32% of Employers Hiring College Grads for Jobs Once Reserved for High School Grads

Brent Rasmussen of Careerbuilder

Need another reason to stay in school after high school and get a degree from a one-, two-, or four-year college or university?

A recent survey illustrates just how important higher education has become to employers in virtually every industry. Employers have historically looked for educated labor to fill high skill positions but now more and more report that they’re also demanding post-secondary degrees from candidates who wish to fill lower skill jobs as well. Thirty-two percent of hiring managers and human resource professionals said they are hiring more employees with college degrees for positions that were historically held by high school graduates. While this trend is most prevalent among financial services organizations, it spans across various industries: Continue Reading

Discover the Best Graduate Degree for Emerging Careers

Sharon Jones of Career Thought Leaders

Are you looking for a way to qualify for “hot jobs” in a poor economy?

Instead of aiming for a graduate or professional degree which personally interests you (folklore or film, anyone?) or impresses friends and family (M.D, MBA, J.D.), let’s consider more objective criteria:

1. New and emerging occupations
2. Positive job market outlook
3. Good return on investment
4. Breadth and depth; interdisciplinary with focus
5. Experiential (internship, co-op, or capstone component) Continue Reading

B-School Applicants Decline: Damn Shame or About Time?

By Mark Mehler and Gerry Crispin of CareerXroads

The B-school numbers are in and they aren’t pretty according to this recent WSJ article by Melissa Korn. 69% of the F/T, two-year MBA degree programs in the US experienced significant declines in 2012 while 79-80% of the schools in Asia (Pacific Rim and Central Asia respectively) experienced gains. Globally the drop-off is 22% after a decline of 10% last year.

While some of this can be attributed to a return to normalcy after significant gains by B-schools during the financial crisis, you also have to wonder about the continuing value of the product exiting the many hundreds of schools granting these degrees. Continue Reading

Public Health Graduate Programs: More than Just Nursing

When you think of public health, what immediately comes to mind? Groups of traveling nurses vaccinating small children against devastating diseases, or scientists in laboratories looking at virus outbreaks, trying to figure out ways to quell the spread of disease and the best treatments? Or maybe it’s the campaigns you see in the media, designed to get people to stop smoking, start exercising or engage in a certain behavior, such as breastfeeding or hand-washing?

If you came up with any of these, you’re certainly correct, but public health is so much more than direct patient care and research. And if you’re considering an online master’s in public health, you might be surprised to discover that you have dozens of career options after graduation – and some might surprise you. Continue Reading

How to Land Your Dream Job in Public Administration

Your public administration degree has prepared you for a variety of occupations you probably never dreamed possible. From your state’s supreme court and various charitable organizations to nursing homes and the Nuclear Regulatory commission; all of these career paths are possible with a degree in Public Administration, and plenty of hard work. If you’re a recent graduate, or interested in this highly-lucrative and rewarding field, here are a few ways to get a leg up on the competition, and maybe even land a job beyond your wildest dreams. Continue Reading

The Coolest Course Requirements of an IT Security Degree

Every company and organization has a need for IT security:  unless they are somehow still in the Jurassic Age and not using computerized systems. This field deals with securing networks and protecting data from intrusive attacks. Those who pursue an Information Security Master’s Degree will be prepared to head a security team of technologists who create systems to ensure the security of all things IT-related. This field goes beyond a standard Information Technology degree and specifically focuses on security. The course load for this degree has some unique and interesting classes. Continue Reading

Highest paying Master’s Programs of 2012

If you are considering an advanced master of business administration degree, or an MPH (master in public health) degree, it is a safe guess that topmost in your mind, alongside choosing your field of study, is figuring out if your starting salary will enable you to pay back your student loans in full and on time. This is a growing concern amongst a graduating body of highly trained and prepared advanced degree candidates. Entities both public and private that are charged with evaluating the “best” and “worst” advanced degrees have delivered clear proof that earning potential is not equal amongst differently degreed professionals who hold a master’s degree or higher. The truth is, if you are investing money into your advanced degree program, you most likely want to know you will earn that money back and then some. Learn what the highest master’s programs are—in terms of income earning potential and advancement in the field—as you decide what your own next steps for an advanced degree may be. Continue Reading

High Quality Online Schools

Online classes and degrees may well be the future of higher education since they offer such a high level of convenience and are gradually being accepted by employers as sufficient qualifications for a job. Online schools are becoming extremely popular with busy professionals and parents who don’t have the time to dedicate to a campus based college course. Previously, prospective students had to find a college and a job nearby to pay for it all. Now, it is possible to study at your own pace from home while fitting it all in with a full-time job. Below are 5 of the best online colleges which are accredited and offer qualifications accepted nationwide. Continue Reading

Partnership Between FindTheBest and CollegeRecruiter.com Puts College and Scholarship Data into Context

FindTheBest and CollegeRecruiter.com have partnered to help students find not only the best colleges and graduate schools for their educational needs, but also the right scholarships to help pay for that education.

FindTheBest, a data-driven comparison engine, has created six customized comparisons for CollegeRecruiter.com—the leading job board for college students searching for internships and recent graduates hunting for entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Comparing Options

The comparisons are divided into three categories: colleges, graduate schools and scholarships. Each of the comparisons provide students with key filters and sorting functionality needed to narrow options, as well as a comparison feature that allows students to view their options side-by-side.

The Colleges comparison allows students to find and compare colleges and universities based on key factors like location, tuition, programs, school size, ranking and more. Continue Reading

Who is the better intern? Graduate v. Undergrad. Round 1

Mallory: I’m Mallory, I am an advertising graduate student, I just turned 27, and I don’t know how to make coffee. The only time I have ever made it was when a teacher in high school asked me to make coffee for her. “Err…OK,” I thought. I stared at her blankly until I said to myself, “I’m 18, I should know how to do this. I’ll just go figure it out.” 10 years later, that is still the only pot of coffee I have ever brewed, and I am pretty proud of that fact. That being said, I have never had one of those “coffee schlepping” internships that businesses are so quick to tell you they don’t offer.

My first internship was in 2007 when I graduated from the University of Arkansas. I interned at a local theater, the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Ark. As a PR intern, I helped distribute promotional materials around town when I wasn’t writing articles for local magazines and newspapers. It was valuable and fun. Once, I drank a bottle of $500 wine on my 22nd birthday courtesy of the Art of Wine event. Livin’. The. Dream. I moved from there to a job in the “real world” – figuring, sadly, that I would never wear the “intern” badge again. But here I am, fresh from my first year of graduate school, with 5 years of work experience under my belt, and assuming the intern role once again. This time, at a company called Build-a-Sign. And sitting to my right, my fellow intern, a 20-year-old undergraduate – Nathan. Continue Reading