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Last week I’ve attended a motivational talk by a friend who is also the L&D (Learning & Development) Manager in conjunction with Engineering Week in Agilent, Penang. The title of the talk was “Tough Time Never Last but Tough People Do”. Overall, the talk is about the challenges many of us are facing with the current economic meltdown. The good news is this challenging time will not last forever but if you can’t survive during this bad time, once the good time comes; you will not be able to enjoy it.

During the talk, I’m attracted to Stephen Covey’s 90/10 Principal which simplifies the concept of destiny and also the ability to make a change. The principal clearly stated that 10% of whatever happens in your life has been set as your destiny; you can’t change it but for the remaining 90%, you still have the ability to make the change as long if you want it. It all depends on how you react to it.

With that in mind, leveraging this 90/10 Principal into your career marketing process does make sense. Obviously you can’t make sure that whenever you are applying for a job, you will get it, but on the other hand you still have the control to make yourself marketable to win in the job market.

“10% of whatever happens in your life has been set as your destiny; you can’t change it but for the remaining 90%, you still have the ability to make the change as long if you want it. It all depends on how you react to it”

Regardless in what situation you are currently in; lost your job, not satisfied with your current job, bad relationship with your boss or colleagues & etc, you are able to recover from your misery just by knowing that you have the control to make the change.

How to do that?

Well, in the following 5 steps I’ll be sharing what I personally used and also shared with all my clients.

“1st step: Identify what is actually making you miserable; 2nd step: Identify & list down the things that you can change to improve your satisfaction level; 3rd step: Strategize a plan you will need to take in making the change; 4th step: Take action; 5th step: Enjoy if successful, repeat if fail.”

1st step:

Identify what is actually making you miserable (it can be anything). Ask yourself if it falls into the 10% (I can’t change it) or 90% (I can change it). If it falls into the 10% (e.g. world wide economy recession, natural disaster, H1N1, war, death etc); there is nothing much you can do. If it falls into the 90%, then you can proceed to step 2.

2nd step:

Identify the things that you can change to improve your satisfaction level. List it down on paper. Then move to step 3

3rd step:

Based on what you have listed down, strategize or think of a plan you will need to take in making the change. Talk to friends or family members that are able to give you positive feedback.

4th step:

With the plan, take action and finally….

5th step:

Congratulation if your action brings success. But bear in mind that whatever happens after you have taken the action, you must remain positive and if still fail to get what you want, then you have the choice to repeat the above steps and improve the plan or just continue to be sad and miserable.

Give it a try and I’m sure if you practice these steps diligently, I’m sure your misery will not last long…

In this month’s E-Newsletter, under HOT Jobs, there are opportunity for Process Engineer & Quality Manager. Under the  CMS article, I’ll introduce the importance of continuous self development in CMS. I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce another service that we are providing which is Career Marketing System (CMS) Resume & Cover Letter Writing & Consultation services.

I really hope the information available in this and the future E-Newsletter will be beneficial for your career marketing. If you think this E-Newsletter will be beneficial to your friends or family members, please feel free to share it with them. Sharing is caring.

Nevertheless, I know that I am not able to fulfill all your needs that is why I highly encourage for your feedback and comments on how to improve our future E-Newsletters to exceed your needs.

Please e-mail to: career_advisor@resumeweassist.com,

Till next month E-Newsletter, take care.

“If you think this E-Newsletter will be beneficial to your friends or family members, please feel free to share this E-Newsletter with them. Sharing is caring”

You can find the previous edition of E-Newsletter HERE

Atikel ini diambil dari Harian Metro, 29-Januari, 2009.

Bagi jurujual atau seseorang yang menyertai sesuatu pertandingan, perkara paling diutamakan mereka ialah penampilan kerana ia mampu memberikan penilaian pertama pelanggan atau juri. Jurujual biasanya berpakaian kemas supaya mudah menghampiri sesiapa saja manakala barangan yang ditawarkannya kelihatan menarik, termasuklah dibungkus kemas. Peserta pertandingan seperti nyanyian dan tarian, apatah lagi ratu cantik, berpakaian paling menarik yang boleh selain solekan supaya kelihatan cantik dan menarik.

