by Daniel Kane
United States Department of Labor 2004 statistics reveal that full time workers 25 years of age and older earn a median weekly salary of $676. Those without a high school diploma average nearly $300 a week less ($396). High school graduates with no college average $562, and college graduates holding at least a bachelors degree earn nearly $1000 weekly.
Workers with graduate degrees earned $1,149 per week, about $220 more than those with bachelors degrees only.
Several other surveys indicate that the Department of Labor reports understate the differences in income by educational level. In fact, it is often reported by reliable researchers that the lifetime earnings differential between high school and college graduates exceeds $1,000,000. And, most economic and labor experts believe that the earnings gap between high school and college graduates will grow significantly in future years.
The Washington Research Council predicts that, “higher education will become increasingly important for landing high paying jobs”, and that good jobs will require higher and higher levels of education in the future.
In addition, well educated workers will continue to be better protected against unemployment, overseas outsourcing, and increasing worldwide competition than their less educated colleagues. But, higher incomes and better job security are only two of the benefits of higher education.
College graduates, overall, are happier with their jobs and careers than are other workers. That’s because the better educated a worker is, the more likely he or she will qualify for promotions and/or new career opportunities. It stands to reason that people who are not trapped in dead end jobs will experience higher job satisfaction.
All available evidence points to the conclusion that bachelors and graduate degrees open the doors to substantially higher earnings, increased employment options, job advancement and job satisfaction. As more employers seek educated workers, as more workers realize the benefits of education, and as financial aid has become available to traditional college students and adults seeking online degrees, the number of college students, including working adults, continues to soar.
Whether earned online or on campus, in a part time program or a full time program, a college degree has never been worth more than it is today.
Tags: adult education, career advancement, career education, career training, careers, College, colleges and universities, Education, education and reference, job training, online degrees, Online Education
College | Daniel Kane | 
April 20, 2009 3:18 am | 
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by Craig Calvin
When Six Sigma is implemented into the operations of an organization, it brings about great improvement. However, after completion of the project, it is necessary for ongoing improvement steps to be taken to assure the company is able to maintain a competitive edge. The tough business conditions of today mandate that companies stay on their toes or else they’ll fall behind. Though Six Sigma brings improvement, the final results are not always as good as expected in terms of customer satisfaction and employee morale. This brings to the fore that there are issues and conditions that need to be inspected in order for there to be a continued success of the program.
For Six Sigma to be successful, there must be a strong foundation of support among all employees and management. All team members must understand the clear goals of the business as well as its current state. A common mistake made during implementation is the setting of timeframes and schedules which are not feasible. The result is that the time schedules are honored, but certain activities and processes which must be completed correctly and carefully are overlooked. This produces a result that seems like a speedy job, but the greater goals have not been achieved.
For the Six Sigma project deployment to be successful in a real sense, the aim should be to achieve a common objective shared by all. A team cannot bring about change in a short timespan. They have to communicate well to get the support of everyone involved. Further, they need to ensure that the pace of improvement activities is maintained. The entire workforce has to be galvanized to come together to achieve progress. If the systemic constraints that limited progress in the older system are not eliminated, new roadmaps, tools and techniques cannot make miracles. This would be a case of new vision with old constraints – making it difficult to achieve anything. Such roadblocks should be addressed in the beginning of the project, which will help boost morale and provide momentum to overcome all types of hurdles throughout the organization.
Any time an initiative is undertaken, it must produce a measurable benefit economically. Careful attention must be paid to assure that the metrics of the program are directly related to bottom line results. A sure plan for success of any project incorporates the dividing of the project into smaller projects. This will allow short term goals to be defined and achieved, boosting the confidence and morale of the team.
Strong leadership in an organization is important as well, and is not defined by quantity, but quality. If change is to come to the company, each project needs to have leaders who can stimulate breakthroughs and transform cultures. Minimizing risk and bringing efficient change must be the goal. Upper management must understand and addresse these issues if expected results are to be achieved by the Six Sigma deployment.
About the Author:
More and more businesses training are looking for employees who have
Six Sigma training. Some are even foregoing the requirement for a college degree in exchange for
Six Sigma certification. If you’re looking for a training organization, www.SixSigmaOnline.org is the leading education source for Six Sigma training.
Tags: 6 sigma, career, career advancement, career education, career training, careers, College, Education, job training, lean six sigma, six sigma, six sigma black belt, six sigma certification, six sigma green belt, six sigma training, six sigma yellow belt, training
College | Craig Calvin | February 4, 2009 5:53 am | Comments (1)
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