Read-Think-b4-u-Write

What happens to students at Diablo Valley College? First, let's look at some statistics from 2013 : DVC has a total enrollment of 20,286 students - 52 percent were women, 48 percent were men. DVC is pretty ethnically diverse. While 44 percent of students were white, 22% of students were Latino, 15 percent Asian, and six percent were African American. Minority enrollment is 64 percent of the total student body. Most students at DVC (64 percent) are between the ages of 18-24, while 32 percent were between the ages of 25 to 64. Scholarships or grant awards are received by one-third of students totaling about $2,477. DVC costs  $1,288 for in-state residents, while out-of-state students pay $7,925 - that's a 515% increase (2015/2016) - that's a topic for another post. "The total tuition and living expense budget for in-state California residents to go to DVC is $19,750 for the 2015/2016 academic year. Out-of-state students who don't have California resid...

Forbes just released a list of  " 17 college majors that report higher unemployment ." This report completed by PayScale, polled 962,956 workers between March 2014 and March 2016. What they found may or may not be surprising depending on your major, but it correlates with the idea that popular majors may not be the best choice when it comes to finding a job. So let's take a look. No. 1 - Physical Education Teaching. 56.4% underemployment. No. 2. - Human Services. 55.6% underemployment. No. 3 - Illustration. 54.7% underemployment. No. 4 - Criminal Justice. 53% underemployment. No. 5 - Project Management. 52.8% underemployment. No. 6 - Radio/Television and Film Production. 52.6% underemployment. No. 7 - Studio Art. 52.0% underemployment. No. 8 - Health Care Administration. 51.8 % underemployment. No. 9 - Education. 51.8% underemployment. No. 10 - Human Development and Family Studies. 51.5% underemployment. No. 11 - Creative Writing. 51.1% unde...

Google has five tips for effective teamwork as discovered by their People Operation's Group. They asked 200 people in their Project Aristotle a series of questions hoping to figure out the proper mix of tech nerds to physicists to scholars to come up the proper ingredients for the perfect team. But what they found was not what they expected. It wasn't the mix of PhDs that made a good team, but how they worked together. Is it just me but doesn't that seem obvious? So what are Google's five keys to a successful group: 1. Psychological Safety. Are you free to safely take risks in your group or will you be ostracized or punished. Hopefully, your teammates are supportive and don't see risk takers as ignorant or disruptive. 2. Dependability . Anybody who has done a school project knows exactly what this means. 3. Structure and clarity . Does the group get the assignment (task), have a plan to accomplish the assignment, and will it be successful? If you can ans...

There is a lot of confusion about student loan forgiveness, so let's try to clear things up a bit. In 2014, 37 million Americans had student loan debt that averaged $23,200. Depending on where you live and where you go to school your student loan debt may be larger - a lot larger. I bet most college students are aware of student loan forgiveness programs, but they probably have no idea how they work. Over at Student Loan Hero , Eric Roseberg has outlined the basics of student loan forgiveness - and it's something to think about. Here's some of the basics (disclaimer: this stuff changes all the time, so stay caught up with new or revised forgiveness plans): Student forgiveness plans apply mainly to federal student loans (Perkins loans are another matter), so all those loans you took out with Wells Fargo will NEVER qualify for forgiveness. Most banks are private institutions out to make money, so avoid taking a loan with them at all costs. Federal loans for ce...

Elon Musk and other economists believe that automation will soon take so many jobs that governments will be forced to face the universal basic income (UBI). While these experts believe a UBI is inevitable due to robots and artificial intelligence, it seems that we might consider what a society would look like without "gainful employment." The CEO of Tesla's optimistic belief is that “People will have time to do other things, more complex things, more interesting things,” says Musk. “Certainly more leisure time.” But I have to wonder, is that what people want - endless leisure time to do interesting things? If we drill down into this premise, what does a universal basic income actually mean? Does it mean people will choose whether they want to be educated or not? If we don't have to go to work, will schools close and then turn into bastions of the arts to enrich our inner and outer lives? That sounds great if people choose to do that, but then who needs schools...

