Disaster! Dropping Out, in Debt & Depressed

Two big stories broke this week.

For those of you who are considering majors and student loans, a great report is just off the presses. The Hamilton Project launched an interactive calculator that cites earnings data on about 80 different majors, allowing people to look up typical debt burdens by major, over the first decade after college graduation. The link above is to the NYT article, which has a link to the full report.

Another new report focuses on the students who go to college and drop out, and what happens if and when they go back. I spend a lot of time coaching students who dropped out of college for any number of reasons: money, health, wrong school, etc. But the biggest reason students drop out is that they don’t know what they want to do.

The effects of that decision to drop out are long-lasting and far-reaching. Read this report on those who leave college early.

One Mom's gifts

Right after reading that report, I was really touched when a mom, Susan, called me to work with her son, who has been in and out of college. She also hired me to help two other students she knows. Here is what Susan wrote. God bless her for caring so much about these young people.

“Consider this opportunity part of your Christmas gift, but it is really a life gift.  At the end of this exercise and counseling with Pam, I just know you will have some ideas and be excited about a college curriculum to follow and how to pursue a career that will make you excited about every day. 

“Pam Scott helps people find their dreams by narrowing down their likes and dislikes and discussing college and career options that will suit your strong points and desires.  She will also introduce you to people who have similar personality traits, drive and interests for you to talk about what they do in their professional worlds.  She will guide you through an analysis of yourself.  I went through this analysis after [my son] was born; I think of how much it would have helped me as a younger person.”

If you know a young person who has had trouble finding his or her way in college, follow Susan’s example. Help that student find the right path and graduate from college. Our city, our state, and our country need these young people to find their calling.

You can always reach me at 404-248-9475 or pam@whats-your-major.com.

5+ Tips for Picking a Major So much has been going on in our world since I last posted. Christopher and Jessica got married. Family from around the country invaded for a great family reunion. I’ve gotten to talk with several student/educator groups. Now it’s time for me to get back to work helping parents and college-bound students. A lot of great advice has come out recently for parents of students in the college process. Here are just a couple of articles that parents need to check out. Choosing a Major by Age 16 Pays Off Following the old adage of “go to college, experiment, check out lots of courses” no longer works with the ever-increasing cost of college today. College courses are expensive. Each path pursued but not chosen represents time and money that could have been spent pursuing the right major. Of course, colleges benefit greatly from that model. The longer the student stays at college, the more money the college makes. Note to parents: Changing majors is expensive. At the very least, help your student narrow down their options. Don’t let your student be like one that I worked with who went from Business to Russian History to Sound Engineering. 5+ Tips and more The author of this article gives good tips for choosing a major. But I would like to add to that list. Have your student try out majors during the summers or holidays while still in high schools. Hundreds, if not thousands, of online courses are available in any subject a student is interested in. One site offering online courses for students is iTunes. Check out iTune U. If the two links above don’t help you and/or your student with picking the right major, give me a call. I can take your student through our Pathfinder Process to help him or her find the right direction in college. And if you know a college student or college grad who is still confused about the future, send them my way. I work with those folks, too. We save your student time and we save you money. Pam Scott, 404-248-9475 pam@whats-your-major.com P.S.: Please pass this email along to any friends or family members who have students searching for direction. With your help, we can make this part of the college process a little less painful.

College Not the Only Path

Recently a friend who reads this blog asked me a great question:

“Is college the only answer? I know my son is not college material, but he is very talented in other ways. What do you suggest for kids like him?”

I was so grateful for her question and the chance to address it in this blog. I can easily get on my soapbox about the number of kids going to college, who go into debt then drop out and try to pay students loans while working in a minimum wage job. 

College is NOT the only answer, nor should it be for many kids. Here are some facts parents need to be aware of.

• Almost 80% of jobs in the US do not require a typical “4-year degree.” Bureau of Labor Statistics
  
• Only 56% of freshmen manage to get a degree in 6 years, so the “4-year” standard is a myth for many families. National Center for Education Statistics
  
• In 2008, more than 6.3 million adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher were working in jobs requiring only short-term OJT. Parent’s Guide to College and Careers

What’s a parent to do? The best resource on this topic I’ve found is this report from Georgetown University. Check it out. Our students have options, many of which we don't even know about.

If you don’t believe me, read the words of this New Orleans high school student, published in Time magazine. While the author is African American, her arguments cross all racial lines.

Future Jobs & Unhappy Doctors

Two important stories were in the Wall Street Journal in recent days, both related to jobs. One is about jobs of the future, and one is about why medical doctors are unhappy and not recommending their profession.

