Sunday, June 22, 2014

back to school/ research career path



May 28 Back to school: I’m reading on my old Job Boom newsletter I didn’t get to read.  It also lists articles from the Globe and Mail and the Montreal Gazette.  Here’s an article about continuing education from going to one- day seminar, once a week, or online classes.  It’s called “Going Back to School is Good for Adults too.”

 Many workers can also benefit from taking a type of course they may never have considered — sales. According to sales expert Tom Hopkins, author of Selling for Dummies, “even if you are not directly involved in selling products and services, you ARE selling yourself every day.”

“You sell someone on hiring you. You sell co-workers on your abilities and in getting their cooperation. You sell upper management on projects, ideas and pay increases,” says Tom.

“Having a basic knowledge of how people make ‘buying’ decisions and how to communicate effectively with them (‘selling’) is one of the best skills you can develop to get ahead in any career,” he adds.

More Ways to Learn

You can be a lifelong learner by continually looking for and taking advantage of opportunities to increase your knowledge. Here are some ideas to get you started:
  • Watch educational television shows. Although Canadian Learning Television no longer exists (it was replaced by OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network), educational shows are offered on cable stations including CTV Two (formerly Access TV) which has a list of programs
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  • Join professional or industry associations. Many offer a variety of educational opportunities including luncheon speakers, workshops, conferences, and newsletters.
  •  
  • Take training programs offered by your employer.
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  • Go on information interviews to learn about new careers from people currently working in those careers
  •  
  • Get someone to coach you in a new skill.
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  • Learn by doing. Volunteer to help a local charitable organization in an area you want to learn more about.
  • Read books to learn a new skill or discover how to break into a new career.
  •  
  • Also check the Internet to find articles and e-books on a variety of career topics.

Working in the woods: Here’s an article told with pictures.  It’s in French.  The English title was “Young entrepreneur offers up gastronomic treasures.”  


Self-employment: This article called “More Canadians turning to self-employment in shaky job market” talks about the pros and cons of self-employment. 

“Andrea Zanetti is one of them. The 51-year-old is now a self-employed HR consultant, working out of her home in Caledon, Ont., after a restructuring at her large company left her without work. She wasn’t prepared for self-employment and now earns less – but says it’s worth the trade-off for more fulfilling work, less stress and no more commutes.”


Research career path: This is a good article called “Job seekers need answers before setting out on a new career path”:

When your career has stalled and you want to transition to a new job, who can help you analyze your options? Who can identify the skills you need to make the move? Who can provide solid information about the demands of the industry?

The first task, she says, is to ask “What does or does not work well for me in my job right now, since I am thinking of changing positions?” She suggests taking a hard look at the big picture. Then focus on specific aspects: the people you work with, the values of your workplace, the location, the hours or conditions, the money, the chance for promotion, the actual work you perform.

“A good idea is to reach out to professional associations that offer networking, continuing education, and perhaps, depending on the industry, pathways to accreditation,” says Wright, president of the Toronto chapter of the International Coach Federation (ICF), a non-profit organization of individual member professionals who practice career coaching.

Ivory towers: Here’s an article “Students, country shortchanged by insular ivory tower attitudes.”

“What is the return on a university education? Sadly, many Canadians graduate to find that their $30,000 debt (national average) has bought them employment prospects no better than when they left high school. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce estimates more than 500,000 postsecondary graduates will be working in low-skilled jobs by 2016, while 1.5 million skilled jobs will go unfilled. What is the problem, and how can it be fixed?”

One of the comments by J Fishhh on the article said how his son has an engineering degree with an internship, high GPA and applied to dozens of engineering jobs in Alberta.  He can’t get one.  Something about how they’re hiring engineers with intermediate experience.

In- house training: Here’s the article “In-house training part of the corporate curriculum”:

In-house training has also been a mainstay at EY (formerly Ernst & Young), says Diana Brouwer, Canadian learning leader in Toronto. “We spend millions a year training our people.”

She estimates that 70 per cent of learning is on-the-job experience, 20 per cent coaching and mentoring and the final 10 per cent structured learning in the form of classes and online modules.


Sheet metal:  Here’s an article called “Victoria man takes STEP toward career in sheet metal.”  It was about Aaron Smith went from construction worker at $18/hr to wanting a career change:

Smith’s work is focused on building the metal air ducts in ceilings. He says he’s adapted quickly.

“I was kind of hands-on right away,” he says. “I would get shown how to do something, and then I was able to do it. ... I had had enough construction experience and whatnot, and it was something that I picked up on right away.”

At first, Smith’s pay fell to about $13 an hour when he started his work in the sheet metal trade. He’s had two raises since starting and is up to more than $18. But he will still have to deal with short work disruptions for school in each of the next four years.

He anticipates earnings potential of about $35 an hour when he receives his sheet metal worker journeyman’s licence at the end of the process.

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