Who are the Jetsons? George Jetson had the greatest car ever when I was ten and now UBER is planning on taking commuting to the sky. Yup, you read that right they want to introduce VTOL aircraft "vertical take-off and landing" crafts to make commuting safer and cleaner. According to Futurism. com  "the concept is simple: Uber plans to provide a cost-effective and efficient ridesharing service in the sky. Commuters will ride a 'network of small, electric [VTOL aircraft] that will enable rapid, reliable transportation between suburbs and cities and, ultimately, within cities,' according to Uber’s paper. Not only that, this service is green as Uber’s VTOLs will run on electric propulsion systems with zero operational emissions." What about infrastructure? Easy. Uber VTOLs can take use roofs, existing parking structures, helipads, and unused land around freeways for vertistops or vertiports. But what is this going to cost? "Uber believes VTOL trips...

How do you give a stellar impression to your prospective college? It's not your admission essay, or your volunteer work, or your GPA . . . it's your social media presence. What!? That's right it's what you tweet, post, and blog. Huh? Oh, and I don't mean in a good way. If your college uses social media to narrow the field of incoming freshman you could find yourself reeling when you receive that "Thanks, but no thanks" letter in the mail. At least that's what the good folks over at CNN are telling us as they go through some step-by-step questions. 1. Should I delete my social media account or make it private?  CNN recommends delete, but I think that is a bit extreme. Private is probably a good idea because it narrows what comes up about you. BTW when was the last time you conducted a google search on yourself? 2.Do I have to delete every single party pic of me and my friends? Nah, just be sure you take down the ones that "exhibit poor jud...

Here's a fun fact: "For every 100 kids who start college, just 25 get degrees and attractive jobs. Some 45 drop out, and another 30 graduate but end up under- or unemployed"--at least that is what  Market Watch  is reporting--and those drop outs and underemployed have whopping amounts of student debt. Too many students may be "book ready" once they leave college, but they can't even accomplish the fundamental real-world applications required by their major. Take the example of the MIT graduates (yes, that's plural) that could not use a wire, light bulb, and battery to make a light bulb work. Yikes. It is important to get a hands-on education--that's why vocational studies are so important in high school. Oh, you don't know what vocational studies are? Well that's because wood shop, bookkeeping, nursing, and auto shop have been cut from K-12 education. Did you have electronics in high school? Could you build a basic computer? No? Yeah, t...

You are getting ready to graduate and the ever-dreaded job interview is coming up. Interview Success Formula lists the Top Ten Interview Questions You Must Know How to Answer and it would be a good idea for you to prepare some responses before you hit the halls. Interview Success goes into some detail about how to answer the Top 10 Questions and provides real-world examples. Here's a brief preview: Interview Question 1. "Tell me something about yourself?" A. Don't go blathering on. List your top characteristics and motivations and then connect them to specific job strengths related to the open position. Interview Question 2. "Walk me through your resume." A. Umm, yeah, you should know every component of your resume and have something pithy to say about each position, job skill, and experience. Be sure to highlight the items related to the job you are seeking. Interview Question 3: "What makes you better than other candidates?" A. Ugh,...

Jimi Hendrix was a staple of your grandparents', or possibly parents', music scene in the psychedelic 1960s, but there is more to him than some steps along the watchtower.  Hendrix once said, . “I started playing the guitar about 6 or 7, maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I was influenced by everything at the same time, that’s why I can’t get it together now.” What? Hendrix couldn't get his guitar playing together? I wish I was that discombobulated. While being a staple of the psychedelic movement, Hendrix felt more connected to the Delta River Blues. “I used to like Buddy Holly,” he said, “and Eddie Cochran and Muddy Waters and Elvin James… B.B. King and so forth.” But his great love was Albert King, who “plays completely and strictly in one way, just straight funk blues. Probably more of a surprise to those lovers of all things Hendrix, when talking about his playing style, he said,  “I don’t want anybody to stick a psychedelic label around my neck. Sooner Bac...

