The mind of a programmer, is computer science right for you?

I can recall my first day sitting inside Introduction to Computer Science class.  As I sat waiting for the professor to officially start, I was quietly scanning through my textbook.  Another student then sat next to me and started conversing.  He was also extremely excited to learn how to program, as he was a computer science major.  

As we continued to talk, he gave me the appearance that he enjoyed setting himself on a pedestal, as he continuously bragged about his high SAT scores, along with his high GPA and advanced high school courses he passed.  I tried to give him the appearance as if I was truly amazed at all his talents, but inside of me, I was thinking how overly conceded he was.    

                As our course went into the second week, we were given our first program assignment.  I was very surprised to see how my classmate was unable to write the code, even though he was so smart at math and science.  On the contrary, I was able to easily complete all my program assignments, despite the fact that I never even took an advanced mathematics or science courses during my high school years. 

                So what was the major difference between me and my classmate that allowed me to be better at programming? I believe I have something that I will call the “programmer’s mind.”   To me, this is a skill set that allows some computer programmers to easily think of program algorithms inside their head and be able to get the program done correctly with the least number of errors.  These individuals can think of everything in an "algorithmic fashion."  They can instantly pin point where programming errors are coming from by thinking, "if I was the program, what code is telling me to do this error?"   

While this skill can definitely be achieved by gaining experience, I believe the majority of the greatest programmers have this innate trait within them.  So if you are considering computer science as a major, how do you determine if you have this “programmer’s mind?”

                If you’re considering a computer science degree, I would highly recommend purchasing a programming book before even stepping into a computer science course.  Additionally, you can consider taking just the introductory course at a college or university and see how well you’re able to adapt with it.

Is Accounting the Right Major for You?

Do you enjoy working with numbers?  Do you find interest in being able to take business processes and quantify them into something important for management to make decisions?  If this sounds like you, then a career in accounting might be the right path.  While this was my initial perception, after experiencing my first job as an accountant, I was sorely mistaken.

Like many colleges students, I was initially unsure what I wanted to major in.  After deciding to pursue a business major, I was required to take two principles of accounting courses, in which I instantly feel in love with. There was just something about learning about double entry accounting, accrual accounting methods over cash basis accounting, along with a host of other accounting procedures that quickly lured me into making accounting my official undergraduate major.    Additionally, the salary potential was not bad as well.  According to Payscale, the average salary for an accountant is around $44,000. 

After receiving my diploma in 2007, I was really excited to get a job offer as an accountant.  I was initially offered a position in accounts payable, but was quickly offered a position as an assistant controller.  However, as an assistant controller, I was sorely disappointed in the job responsibilities accountants are expected to perform. No courses taken in college could have even closely prepared me for what the accounting profession required when working with private businesses. The job responsibilities I was required to perform but did not enjoy include: 

• looking through hundreds, or sometimes thousands of transactions in the general ledgers in order to reconcile and find mistakes.
• having to determine who made the mistake so I could contact them and find out why and how it was done incorrectly.
• having to search through many files and documents for verification.
• having to call customers to collect on delinquent accounts.
• sending statements to customers so they are aware of their open balances.

While some of these responsibilities should logically appear to be something that an accountant is responsible for, they were honestly not part of my strengths. I am not someone that enjoys working in an organized fashion, as I am more spontaneous.  Additionally, I get completely irritated if I have to clean up other people’s messes on a consistent basis. On the other hand, I truly enjoyed learning accounting in college.  Therefore, just because you enjoy learning accounting as a subject, doesn’t mean you will enjoy it as a career. Now I don't consider my major as a lost by any means, as there are still many accounting careers I can pursue that perfectly fits my niche. But as far as my career as a controller or senior staff accountant for a private business, I think I cannot enjoy doing that as a long-term career.

Then who would be a good fit for the accounting profession?  While it is essential to obtain an accounting degree online or through a traditional four-year college, some other essential skills include being someone that is:

·     

• always clean and organized.
• doesn’t mind having to clean up other people’s messes, and is able to patiently teach them their errors.
• able to stare at numbers on a computer screen all day.
• extremely patient  and does not become easily irritated over many little problems.
• is able to work a lot of overtime, especially during year end.

Writing and Publishing: A Good Career or Dying Industry?

