In the last post I discussed ways to find out more about preparing for a career through an apprenticeship program. What if your chosen field requires at least a four year degree and you need financial aid options? There are many sources that I will review in the first weeks of 2012. The option I would like to focus on in this post is Cooperative Education.
Cooperative Education, or Co-op, aims to integrate academic learning and practical work experience. In one Co-op model, the student alternates a semester of classes followed by a semester of paid employment. In a good Co-op program, a student not only earns money to pay for college costs, but gains invaluable work experience which can put them at the top of a prospective employer's list. Way back in the 90's I went to a conference where an executive from Prudential stated that his company considered participation in a Co-op program as a definite resume enhancer. Prudential actively sought employees from the pool of graduates who had that work experience as undergraduates.
The World Association of Cooperative Education has its headquarters at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Its membership includes national and international member institutions. Their website is www.waceinc.org. The National Commission of Cooperative Education (www.co-op.edu) and The Journal of Cooperative Education (www.ceiainc.org) are also good resources.
You can also go to an individual college/university website to find out about its program. Drexel University (www.drexel.edu), located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is reputed to have an excellent co-op program and a link to it is prominent in a tab on their homepage. I wanted to highlight another institution which also has a good co-op program. Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston is notable as a four year institution which awards degrees in many applied areas such as engineering and construction trades. It's worth investigating as well.
In the beginning of this post, I mentioned future discussions in 2012. What happened to the next five weeks of 2011? The Holidays! I hope you have happy ones and will resume blogging on Wednesday, January 4, 2012!
P.S. Speaking of the holidays, some gift ideas for the serious student on your list include books discussed in previous posts. A few are featured here:
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
On the Job
This post was to be published on November 2. Due to our unexpected snowstorm and a 74 hour power outage!!!!, I had to postpone publication until this week. I apologize to those who may have signed on only to be disappointed. I will resume my bi-weekly schedule starting today. The next post will be on Wednesday, November 23.
In this very difficult economy (an understatement at best), many young people who have spent four or more years to earn a costly degree find themselves at a loss for a job. We hear that word so much, job market, job growth, etc. Unfortunately, we mostly hear about how many graduates don't have them!
In my post way back on September 8, 2010, I discussed what I call the "Scarecrow Syndrome" and the reasons why young people may decide to go to college. It's worth a read, if you haven't done so already. I know that there are many studies and even TV commercials that tout how much more money you can make with a college degree. (Although, in this bad economy, who knows if that "conventional wisdom" even holds true?) To what end, especially if you can't find a job and your heart, your passion, wasn't really in your studies to begin with.
A route to fulfilling and well paid employment seems, woefully, to have gone out of vogue - apprenticeships. We are not talking Dickensian England here! As Wikipedia defines them, apprenticeships are systems of "training a new generation of practitioners of a skill..Most of their training is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade in exchange for their continuing labour for an agreed period after they become skilled. Theoretical education may also be involved, informally via the workplace and/or by attending vocational schools while still being paid by the employer." (emphasis added)
The United States Department of Labor has an Office of Apprenticeship. Their site, www.doleta.gov/oa, gives information about registered apprenticeship programs in 1,000 career areas including chef, child care, dental assistant, electrician and many others. The site is certainly worth investigation, as is the idea of an apprenticeship for those interested in more applied training and careers.
In this very difficult economy (an understatement at best), many young people who have spent four or more years to earn a costly degree find themselves at a loss for a job. We hear that word so much, job market, job growth, etc. Unfortunately, we mostly hear about how many graduates don't have them!
In my post way back on September 8, 2010, I discussed what I call the "Scarecrow Syndrome" and the reasons why young people may decide to go to college. It's worth a read, if you haven't done so already. I know that there are many studies and even TV commercials that tout how much more money you can make with a college degree. (Although, in this bad economy, who knows if that "conventional wisdom" even holds true?) To what end, especially if you can't find a job and your heart, your passion, wasn't really in your studies to begin with.
A route to fulfilling and well paid employment seems, woefully, to have gone out of vogue - apprenticeships. We are not talking Dickensian England here! As Wikipedia defines them, apprenticeships are systems of "training a new generation of practitioners of a skill..Most of their training is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade in exchange for their continuing labour for an agreed period after they become skilled. Theoretical education may also be involved, informally via the workplace and/or by attending vocational schools while still being paid by the employer." (emphasis added)
The United States Department of Labor has an Office of Apprenticeship. Their site, www.doleta.gov/oa, gives information about registered apprenticeship programs in 1,000 career areas including chef, child care, dental assistant, electrician and many others. The site is certainly worth investigation, as is the idea of an apprenticeship for those interested in more applied training and careers.
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