I've been mulling over this idea that everybody needs to go to college for some time now and I was not seeing the sustainability. I have mentioned it in my blog in the past. You may remember my complaints about recent grads taking up receptionist jobs. Well you can check out my crazy outburst of emotion under the comments page =) I won't repeat it here!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
college education - is it for everybody?
So I just read an article that I really liked in the Nation called "Should All Kids Go To College?".
I've been mulling over this idea that everybody needs to go to college for some time now and I was not seeing the sustainability. I have mentioned it in my blog in the past. You may remember my complaints about recent grads taking up receptionist jobs. Well you can check out my crazy outburst of emotion under the comments page =) I won't repeat it here!
I've been mulling over this idea that everybody needs to go to college for some time now and I was not seeing the sustainability. I have mentioned it in my blog in the past. You may remember my complaints about recent grads taking up receptionist jobs. Well you can check out my crazy outburst of emotion under the comments page =) I won't repeat it here!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Giving Financial Advice - how do you make people listen?
So right now I'm all about encouraging people to save. At work I have this new advocacy project through my Equal Voices Fellowship in which I will be focusing on the goal of increasing the amount of money Marin county residents save.
Now as a side note, at our office we are always preaching about the importance of savings! There is this phenomenon called the cascade effect. It pretty much suggests that when you don't have a little bit of savings in the bank (and are living paycheck to paycheck) your life can easily take a downfall. Say you have an unexpected car mechanic bill to pay. You don't have the savings for it, so you take it out on credit. Then you realize you can't pay your credit card. Then all of a sudden you can't cover basic expenses...and before you know it you're being evicted. - Cascade Effect - starts all because you couldn't cover that initial expense!
I wish I could say this argument was convincing enough to make people open savings accounts...but the 1st reaction you get is ... yea saving money is hard.... I need it!
So anyways, back to my project. My first action item is to start a Summer Savings Challenge. I have hashed out the details with my boss and made a flyer. Now all I have to do is advertise it!
What is the Summer Savings Challenge you may ask? Well it is a raffle designed to encourage people to save. You get one raffle ticket/entry every time you make a deposit of a minimum of $5 (limit: one entry per day).
This goes on throughout the summer until August 31st. On September 6th we will hold the raffle! You can win up to $100!! There are actually 3 prizes to win: $25, $50, and $100.
What we are trying to do here is build people's "savings muscle" (so nicely worded by my colleague Ramona). It is not the amount you save, but the commitment to save! Even if you can only commit to $1 now; you're still building your savings! It's just like when you start building real muscle. You may start with 1 pound, but after time your arm will get stronger and stronger and you may be able to increase the weight you lift.
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| Erupting Mind |
I wish I could say this argument was convincing enough to make people open savings accounts...but the 1st reaction you get is ... yea saving money is hard.... I need it!
So anyways, back to my project. My first action item is to start a Summer Savings Challenge. I have hashed out the details with my boss and made a flyer. Now all I have to do is advertise it!
What is the Summer Savings Challenge you may ask? Well it is a raffle designed to encourage people to save. You get one raffle ticket/entry every time you make a deposit of a minimum of $5 (limit: one entry per day).
This goes on throughout the summer until August 31st. On September 6th we will hold the raffle! You can win up to $100!! There are actually 3 prizes to win: $25, $50, and $100.
What we are trying to do here is build people's "savings muscle" (so nicely worded by my colleague Ramona). It is not the amount you save, but the commitment to save! Even if you can only commit to $1 now; you're still building your savings! It's just like when you start building real muscle. You may start with 1 pound, but after time your arm will get stronger and stronger and you may be able to increase the weight you lift.
women's handle on money ...
So I've signed up to this new newsletter called the Daily Worth and it is quite interesting/awesome!
Women coming together to take control of their finances and become smarter financial planners and investors = awesome!
Their most recent newsletter was quite "eye raising". Planning for divorce. Talk about things you don't want to talk about! But their tips were really interesting and if I were married I would look into this. Even better, check credit scores BEFORE you get married!!! Get it all on the table before hand!
and when it comes to divorce, make sure you know all the finances beforehand - don't get screwed!
