Pontiac Career Management

Archive for June, 2010

According Ediger (2000), elementary school career education is important. Ediger stated that “the elementary school years are not too early to begin to achieve a vision of what one desires to do in life contributing to the world of work”. Without career education, students have unrealistic perceptions of careers due to a lack of knowledge and poor decision making. Students have limited knowledge and exposure to careers. (2,3) When students look at the different industries e.g. sports, media and entertainment, most students underestimate the skills and time required to have successful careers. (3)

The Basics for Elementary School Career Education Programs

In career awareness programs, students do not make premature career choices. Elementary school career education is not career exploration or career preparation. Elementary students remain open to new career ideas and possibilities. (7,8,13,15) Elementary students build awareness of self, personal interactions, school, and the workforce. (2,15) Elementary school counselors and teachers build self-awareness, family awareness, school awareness, community awareness, career/ work awareness, attitude development, skill development, decision making strategies, and self-worth. (2,4,11)

Career awareness programs use age appropriate materials that match the developmental levels of the students. Age appropriate activities expose students to a variety of different jobs, career information sources, and the reasons why people work. Programs also incorporate academic career pathways into classroom activities. According to CareerTec (2000), the preliminary career education skills serve as foundations for future skills. As the students progress, previous skills are reinforced, developed, and expanded. (2,4,11)

As elementary students get older, the students modify career visions and goals. After completing an elementary school career awareness program, students have higher grades, higher academic achievement, improved school involvement, as well as an increase in career awareness exploration, personal, and interpersonal skills. (1,15) In addition, the students complete more complex courses and have a higher graduation rate from high school. (9)

In summary, in career programs, students:

Learn and apply the academic material

Know and value self

Build self-esteem and confidence

Identify interests and build relationships between the school environment and the work force

Build academic, communication, problem solving, and social skills

Increase awareness of the need for future jobs skills

See the connections between learning in school, academic skills, job related skills, and careers

See career possibilities

See themselves as a future contributor to the job force

Receive empowerment

Build self-determination (2,7,9)

Examples of Elementary School Career Education Resources

Career awareness programs widely use tools are the Individual Career Plan (ICP) and the Individual Career Develop Portfolio. According to the Ohio State Department of Education (2000), Individual Career Plans (ICP) are essential for the development of self-awareness, employability skills, decision making and goal setting, community involvement, economics, and the reduction of bias. Students use the Individual Career Plans as they identify and explore initial career goals and educational plans. Elementary students use Individual Career Plan (ICP) to develop skills and to prepare to make future educational and career decisions. (12)

Another important tool is the Individual Career Develop Portfolio. Individual Career Develop Portfolios are collections of the career awareness activities and experiences that have occurred during the school year. (12) Other elementary school career awareness activities include:

Artistic displays

Career Days

Career Fairs

Career research

Career videos

Collages, murals

Community speakers

Educational games

Family group discussions

Field trips

Information interviewing

Job shadowing

Library book report

Mentors

Poetry

Phonics

Pictured dictionary

Puppets

Role playing

Scrapbook

Story reading

Student group discussions

Word search and comprehension activities (8,9,11,12,16)

Elementary school programs help students build connections between academics and real life situations. (9) Teachers and counselors use career education principles to stress the importance of language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. Language arts have many uses in the workplace: Reading, writing, and listening skills. The uses for Mathematics include: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills to solve problems. In Social Studies, students gain understanding about other countries, languages, cultures, and the aspects of living in a global marketplace. Students learn the importance of Science having skills to solve problems as well as understanding how science is involved in different industries, such as food, media, agricultural, and automotive industries. (8)

Guidelines for Elementary Education Career Resources – National Career Development Guidelines

The NCDG Guidelines is a career knowledge, skills, and decision-making framework. The NCDG framework has three domains, goals, and indicators. Teachers and counselors use the domains, goals, and indicators as guidelines to design and create career resources. The three domains are: Personal Social Development (PS), Educational Achievement and Lifelong Learning (ED), and Career Management (CM). Each domain represents a developmental area in a career education program. Under each domain are goals or competencies. Under each goal, indicators highlight the knowledge and skills needed to achieve the goal. The National Career Development Guidelines (NCDG) is the foundation for career education products, research development, tests and tools. (14)

Summary

Elementary school career education programs build self-awareness, family awareness, school awareness, community awareness, career/ work awareness, attitude development, skill development, decision making strategies, and self-worth. Elementary school career awareness programs use age appropriate materials that match the developmental levels of the students. As a results of career education, schools reported that students had higher grades and academic achievement, improvement in school involvement and performance, as well as an increase in career awareness exploration, personal, and interpersonal skills. Career awareness activities include Individual Career Plan (ICP), Individual Career Develop Portfolio (ICDP), Career Days, Career Fairs, Field trips, information interviewing, and library book report.

