A small but growing number of Arizona college students are graduating with academic minors, hoping that concentrating in another field of study will broaden their knowledge, help them land a job or get into graduate school. This year, 13 percent of undergraduates at Arizona State University earned a minor, up from 10 percent just two years ago. The state’s largest public university is offering 92 minors in a range of different subjects compared with 67 a decade ago.”   

Keep in mind, that although the student obtains the minor, it will not be reflected on their diploma.  It will, however, be notated in their college records.  It’s important to note that not all schools even offer minors.  Yale, is a prime example of a university that does not. On the other hand, some schools actually require a minor.  Northern Arizona University (NAU) is one that has this requirement.

Another trend I’ve seen for a lot of the newer generations to go the co-major route.  ASU has a program where students can have a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies or BIS degree. According to ASU’s site, “The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) degree program is one of the highest-quality and best-recognized interdisciplinary studies degree programs in the country. It offers students the freedom to select two concentration areas from a rich menu of more than one hundred possibilities, and it enables students to integrate those areas into a degree with interdisciplinary breadth, intellectual cohesion, and practical value. The core curriculum of the BIS program provides students the intellectual tools needed to integrate their concentration areas, engage in interdisciplinary problem solving, and prepare for careers and graduate programs that increasingly cross academic disciplines.”

There are advantages to picking the minor or double-major route:

1. You gain different perspectives and don’t have such a single focus.
2. It may be helpful in gaining entrance to graduate school.
3. Having two areas of specialization can be advantageous for specific jobs.
4. Some employers think the minor is as important, if not more important than the major.  See this article from fastweb.com.  http://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/46-does-your-minor-matter
5. If you and a competing job applicant have all of the same things going for you but you have the extra minor, that could be enough to push ahead in the race.
6. Having a minor can send a message that you have a strong interest in a specific area.
7. Having a double-major can allow you to study more than one field in depth.
8. Having a double-major may open up more job possibilities for you.
9. Having a double-major means you may not have taken as many elective courses to obtain your degree, which also shows dedication. 
10. Having a double-major may be useful in a job that requires a broad range of knowledge.

For more information about advantages and disadvantages of a double-major, click here.

Are you still trying to decide on a major?  If salary is a concern, you might want to consider the following:

Top 10 College Degrees by Starting Salary from Darwinsfinance.com

1.         Petroleum Engineering $86,220

2.         Chemical Engineering $65,142

3.         Mining & Mineral Engineering $64,552

4.         Computer Science $61,205

5.         Computer Engineering $60,879

6.         Electrical/Electronics & Communications Engineering $59,074

7.         Mechanical Engineering $58,392

8.         Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering $57,734

9.         Aerospace/Aeronautical/ Astronautical Engineering $57,231

10.       Information Sciences & Systems $54,038

Bottom 10 College Degrees by Salary Start from Walletpop

1.          Social Work  $33,400

2.          Elementary Education $33,000

3.          Theology $34,800

4.          Music $34,000

5.          Spanish $35,600

6.          Horticulture $37,200

7.          Education $36,200

8.          Hospitality and Tourism $37,000

9.          Fine Arts $35,800

10.        Drama $35,600

Keirsey’s Results Show Wealthy Extroverts Are Happiest Americans

In Dr. Grupta’s blog, he wrote about: Who are the happiest Americans? According to a new study, they may be extroverted, earning more than $75,000 a year, healthy, and engaged. The analysis was conducted by Keirsey Research, an organization that looks at how personality relates to a person’s preferences in  consumer choices, political opinion, and a variety of other factors. Click here for the rest of Grupta’s article.

In our book about personalities, my daughter, Toni Rothpletz, and I discuss Keirsey’s temperament research.  If you are interested in reading more about the results of Keirsey’s study that showed “Wealthy Extroverts are the Happiest Americans” click here.  Some highlights from the results of this study showed:

• Personality. 63 percent of Americans rate themselves as very or somewhat happy. Extroverts (74 percent), however, are much happier than introverts (56 percent).
• Wealth. In general, the higher the household income, the happier the individual. 72 percent of those with an annual household income of $75,000 or more are very or somewhat happy, compared to 59 percent of those with an annual household income of $50,000 or less.
• Love. Not surprisingly, being engaged promotes above average happiness (71 percent very or somewhat happy). Those who are separated but not divorced are least happy when it comes to love (48 percent).
• Age. Americans get progressively happier as they get older, with one exception. Happiness takes a dip between the ages of 35-44 (58 percent are very or somewhat happy), when parental and career pressures are typically at their peak.
• Family. “Empty nesters” are most happy (73 percent very or somewhat happy), while those who are divorced and sharing custody are least happy (56 percent). Individuals who do not have children cite average happiness (62 percent).
• Education. In most cases, more education means more happiness. There was no difference, however, between the happiness of those with a bachelor’s degree and those with a graduate degree (68 percent very or somewhat happy).
• Politics. Democrats and Republicans are equally happy (roughly 70 percent very or somewhat happy), while Green Party affiliates are the least happy (52 percent).