It seems everybody had to start somewhere. Albert Einstein worked in the Swiss patent office. Nathaniel Hawthorne worked at the Boston Custom's house. William Faulkner worked at the post office. After Faulkner dropped out of college, where he earned a D in English, he became a postmaster which he found "tedious, boring and uninspiring," according to Open Culture . After all a Nobel laureate can only take so much. So, when enough was enough he sent the following to his superiors: As long as I live under the capitalistic system, I expect to have my life influenced by the demands of moneyed people. But I will be damned if I propose to be at the beck and call of every itinerant scoundrel who has two cents to invest in a postage stamp.  This, sir, is my resignation. Hmmm . . . a bit of caustic, self-aggrandizement? Faulkner was known to embellish a bit. Like all of us it is the sum of our experience that takes us where we will end up . . . and very few end up ...

"I think Wikipedia is one of the greatest inventions ever!"  I bet you thought you'd never hear a professor say that. But when thinking deeper about the information highway, what I really love is that with a tad bit of effort you can find anything. The Public Domain Project over at Pond5  has so far collected 10,000 film clips, 64,000 images and hundreds of audio files free for public access. But what does one have access to exactly? “The project includes digital models of NASA tools and satellites, Georges Méliès’ 1902 film, A Trip To The Moon, speeches by political figures like Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King, Jr., recordings of performances from composers like Beethoven," boasts one of its bloggers. There are also every one's favorite cat videos . . . Very early cat videos. Open Culture imagines that some future creator "could make creative use of this stuff indeed, and if they need a score, they could use a concerto for pizzic...

  Erik Wernquist created a short film entitled "Wanderers" narrated by Carl Sagan (from 1994's  Pale Blue Dot ) that shows what future explorers may be in for. According to Wernquist , "The locations depicted in the film are digital recreations of actual places in the Solar System, built from real photos and map data where available. Without any apparent story, other than what you may fill in by yourself, the idea with the film is primarily to show a glimpse of the fantastic and beautiful nature that surrounds us on our neighboring worlds - and above all, how it might appear to us if we were there."  It's a beautiful film, a look at what man can hope for. But then there is the other side of man's race for technology as seen in Danny Cooke's "Postcards from Pripyat, Chernobyl," a film made using a drone to fly over the city that suffered a nuclear catastrophe on April 26, 1986. A nuclear disaster that exposed the area to 400 ti...

Ummm, yes it certainly looks like one. Mr. Crapper may have invented the first flush toilet, but he probably never suspected that we would be playing basketball in one. That's righ sports fans, the Golden State Warriors' new arena may just be a giant commode. I know we want to put our favorite sport's heroes on a throne, but this may be taking things too far. Apparently, the plans for the new stadium were getting too expensive so they were flushed for new renderings. How much money do you think the architectural firm charged for this rendering of San Francisco's latest sports' arena? SF could have just called Moen or Price Pfister and enlarged one of their commode schematics. Can you hear the announcers now? Thankfully, there is no one named John on the team. What does this post have to do with college, careers, comics, or writing? I'm not sure . . . but it sure is strange that architects with an advanced degree came up with a gigantic toilet of ...

It may be hard to see in this home/work space, but there it is a cute little picture proclaiming "Do What You Love" next to another cute little graphic "Love What You Do." We've all heard this phrase, but at Jacobin an article entitled "In the Name of Love" claims that "There’s little doubt that 'do what you love' (DWYL) is now the unofficial work mantra for our time. The problem is that it leads not to salvation, but to the devaluation of actual work, including the very work it pretends to elevate — and more importantly, the dehumanization of the vast majority of laborers." After all, we're not all Bill Gates building computers in our garage. Is DWYL just a bit of self-aggrandizing fluff? Jacobin makes a good point when saying, "By keeping us focused on ourselves and our individual happiness, DWYL distracts us from the working conditions of others while validating our own choices and relieving us from obli...