Begitu juga dengan sesi temuduga. Tempoh 2 minit pertama, iaitu bermula membuka pintu dan masuk ke ruang temuduga hinggalah duduk di kerusi sebenarnya penilaian pertama oleh penemuduga. Bagi menilai penampilan, meja temuduga biasanya diletakkan sekurang-kurangnya 3 meter atau lebih dari pintu supaya panel penemuduga boleh melihat & menilai seseorang yang hendak ditemuduga ketika dia masuk dan berjalan ke meja. Tempoh 2 minit itu boleh menjadi penentu kejayaan temuduga atau sebaliknya. Jika pada pandangan pertama penemuduga sudah menyukai seseorang itu, mungkin soalan yang diajukan tidak susah, sebaliknya lebih seperti perbualan.

Oleh itu, serlahlah penampilan diri yang terbaik tetapi bukan bermaksud berpakaian secara berlebihan terutamanya bagi wanita. Cukup sekadar kemas dan menepati kriteria jawatan yang dipohon di organisasi terbabit. Persediaan itu tidak harus dipandang remeh oleh calon sebelum menghadiri sesi temuduga kerana apa juga kelakuan atau ciri luaran yang ditonjolkan, ia memberi  tanggapan pertama serta perlbagai persepsi daripada majikan. Seeloknya, graduan perlu dilengkapi perkara asas berkenaan sebelum melangkah keluar dari universiti supaya tidak “terkial-kial” mencari bimbingan dan nasihat kerjaya selepas itu. Ada institusi pengajian tinggi mengambil inisiatif menyediakan panduan menghadapi temuduga untuk pelajar tahun akhir mereka sebagai persiapan memasuki alam pekerjaan. Panduan itu bertujuan memberi bimbingan asas persediaan untuk sesi temuduga kepada bakal graduan.

Kebanyakan syarikat & majikan menetapkan beberapa ciri yang perlu dipenuhi bakal pekerja masing-masing, iaitu kemampuan berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Inggeris, kebolehan komunikasi secara efektif, mempunyai ciri-ciri kepimpinan, personaliti menarik, positif, kebolehan membuat keputusan dan bekerja dalam kumpulan serta dapat menyesuaikan diri dan bergaul. Kemahiran itu boleh dianggap kelebihan selain ijazah yang diperolehi sebagai pengukur kelayakan akademik kerana apabila bekerja, kita bukan sekadar melaksana tugasan tetapi juga perlu bercampur dengan rakan pekerja lain di syarikat masing-masing. Majikan melihatnya sebagai kayu pengukur dalam menilai dan membuat pemilihan tenaga kerjaya.

Terlalu gugup juga menjejaskan penampilan kerana ia menunjukkan kurang keyakinan diri yang menyebabkan majikan menolak meneruskan proses temuduga kerana beranggapan calon terbabit tidak layak. Calon perlu fokus dan bersiap sedia dari awal supaya ketika hari temuduga tidak terlalu gugup. Menjadi kebiasaan calon berasa seram sejuk apabila tiba masa untuk ditemuduga sehingga rasa gementar kemungkinan boleh menyebabkan seseorang tidak dapat memberi tumpuan menjawab soalan dengan baik.

Ada kalanya keadaan boleh menjadi lebih teruk jika penemuduga seorang yang tidak mesra dan melayan calon dengan sikap yang kasar serta dingin. Ini mungkin boleh memberi tekanan kepada calon sehingga melakukan kesilapan ketika menjawab soalan atau gagal menonjolkan kualiti diri dengan baik. Perlu diingat, sikap kasar seseorang penemuduga tidak seharusnya menjadi halangan kepada calon untuk meneruskan sesi temuduga atau mengubah fikirannya untuk bekerja di syarikat terbabit. Antara cara yang boleh dilakukan ketika berhadapan dengan sikap penemuduga yang kasar adalah menarik nafas dan bersikap tenang serta berfikiran positif. Calon perlu fikir bahawa sikap penemuduga tidak mewakili keseluruhan syarikat terbabit.

