Many thanks to ConsolidatedCredit.org for providing this fascinating infographic. It’s got pretty much everything you want to know about college tuition and student debt.
Interesting or terrifying? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Going off to college? Give yourself the gift of great grades. Order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!
At some point, it seems all children are asked what they want to be when they grow up. If you were never sure of the answer, but somehow knew that you would be most satisfied doing something that helps others, a career in healthcare could be precisely what you’re looking for.
Your desire to help other people may actually benefit you. Psychology Today suggests that helping others fixes a higher happiness set point. The happiness set point theory says that a human’s level of well-being (happiness) is primarily determined by heredity and personality traits that were ingrained during early life. Researchers have found, though, that a person can raise their happiness set point by focusing on helping others.
Interested in a career in healthcare?
As jobs in other fields disappear, healthcare jobs are on the rise. Opportunities in healthcare and health technology will continue to be strong for years to come, according to heathcarecareers.org.
Becoming a doctor is an obvious choice for helping people, but medical school is not for everyone. Fortunately, there are a number of other avenues you can take that will lead you to a career in healthcare.
As a registered nurse you would directly treat patients, help educate them and provide emotional support to patients and their family members. A registered nurse is often the first person on the job, and the first to get to know a patient’s history and symptoms. You would most likely be the professional a patient would turn to for answers and encouragement. Nursing is a life-changing career for anyone with a passion for healthcare and helping others.
As a pharmacy technician you would deal with people when they’re either sick or trying to maintain health. It would be your job to help licensed pharmacists provide medication and health care products to patients who need them. Routine tasks include the preparation of medicine, including properly labeling bottles and counting tablets or capsules. You have options when it comes to learning this job. You can either attend class in person or learn to be a pharmacy technician online. For a people-person, working as a pharmacy technician allows you to be a comforting voice during what might be a stressful time for a patient.
While the idea of drawing blood and transporting it to a laboratory for analysis may not appeal to everyone, it is exactly what a phlebotomist does. A great phlebotomist is calm, compassionate and can make the act of drawing blood seem effortless. If you’re someone who can soothe a crying child or calm a nervous adult, this may be the perfect career fit for you.
A physical therapist helps restore function and relieve pain in those who suffer from injury or disease. Pain can change a patient’s quality of life and even impact their personality. As a physical therapist you would have the ability to help them regain normal function and to encourage patients as they are on the road to recovery. You would also help patients with permanent conditions find adaptations that make their lives easier, thereby changing a person’s entire life.
Sonographers direct high-frequency sound waves into areas of a patient’s body in order to generate an image that will be assessed for a variety of medical issues. In one day you may do everything from looking for a blocked artery to helping parents determine the sex of their unborn child. No two days are alike in the life of a sonographer. If you like variety and can deal with a myriad of different patient personalities, this career can use someone like you.
Radiation therapists are part of a medical radiation oncology team, working primarily with cancer patients by administering radiation at targeted cancer cells. As a radiation therapist you would work with patients at one of the toughest times of their life. A compassionate nature and professional attitude are both required for such a position.
A dietitian can work in many settings, including: hospitals, schools and nursing homes. As a trained dietitian it would be your job to plan food and nutrition programs for the population you’re working with and to supervise the preparation and delivery of meals. Dietitians change lives by recommending dietary changes that can help people live a longer, healthier life.
Healthcare jobs are here to stay. It’s just a matter of finding the one that speaks to you and investigating what it will take to get you there.
Guest Post by Chuck Flint.
Chuck teaches Pilates and writes about health and wellness from his beachside home in California.
The first step to getting a great career is getting great grades in school. The Secrets of Top Students can show you how!
On Sunday, June 23, I was honored to participate in the “Writer’s Block” event at the Stuyvesant High School all-class reunion, along with eight other writers who are Stuy alumni: Richard (R.B.) Bernstein, Robert Timberg, Joe Dorinson, Peter Wortsman, Eugene Schlanger, Rebecca Pawel, Richard Herschlag, and Becky Cooper. They asked us to talk about things like the road to publication and the impact Stuyvesant has had on our writing careers. I thought I would include the questions that were asked, along with a summary of my answers.
The Secrets of Top Students
(1) Tell us a little bit about your work (most recent or favorite) and what inspired you to write the book? Include why you choose the genre you did.
I just came out with my first book, The Secrets of Top Students. It’s an advice book for high school and college students on how to succeed in school. I was inspired to write this book because I felt like I had so much to share with other students. I’ve been a top student all my life – I was valedictorian of Stuy, class of ’99. I graduated from Columbia with the highest GPA in my class. I also have experience in a wide range of subjects – I have a B.A. in History, an M.A. in Art History, and a B.S. in Computer Science. Over the years I developed lots of techniques that helped me excel in school, and it just felt natural for me to write this book and share those techniques.
(2) What is your writing practice?
I just write whenever I can. My mind is usually the clearest in the morning, so I’m most productive then. I usually write at home, but I write outside whenever I can. I’m a pretty slow writer. I write a few pages, and then I spend a lot of time editing. Some days I’m much more productive than others.
