You can live in the basement without college debt
It’s better in to live in your mother’s basement, drink beer and play video games all day than to major in English or sociology, go into debt and then live in the basement, says Aaron Clarey, author of Worthless: The Young Person’s Indispensable Guide to Choosing the Right Major.
To be a rock star, get a heavy metal degree
Would-be rock stars in Britain will be able to earn a two-year degree in heavy metal music at New College Nottingham. A group called the Campaign for Real Education says the degree is a waste of time, reports BBC News. Liam Maloy, a lecturer in music performance, said students will learn how to compose and perform [...]
Auto workers retool — or exit middle class
A high school graduate, Anthony Oliveri earned $30 an hour building cars at NUMMI’s Fremont, California plant, until he was laid off in 2010 along with 4,700 other unionized auto workers. He now earns $12.80 an hour as a security guard patrolling high-tech campuses. It’s a different story for Greg Bostick, who studied machine technology [...]
‘Jobs of the future’ may not require a degree
The Jobs Of The Future Don’t Require A College Degree, writes Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry in Forbes. Most of the fastest-growing jobs aren’t “knowledge economy” jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The aging population will require many more home health aides and other medical support workers; the BLS estimates strong demand for iron and rebar workers. Being a [...]
College-worth debate looks at 2-year degrees
Are Bachelor’s Degrees Worth It? asks Jeffrey Selingo, author of College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students, in the Wall Street Journal. With unemployment among college graduates at historic highs and outstanding student-loan debt at $1 trillion, the question families should be asking is whether it’s worth borrowing tens of [...]
California’s rocky path to prosperity
Unless California helps low-income parents learn basic skills, train for jobs and pursue higher education, the state’s prosperity is at risk, concludes Working Hard, Left Behind. The Campaign for College Opportunity, the Women’s Foundation of California and Working Poor Families project collaborated on the report. California leads the nation in low-income working adults and in [...]
If you don’t get a job, the training is free
A new for-profit program charges no tuition — until graduates find a job, reports ABC News/Yahoo. App Academy offers an intensive nine-week course in software coding to students in New York City and San Francisco. “Our goal is to place students as software engineers,” said Kush Patel, one of App Academy’s co-founders. “We don’t care [...]
North Carolina OKs readiness diplomas
In a few years, high school graduates in North Carolina will earn diplomas showing their readiness for university, community college or careers, reports the Raleigh News & Observer. Each seal requires a minimum 2.6 grade point average, basically a C+. To earn the community college readiness seal, graduates must have completed Algebra II or integrated math III. [...]
Obama plan simplifies aid to laid-off workers
Streamlining federal aid to laid-off workers will help build the nation’s skills infrastructure, Seth Harris, acting secretary of Labor, told the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges at its annual convention. In his fiscal year 2014 budget, President Obama proposed a Universal Displaced Worker (UDW) program, which consolidates two job retraining programs. Right [...]