Another opportunity to grow your career into higher level managerial position in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. If you are interested and have the below requirements, please drop your resume to career_advisor@resumeweassist.com. We will work with your future employer to assess your suitability for an interview.

Good luck.

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Reporting Relationship:

Operational Report : Senior Director & General Manager

Functional Reporting: Quality Manager

Job coverage:

1. Factories : Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Philippines
2. Subcontracted manufacturing : China, Philippines, Malaysia
3. Key BOM Suppliers

Key Areas of responsibility:

1. Collaborate with Corporate and Business Unit Quality Departments to develop and enhance comprehensive quality strategy, policies and programs, key metrics, reporting methods and standards, processes, goal setting, organizational approaches and customer satisfaction.

2. Complete ownership and bottom line accountability for the entire quality function within the organization.

3. Define key metrics for reporting, monitoring and management of quality related initiatives throughout the company.

4. Identify and make recommendations for processes and organizational changes, related to quality control that lead to measurable improvements in quality, cost, and other variables.

5. Work with internal stake holders to drive continual improvement.

6. Implements policies, procedures, processes and corrective actions that define and guide quality assurance of products produced at subcontracted facilities and by external suppliers.

7. Set quality standards and ensure that end control processes are in place through functional leadership of different site quality teams.

8. Oversee various quality audits including certification, key BOM suppliers and customer audits , customer complaints, quality documentation, processes etc to ensure compliance initiatives and requirements are achieved.

Personnel Specifications:

1. Malaysian

2. University education or above in an engineering science.

3. Not less than 10 years in a senior level, quality focused position in an industrial manufacturing or related environment context. Semiconductor industry is preferred but not essential. Can be considered as Senior Manager for the candidate with less working experience.

4. Must be familiar with and have demonstrated success in leading a quality organisation in a multi-culture environment

5. Exhibits character with positive attitudes, strong leadership skills as well as an outstanding communicator.

6. Have proven track record of effectively working with customers and partners relating to all aspects of the manufacturing process and product quality.

In Wikipedia; the meaning of hybrid is the combination of two or more different things, aimed at achieving a particular objective or goal. The word hybrid is famously used for cars with dual power source; petrol and electricity. Similarly to resume, when the features of chronological & functional resume are combined, it is called a hybrid resume.

In my opinion, this is the best resume format available for those with working experience and I would highly recommend this format for your “masterpiece” resume. Even for myself, I’m also using this format which I’m sharing as a sample for you to download HERE. A combination or a hybrid of chronological & functional resume elements will emphasize your career history together with its accomplishments and also your skills and expertise. This format also creates the flexibility to market your career when you do not have a specific job field to focus on.

A hybrid resume consists of the combination of components from chronological & functional resume as following:

• Contact information (mailing address, contact # & e-mail)
• Career objective
• Professional summary
• Chronological employment history (avoid dates if your employment history is lack of stability)
• Education history
• Special achievements/rewards

Hybrid resume is a powerful marketing tool for you to secure an interview especially if you have a decent working experience. Make good use of it to your upmost advantage.

Please feel free to leave your comments or e-mail me at career_marketing@resumeweassist.com if you need any resume writing assistance from me.

We can help you attain your career goals!

A multinational company in Selangor, Malaysia is actively looking for a Process Engineer specialized in Semiconductor Die Bonding process. If you are a Malaysian with the following experience and willing to venture into a more challenging responsibilities, please submit your resume to career_advisor@resumeweassist.com. We will work with your future employer to access your suitability for an interview.

Responsibilities:

• Statistically control the process and ensure 6 sigma quality.

• Maintain all dam and fill process documents and ensure ZERO audit failure.

• Lead process improvement and optimization in terms of yield and output.

• Work with GAO to qualify new substrate/compound & fan out across packages.

• Manage manufacturing day to day lots disposition.

• Manage process capability/robustness improvement.

• Achieve yield of 99.7% process yield for die bond process.

Requirements:

• Bachelors degree in Electrical & Electronics or Mechanical and/or Materials Engineering discipline, preferably with min 1 years of relevant working experience.