Check out this article if you have a student facing college or already in college but unsure of what to do. The article is based on a report by the Conference Board. According to that group:

“Our extensive database of occupational data points us to the U.S. industries most at risk of labor shortages. Topping the list are: healthcare, including hospitals and nursing facilities; transportation industries, including ground passenger, water, and rail transport; utilities; social assistance; and mining and construction.” The report also cites skilled labor occupations.

I run into lots of students who think they want to be doctors. Their reasons vary from “I like babies” as a reason to be an OB/GYN to “I want to be rich” as a basic reason for wanting to go to medical school. This article, written by a doctor, describes why doctors are disillusioned with their field and often don’t recommend others pursue an M.D. Share this with a student you know.

LinkedIn & College Majors

I hope you’ve had a good summer. Some interesting articles have appeared that I think you might find helpful. I’ll be sharing these with you over the next several posts.

I’ll start with Why Choosing a College Major Actually Matters because it echoes what I believe.

LinkedIn just announced a new tool that will help you and your student explore career options. Check out this site to see what you can find. Let me know how you and your student benefited from LinkedIn's data.

If the two links above don’t get you and/or your student to the right major, give me a call. I can take your student through our Pathfinder Process to help him or her find the right direction in college.

And if you know a college student or college grad who is still confused about the future, send them my way. I work with those folks, too.

Communication Tips & Careers

Summer brings time for relaxed conversations with your teens. Here are a couple more tips for communicating with your students, from the American Psychological Association.

• Engage adolescents with nonthreatening questions. Choosing only one or two questions at a given time, ask adolescents questions that help them to define their identities. For example, whom do you admire? What is it about that person that makes them admirable? What do you like to do in your free time? What do you consider to be your strengths? What are your hopes for the future? What have you done in your life that you feel proud of (even if just a little)?

• Listen nonjudgmentally (and listen more than you speak). This enables the adolescent to realize that you value his or her opinions, and thus to trust you more.

Career Report for Graduates

From U.S. News and World Report, comes this study of what fields today’s grads are getting jobs in: software, accounting, public relations, and more. As a journalist and educator, I think it’s nice to see that not every job listed involves engineering. Check it out.

Help your teen find direction this summer 

Summer is a great time for your student to explore the world of career opportunities that are out there. Contact us to schedule time for your child to get focused on the right major for him/her.

We save your student time and we save you money. 
Pam Scott, 404-248-9475
pam@whats-your-major.com

It's Normal for Teens to . . .

Recently I’ve been hearing some friends complain about their teenagers being teenagers. I empathize, of course, now that our kids are adults. Here is some advice from the American Psychological Association that I wish we had known when our kids were teenagers. My friends found it helpful.

It’s Normal for Adolescents to...

•  Argue for the sake of arguing. Adolescents often go off on tangents, seeming to argue side issues for no apparent reason; this can be highly frustrating to many adults. Keep in mind that, for adolescents, exercising their new reasoning capabilities can be exhilarating, and they need the opportunity to experiment with these new skills.
• Be self-centered. Adolescents can be very “me-centered.” It takes time to learn to take others’ perspectives into account; in fact, this is a skill that can be learned.
• Constantly find fault in the adult’s position. Adolescents’ newfound ability to think critically encourages them to look for discrepancies, contradictions, or exceptions in what adults (in particular) say. Sometimes they will be most openly questioning or critical of adults with whom they feel especially safe. This can be quite a change to adjust to, particularly if you take it personally or the youth idealized you in the past.

• Be overly dramatic. Everything seems to be a “big deal” to teens. For some adolescents, being overly dramatic or exaggerating their opinions and behaviors simply comes with the territory. Dramatic talk is usually best seen as a style of oration rather than an indicator of possible extreme action, unless an adolescent’s history indicates otherwise.

Source: APA's Developing Adolescents page 11

Did you find this helpful? Please pass it on to your friends!

Add "What’s Your Major?" to your summer to-do list

Summer is a great time for your student to explore the world of career opportunities that are out there. Contact us to schedule time for your child to get focused on the right major for him/her.

We focus on helping students find the right major for them in college, before they go or after they get there. Check out our offerings.

We save your student time and we save you money.

Pam Scott, 404-248-9475
pam@whats-your-major.com

P.S.: Please pass this email along to any friends or family members who have students searching for direction. With your help, we can make this part of the college process a little less painful.

