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Will an Advanced Degree Advance Your Career?

John Rossheim | Monster Contributing Writer — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:04:00 -0700

It seems like all the pieces are in place for the next giant leap in your career: Your friend told you his sister went back to school for a professional degree and, a week after graduating, landed a job with a $10,000 salary increase. So you know a degree would boost your pay. You know from your college experience five years or three decades ago that you’re comfortable living on a student’s diet of rice and beans. You’ve got a couple of blank grad school applications on your dining room table, so why not fill them out and take the plunge?

Before you quit your job or your job search to pursue an MBA or other advanced degree, you owe it to yourself to think more deeply about this major fork in the road of work and life. Here are some major checkpoints for your go/no-go decision on graduate school.

h4. Why Do You Want to Go Back to School?

Begin your deliberations with the basics. “One of the most important factors is, where is this going to get you?” says Jane Finkle, a Philadelphia career counselor. Finkle recommends that you thoroughly research the employment opportunities for graduates of the program you’re considering.

Are you looking for advancement in your current field, or do you want to change careers? Either can be a good reason to get a graduate degree if you’ve thought things through.

Erin Doland is clear that career change is her prime motivator. “The more I sat behind a desk all day, the more I realized changing employers wasn’t going to make me happy,” says Doland, who quit her job as communications director for a nonprofit to pursue a master’s degree in education at Johns Hopkins University.

Whatever you do, don’t let outdated preconceptions prevent you from considering grad school. “People may get to a lull in their careers and think, ‘I’m too old to make a career change,’ but they’re not,” says Peter Syverson, vice president for research at the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, DC.

h4. What Will a Graduate or Professional Degree Do for You?

A cautionary tale: A high tech worker who asked not to be named was laid off from her job at a Massachusetts maker of medical devices. When she was studying for an MBA in healthcare administration at Canyon College, an online school based in Caldwell, Idaho, she was asked what job titles the new degree would qualify her for. Her response? “I’m not completely sure. As I read the paper, I see titles that are all new to me: billing manager, client and third-party resource delegate…”

Unlike this MBA student, be sure of the jobs your graduate degree will qualify you for, and how many graduates of the programs you’re considering actually land those jobs. Also find out about those graduates’ salary levels.

Ask admissions representatives for survey results from the program’s recent graduates. Sit in on classes, and pick the brains of students enrolled in the program. Don’t just listen to the marketing pitch of a student handpicked by the admissions office to sell you on the program, Finkle advises.

Your ultimate reality check: Ask potential future employers how they would value a particular degree from the programs you’re looking into. Is the degree a requirement or preference for your target positions, or is it irrelevant?

h4. How Will You Pay the Tuition – and Live Without the Salary?

Suppose you’ve established all the right reasons for getting a graduate degree. Now the question is, can you afford – or avoid – the common triple whammy of lost income, tuition fees and then student loan payments?

Doland, who earned her bachelor’s degree in 1998, says “it makes sense” for her and her husband to live like college students for two years. Since she hasn’t been out of college that long, downshifting her lifestyle is easier for her than it might be for a mid-career worker accustomed to a second home and eating out five nights a week.

If you can’t stomach the comedown, see if you can get a head start on your graduate coursework by keeping your job, taking classes part-time and getting your employer to pay the tuition.

Bachelor's Degrees: The More You Learn, The More You Earn

By Kristina Cowan | PayScale Contributing Writer — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:56:00 -0700

Growing up, Saretta Holler always knew she wanted to write. She explored her options as college drew near, thinking she'd go into journalism. But after realizing she could pursue writing in public relations and make more money, she opted to study PR at San Diego State University and graduated in 1999.

Holler's story begs the question: What's the value of a subject-specific bachelor's degree?

That depends on the subject, experts say. In Holler's case, the PR degree paid off. She said it helped her get her current job as the marketing communications manager at Kettley, a financial technology firm, and the CEO told her as much. Other degrees, such as those in computer science or computer engineering, also equip students with specialized skill sets and lead to specific jobs and salary ranges, according to experts.
earn my degree

For example, the median salary for someone with a computer science degree and less than one year of experience is $49,756, PayScale salary information shows. Individuals with computer science degrees who work as senior software engineers report a median salary of $87,534, while those serving as computer programmers earn $48,740.

h4. What about jobs for people with an English degree?