• Experience in semiconductor assembly and applied statistics will be an advantage.

• Have good leadership skills and able to drive the die bond team.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

• Good decision making / problem solving skills.

• Willing to work hard.

I gave this speech last Tuesday, 2-Jun’09 during our fortnightly Vista Penang Toastmasters meeting.

My fellow Toastmasters & Guest,

Projected in 2009 the unemployment rate in Malaysia will reach above 4% from the average of 3% annually. Basically, about 400 thousand people will be aggressively looking for a job in Malaysia. Out of that as per Ministry of Higher Education statistics, there will be about 230 thousand students from local & private universities & colleges excluding overseas graduates will be entering into the job market in 2009. However, based on the reported job vacancies as per Ministry of Human Resource statistics in Mar 2009, there are only 91 thousand vacancies available in Malaysia. Regardless if the statistic is accurate and showing the true picture, obviously these statistics are showing that the job market in Malaysia is too small for everyone to secure a job comfortably. The job market is like a “war zone” for the job seekers. Only the fittest and the luckiest will win.

Let me put these statistics aside and now focus on the main intention of my speech. As a manager for the past 4 years, the main triggering point for me to start a hiring process is when I need the right solution to a problem in my organization. Obviously, that person that I will be hiring will need to provide me the right solution to my problem.

So for the next couple of minutes I will be sharing simple steps on how to increase your winning chance to secure a job in this highly competitive job market.

The steps are ASK, TELL, FOLLOW UP & TELL AGAIN.

Let me start with ASK. What I really mean by ASK is basically ask yourself what solution you can provide to your future employer to solve their problem. Definitely, you will need to do some research about your future employer through the internet or if possible talk to them directly. For instance, if you read in the internet that your future employer is going to setup a new manufacturing plant in your area, then definitely they will need someone with knowledge and experience in setting up a manufacturing plant. If you have that experience & knowledge, then you have the right solution that your future employer needs.

Next you will need to TELL your future employer that you have that solution. One of the most common ways to TELL them is by writing a resume with a cover letter and send them in. In your resume you should TELL your future employer that you have that particular experience & knowledge and share your achievements. One of the most common mistakes done in a resume is lack of focus on your achievements but rather more focus on your job responsibilities.  Ensure your cover letter is written to support your achievements and also TELL how you can solve their problem.

Once you have TELL your future employer, then now it is time to FOLLOW UP with them. Remember that the job market is getting more competitive hence you will need to do something different from your competitors. Based on my survey found that 99% of job seekers never FOLLOW UP after submitting their resume just because there are too shy or afraid to disturb their future employer. Just ask yourself if this is true or not. Anyway by just FOLLOW UP with your future employer to enquire when you will be called in for an interview, you have created the competitive advantage for you to win in the job market.

Finally, your have to TELL AGAIN during your interview session how you can provide the right solution to your future employer’s problem. Use this opportunity to convince your future employer that you have the right solution.

Before I end my speech I would like to share what Stephen Covey, famous for his bestseller book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People mentioned in his 90/10 Principle that 10% of whatever happens in your life is already set as your destiny; you can’t change it but you still have the control on the balance 90%.

The economic downturn we are facing nowadays is the thing we can’t control but we can still control on how to make ourselves marketable by ASK, TELL, FOLLOW UP & TELL AGAIN.

Thank you.

In Part 1, we have learnt how to use the result from your personality test to match a suitable job type. Even if you have found your suitable job type, don’t just rush into your job search focusing into that particular job type only without really understanding where you want to be i.e. what is your career objective?

Based on the book “To Find A Job….Start A New Career” by Marvin Rafal, PhD, there are 4 types of common career objectives which are categorized as Job Enrichment, Upward Movement, Job Exploration and Sideways Movement.

Let me briefly elaborate what does each of these categories mean:

Job Enrichment

Your career objective is to remain in your current job type but at the same time build your knowledge, skill & experience by taking more challenging responsibilities. In Job Enrichment, you will most likely be looking for a job in the same company but in a different department or entirely in a different company but doing the same type of job. Basically your career objective is to be better & skillful (become expert) in what you are currently doing to make yourself marketable for future career growth or personal ambition.

