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Grab Bag from past issues
Scholarships raining down on weather students
Hurricanes, windshear, pollution, and drought—if studying climatic issues like these strikes your interest, the American Meteorology Society might offer you money to get started.
The Society offers $2,000 stipends to undergraduates interested in pursuing a meteorology or hydrology career. College juniors majoring in atmospheric science, oceanography, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, engineering, or physics are eligible to apply. The Society offers an additional stipend of $3,000 to first-year minority students. Ten undergraduate scholarships, ranging from $700 to $5,000, are also available.
Graduate students can benefit from Society scholarships, too. Fellowships worth $15,000 are available to graduate students who intend to pursue a career in atmospheric or hydrologic science. Another $15,000 is offered to graduate students researching the history of atmospheric, oceanic, or hydrologic science.
To learn more about these scholarships and to request a free booklet on meteorology careers, write the Society at 45 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108–3693; call (617) 227-2425; or visit its website,
http://www.ametsoc.org/ams.
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Workplace surveillance: e-eyes on employees
Employers are keeping an electronic eye on workers. About 74 percent of large companies recorded and reviewed employee communication on the job, according to a March 2000 study by the American Management Association.
Not surprisingly, Internet connections were most heavily watched; 54 percent of firms reported monitoring employee Internet connections at least occasionally. Thirty-eight percent reviewed e-mails, and nearly 31 percent reviewed computer files. Taking a preventive approach, 29 percent of firms blocked selected websites.
For some employees, monitoring was more direct. Over 35 percent of firms videotaped employees for security purposes.
Company phones also were fair game. Telephone use was monitored in 44 percent of companies surveyed. In nearly 12 percent, phone calls were sometimes recorded and reviewed.
To learn more, write the American Management Association—AMA Research, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019–7420; call (212) 903-8052; or read the study online:
http://www.amanet.org/research/pdfs/monitr_surv.pdf.
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Now serving: restaurant careers
Eating and drinking places make up the fourth largest industry in the United States when it comes to jobs. Baker, chef, restaurant manager—opportunities abound for the food-minded. And so do resources to help them get started.
The American Culinary Federation maintains lists of accredited cooking schools, apprenticeship programs, and scholarships to 2- and 4-year training programs. To get these lists, call 1 (800) 624-9458; write the Federation at 10 San Bartola Drive, St. Augustine, FL 32086; or visit its website at
http://www.acfchefs.org/educate/edu.html.
A free guide to cooking schools also is available online at
http://cookingcareer.shawguides.com. Published by ShawGuides, Inc., the guide includes links to 493 schools along with information on accreditation, faculty, tuition, financial aid, and core class requirements.
The Federation and ShawGuides are not alone in their mission to help rising epicures. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation awards $1.5 million in scholarships annually to undergraduate and graduate college students. Recipients study culinary arts, restaurant management, or another subject related to the hospitality industry. For application and deadline information, call 1 (800) 765-2122; write the Association at 250 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60606; or check its website,
http://www.edfound.org.
Still deciding if a restaurant job is for you? The Association also publishes a 16-page career magazine semiannually. The magazine profiles workers in the restaurant industry and answers questions about training, school selection, and career options. Low-cost career resources sweeten each issue. Single copies are free to high school counselors. Learn more by calling 1 (800) 424-5156 or visiting online at
http://www.restaurant.org/careers/educators.html.
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Healthy earnings for part-time medical workers
For some health-care workers, it pays to work less. Part-time workers in 14 health occupations earned higher hourly wages in 1997 than their full-time counterparts, according to a study of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. These high-earning part-timers include physicians, nurses, clinical laboratory technicians and technologists, and dental assistants.
But these workers are the exception, not the rule. Most part-timers earn less per hour (an average of about $9, compared with about $16 for full-time workers), and many do not receive benefits. When benefits are included in the calculations, part-time workers’ hourly compensation levels are less than half those of full-time workers.
Learn more about the study in “Part-time Workers’ Earnings: Some Comparisons,” in the summer 2000 Compensation and Working Conditions. Single copies of the issue are available for $9 ($11.25 foreign) from the Superintendent of Documents, PO Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250–7954; (202) 512-1800. You may also download the article from
http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/home.htm.
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Free source for voc-ed materials
Looking for vocational guidance materials? A new digest from the U.S. Department of Education could help you find them.
A recent ERIC clearinghouse publication gives an extensive list of vocational education sources. The list includes training material vendors, curriculum developers, career listserves, and State and regional resource centers. The digest provides the address, phone number, and website address for each source, along with a brief description of the materials it offers.
For a free copy of Locating Vocational Education Materials. ERIC Digest 213, call 1 (800) 848-4815, ext. 27069, or write the ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, 1900 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH 43210. The digest is also online:
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed435837.html.
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