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HOME PAGE
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LIFE IS ABOUT MAKING CHOICES
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THE FIVE PILLARS OF LIFE
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TOP CAREER FIELDS
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YOUR
PERSONAL
CAREER PLAN |
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THE RIGHT
CAREER |
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THE RIGHT
SCHOOL |
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THE RIGHT
PLAN |
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PERSONAL
CAREER
ADVISOR
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ACADEMIC
TUTORING
SERVICES
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PRIVATE
CAREER
COLLEGES
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EMPLOYMENT
AGENCIES
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YOUR FIVE
OPTIONS
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DESIRABLE OUTCOMES
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UNDESIRABLE OUTCOMES
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TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
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NETWORKING
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VOLUNTEERING
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PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL
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HIDDEN JOB MARKET
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NOTES FROM
THE EDITOR
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LETTERS FROM STUDENTS
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REFERENCE
WEB SITE
LINKS
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SPECIAL
PRESENTATIONS
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HOW TO
CONTACT US
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STRATEGIES
FOR
STUDENTS
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STRATEGIES
FOR
PARENTS
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STRATEGIES
FOR
TEACHERS
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INSIDE
EDUCATION
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RADIO TALK
SHOW
CKLU 96.7 FM
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IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING UNIVERSITY… |
| You may graduate from University with a degree but have trouble finding
meaningful employment in your field. |
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Many university graduates are having a hard time
finding meaningful employment. They bounce around from job to job –
often only being able to find part-time minimum wage jobs – trying to
land a position that is suited to their level of education.
They are referred to as "underemployed
graduates".
There are many possible reasons for being in this
situation. For example, perhaps they had decided early in life that they
wanted a university degree. That became their primary focus. It didn’t seem to matter what kind
of degree they obtained, as long as they got a degree.
As a result, many of them ended up successfully
achieving their goal of getting a degree, but then found themselves with
nowhere to go with the education. They don’t regret the time spent
getting the degree, but are finding that employers are looking for people
with specific skills that will fill specialized needs within the company.
AVAILABLE OPTIONS
If you find yourself in the above situation,
you do have several options.
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You can return to university and take a
different degree program.
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You can also return to community college and
take a diploma program for training in a specific skill that will at least
get you a job.
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You can also look into taking an apprenticeship program for
the next four or five years to become certified in a trade. |
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PREFERRED STRATEGIC PLAN
The preferred strategy for people who
find themselves in this situation is to attend a private career college in
a diploma program that will have the best chance of getting them into a
chosen career in business, technology, justice or health care.
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usually take less than a year to complete and therefore is the option that
will produce the desired results in the least amount of time.
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allow them to gain an entry-level position that will then permit them to
use their university degree or their first diploma to accelerate their
advancement within the company or industry.
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| You will find that your
university degree or diploma, regardless of in which discipline it was
earned, will help you in your career once you have begun. The trick is to
get into the job in the first place. |
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IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING UNIVERSITY… |
| You may graduate from University with a general B.A. degree and now
want to take a college diploma in a specific area in order to start a
career. |
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Many students go to university to get a general B.A.
degree in order to enjoy the experience of a higher academic education.
Upon graduation with a degree, they then select a career that they would
like to enter and need a specific diploma program that will help them get
started in their chosen field.
They realize from their research that,
unless they have a diploma to show that they have the necessary skills
training, they will be wasting their time applying for positions of
substance.
AVAILABLE OPTIONS
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One of their options is to enroll in a community
college diploma program, but that may mean two or three more years of
post-secondary education.
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They might also consider taking an
apprenticeship.
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PREFERRED STRATEGIC PLAN
If you find yourself in the above situation, you may
realize that since private career college programs can be completed in a
year or less, and, since you will have already spent three or four years
in a post-secondary institution, this can be a significantly better option
than spending another two or three years in a community college.
Therefore, if you can find an appropriate diploma program being offered by
a private career college, you will likely select this option in order to
gain a diploma that will get you into your chosen career in the least
amount of time.
Since time is the most expensive element of your
education, this is by far the best option. |
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IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING UNIVERSITY… |
| You may begin a particular degree or diploma program and then discover
that you wish either to change programs or to drop out all
together. |
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| Estimates vary somewhat across the country,
but education experts are in general agreement that too great a percentage
of the students who enroll at a university or community college fail to
finish their original program of studies.
Many students either drop out completely
or change their courses to another major.
Each way generally results in a
loss of some credits or at the very least an extension of the time it will
take to complete a degree or diploma program.
The high dropout rate being experienced in
both university and college is a clear indicator that many young people
are having an extremely difficult time planning or deciding upon a
satisfactory career path and it is therefore resulting in a large number
of them taking the wrong education path as well.
AVAILABLE OPTIONS
If you find yourself in a situation such as this, you
will have many options from which to select.
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You can simply change over to
another degree or diploma program. That might, however, result in a full
or partial loss of credit for your previous courses or starting all over
again in a completely different program.
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Whatever you have invested in
time and money may have been wasted, at least partially.
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You may also
decide to go into an apprenticeship program, or;
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You may simply find a minimum wage
job and go to work.
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PREFERRED STRATEGIC PLAN
It is at this point that 'time' becomes one of the most
important reasons why private career colleges have become the
"preferred choice" of many young students.
After spending one or
two years traveling up the wrong educational road and possibly digging themselves deep
into debt with very little potential return, students begin to realize that
they must find some sort of meaningful occupation as soon as possible or
face dire financial consequences.
Your quickest path to a satisfying career may very well begin with a
visit to the private career college such as the CTS Canadian Career
College in your community to discuss a
diploma program that is suited to your abilities and interests. |
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IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING UNIVERSITY… |
| You may decide to take the first two years of a general university
degree and then switch to a college or apprenticeship program. |
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Some students are taking two years of a general
university degree and then deciding to interrupt that level of their
education so that they can take a diploma program or enter an
apprenticeship.
AVAILABLE OPTIONS
Students in this situation have decided that it will be
of benefit to get a diploma and begin a career before completing the
university degree. They know full well the value of a university degree
with respect to advancement and promotion, so they do not intend to
abandon this level of education. Once they get a job, they plan on taking
one or two university courses each year until they complete their degree
or original diploma. This will leave them with a diploma and five or more
years of practical experience, thus becoming eligible for rapid
advancement within their career field.
One option open to these students is to enroll in a community college
program and complete their training in two or three years. This is not the
preferred option since it means starting out all over again and looking
forward to another long period of time before graduation.
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PREFERRED STRATEGIC PLAN
If you find yourself in this type of situation, you may
find it beneficial to see if there is a program being offered by a private
career college where you can get a diploma that will help you land that
entry level position in less than a year.
This means that you will
actually be out working at about the same time as you would have if you
had completed your original degree. If you have taken most of your
difficult core degree programs during the first couple of years, the ones
left to take as extension or correspondence courses will be relatively
easy.
This is becoming a popular option for a growing number of students.
It
allows them to experience the excitement of post-secondary life at
university while they are still in their late teen years. Yet it
also results in them finding employment in their career ahead of their age
group.
Since all employers prefer experienced employees, it means that
students who choose this path can accept their first position with a small
company or in a location that may not be entirely to their liking.
Once
the degree is completed and four or five years of experience have been
gained in the first job position, it means that the student will become a
very desirable commodity in the field because of the education and
on-the-job skill development. You can then put your name out to employment
agencies and find a more desirable position. |
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