They say that it pays to know people in the right places, but I didn’t think they meant it quite as literally as a recent scandal at Berkeley is proving. A senior administrator, Diane Leite, was recently demoted after a disciplinary investigation showed that she was giving her lover unfair and undeserved rewards.

A supervising manager at the school reported Leite and her lover, Jonathan Caniezo, a purchasing manager at Berkeley, after the manager noticed that Caniezo’s salary continued to increase for no apparent reason. In fact, between 2007 and 2010, Leite authorized five salary increases for Caniezo that increased his pay from $70,000 to $110,000. After the school heard about this and began an investigation, it was determined that Leite would be demoted to “Director of Research Development” and have her own annual salary reduced by $13,531. However, she will still be making $175,000 each year.

Despite the moral problems that someone might have with this situation, there is also the issue of financial problems that Berkeley University has been dealing with recently. For the past few years, Berkeley has been dealing with budget cuts and has had to increase tuition. Berkeley is already one of the most expensive public schools in the nation, but just last year, they approved a tuition increase that raised the amount of money that students pay each semester by almost $2,000 each year.

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Georgetown University’s Center for Education and the Workforce has released a new study assessing the monetary value of college degrees. The report highlights the average income of graduates, grouped by bachelor degree subjects. Findings also address the gaps in gender by degree program and average income differences by gender and race. Of the 171 majors analyzed, the incomes range from $120,000 down to $29,000.

Titled “What’s it Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors” the study aimed to analyze the connection between degrees and average incomes. While findings show that bachelor degrees do pay off, the more important findings prove the importance of picking a degree program.

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According to CNN, majoring in petroleum engineering at Harvey Mudd can really pay off: as mid-career graduates earn a median salary of $126,000. The data came from a survey that tracked 999 bachelor degree programs and defined mid-career as more than ten years of experience.

The next most lucrative majors are aerospace engineering and chemical engineering, followed by electrical engineering. “Our society values something practical — that’s why poetry isn’t popping up on the top of the list,” said Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at PayScale. “As in the past, engineering and [similar] fields with a strong math component plus a physical world component remain on the top, with lots of money to be made in these fields.”
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As an employer, would you ever consider paying an employee their full salary for up to ten years when they were not working?

What if they were not working because they had been put on suspension for “excessive lateness or absence, sexual misconduct with a [minor], physical abuse, incompetence or use of drugs or alcohol?”

You would never do that right? Well, you obviously are not the New York City teachers’ union.

The New York Public School System has been paying teachers their full salary to sit in “rubber rooms,” Monday through Friday, during school hours. These teachers are under observation and told to “do whatever they like, so long as it has nothing to do with teaching.” This is costing the city of New York at least $30 million dollars a year.

What is going on here?

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They say that private education is a high paying and growing job market today. Well, for 23 college presidents, this is definitely true. These presidents, who all are employed by private, non-profit colleges and universities, make more than one million dollars every year, according to a report released by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

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Every two years, Forbes takes a look at the business schools in the U.S. and determines which stand ahead of the competition. For students pursuing an MBA, this means narrowing in on the programs that will most likely provide them with a top-notch education and land them in their dream jobs.

Forbes took a look at the return on investment five years after graduation (so for this list, 2004 graduates), and spoke with 17,000 business school alumni from 103 schools to gather its information.

For 2009, Stanford Graduate School of Business rose to the top of the list, and was named the best business school in America by Forbes. The median salary for these Stanford graduates five years later is $225,000, surpassing all other business school graduate salaries.

The rest of the top 10 looks like this: Read the rest of this entry »

Network administrators is just one of many jobs that do not require a college degree.

Although having a college degree makes it easier to have a high-paying career, it is not necessary. So for those who do not want to spend four years in a classroom, here is a list of high-paying jobs with no degree required.
1. Court Reporter – Court reporters enjoy great job security because there will always be a demand for this position. People who enjoy the drama of a courtroom and are interested in legal practices would thrive in this career. The average yearly salary is $47,275.

2. Network Administrator – A network administrator, according to Wikipedia,  is “a modern profession responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network.” So, if you know the ins and outs of computers, this could be a great job for you. The average yearly salary is $49,801. Read the rest of this entry »

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. – Henry B. Adams

photo via The Canadian Teachers Federation website

Teachers today are part of one of the country’s largest career fields. They are, however, among some of the lowest paid professionals. Teacher Salaries can range on a variety of factors, but many of our nations schools are underfunded and overcrowded. Sadly, that makes this career choice less attractive to many of those who could potentially become highly qualified teachers.

There is hope – the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that salaries for qualified teachers in urban schools are on the rise. In addition to a large increase in education funding (especially for teachers in lower-income urban areas), some states have started programs to improve their early childhood education programs. This boost in funding is expected to increase interest in applicants for teaching jobs in impacted locations.
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