As a college or potential college student, perhaps you are thinking about pursuing a career in publishing, or how to choose a career, but you are worried…is it worth it? With today’s social media and technological gadgets such as the Kindle or the Nook or the iPad, is there even a need for books anymore? Or are they becoming obsolete?

The truth is, yes, books are becoming more and more obsolete. However, that doesn’t mean that they are suddenly going to disappear. Believe it or not, there is still a demand for print publishing. The big publishers are still cranking out textbooks and selling them to schools, and magazines as well as novels are still around. Now, of course, in addition to that, eBooks, media cards, websites, and curriculum portals are all available in e-format. So while the publishing industry is absolutely at a crossroads, publishers are holding up both the media as well as print sides to their audiences.

So you might be thinking, what does this mean for me? Well, the good news is publishing offers a lot of opportunities to new graduates. And if you think “publishing” and think of yourself sitting in a cube reading for eight hours straight or drowning in paperwork, while this may be true for some editorial or writing jobs, you aren’t limited to only these tasks. Some publishing careers include:

• Graphic Designers
• Project Managers
• Editors (Editorial and Production)
• Sales/Marketing
• Proofreaders
• Writers
• Administrators

Again, the realm for these positions is very large. You could work in textbook publishing, custom publishing, magazine publishing, media publishing, art/design, journalism, and the list goes on. Now that you know that there are a lot of great opportunities in publishing, let’s talk money. As far as salaries, editors, graphic designers, project managers, etc. can make anywhere from $35,000 - $70,000 annually. If you are near the city or are willing to commute, you could work for one of the big publishers such as Pearson Education, Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt, Cengage Learning, or even the New York Times, or the Boston Herald.

All in all, a career in publishing is not a waste of time. Hopefully you found these pointers helpful on how to decide on a career. Or if you still aren’t sure, you could always shoot for a communications or English degree, and decide to go into writing or publishing afterwards. Most publishers look for students with a degree in English, Communications, or relative field. So don’t feel like you have to pinpoint it the moment you take your first step onto a college campus. You’ve got time to decide. And remember, education is never wasted.

Reduce College Debt by Enrolling in a Work College

Paying for college gets tougher every year. Not everyone will qualify for a grant or full scholarship. Even online colleges charge tuition that could be beyond some families' budgets. And some people want to have the traditional "college experience." So, what's an aspiring college student with a limited budget supposed to do? Well, one option to consider is applying to what's known as a work college.

For students in work colleges, work-study isn't optional; it's mandatory. There are a total of seven work colleges in the United States that comprise the Work College Consortium. Five, Alice Lloyd College and Berea College in Kentucky, College of the Ozarks in Missouri, Ecclesia College in Arkansas, and Warren Wilson College in North Carolina are below the Mason-Dixon Line. Blackburn College and Sterling College are in Illinois and Vermont, respectively.

Work colleges are much like any other college in that they offer majors like liberal arts, business administration, communications and computer science among others. Unlike mainstream colleges and universities, no student graduates without some sort of practical work experience, even if the work they do isn't in their chosen fields of study. The kinds of jobs students at work colleges do depends a lot on each college and where it's located. For example, students at Sterling College could find themselves working on a maple sugaring team, as breakfast prep cooks or computer support technicians.

Despite their name, work colleges are still, first and foremost, institutions of higher education. Students, generally, have to complete 10 to 20 hours of work each week. Sterling College demands that students work a mere six hours each week. At Warren Wilson College, students must do community service in addition to working 15 hours each week.

Even in a booming economy, people can have trouble paying for college. Yet not a lot of people seem to know about work colleges. Attending one can drastically reduce college debt while simultaneously helping students acquire some much needed work experience.

How to Find Your Dream Internship

One reason employers like to hire past interns is familiarity. They already know what they're getting in terms of cultural fit, abilities and work ethic. So, doing at least one internship while still in college is a good idea, even for students who attend online colleges or universities. The steps you take to find your dream internship are also the steps you can take when you start looking for your dream job.

Of course, you'll want to find the best possible internship. One way to do that is by taking some time to ask yourself a few key questions.