References

1. American Counseling Association, Office of Public Policy and Legislation. (2007). Effectiveness of School Counseling. Alexandria, VA: Author.

2. Angel, N. Faye; Mooney, Marianne. (1996, December). Work-in-Progress: Career and Work Education for Elementary Students. (ED404516). Cincinnati, OH: Paper presented at the American Vocational Association Convention.

3. Benning, Cathleen; Bergt, Richard; Sausaman, Pamela. (2003, May). Improving Student Awareness of Careers through a Variety of Strategies. Thesis: Action Research Project. (ED481018). Chicago, Illinois: Saint Xavier University.

4. Career Tec. (2000). K-12 Career Awareness & Development Sequence [with Appendices, Executive and Implementation Guide]. (ED450219) .Springfield, Il: Author.

5. Carey, John. (2003, January). What are the Expected Benefits Associated with Implementing a Comprehensive Guidance Program. School counseling
Research Brief 1.1. Amherst, MA: Fredrickson Center for School Counseling Outcome Research.

6. Dare, Donna E.; Maddy-Bernstein, Carolyn. (1999, September). Career Guidance Resource Guide for Elementary and Middle/Junior High School Educators. (ED434216). Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

7. DuVall, Patricia. (1995).Let’s Get Serious about Career Education for Elementary Students. AACE Bonus Briefs. (ED386603). Hermosa Beach, CA: AACE Bonus Briefs.

8. Ediger, Marlow. (2000, July). Vocational Education in the Elementary School. (ED442979) Opinion Papers

9. Gerver, Miriam, Shanley, Judy, O Cummings, Mindee. (2/14/02). Answering the Question EMSTAC Extra Elementary and Middle Schools. Washington, DC: Technical Assistance Center, (EMSTAC).

10. Hurley, Dan, Ed.; Thorp, Jim, Ed. (2002, May). Decisions without Direction: Career Guidance and Decision-Making among American Youth. (ED465895). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Ferris State University Career Institute for Education and Workforce Development.

11. Maddy-Bernstein, Carolyn; Dare, Donna E. (1997,December).Career Guidance for Elementary and Middle School Students. Office of Student Services Brief, v9 n1. (ED415353). Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

12. Ohio Department of Education, Division of Vocational and Career Education, Ohio Career Development Blueprint, Individual Career Plan, K to 5 (ED449322). Columbus, Ohio, 2000

13. Splete, Howard; Stewart, Amy. (1990). Competency-Based Career Development Strategies and the National Career Development Guidelines. Information Series No. 345. (ED327739). Columbus, Ohio: ERIC Clearinghouse on Education and Training for Employment & Ohio State University

14. U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education. (1994, 2004). National Career Development Guidelines (NCDG). Washington, DC: Author.

15. Williams, Jean A., Ed. (1999, January). Elementary Career Awareness Guide: A Resource for Elementary School Counselors and Teachers. (ED445293). Raleigh, NC: NC Department of Public Instruction, NC Job Ready.

16. Woal, S. Theodore. (1995). Career Education–The Early Years. AACE Bonus Briefs. (ED386603). Hermosa Beach, CA: AACE Bonus Briefs.

Nursing is a great career to get into for many reasons. We won’t go into much detail here why. Basically most people get into nursing because it’s very exiting and it pays well. Researching nursing career information is the best thing you could be doing because there’s a lot you need to know. There are mistakes that people make while embarking on their new nursing career. We’ll discuss a few here for your review.

They go into nursing without really knowing what the job entails.

This is a common mistake that people make not only when they go into a nursing career but with any career. What people realize after all the effort they put into becoming a nurse, that that it may not be the career for them. Here’s why.