Upward Movement

Typically, once you have gone through the Job Enrichment stage, you will want an Upward Movement career objective. This is the time where you are looking for a career growth opportunity to improve your status, income and take on higher level job responsibilities. You will need to have some period of working experience with established accomplishments and at the same time possess  leadership skills to lead and manage a bigger organization.

Job Exploration

If you are a fresh graduate or you are not really sure which job type to pursue in but wanted to explore different job type before finding a suitable one then this career objective will be suitable for you. Even though you do not have a specific job type to focus on but you must at least know how to generalize your career objective to fit into the organization that you would like to join. However, you will need to be very careful not to leave an impression that you are just on trial basis and will leave if found not suitable for you. You will need to have a competitive advantage (special skills, knowledge, experience & ability to contribute) as a win-win deal with your future employer.

Sideways Movement

Specifically Sideways Movement career objective is for you if you are looking for a lateral direction career movement in the same company and wanted to learn new skills including meeting new people. With this career objective, your personality is is a sociability type and at the same time you are successful in your current position and has the ability to contribute successfully in other department in the company. The acquired skills & knowledge will help to build a good foundation for your career growth.

Now, you have 4 categories to choose your suitable career objective. Based on these brief explanation as above, you are highly recommended to do the following before finalizing your career objective:

• Learn to know yourself better. Find a realistic options worth to pursue based on your personality as a guide but not as the ultimatum.
• Asses your ability (skill, knowledge, experience, education & etc) to fit into your choice of career objective. Talk to those who has experience in the same field; ask the right question to the right people.
• If you have some thoughts about your career objective in mind, spend some time to assess the suitability by discussing with your family & friends. Take their inputs into consideration.
• Reflect on your past experience especially on what has been working well for you and what is not. Focus on your bad experience and avoid making the same mistake.
• Never choose your career objective based on the financial reward only. Consider holistically especially on the non-financial reward (health, time, family, skill, knowledge, experience).
• Get expert advice from career counselor who is able to propose some options and at the same time remind you on the consequence of the given options. Remember that even the career counselor is the best in the world but it does not mean he/she knows you better than yourself. The final decision still lies on you.

Give it a try and once your have firm up your career objective, you will find that your job search will be more effective since you are more focus and know where you want to be.

Good luck.

On the 1-May’09 and conjunction with Labour Day, we have celebrated our 1st year anniversary of this blog. Throughout the year, our blog has gone through several changes which I hope they are positive changes. The major change happens about a couple of months ago where the appearance and layout of the blog were changed to reflect a more professional look. On top of that, currently, there are 39 articles of 10 categories about Career Marketing System (CMS) available FREE for you to learn and share with anyone on how to market  your career effectively and to attain your career goals. For this E-Newsletter subscriber itself, currently there are about 180 subscribers.

As what I have written in my last month’s E-Newsletter adapted from Winston Churchill “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often”. Yes, I have done some changes to my blog but now I have to be more aggressive to make it “perfect”.

But when I mentioned about change to perfection, I’m actually talking about rational change. I must be very careful not to make any drastic changes that will make it more difficult to manage the blog and worst not meeting your needs.

Similarly to our career, making a change is supposed to be managed wisely even though it is so tempting to make the career jump. But remember there is a Malay saying “You have escaped from the dragon’s mouth but end up jumping into the crocodile’s mouth”.

But remember, there is a Malay saying “You have escaped from the dragon’s mouth but end up jumping into the crocodile’s mouth”

Ironically, career change management is one of those challenges that many of us still fail to succeed. I’ve seen many people including some clients who are so excited with their new job offer and blindly jump into it without even realizing they are making a severe mistake in their career. Well, for some who are lucky, they are able to come back to their old job but many still have to suffer until today.

In the CMS cycle, one of the crucial process at the end of the cycle is accepting or rejecting a job offer. Regardless if you are a fresh graduate or an experience professional, making the decision to accept or to reject a job offer will determine the future of your career.