Are you special? Over at Huffpo "Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy" hit the blogosphere claiming that Generation Y GYPSYs (Gen Y Protagonists & Special Yuppies) think they are "the main character of a very special story" and since they are the protagonist of their own story they are easily disappointed when everything doesn't go their way. Ouch! That's gotta hurt. Let's back up a minute here.  Who are these GYPSYs?  GYPSYs are "the generation born between the late 1970s and the mid 1990s . . [who are] also part of a yuppie culture that makes up a large portion of Gen Y." So I guess that's most of today's traditional age college students. GYPSY parents are part-Hippie, part-Yuppie.  Their grandparents are part of the Greatest Generation who grew up during the depression and then fought and won World War II - hence the "Pussies" comment from Gramps (btw, gramps says that about every succeeding generation). GYP...

According to the graphic " Anatomy of the World's Top-Performing CEOs " created by Domo the average CEO is a married guy with a receding hairline who has 3.1 children (I feel sorry for that .1 child). Furthermore he went to some fancy college.  On the other hand, only 29 percent hold an MBA and 61 percent were educated outside of the United States. Here's a stat that should make you smile, 79 percent were promoted from within; meaning hang in there and you can make your way up the corporate ladder. Here's another plus.  Many of the top companies are in California. What's missing? How old are these guys?  Receding hairlines and 3.1 children implies middle age.  It seems that experience (not just education) has a lot to do with a CEOs capabilities. What else is missing? Women.  Only two of the top 100 CEOs are women! Why in the 21st century do you think there are so few top women CEOs?  Do women dislike being CEOs?  Are women not cut ...

That is the question.  Well, apparently not for one high school senior attending an informational seminar for Bowdoin College, the school to which she had applied. "Throughout the presentation, she apparently posted disparaging comments on Twitter about her fellow attendees, repeatedly using a common expletive. "Perhaps she hadn’t realized that colleges keep track of their social media mentions," reported Dean Meikeljohn in "They Loved Your GPA Then They Saw Your Tweets." And you thought only employers would track such things? Think about it, if you owned a company or were the Dean of a college wouldn't you want to know what people are saying about your product, company, or college?  Of course, you would.  Would-be employers or colleges don't just Google perspective employees or students, they keep track of their web reputation as well.  "'We would have wondered about the judgment of someone who spends ...

In April 2012, The UK Guardian ran a story entitled "How to Download Your Data From Google and Facebook" and offers the following step-by-step instructions into your digital life. Google The Google user data which you're able to access through the site's transparency services are split across three places. Dashboard: The dashboard is the principal place to get information on all your Google services – and includes data from Picasa, Gmail, YouTube, search histories and more. You can get to it at www.google.com/dashboard/ – expect to have to re-enter your password, even if logged in. Account Activity: The dashboard has been going for three years now, but Google have added a new monthly monitoring feature with a few extra bits of information in the last month. Called Account Activity , it gives info on how much you've used different services, from which computers and browsers, and some extra bits of information. It's delivered to your inbox after si...

It is amazing how many college students, 1) Don't know their total student loan obligation; and, 2) Don't know the amount of their loan payments.  This is especially puzzling since students will be repaying their loans for TEN years! Don't get me wrong, I understand how it happens:  students borrow a little or a lot each semester and between school, part time jobs, and homework fail to keep track of all those loans--and they add up! According to Forbes Magazine , "College graduates with the average $27,000 in student loan debt can end up making payments of over $300 a month for 10 long years. There are only so many dollars to go around, and because of the student loan burden, these are people who have difficulty carving out funds to save, pay down debt and invest for retirement. They may have to delay purchasing a home because they are paying up to 15% of their incomes for the college degree that landed them the job." "Oh, well," you say....