Women coming together to take control of their finances and become smarter financial planners and investors = awesome!
Their most recent newsletter was quite "eye raising". Planning for divorce. Talk about things you don't want to talk about! But their tips were really interesting and if I were married I would look into this. Even better, check credit scores BEFORE you get married!!! Get it all on the table before hand!
and when it comes to divorce, make sure you know all the finances beforehand - don't get screwed!
Friday, May 20, 2011
servant leadership
Before attending the grassroots / equal voice leadership academy we were supposed to read an article/essay on servant leadership called "The Servant as a Leader" by Robert K Greenleaf.
Now, even though I didn't finish the article in time for the conference (it took a lot longer than I estimated!), I did make a point to finish it. This article was quite overwhelming so it was probably good I spaced out my reading, but I thought I'd share some quotes with you that really stuck out.
On "How Does One Know the Servant"
"It is terribly important that one know, both about himself and about others, whether the net effect of one's influence on other enriches, is neutral, or diminishes and depletes." (44)
On "Who is the Enemy"
Evil, stupid or apathetic people will always be part of society.
"The real enemy is fuzzy thinking on the part of good, intelligent, vital people, and their failure to lead, and to follow servants as leaders. Too many settle for being critics and experts. There is too much intellectual wheel spinning." (46)
These quotations are just the beginning. I will reflect on other parts of the article once I've digested it completely!
Now, even though I didn't finish the article in time for the conference (it took a lot longer than I estimated!), I did make a point to finish it. This article was quite overwhelming so it was probably good I spaced out my reading, but I thought I'd share some quotes with you that really stuck out.
On "How Does One Know the Servant"
"It is terribly important that one know, both about himself and about others, whether the net effect of one's influence on other enriches, is neutral, or diminishes and depletes." (44)
On "Who is the Enemy"
Evil, stupid or apathetic people will always be part of society.
"The real enemy is fuzzy thinking on the part of good, intelligent, vital people, and their failure to lead, and to follow servants as leaders. Too many settle for being critics and experts. There is too much intellectual wheel spinning." (46)
These quotations are just the beginning. I will reflect on other parts of the article once I've digested it completely!
Monday, May 16, 2011
grassroots leadership
Marin Equal Voice Leadership Conference
this weekend I attended a conference at which we learned about grassroots leadership and the equal voice campaign. It was really inspiring, but now what?? I learned a bunch of great tools that would motivate activism in people and could really enact change. The thing is...I need an area around which I can support activism.
I know that I can use my knowledge to start increasing voter turnout throughout my community. But is that enough?
Well either way I have gained knowledge about using media and social media effectively, I know a little bit more about how local government functions, campaigning and organizing winning campaigns, and social organizing.
I hope to explore this pathway soon!!
this weekend I attended a conference at which we learned about grassroots leadership and the equal voice campaign. It was really inspiring, but now what?? I learned a bunch of great tools that would motivate activism in people and could really enact change. The thing is...I need an area around which I can support activism.
I know that I can use my knowledge to start increasing voter turnout throughout my community. But is that enough?
Well either way I have gained knowledge about using media and social media effectively, I know a little bit more about how local government functions, campaigning and organizing winning campaigns, and social organizing.
I hope to explore this pathway soon!!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Frustrations with College funding
Yesterday I attended a presentation by EARN called "Education Debt: the Next Bubble" and realized that we are still not getting it. Initially I was excited to go to this talk because I felt that education debt could very well be the second "housing" crisis. People taking a risk and going into huge debt to invest in their education, not knowing if the returns will actually pay off in the end. Just like with the housing crisis, people believe in being successful after their investment and being able to gain from their investment. As we saw in the housing crisis, this is not always the case. Investing in something so widely believed as a "good" investment and worth the risk is still a RISK and therefore not guaranteed! and the statistics are staggering!
