Honestly, most of us only care about the salary when we choose a career, even it begins at choosing the major before entering the college.

I'm always reading career-advice articles about coping with a bad boss or firing someone in the most appropriate way. But what about ending a work relationship with a person who's not your manager or your employee? How do you know when this is the right solution -- and how can you extricate yourself with your dignity intact?

Some companies are offering career counseling to customers who've lost jobs during the recession, hoping to help old friends and win additional loyalty when the economy recovers.

According to lore, the academic terms "major" and "minor" first appeared in 1877, in a Johns Hopkins University course catalog. By the middle of the 20th century, the specialized major had become standard practice at almost every American college. Sophomore year: Agonized conversations with parents, and then the declaration of a major. Junior and senior years: Upper-level course work. Graduation day: A diploma that certified your skills in psychology, or physics, or, as the old joke goes, underwater basket weaving.

For the most part, tomorrow's bachelor's-level majors will look very much like those offered by colleges today. But in interviews with The Chronicle, academic experts, business analysts, and economic forecasters helped identify five emerging areas of study.

I am not your typical "geek" CIO. I have 35 years in banking, including 12-plus years from the business side as well as 20-plus years from the technology and operations side. I have asked about a promotion to COO, but I never really get an answer. I have no mentors and feel very isolated.

ISAAC: The week before college starts has been a lot of fun on campus. It's when you get the beginning-of-college experience -- getting new classmates, attending school events, exploring the area and enjoying the new freedoms of college -- without the stress and time consumption of classes. But that's soon going to change.

Most people in the job market today would consider themselves lucky to get a single offer. Receiving multiple offers sounds like a dream, but for some, this scenario is very real. They are the candidates everyone wants.

For employers, Twitter-where users post updates, or "tweets," of no more than 140 characters-offers one more way to find and attract candidates, and a cheaper alternative to big online job boards. It also helps companies target social-media-savvy job hunters and convey an innovative image. For job seekers, Twitter offers the chance to interact one-on-one with companies' recruiters and can be more convenient than job boards.

Happy September,

This month I would like to welcome Amanpreet Kaur to our group. To view her profile or become her Diigo friend, go to "members" and click on her name. It's that easy.

This month there are no announcements, but I would like to pose a question to the group. Do you have a success story about someone who has used web2.0/social networking groups like LinkedIn or Facebook to seek employment? I am putting together a workshop on how to use web2.0 as part of a modern job search and I am looking for real testimonials. If you have a story to share, let me know. I would really appreciate it.

To be included in next month's News and Announcements, just send me a message via Diigo.

Until next time,

-L

Q: My wife joined a mentor program that was suggested to her by a very senior company official. The same official recommended a mentor who is only one level above her while everyone else has a mentor three levels higher. She feels very slighted and is not sure what to say -- or if she should say anything at all. I know in this current uneasy environment workers probably don't want any added responsibilities, which would make it difficult to find quality mentors.

But I don't give a hoot that you are "having a busy Monday," your child "took 30 minutes to brush his teeth," your dog "just ate an ant trap" or you want to "save the piglets." And I really, really don't care which Addams Family member you most resemble. (I could have told you the answer before you took the quiz on Facebook.)

Plenty of people claim to be qualified to help you make your next career move. To make sure they can deliver the goods, heed these 9 tips.

Out of work for months? Prevent your professional skills from atrophying by taking steps to brush up.

Executive Coaches See Steady Demand

Q: I'm mentoring a young, ambitious engineer in our company. He's competent and demonstrates his energetic drive every day. However, he constantly makes spelling and grammatical errors in his writings. I've asked him to utilize spell-checking and re-read his emails. But mistakes such as confusing "our" with "are" and "there" and "their" aren't picked up with the computer tools. It's been over a year and he's still making these mistakes. What would you suggest as an appropriate next course of action? I am not sure if there are any additional classes he can take to improve his grammar/spell-checking skills.

In April, a job candidate scheduled an hourlong interview for himself by sending a meeting-request invite via Microsoft Outlook to New York executive recruiter Kim Bishop, who ignored the request. Ms. Bishop canceled the meeting and won't speak with the job hunter. "I just thought it was inappropriate and too aggressive," she says. "It would be like walking into someone's office without an invite."