Career Development

WHAT if you're not happy in your job? Is it possible that you're in the wrong career entirely?

Over the past 10 years: * The U.S. economy's output of goods and services has expanded 19%. * Nonfinancial corporate profits have risen 85%. * The labor force has grown by 10.1 million. * But the number of private-sector jobs has fallen by nearly two million. * And the percentage of American adults at work has dropped to 58.2%, a low not seen since 1983. What's wrong with the American job engine? As United Technologies Corp. Chief Financial Officer Greg Hayes put it recently: "Sales have come back, but people have not.''

Recession-scarred families are still not ready to go out and splurge on vacation. In fact, many are still cutting back on their big summer holidays.

The economic downturn has forced employers to tighten their belts and do more with less. With fewer resources available, many companies have refrained from handing out raises, even when an employee is given additional responsibilities and a title change.

Last month, Brandi Greygor did the unthinkable for an entrepreneur just starting out: She took a weeklong vacation. "I needed one because I ran myself into the ground," says Ms. Greygor, a 35-year-old mother of two who also works part-time for a consulting firm from her home in Union, Ky.

"ast year, business owner Paige Darden stumbled upon an employee's MySpace profile saying this person was planning a two-hour lunch because her boss was out of the office. "

"A few years ago I was - like some of you reading this - overextended, overworked, and deeply unhappy about it. I was a young psychology professor desperately seeking tenure, with two toddlers at home and a husband whose work kept him away for days at a time. I exercised once a week on a good week, rarely saw my friends or extended family, and couldn't remember the last time I'd read a book that wasn't about statistics. It was just too much. Something had to give. And it did. I left my job, not knowing exactly what I was going to do next. It was the toughest decision I've ever made, but it was also one of the best."

The last 40 years have seen dramatic changes in the hours worked at jobs by full-time undergraduates -- with notable increases until 2000, and then a period of relative stability until a sharp drop in 2009, according to research (abstract available here) released Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/01/17/study-explores-increases-and-declines-student-work-hours#ixzz1jjSJWQB8 Inside Higher Ed

A debate over priorities at California's community colleges is heating up, as the system considers putting more emphasis on first-time students who are working toward a credential or transferring to a four-year institution. The debate has deep national relevance, as the "completion agenda" may hinge on the 2.6 million students who attend the state's community colleges.

2011-12 Winter MNYCCPOA Post

"In 2012, creativity and adaptability will be key to landing and keeping a job for many workers, as staff levels remain lean and employees are expected to respond to a wide variety of demands, experts say."

"The committee charged with designing a new core curriculum for the City University of New York released on Thursday its final recommendations, and faculty leaders quickly faulted both the substance of the proposal and the process used to produce it."

"More than three-quarters of Americans would blow the whistle on wrongdoing at their workplace, according to a newly released survey - but only if they could do so anonymously, without fear of reprisal, and - and this is a big "and" - there was a monetary reward involved."

"At the office holiday party this year, do share an interesting tidbit with the chief of your company. But don't celebrate with too much drinking. "

"The United States today faces unprecedented demand for globally competent citizens and professionals. Although 9/11 brought broad public and political attention to global integration and national security needs, the Federal government has long recognized this need. To this end, U.S. Department of Education (ED) Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs form the vital infrastructure of the Federal government's investment in the international service pipeline. These programs' support for foreign language, area, and international studies infrastructure- building at U.S. colleges and universities ensures a steady supply of graduates with expertise in less commonly taught languages (LCTLs), world areas, and transnational trends. Title VI primarily provides domestically-based language and area training, research, and outreach while Fulbright-Hays supports on-site opportunities to develop these skills."

To change perceptions about your employment status, start with the way you network. When you have been out of work for a while, people in your network may feel guilty because they are employed and you are not, says Lavie Margolin, a career coach in New York City and author of "Lion Cub Job Search." You don't want them to feel sorry for you or to see you as defeated, so make sure you have something to offer them, whether it's sharing an article in a trade magazine, talking about an industry blog or mentioning a professional opportunity they may not know about, he says.

"The average number of applications submitted per job opening fell to 118 in the fourth quarter, from 187 during the same period in 2010, according to new research from the Corporate Executive Board."

"Invisible Transfer Students February 28, 2012 - 3:00am By Mitch Smith Enrollment managers have long spoken about the mobility of students, citing the high number of credits transferred in and out of their colleges and grumbling that federal graduation rate calculations fail to account for those transient degree-seekers. Data released today by the National Student Clearinghouse back those assertions, showing that a third of those who were first-time college students in 2006 had attended at least one other institution by summer 2011. The study followed 2.8 million full- and part-time students of all ages at every type of institution. Students were counted as transfers if they enrolled at a second institution before earning a degree. Thus, students who moved to a four-year institution after earning an associate degree were not counted, but university students who took a community college class over the summer were. High school students who enrolled in concurrent enrollment courses were not counted as transfers. The Clearinghouse researchers found that a quarter of those who transferred did so more than once and that the greatest number of moves, 37 percent, took place in a student's second year. It also found that 43 percent of transfers were to public two-year institutions, making them the most common transfer destination for students from every type of institution except other public two-year colleges. This study, unique in including part-time students and in following students who might transfer several times, joins a small but growing body of research on the mobility of students. The findings don't surprise Clifford Adelman, a senior associate with the Institute for Higher Education Policy whose research agenda includes national transfer patterns. Loyalties to a particular institution or location, which can discourage transferring, have long been eroding, Adelman said. He calls the phenomenon "geomobility" and said it has called attention to ineffi

" Preview: Obama's 2013 Budget February 13, 2012 - 3:00am By Libby A. Nelson WASHINGTON -- President Obama today will propose spending $8 billion on job training programs at community colleges over the next three years, part of a budget for the 2013 fiscal year that also would increase spending on Education Department programs and some scientific research. The president will outline the job-training proposal in more detail in a speech at Northern Virginia Community College this morning. But unlike past calls to spend more on community colleges, this plan is aimed squarely at an election-year message of "jobs, jobs, jobs" rather than the administration's goal of increasing the number of Americans with college degrees. The proposal, as outlined by Education Department officials Sunday evening, builds on job training programs already in existence -- especially the Trade Act Assistance Community College Career Training Program, which began making grants to community colleges in September. If approved by Congress, the president's proposal would provide $1.3 billion each per year to the Education and Labor Departments, on top of the trade act grants. While it's unclear whether the money would create new federal programs or build up existing ones, the funds would be spent at community colleges that train workers for jobs in high-demand fields, according to materials released by the Education Department. Programs that are especially successful at finding jobs for their graduates, or at placing those who traditionally have difficulty finding work, would be eligible for additional money. The grants would also be used to encourage partnerships between businesses, states, local governments and community colleges, and to create an online course to encourage entrepreneurs. The money would also support paid internships for low-income college students. But the plan would shut out for-profit colleges, which would not be eligible for the additional funds -- a move alm