Some people that become a nurse haven’t even step foot in a hospital. If anything they may have visited as a patient or visiting a patient, however, not as an employee for a hospital. So while it’s true that you never know if you like something or not until you actually do it, it’s always best to work in the field you are trying to get into. So how to you do that?

You can get a job at a hospital. Depending on the available positions, you can work in the nursing office as a secretary or maybe a hospital clerk. Sure, you won’t be working as a nurse but you’ll be able to work in a hospital environment and be able to observe what a nurse does. Also, if positions are not available in your local hospital, you could always volunteer some of your time. Now you are getting some experience in a hospital you can hopefully learn to avoid the next mistake people make.

They don’t know what type of nurse they want to be.

What makes nursing a great career is there are so many areas you can work in. The opportunity seems limitless. Some people don’t know what area they want to work in. While this is not a choice for some, it’s good to know what career options are available to you. This is why I mentioned getting a job in a hospital. It’s the best place to observe all the different areas of nursing.

They don’t realize the commitment they have to make for getting through school.

People tend to sign up for nursing school without knowing what’s involved. They also don’t look into the types of programs available to them. This is crucial especially, if you have a family and changing careers. People attending a nursing program find that there is a lot involved in completing the program. It’s not just going to class and hearing lectures. You are going to get plenty of practical experience at the hospital. This can lead to unwanted strain on relationships and families.

So while researching nursing career information, you’ll need to make commitments while going to school and you should try to get experience as a hospital employee ahead of time. While nursing is a great career, you’ll find it’s very challenging and exciting. So it’s always best to know as much as possible what’s ahead of you.

Product management is managing of a company’s product through all of its stages starting from designing, on to manufacturing and marketing. This is also known as the lifecycle of a product. Product management is an inbound focus that is made by product managers to maximize the sale and profit of the product and add to the profit of the company or organization. The main focus of product management, however, lies in taking or considering new product for development. According to the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA), the product that adds up to unique benefit and serves superior value to the customers and clients is considered as the highest product of profitability.

Job Responsibilities of a Product Manager

The responsibilities of product managers vary depending upon the size, structure and type of product manufactured by the company. Their key responsibility lies in defining a new product manufactured by the company. They are also responsible for making strategies and policies to consider product life cycle and product differentiation.

Product managers are responsible for product planning and deal with marketing of the product. In planning, a product manager identifies and articulates market requirements and further enhances the basic features and properties of the product concerned so that it meets the needs of customers and clients.

Product managers are solely responsible for setting target demographics and looking at the plans and policies that other production companies have applied to make their product customer friendly. They create and apply new ideas to manufacture and promote a product that suits the company and fits the business model. Product managers have to manage one or more substantial products.

They are required to meet with the product team on a regular basis and get updates on the development of the product. They create product management roadmaps that will detail the ways by which the product will be manufactured and also give an estimation of particular time required.

Sometimes, product managers also have to make hardware, software, mechanical design, user documents, marketing and sales strategies. They also are involved with customer testing activities to promote the product manufactured by the company which make it user friendly.

Education Required to become a Product Manager

The responsibilities of product managers are wholly associated with the production unit and marketing policies of the company. A product manager must have practical knowledge of the current market and also understanding of the policies and strategies of product development. The most desired degree by the product development companies are that of an MBA in product management studies with a focus on economics, accounting, marketing, and business mathematics. These studies enable a student to understand the basic principles of product management and creating new strategies and plans in marketing research.

Online Studies That Can Get You There

Use of internet in our daily life has brought several unimaginable facilities to us. One of these involves getting desired knowledge on any subject from any corner of the world. There are several colleges and universities world wide that offer a variety courses including management studies. To get an MBA degree on product management, online, the following are names of some of the renowned universities and colleges:

Oxford Brookes University Business School Drexel University Ashford University Brown College DeVry University Online Everest University Online Kaplan University Online McCann School of Business and Technology Norwich University South University Online University of Phoenix Walden University

Salary Range of a Product Manager

Salaries are subject to change depending on the assets of the company, the buy and sell strategies, employee strength, geographical position of the company, and also the years of experience. The salary range of a product manager having experience of one year or less, in the Unites States is around $65,471. Persons having experience of five years or more are paid about $72,043 and those having experience of more than 20 years $99,584.