That is why in this month’s E-Newsletter under CMS article, I’ll introduce about  making the decision to accept or reject the job offer. I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce another service that we are providing which is Career Marketing System (CMS) Career Coaching Program.

I really hope the information available in this and the future E-Newsletter will be beneficial for your career marketing. If you think this E-Newsletter will be beneficial to your friends or family members, please feel free to share it with them. Sharing is caring.

If you think this newsletter will be beneficial to your friends or family members, please feel free to share this E-Newsletter with them. Sharing is caring.

Nevertheless, I know that I am not able to fulfill all your needs that is why I highly encourage for your feedback and comments on how to improve our future E-Newsletters to exceed your needs. Please e-mail us at career_advisor@resumeweassist.com or leave your comments.

Thank you.

Take care.

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You can download your E-Newsletter HERE

In the previous articles I’ve written about “Looking for a job”, my focus was more into personality matching with a suitable job. More or less by now, you should have some idea about some tools available to help you in assessing your job suitability with your personality. Personally, I would recommend MBTI as one of the best personality assessment available but I leave it to you to decide your preferred choice. Whatever it is, remember that these personality assessments are just a guide for you to make the “best” decision to start or progress in your career.

Now, moving forward in my next articles about “Looking for a job”, I would like to share on how to apply the result from your personality assessment to achieve the following:

• Identifying appropriate job
• Getting to where you want to be

In today’s article; Part 1, I’ll start with “Identifying appropriate job”.

Assuming by now, you should have the result of your personality test. To ease the discussion, let me take my personality test result (using MBTI) as a case study.

Based on the result, I’m a ISTJ person which are Introverted, Sensing, Thinking & Judgement.

As what I have shared in my previous article, MBTI categorized personality into attitude, perceiving, judgement & lifestyle (brief description are shown below).

Attitude
I = Introverted – thinking oriented attitude

Perceiving
S = Sensing – data oriented person

Judgement
T = Thinking – logical oriented person

Lifestyle
J = Judging -thinking or feeling lifestyle

How do I use this result to identify the appropriate job for me?

Based on a book “To find a job. Start a new career. The career and job change toolbox” by Marvin Rafal, PhD, there are 3 types of jobs which are:

People occupational – most of the time and effort is spent interacting with people. Common activities to these type of jobs are managing, consulting, counseling, influencing, teaching, negotiating, facilitating, calling, announcing, discussing & listening. Some of the characteristics of people jobs are ability to get along with variety of personalities, well developed oral & written skills, genuine interest in others and their opinions, feeling of satisfaction when sharing & working with others.

Data occupational – majority of the time & effort is spent working with facts & documentation by analyzing, interpreting, researching, computing, grouping and sorting to find the relevant data. The person in this type of job must has a systematic approach to get the job done, use logic in problem solving, accountable and has the ability & passion to search out answers.

Idea occupational – time & effort spent generating alternatives, finding new ways to do things and even find new things to do. Most of the time, a person in this job will be designing, problem solving, networking, exploring, testing, discussing, trying things out, bouncing ideas around, thinking outside of the box and planning a timeline. Major characteristic of this person is creativity, excitement, innovation, interest in the future, ability to see trends early, natural curiosity, and see things differently.

Based on my ISTJ personality, I’m responsible, loyal and hard working. I have an acute sense of right and wrong and work hard at preserving established norms and traditions. Because of my deep sense of duty I’m dedicated to everything I do and are very dependable. I also care deeply for those closest to me. Hence with this personality, I’m suitable for people & data occupational. But I can not conclude yet on what I actually want until I’ve completed the part 2: Getting to where you want to be. I’ll share on how to do that in my next article.

If you want to try this same activity as what I have done in part 1, please leave your comments or e-mail me at career_advisor@resumeweassist.com. I’m more that willing to help you attain your career goals!

By Mike Collings, Author, Saving American Manufacturing

“Whether it is high school, community college or a 4- year college, the emphasis needs to be on weaving more skill sets into education curriculums to provide a shot at better paying jobs.”

        For the last 20 years the government mantra has been, “Get a college education and you will get ahead.”

        Shop classes that used to be in every grade school and high school were replaced by computer labs to prepare the “new knowledge workers” for the future.