Communicating Successfully in a Family Do you ever feel like you are speaking French and your teenager is speaking Chinese? It certainly happened in our family. Parents have asked me to teach them how to talk to their kids about college. Given that I've focused on interpersonal communications my whole career, this was a welcome challenge. I've created a new offering--Communications in a Modern Family. This 3-session offering looks at the different personality types in a family the different communication styles of family members why communication breaks down and how to fix it The outcome: greater peace and understanding in the family. We also include our PathFinder Process for helping students find the right major for them. In addition, we give families a decision-making process they can use with their teen. Call us at 404-248-9475 to learn more. Or email us at pam@whats-your-major.com

Kids and Money

This summer, while your kids are out of school, I highly encourage you to sign them up for free financial literacy classes at Wealthy Habits.Your kids will learn all about money and taxes and all things financial. I’ve been at two of these courses and am amazed at how much the kids learn about the Rule of 72, filling out a W2, assets, liabilities, credit cards and more. I so wish my kids had had classes like these to learn about finance.

The Rest of the Story

You probably heard about this story in the New York Times that reported, once again, that college is worth the expense, despite some drawbacks. Take a moment to look at NPR’s “devil’s advocate” approach to the Times story. Among its points, NPR informs that “some 34 million American adults attended college but have no degree to show for it. That's huge, compared with the 41 million Americans who have a bachelor's as their terminal degree.” Interesting and scary reading.

Add "What’s Your Major?" to your summer to-do list

Summer is a great time for your student to explore the world of career opportunities that are out there. Contact us to schedule time for your child to get focused on the right major for him/her.

We focus on helping students find the right major for them in college, before they go or after they get there. Check out our offerings.

We save your student time and we save you money.

Pam Scott, 404-248-9475
pam@whats-your-major.com

P.S.: Please pass this email along to any friends or family members who have students searching for direction. With your help, we can make this part of the college process a little less painful.

What Careers Will Technology Kill? Sometimes it’s tough as an adult to get your teenager to tell you what they’re thinking. I’ve found this to be true particularly when it comes to college and picking a major. The New York Times recently ran a great infographic on how technology may impact the future. Among other things, it predicts what professions might no longer be relevant, such as airline pilots and higher education. I encourage you to use this graphic to get a conversation going that will give you insight into what your teen is thinking. Add "What’s Your Major?" to your summer to-do list Summer is a great time for your student to explore the world of career opportunities that are out there. Contact us to schedule time for your child to get focused on the right major for him/her. We focus on helping students find the right major for them in college, before they go or after they get there. Check out our offerings. We save your student time and we save you money. Pam Scott, 404-248-9475 pam@whats-your-major.com P.S.: Please pass this email along to any friends or family members who have students searching for direction. With your help, we can make this part of the college process a little less painful. Communicating Successfully in a Family Do you ever feel like you are speaking French and your teenager is speaking Chinese? It certainly happened in our family. Parents have asked me to teach them how to talk to their kids about college. Given that I've focused on interpersonal communications my whole career, this was a welcome challenge. I've created a new offering--Communications in a Modern Family. This 3-session offering looks at the different personality types in a family the different communication styles of family members why communication breaks down and how to fix it The outcome: greater peace and understanding in the family. We also include our PathFinder Process for helping students find the right major for them. In addition, we give families a decision-making process they can use with their teen. Call us at 404-248-9475 to learn more. Or email us at pam@armstrongscott.com.

Let's Talk Money

If you’re looking at colleges, you’re considering several key factors in deciding where your student will go. Money—the cost of going to college—is a huge factor for most families. In Georgia, we’re fortunate to have the Hope Scholarship. If you are sending your first child to college, be aware that you have to apply for the Hope. For all questions about the Hope, go to GA411college’s website. Getting the Hope is one thing. Keeping it is another. More on that at another time. Rob Lieber, the Your Money columnist for the NYT, has a great column on Eight Tips for Parents Who Have Saved Nothing. Even if you have saved money, check out his suggestions for steps you can use to make your money go further. Is your student confused about college? Call us. We focus on helping students find the right major for them in college, before they go or after they get there. Check out our offerings. Pam Scott, 404-248-9475 pam@whats-your-major.com P.S.: Please pass this email along to any friends or family members who have students searching for direction. With your help, we can make this part of the college process a little less painful. Communicating Successfully in a Family Do you ever feel like you are speaking French and your teenager is speaking Chinese? It certainly happened in our family. Parents have asked me to teach them how to talk to their kids about college. Given that I've focused on interpersonal communications my whole career, this was a welcome challenge. I've created a new offering--Communications in a Modern Family. This 3-session offering looks at the different personality types in a family the different communication styles of family members why communication breaks down and how to fix it The outcome: greater peace and understanding in the family. We also include our PathFinder Process for helping students find the right major for them. In addition, we give families a decision-making process they can use with their teen. Call us at 404-248-9475 to learn more. Or email us at pam@armstrongscott.com.