In 2008, students and their debt equaled over $550000000 for private, for-profit schools. The average debt a student in California has is 17,000 and in Massachusetts is 24,000, both lower than a student with debt from a private school (such as USC 30,000). Have you seen many entry level jobs paying anywhere near enough to pay for your living and pay this debt off? There may be some, but there are not enough! and what about all those other jobs that don't need a college degree and pay about the same as a entry level job (at which degrees are pretty much a standard) - not because of the actual work performed, just because everyone else applying has a degree as well. But, that is a different
argument altogether!
More to come on this subject later...
In 2008, students and their debt equaled over $550000000 for private, for-profit schools. The average debt a student in California has is 17,000 and in Massachusetts is 24,000, both lower than a student with debt from a private school (such as USC 30,000). Have you seen many entry level jobs paying anywhere near enough to pay for your living and pay this debt off? There may be some, but there are not enough! and what about all those other jobs that don't need a college degree and pay about the same as a entry level job (at which degrees are pretty much a standard) - not because of the actual work performed, just because everyone else applying has a degree as well. But, that is a different
argument altogether!
More to come on this subject later...
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
When TV Shows hit home
I have been talking a lot about...well retirement and a little about my VISTA experience. But I haven't really touched on the whole reason for writing this blog: trying to figure out what to do after college!
Well, for a long time now, I've been worrying about my future, and the impact of the decisions I make today. Having options such as the foreign service, working or starting a masters/ph D forces you to think about the whole picture. If I want to join the foreign service, do I do this now? Before I've completed a masters? How long would my time commitment be? Can I explore other careers before I pursue this option? Or will I be "too" old? Will I have kids while I'm in the foreign service or will I quit it before? Crazy questions huh? Deciding whether to do my masters now or push it out a couple years is just as difficult!
The continuing education question brings up a lot of things I'm unsure about. A lot of my friends and class-mates decided to continue studying. As a poli-sci major, there are some very clear pathways people have taken. A couple friends will be going to law school, pursuing ph Ds, or continuing in poli-sci. I've been thinking that if I continue studying I don't want to learn more of the same, but I also don't want to go to law school. This means all the options my friends are looking into are not going to be my path. At the moment, I think studying econ or finance would be interesting. The work I've started doing through VISTA has definitely steered my in this direction.
Well anyways - the reason this post is titled "When TV shoes hit home" is because of a character's decision not to go to law school. In one of my favorite TV shows, Greek, the main character Casey decides to drop out of law school, because she realizes that's not exactly what she wants to do with her life. Now you may be asking, what does that have to do with me? Well, the law school questions came up quite a few times during "future" discussions and while a law degree can be a great asset for any job, I don't think that should be the reason for getting it. Practicing law does not appeal to me, and I've ruled it out, even knowing that it could open doors for me, because it just seems wrong to do something and spend so much money on something I do not enjoy! ... Casey's choice to go a different route really reaffirmed my decision for me and I am happy she did it. Especially for an ABC family TV show, it is quite bold to have the protagonist drop out of something! Thank you! for making it acceptable to go into politics without a law degree!
Well, for a long time now, I've been worrying about my future, and the impact of the decisions I make today. Having options such as the foreign service, working or starting a masters/ph D forces you to think about the whole picture. If I want to join the foreign service, do I do this now? Before I've completed a masters? How long would my time commitment be? Can I explore other careers before I pursue this option? Or will I be "too" old? Will I have kids while I'm in the foreign service or will I quit it before? Crazy questions huh? Deciding whether to do my masters now or push it out a couple years is just as difficult!
The continuing education question brings up a lot of things I'm unsure about. A lot of my friends and class-mates decided to continue studying. As a poli-sci major, there are some very clear pathways people have taken. A couple friends will be going to law school, pursuing ph Ds, or continuing in poli-sci. I've been thinking that if I continue studying I don't want to learn more of the same, but I also don't want to go to law school. This means all the options my friends are looking into are not going to be my path. At the moment, I think studying econ or finance would be interesting. The work I've started doing through VISTA has definitely steered my in this direction.
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