       But the big question is – will kids coming out of high school or college have the basic skills to get a job? 

        In manufacturing we have gone from a time when there were plenty of jobs that only required a high school degree and some on-the-job training, to an era of automation and sophistication requiring a variety of high skill sets. In the service industries the people making the good wages are the people with professional degrees or very specialized training.

        As the economy has changed to one that requires higher skills, more technical knowledge and specialized training, the education system has not changed very much.

“I want to make a case that a general degree from a 4-year college is often no better then a high school degree in terms of getting a job.” 

There were 1,485,252 degrees awarded in 2005/06. When I added up the various degree categories, I found that 50-60 percent (890,000) of the degrees were in the general category, and did not include enough specific skills to be termed a professional degree that could command a well paid job. I include business degrees in the general category because I don’t think they offer enough practical skills to get a good job in business.

            My bias comes from not only interviewing candidates with this degree but from talking to hundreds of waiters and waitresses in my travels who have business degrees and can’t seem to find a good job.

             A good example is Graham McConnell, who graduated from a private college in 2006 with a major in business. His first job out of college was making $7.50 an hour at Hollywood Video until he finally was hired by a clockmaker as an internet marketing assistant for $31,000 per year. His current debt load is $24,000. (Willamette Week Fleeced, May 28, 2008)

              Josh Seeds has a Masters degree in Environmental Science from Washington State University and is 31 years old. After 3 low paying jobs, he was hired by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality as a water quality analyst at $45,000 per year. His debt to pay off is $111,000, which he doesn’t expect to pay until 2043. By the time he pays off his student loans he expects to be 67 and eligible for Medicare and Social Security. (Willamette Week Fleeced, May 28, 2008)

         The problem of finding a family wage job is not limited to general college degree students:

• For the 2007/08 year there were over 3.3 million high school graduates.
• Another 25 percent either dropped out of high school or didn’t graduate on time.
• In 2005/06 approximately 713,066 students graduated from community colleges. Of this group 314,000 had technical/professional degrees.
• In 2005/06 over 1.4 million students graduated with Bachelors degrees from a 4- year college. Of this group 40 percent had professional or technical degrees. 60 percent were academic or general degrees.

             So the big question is; what will the dropouts, high school graduates and the general degree holders do to find a good paying job in the changing economy?

              In the last 35 years the art of working with your hands has been downplayed and replaced by the “go to college at any cost” movement. In contrary, Dusty Heming, a 35-year-old electrician in Portland says he earns $34 per hour working on renewable energy projects.

              Electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, masons, maintenance technicians, machinists and fabricators who go through apprentice programs can make more then $30 per hour, and the demand for these types of workers will exceed supply by 5 percent in 2012.

              I think this makes a strong case for bringing back shop classes, particularly for those who learn by doing and not through books. The 2-year vocational associates degree is the most preferred education by most manufacturers. However, community colleges need to create more industry-specific programs and state legislatures have to change funding formulas that limit the number of technical and vocational degrees.

              In manufacturing there is already a shortage of skilled workers and it will get worse as 10 million baby boomer employees retire by 2020. The training programs for manufacturing skilled workers are simply not adequate to train 10 million workers.

              Colleges need to look at their general degree categories and enhance them in providing a better chance at a higher paying job. They should also consider giving students’ credit for taking technical elective courses, even if they are taught in a different institution or community college.

              I think it would also help to increase the cost of general classes and lower the cost of technical classes. The big dark secret is that transitioning to a service economy will create jobs, but not at a high enough level of pay.

              On the first page of The Work Of Nations, Robert Reich says, “Each nation’s political task will be to cope with the centrifugal forces of the global economy which tear at the ties binding most citizens together –bestowing even greater wealth on the most skilled and insightful, while consigning the less skilled to a declining standard of living.” 

            The operating word here is skills. Whether it is high school, community college or a 4- year college, the emphasis needs to be on weaving more skill sets into education curriculums to provide a shot at better paying jobs.

Mike Collins is the author of Saving American Manufacturing. his website is www.mpcmgt.com