Check out this fun site for students

I hope you had a safe and relaxing spring break. The last time I wrote I said I would tell you how to help your student figure out what to major in at college. Here are two steps to do that.

1. Download the 3 Circles worksheet that’s on our home page at www.Whats-Your-Major.com. Spend time with your student challenging him or her to drill down to find answers to the 3 Circles.

2. Go to
http://www.insidejobs.com/careers?arts-and-entertainment=high&problem_solving=high. That site has numerous drop-down menus that students can use to identify the best choices for them. You can use the results of the 3 Circles exercise at this site.

You will find a wide array of career options. Please note that a 4-year college degree is not required for every job. If your student is really confused, you might have him “try on” a couple of career choices to see if they’re a good fit.

As we move toward summer, remember that summer is the perfect time to help your teen get clearer about what to study in college. We’re here to help.

Call us at 404-248-9475 or email pam@whats-your-major.com.

Pam
P.S.: Please pass this email along to any friends or family members who have students searching for direction. With your help, we can make this part of the college process a little less painful.

512 to 1: Are you willing to bet on those odds?

That’s the average number of students that each Georgia public high school counselor is supposed to serve: 512 students per counselor. With budget cuts, counselors are challenged to do more with less in terms of helping students prepare for college. Furthermore, the counselors have to spend time being social workers--handling problems with bullying, drugs,dropping out, etc.

“In addition to huge caseloads, budget cuts have forced counselors to increasingly contend with duties unrelated to their traditional roles, such as monitoring the school cafeteria or proctoring exams,” according to Time magazine (12/3/2013).

The median caseload for counselors in private schools is 106.

What’s a parent to do?

You need to help your student slog through the process for all-things-college. You need to become the career adviser. In my next post, I’ll walk you through how to coach your student on picking the right college major.

Student gets a welcomed reality check

I am so fortunate to get to talk with high school students about their future. I just received this note from a student at Lakeside High School.

“Dear Mrs. Scott,
I would just like to thank you very much for the information you shared with my class at Lakeside. My goals of becoming a lawyer have been more realized, and I now have a realistic idea of how I need to prepare myself for this career. Thank you so much.”

How cool is that? I love this work!

Snow day activity: Help your teen identify their passion

If you’re in Georgia or other parts of the Southeast, today’s snow day is a great chance to get your student thinking about what to major in at college.

Share this exercise with your teen to get them thinking—-once they tire of video games or come in from sledding to warm up.

This is the first of my 3 Circles exercise. I'll share circles 2 & 3 in the next post. If you want those now, email me at pam@whats-your-major.com  I'll send you the worksheet.

Circle #1: Stuff You Love.

What is your student excited or passionate about? Use these questions to prompt their thinking.

Where do I spend my time? My money?

• What do I like to talk about, learn about, or teach others about?
• If I didn’t care what anyone else thought, what would I love to do?
• What would I do without getting paid for it?

Compile the answers you get to see what your student might want to study in college.

If your student is confused about what to study in college, give us a call. We help students find the right direction for them.

Pam Scott, 404-248-9475
pam@whats-your-major.com

Communication in a Modern Family At the request of parents, we have added a new offering focused on communication within a family. We explore the different communication styles among family members and how to address problems those different styles create. In addition, we share a format teens can use to make decisions. Call us for more information on how to improve the dialogue in your home. 404-248-9475.

Tips for communicating with teens; Samantha's story

Do you have trouble communicating with your teenagers? The flip response to that would be “Who doesn’t?”

We’ve found some tips from the American Psychological Association on how to communicate with your teens. Here are two ideas; we’ll share more in the future.

• Ask open-ended questions. Ask questions that require more than a yes or no response; this helps
the adolescent think through ideas and options (Hill & O’Brien, 1999).

• Avoid “why” questions. “Why?” questions tend to put people on the defensive (Plutchik, 2000). Try to rephrase your questions to get at what the adolescent was thinking rather than the reason for something the adolescent has said or done. For example, instead of asking, “Why did you say that?” say instead: “You seemed to be really trying to get across a point when you did that. Can you tell me more about what you meant?”

“Can you tell me more?” is one of my favorite questions to use when talking with anyone.

You can find these tips and more on page 16 of the APA’s report “Developing Adolescents.”
http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/develop.pdf

Meet Samantha and read her story about finding the right major for her.
Samantha's story

If your student is feeling lost or confused, give us a call. We focus on helping individuals find the right major for them in college.

Pam Scott, 404-248-9475
pam@armstrongscott.com
info@whats-your-major.com