“What’s your major?” “Have you declared a major?” “Why haven’t you declared a major?” “You cannot enroll for another semester until you declare a major.”

Any of this sound familiar? If it does, then I know just how you feel. I could never decide which educational path I wanted to take in college. I felt so much pressure, I felt that the major I chose would determine my career. What if I hated it but it was too late to back out? I tried everything and really liked a lot of what I learned. I found holes in what I thought I wanted to do and I was surprised by the classes I thought I’d hate. However, nothing really jumped out at me and said, “This is my major.”

Maybe if I had seen the new infographic produced by Rasmussen College I might have ended up with something other than “General Studies” on my diploma. The chart shows incoming students which degrees are getting higher paying jobs, which are the top paying industries, the top hiring industries, and how college grads are getting hired in today’s market.

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This is not good news for the college class of 2012. According to an article on USAToday.com, college graduates who have their bachelor’s degrees are having a harder time finding jobs, and many are accepting lower-wage jobs, such as serving jobs in restaurants and receptionists in business offices.

However, it’s not every college graduate who is suffering due to this poor job economy. There are some who are still doing just fine. Students who majored in education, health, and science are finding jobs, but those who studied arts or humanities are having a hard time. This problem could also be because these students have not studied for a career, per se, like those who have majored in science, education, or health are more likely to have done.

“I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” said Michael Bledsoe. Bledsoe graduated in 2010 with a degree in creative writing. Since then, he has been working at a coffee shop as a barista because his college degree did not open up all the doors he thought it would. After two years without any results from his numerous job applications, Bledsoe is considering attending graduate school as his next step in the job-hunting process. “There is not much out there [with his current level of education], it seems.” Read the rest of this entry »

In an effort to encourage students to enjoy science, President Obama held the first White House Science Fair last fall in the State Dining Room. During this event, he tested and played with various projects that students had made. This was just one way that President Obama has been trying to increase the USA’s international competitiveness in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) industries.

For years, politicians and educators have been trying to think of ways to increase the level of interest that their students have in science. This is even more important today than it has been in the past, as Americans are competing with people from other countries for jobs in the international marketplace.

Sadly, it seems like most Americans are still losing interest in this fields shortly after their days of science fairs end. Why? According to David E. Goldberg, an emeritus engineering professor, it is because when they get to college, they face “the math-science death march.”

Recent studies show that 40 percent of college students who plan to pursue a major in the engineering or science fields change their majors or do not earn a degree at all. If you include pre-med students in this figure, the percentage jumps up to 60 percent. This is twice as much as the attrition rate of all other majors combined.

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The devastation in Japan left many students asking what they could do to help.

When I was in kindergarten, the OKC Murrah Building was blown up by a bomb. This experience was quite shocking for me, but since it was not in my town, I was not nearly as affected by this disaster as Carlene Pinto. When Pinto was in middle school, she watched the second World Trade Center Tower crash to the ground and then walked home as paperwork and dust fell from the sky all around her. Lindsay Yates was another young child who saw disaster strike her hometown when Hurricane Fran killed 24 people in her state. What do we three women have in common besides tragic events in our childhoods? We could all study disaster mental health at SUNY New Paltz.

The university is one of many schools that are now offering programs that focus on emergency management and disaster response. This new trend is in direct response to the numerous catastrophes that have plagued our nation and the world in recent years. In 2001, there were only about 70 emergency-management programs in the USA; today, that number is more than 230.

“This generation has never known a time without terrorism or disaster, and I think it has drawn many of them to this field,” said Karla Vermeulen of the Institute for Disaster Mental Health. “They were 10 at the time of 9/11 and 14 during Katrina, and it’s really shaped them.”

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Lee Iacocca is the former CEO of Chrysler. He is an Italian American whose parents moved to the USA from Italy. EDUinReview will now take a look at his education background.

Iacocca was born on October 15, 1924 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His parents owned a restaurant, Yocco’s Hot Dogs, in Pennsylvania’s steel making belt. His full name is Lido Anthony, an unusual name that is rumored to be because he was conceived during his parents’ honeymoon in Venice in Lido. However, Iacocca does not support this rumor.

Iacocca graduated from Allentown High School in 1942. After high school, he attended Lehigh University, where he earned his degree in industrial engineering. In high school, he was a member of the Tau Beta Pi fraternity and the engineering honor society.

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When you think of bachelor’s degrees, fields like business administration, criminal justice and psychology probably come to mind. However, when it’s finally time to pick your major, you don’t have to choose a popular one. Ever considered majoring in puppetry, or how about packaging?

Check out this list of unusual, but awesome, majors:

Equine studies: Horses can be more than just your hobby. Over 70 colleges, including Colorado State University, Rocky Mountain College and the Savannah College of Art and Design, offer this major. Classes include breeding, training, exercising, housing and grooming horses. Grads in this major often train for competitions or own their own stables. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the more complicated, yet important college majors that students can pursue is architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and erecting buildings and other physical structures. There are a lot of skills involved in becoming an architect and it’s the type of profession that’s good for those that enjoy drawing and numbers, as well as working hands on with a team on a public project. Without architects, some of the world’s most beautiful buildings wouldn’t be possible, and there is a sense of pride in seeing something you have designed and built yourself, for others to use and enjoy.

If you are interested in perusing a degree in architecture, you’ll want to go to a school well-known for its architecture program. Not only will you get an amazing education, but the school you attend can open a lot of doors when it’s time to get a job. Read the rest of this entry »

The field of psychology is one that will forever be needed, and thus, there will always be jobs available. Psychology is the scientific study of human mental functions and behaviors. From therapists to counselors, a psychology degree can get you involved in the field of helping people by helping them to understand themselves.

Those that want to go into this field can choose to earn a psychology undergraduate degree or choose to continue their education all the way up to the doctoral level. The higher your education in this field, the more responsibility you’ll have with your employment. Those with a psychology bachelor’s degree can find careers in case management, as a career counselor, rehabilitation specialist or psychiatric technician. However, psychology is usually one of those fields where most students choose to get an undergraduate degree as a stepping stone to higher level degrees. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the more fun and flashy careers around is marketing. Marketing has a pretty broad scope, but generally involves the process of companies creating customer interest in the products or services they sell. Everything from commercials to direct mail to product placement in movies is a product of the marketing industry. Marketing as a career has been very popular because it involves different elements of creativity which opens up a lot of career opportunities.

Whether you decide to go into corporate marketing or work for an ad agency, it’s important to get good experience from your college courses and internships. Receiving an internship will offer you real life experience that looks great on a resume, which can be done while still in college earning your undergraduate degree. Read the rest of this entry »

The art of communicating isn’t often one that you would think someone would specialize in for a career. However, communication has become quite a popular college major. Communicating is a process where information is enclosed in a package and then given by a sender to a receiver via some medium. Pretty broad, huh?

A bachelor’s degree in communication can result in several different types of jobs because of its flexible nature. As a degree, communication combines convincing arguments with the appropriate channels to deliver your message most effectively. Some of the great careers that can be had by those with a communications degree include public relations specialist, corporate communications, publicist, communications director, among many others. Read the rest of this entry »