First, what does your dream internship look like? This is an important question to answer. So much so that you should actually sit down with a pen and paper and list all the things that your dream internship would have, in order of importance. The last thing you want to do is accept an internship in an industry or with a company that is at odds with who you are as a person. For example, some people only want to work for companies that are environmentally conscious. If that's important to you, then add it to your list. Keep in mind that we don't live in a perfect world. Anything that you could live without should go on the bottom of your list.

Second, what do you really like to do? If you love playing video games or cooking or photography or whatever, try to find a job with a company in that industry. For example, if video games are your passion, you could try to get a job working for a company that creates video games ... even if you're majoring in accounting. If the company has an internship in the accounting department, apply for it. Just because you start out as an accounting intern, that doesn't mean that you can't end up employed as a video game tester one day.

Finally, what do you want to give to your potential employer? Bet that caught you by surprise. It's obvious that you want to get a decent salary and challenging work out of your internship. That's what most people want. But it's also important for you have something to give. Make a list of the things you want to give to an employer, things that could benefit any employer in any industry, such as a sense of humor, a willingness to work extra long hours whenever needed, computer skills that go above and beyond what the average person might bring, etc.

It's not easy to find your dream internship or job, but it's not impossible either. By taking a moment to get to know yourself a little better, you could put yourself in a position to make all your career dreams come true.

Facilitated Communication

What types of instructional strategies do you use when it comes to working with children and adults with disabilities that are accompanied by extreme negative behaviors?  A special education teacher is required to understand a variety of tactics to teach children with disabilities, but rarely focuses on teaching different forms of communication to reduce adverse behavior.

Facilitated Communication (FC) uses a keyboard and a facilitator to support the individual to express their words through typing.  The facilitator provides physical and emotional encouragement.  Typically, the individual typing has a good rapport with the facilitator.  They trust their support and know them well.  The facilitator may start by providing support to the person’s wrist and gradually move the physical assistance back to the elbow, then the shoulder.  Just providing a gentle touch can encourage the individual to begin communicating through typing.

 

Facilitated Communication is a controversial topic where people tend to go to one extreme or the other.  Typically, there are those who adamantly refuse to use a method of communication that has not been extensively researched to date.  Others, who have used FC or have seen it in action, are quick to see if the method works for other individuals as well.

I have had opportunities to use FC with a variety of individuals who are unable to express their thoughts and feelings verbally.  These individuals had a difficult time interacting with people and events that went on around them.  They would essentially communicate their thoughts and fears through inappropriate behavior such as screaming or by being physically aggressive towards themselves or others.  This obviously causes issues for the individual with the disability and their circle of support.

Even though FC has not been proven reliable in the few controlled studies that have been attempted, this method of communication has given many people a voice that they have long been searching for.  As a result of this, their adverse behaviors have reduced or even gone away completely.  FC is clearly worth introducing if it means giving children the opportunity to eventually speak what they are feeling and learn with their peers.

People First

I am continually dumbfounded at how my friends and clients who are blind are treated by the general public.  Chris and I have been friends and colleagues for many years.  She is completely blind and has a guide dog that supports her while traveling.  Chris and I are friends because we like each other, not because I pity her disability. 

 

• Get off of the pity train.  People with visual impairments are just that – people.  They do not need to be told how sorry you feel that they are not able to view the world with typical vision. 

Chris and I frequently go shopping together.  During each outing we almost always encounter a store employee who feels that I am the translator.  Chris will ask a question to the employee and they will respond to me as if I should relay the information back to Chris.  Often, she will politely respond to the team member to speak directly to her.  Generally, this works, but the employee will feel the need to talk in an extremely loud and overly articulate voice. 

• Talk directly to the person and not through another individual.  Their eyes may not work well, but their ears usually do.

• Talk in a normal voice and do not scream at the person with a visual impairment.  Again, their ears are usually fine.

Chris is currently attending college where she is majoring in psychology.  She generally knows where she is at in relation to buildings on campus.  Her guide dog supports her in safely arriving at each location.  However, it is not uncommon for a stranger to come take her arm and practically drag her to her destination.

• Do not randomly grab people with a visual impairment to help them.  Most blind people have extensive training in orientation and mobility to travel efficiently in the environment.  Let the person ask for help if they need it.

Do not worry about being politically correct.  Remember, individuals with a visual impairment are people first.  Treat them as you would any person you run into.