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Deciding where to go to college is a big
decision. The U.S. Department of Education has an online
tool—the College Finder—to help prospective college
students identify 2- or 4-year schools that best fit their
needs. Students type in information, such as desired
location, school size, and subjects of interest, and the
College Finder creates a list of schools that match these
criteria.
Try the College Finder at studentaid2.ed.gov/
gotocollege/collegefinder/advanced_find.asp. The site
also provides links to information that helps students
prepare for, apply to, and pay for college.
The College Finder might be a good
starting point
for researching schools, but it is only one of many
resources. High school guidance counselors and public
libraries often have books and other helpful sources of
information on colleges and universities.
Students also should keep in mind that
even the best school description doesn’t guarantee a
perfect fit for them. Visiting schools and meeting with
students
or professors are the best ways to get a feel for the
school and its surroundings. These visits can be arranged
by contacting school admissions offices.
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Some training programs look good on
paper but languish for lack of funding. Now, the U.S.
Department of Labor’s Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) awards grants for programs that
offer employment and career training in high-growth,
high-demand industries or for selected populations.
ETA grants seek to satisfy workforce
needs in some of the hottest and fastest growing
industries, such as hospitality, biotechnology, and
healthcare. To bolster the pool of qualified workers,
ETA offers competitive grant money through the President’s
High Growth Job Training Initiative to organizations
that provide employment training and career development
resources in these industries. Recipients of these
grants typically include community colleges, workforce
investment boards, and chambers of commerce.
And now, an online application makes the
process of obtaining grants even easier. Visit www.doleta.gov/grants/apply_grant.cfm
for forms and information about finding and applying for
the ETA grants.
If you think that your program might qualify for an
ETA grant, or if you’d like to learn more about the
President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative, write
to the Employment and Training Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, 200
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; call
toll-free, 1 (877) US-2JOBS (872-5627); or visit online,
www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative.
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Mind your synapses: electroneurodiagnostic
technologists are trying to get inside your head. It’s their
job to operate instruments that track what’s going on inside
the brain.
These workers monitor and record brain and other
neurological activity to diagnose disorders such as strokes,
Alzheimer’s disease, and brain tumors. Their work with
patients also involves taking medical histories and explaining
medical procedures and results.
Electroneurodiagnostic technologists need a
strong background in science, so high school coursework in
biology and human anatomy is recommended. But mathematics and
communications also are good preparation for people interested
in entering this occupation. Workers gain practical skills
through on-the-job training, but recent standards established by
the American Society of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists
require that new technologists have completed at least an
associate degree and an accredited training program.
For more information about a career in electoneurodiagnostic
technology, write to the society at 6501 East Commerce Avenue,
Suite 120, Kansas City, Missouri 64120; call (816) 931-1120; or
visit its Web site,
www.aset.org/about_end/career_information.php.
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It may be the Internet age, but that doesn’t
mean that people go online to look for work. Only about 1 of
every 10 people logged on to search for a job, according to data
from a special supplement to the October 2003 Current Population
Survey. The rate was higher among jobseekers aged 20 to 34—but
even in this age group, only about 1 in 5 used the Internet when
looking for a job.
The chart shows some of the most common
activities of these Internet jobseekers in 2003. The Internet
was used most often to gather information about jobs or
employers. It was less commonly used to convey jobseekers’
qualifications to potential employers. Internet jobseekers of
all ages and demographic groups used the Internet in similar
ways.
These data confirm that Internet job-search
methods supplement, but do not replace, traditional ones. (For
more on the subject of Internet jobseeking, see Matthew Mariani’s
article, "Job search in the age of Internet: Six jobseekers
in search of employers," online in the summer 2003 Quarterly,
www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2003/summer/art01.pdf.)
The survey also describes computer and Internet use by
occupation and demographics. Get more information by writing to
the BLS Division of Labor Force Statistics, 2 Massachusetts
Avenue NE., Room 4675, Washington, DC 20212; calling (202)
691-6378; or visiting online at www.bls.gov/cps.
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