(3) Describe the road to publication, from idea to release.
This idea started when I was getting my last degree, a B.S. in Computer Science from Columbia. I started writing down all the techniques that I was using, and all the things that my classmates were doing wrong – things like cramming for tests, not taking enough notes, not managing their time well, not asking for clarification, etc. After I graduated I wrote the first three chapters, did a lot of research, and surveyed forty-five other top students to get their insight into what it takes to be a top student. These people are Rhodes scholars, Goldwater scholars, Fulbright recipients, students at top law and medical schools, and even a National Spelling Bee winner. A few months later I got an agent, Coleen O’Shea, and she helped me find a publisher/ get a book contract. It then took me a few more months to finish the book, which came out in May. The whole process, from idea to publication, took 4 or 5 years – but the idea was gestating for a long time.
(4) Describe how you went about finding an agent and how you went about finding a publisher or decided to self-publish?
I got a book called The Writer’s Market, which has a great listing of literary agents. I sent query letters to agents who accepted non-fiction books, and luckily I got one! She helped me work on my platform and create a book proposal. Then she submitted my proposal to a couple of publishers. I had phone interviews with a few of them, and Sourcebooks gave me a contract! I was really happy because Sourcebooks has a great education division. They publish books like The Fiske Guide to Colleges and Gruber’s Test Prep series.
(5) Was there a Stuyvesant Muse? Describe whether attending Stuyvesant High School had an impact on your writing endeavors.
I wouldn’t be here today without Stuyvesant. I learned how to be a great student here. Stuyvesant has such high standards, and the student body is so talented, that I had to develop powerful techniques to succeed. I’m sure many of you will agree with me that college was relatively easy compared to Stuyvesant. And of course, being valedictorian of Stuyvesant has a certain cachet that helped me get a book contract in the first place.
I’m not sure if I would use the term muse, but I was really inspired by Dr. Nikol, who taught AP European History. He was a great story-teller and made history come alive, as they say. I remember I did pretty poorly on the first few tests in his class because they were so detailed, and I had to readjust/ refine my study habits. He was one of the most demanding teachers I had here, but I learned so much. He was a big part of the reason why I specialized in medieval European History at Columbia. I still have a love of history, and that’s why I’m writing a historical fiction novel set on Crete during the time of the Minoans, which is currently a finalist in the James Jones First Novel Contest.
We all know college can be a difficult adjustment. It’s hard enough to balance schoolwork with having a social life and getting enough sleep. How are you supposed to fit in a part-time job, too? The good news is that it can be done, and it may be easier than you think! There are plenty of jobs out there for the enterprising college student that can give you valuable experience as well as a little extra spending money, without taking up too much of your time. In my opinion, freshmen should hold off on working for at least a semester or two. But when you’ve settled into college life, here are some easy ways to earn money while still having enough time to study and play:
Working on campus is ideal, but in the library it’s even better. If you’re worried that working won’t leave enough time for studying, this is the job for you. Duties of a study hall or library monitor usually include supervising, shelving and provide centralized access to some of the resources and services they provide. It’s a pretty easy job, and with lots of down time — meaning you’ll be in a quiet place with time to catch up on reading and homework.
If you’re especially strong in any subject, visit your university’s educational resource center to see if any tutoring positions are available. Even if you aren’t comfortable tutoring peers, there are many tutoring opportunities available at any education level. Visit middle school and high school settings to see if administrators are looking to hire outside help, or if parents need someone to help Junior with his math homework. Even if the work is easy for you, it’ll help keep you sharp on subject basics.
Working in retail or in a fast food setting often gets a bad rap, but don’t assume flipping burgers is your only option. Frozen yogurt shops and smoothie-making joints are especially popular around college campuses. Visit job-applications.com to see if you can score a part-time job at either of these types of establishments, and you’ll likely find you aren’t only earning money but are also meeting a lot of people your age.
Don’t worry about this job interfering with your study or social life, because there’ll be plenty of time for everything. Interested? Consider this: In college, many young people live with an elderly couple and help take care of the house and yard in exchange from room and board. As live-in help, you may be responsible for mowing the lawn, vacuuming bedrooms and preparing food — but they’ll be paying for it.
All around the country, people are getting $20-$30 a week for donating their plasma, and it’s not a black market deal. Plasma centers draw your blood, extract the plasma from it and return your blood back to you. It’s used to help hemophiliacs, burn victims and aid other ailments. Because it can take up to two hours, unlike donating blood, plasma centers pay you for your time and plasma.
Don’t dismiss the idea of babysitting just because you’re out of high school. Teachers, university employees and graduate students who have children often favor college students when choosing a sitter. Students may need you to stay home with their child while they run to class or work part-time themselves. Especially if it’s scheduled during nap time or in the evening, you may only be acting as a precautionary babysitter who’s there in case the child wakes up. In this case, you can get some good studying in while earning a few bucks.
Guest Post by Brad Long
Brad has a knack for writing and gardening. So far he’s managed to find a way to feed himself by being good at both of these activities and that’s good enough for him.
Going to college? Give yourself the gift of good grades with The Secrets of Top Students!
Stefanie Weisman 