Top Five Tips for College Freshmen and Sophmores

1. Let Your Major Pick You

A lot of college students ask me what majors will look best on paper when it comes time to apply for a job or to graduate school. At this point in your college education, you really have no business committing to a career yet. You should be exploring – different classes, different internships and part-time jobs, different activities, different professors. Take a wide variety of classes, even if variety is not mandated by your school’s graduation requirements, and you’ll figure out pretty quickly which ones you’re passionate about.

2. Follow the Professors

Find out who the best teachers are and load up on those classes. The best teachers could lecture every day on the history of Brazilian trade unions and you’d still be fascinated and learn how to think. A site like RateMyProfessors.com has its limitations, but it’s just one more resource to help you find the best ones. (And if you want to see that shoe on the other foot, check out RateYourStudents.Blogspot.com.) Start cultivating relationships with your professors – be engaged in class and talk to them during office hours. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Aside from the academic benefits, you’ll need them for graduate school recommendations in just a few years, and sometimes they have industry contacts as well.

3. Do Your Own Career Research?

Many professors and college administrators (including folks at the career center) haven’t spent much time outside of academia, so don’t treat them as your only resources as you explore careers and line up internships or other job opportunities. Make every summer in college a strategic part of your post-graduation career planning – many employers make permanent offers to their summer interns.

4. Be Smart About Your Financial Future?

Most people borrow for college, and for every dollar you spend now, you’ll be paying up to two in the future, depending on how long it takes you to pay back your loans. Check out financial planning calculators -- FinAid.org has good ones -- to figure out how much money you need to be making after graduation to make your monthly loan payments. Save your credit cards for emergencies, and don’t fall for those seductive credit card pitches on campus. Get in the habit of tracking your spending (check out Moneypants.com) – it’s a habit that will serve you well for the rest of your life.

5. If You Lose Your Bearings, Take a Breather

Sometimes life gets in the way of our best intentions. You won’t be able to go back and do college over again, so make sure you can give school your undivided attention while you’re there. If external circumstances make that impossible (a recurring or serious illness, serious family difficulties, needing to work more than 20 hours per week), explore taking a semester or even a year off to get a handle on whatever that problem is. Most students in these situations try to push through the crisis, and their transcripts end up looking like train wrecks. They’ll have to explain and make excuses for their grades for a long time to come. You’re much better off showing people a transcript with great grades and having to explain why you needed to take time out in the middle.

Interior Designers. How To Become One.

In this day and age more and more people are looking for individuals to help enhance the interiors of either their homes or offices and certainly if you decide to take up a career as an interior designer the world seems to be your oyster with regards to employment.

There are a number of reasons as to why becoming an interior designer is a good career move, firstly is the freedom that is associated with it, especially the freedom for you to express your own creativity. Certainly many interior designers find that being able to imagine and then watch that idea unfold before them as the work is carried out is the most rewarding part of their career. Also it provides you with a chance to meet new people and in some cases you may find yourself traveling as well (especially if you become successful). Also another reason why many people find a career as an interior designer both exciting and alluring is the chance of becoming their own boss.

Certainly the benefits that this career will provide to you seem quite vast and also there is the added benefit of the possibility of earning a good salary as well (in some cases it can be as much as six figures). But not only this may you well have the chance to visit some of those beautiful homes that you are always looking at in magazines.

Now if you then decide to be an interior designer for businesses, then the types of businesses where you services are likely to be required can be either in Hotels, Restaurants, Spas and you may find that your help will be required by an art gallery.

You will soon be surprised at just how little training is required to become an interior designer. There are many training programs available but these are not always required when taking up a career in interior design, but they may help to increase your chances at becoming successful. In some cases there have been suggestions that you don’t need any experience, but it does help. But at the end of the day all that is necessary to make this career worthwhile is a little reading, lots of creativity and bags of willpower and determination to make it work.
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Earn Your Diploma With Online High School Classes

You can complete your diploma with online high school classes. Online classes work well for those who left high school early and need to complete their education, those who want to graduate from high school early and homeschoolers who need a recognized high school diploma.

Left School Early

If you left high school early, you have probably already discovered that you really need a high school diploma. Not having one severely limits your employment possibilities. You cannot enter the military or go to college without a high school education. You're really stuck, and completing your education is the only way out.

You can earn your diploma by taking distance learning classes online. That way, you can take the classes when it's convenient to you. You take the classes by computer, and your classroom is wherever you can access a computer with internet service. You take online high school classes at your convenience and at your own pace. You can accelerate through the classes, or take as much time as you need.

Early Graduation

Most people who want to graduate early want to enroll in college. If that is your goal, e-learning will help you get graduation requirements completed on your timeline. You can accelerate through the required classes and graduate one or two years early. Your home school district may even offer free online classes that will help you graduate early.

If you are hoping to enter college after early graduation, online education allows you to explore college classes at the same time you are completing your high school classes. Even before you are formally accepted into a college, you can take classes online from accredited universities. These classes will transfer to your college after you are accepted.

Homeschoolers

The rules for homeschooling vary from state to state, but wherever you are, one of the dilemmas homeschoolers face is high school graduation. Few states recognize homeschool courses, so most states won't grant a diploma to homeschoolers. Some homeschools and homeschool organizations issue their own diplomas, but they usually aren't accepted as valid. The military, colleges and employers may refuse to accept a homeschool diploma.

Some homeschoolers take the GED to validate their education. The GED doesn't have the same acceptance as a high school diploma, though.

Vocational Schools In New Jersey

Vocational schools can offer you the job training that you need. If you wish to follow a certain profession, the best way to obtain training to qualify you would be through vocational schools. There are various vocational schools nowadays that offer a wide range of vocational education that would help any individual enter into a profession of choice. If you are looking for a vocational school in New Jersey, there are a number of them available for you to choose from.

The Chubb Institute offers IT training that will help prepare and equip you with all the IT skills that you need in as little as eight months. The Chubb Institute has a number of centers available around New Jersey where you may be abler to avail of their popular IT vocational training. DeVry University also offers a number of vocational courses set to make you more proficient in your profession. PC Age also offers vocational training on IT for you on three of its centers in New Jersey.

Before you take any vocational course on any school in New Jersey, you first have to check on a number of things to make sure that you are making the right decision. Try to consider if you really need additional training or education for the job that you want. It can also be possible that the skills that you will need can be learned at work. Also, some companies offer educational programs through their apprenticeships or on-the-job training. You might want to check this out to see if you can avail of this opportunity.

Try also checking out training alternatives available from community colleges. Such colleges may be able to provide you with the training that you need at less tuition than at private institutions.

Try also comparing programs from different vocational schools. Try to study the information that they provide to learn what they require from students to graduate. Try to know what you will be getting when you graduate. Would they be giving you a certificate in your chosen field or eligibility for a clinical or other extern ship to further your knowledge? Are the credits that you earn at the school transferable to other schools?

Find out as much as you can about the school's facilities apart from the courses that they offer. Ask about the types of equipment they have available for students and see if they are up to par in giving the quality of training that you are looking for. Try visiting the school to see them for yourself. Ask to see the classrooms and workshops that they have available for their student’s use.