Liberal arts degrees in disciplines like English or economics don't necessarily lead to the same types of careers. Dr. Katharine S. Brooks, director of Liberal Arts Career Services at The University of Texas at Austin, offered the example of two recent UT grads who majored in English. One went to work at AmeriCorps, earning a $10,000 salary, while another pulled in $52,000 at a job in marketing.

"They're not career-specific majors like electrical engineers. If they major in that then they're electrical engineers, and you get a basic range of salaries in that field. But in English, it's non-specific, and their opportunities are so wide-open. It depends what they want to go into, so their salary will very much correlate with the field or the job title," Brooks said.

According to PayScale salary information, a UT-Austin graduate with up to one year of experience can expect to earn an average salary of $42,500 a year.

h4. The More You Learn, The More You Earn

A bachelor's degree is a good idea no matter what the major, experts say, because earnings tend to rise as education levels increase.

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According to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, between 1980 and 2005 "young adults with at least a bachelor's degree consistently had higher median earnings than those with less education." In 2005, male workers ages 25-34 with a high school diploma or GED had a median income of $29,600, while those with a bachelor's degree or higher earned $48,400. Among women with the same characteristics, those with a high school diploma or GED made $23,500, and their counterparts with bachelor's degrees or higher earned $39,500.

And while it may be difficult to pinpoint the value of a liberal arts degree, there are some ball-park figures available. A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers offers a glimpse into the average starting salaries for a variety of majors. English majors receive an average offer of $32,553, economics majors get $48,483, and starting wages for computer science graduates are somewhat higher, at $53,396.

h4. Picking A Major: For Love or Money

Mentioning the value of a degree generally stirs thoughts of salaries and money. Ideally, though, a degree helps its owner follow his or her passions.

Holler said her initial interest was in journalism, but studying PR proved a better fit because she uses her verbal and written communication skills, which she enjoys.

Andrea Koncz, NACE's employment information manager, said the group has found "over the years that students choose their majors based upon what they 'like to do.'" She pointed to NACE's 2006 survey of graduating students and alumni, which says 67 percent of respondents indicated they chose a major because they liked the work it would enable them to do. Only 6 percent picked their majors based on earning potential.

Brooks of UT-Austin said in a past job she advised pre-med students; when some didn't get into medical school, instead of pursuing other health-related careers, they opted for investment banking or consulting.

"They wanted something high-paying, that's why they were going to medical school in the first place," she explained. "You'll look at any field that will pay you what you want to earn."

Meet Entrepreneur & MBA Student, Tim McCormack

BusinessSchools.com — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:56:00 -0700

The first time Tim McCormack went to college, funding issues got in the way. Several years in the workforce in a variety of sales and Internet marketing positions were enough to make him realize that obtaining a bachelors degree would be beneficial. A stint living abroad in the Dominican Republic led to his choice of the BS in business from online powerhouse University of Phoenix.

But with business degree and work experience in hand, Tim still felt that he was missing some of the core business principles needed to truly be a mover and a shaker, and started investigating MBA programs in his home state of California.

The program focus, atmosphere and a full-ride merit-based scholarship led to his choice of the Graziadio School of Business & Management at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. An April 2007 MBA candidate focusing on entrepreneurial management, Tim is involved in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities at Pepperdine. "For me, the networking and career advancement opportunities found in campus organizations are as important as anything I've learned," he says.

He's already building on his leadership skills through his various activities, which include being the founder and president of the Executive Alliance club, which focuses on bringing alumni, students and the community together with a common business bonding method, golf. "I never had played golf before, and I wanted to learn how to play. So I decided to start a club that focuses on golf and golf training as a way to tie in to our huge alumni groups, as well the fully-employed MBA students and other people from the communities," he says.

h3. Education Information & Advice

How did you initially decide to pursue a BS in business management, and then an MBA in entrepreneurial management?

What it came down to for me is I have a broad range of interests; I wasn't sure what I was going to end up doing. That's the biggest reason I went into business. I did a couple of years of college right out of high school, and then had a funding failure. So I went and worked for a long time, which made me realize how much I needed the undergrad degree. After being in the work world for a couple years, it made it easy for me to decide to get a degree in business.

For me, the MBA was really a no-brainer, there are so many reasons it was perfect for me to get it now. I had been living out of the country, so some of my local business contacts had dried up. As the world progresses, you used to have to get a high school degree or you were nothing, now you pretty much have to get a college degree to get a good job, so anything extra you can do is beneficial. There are a lot of people out there with MBAs, but it still sets you apart, and it's definitely worth the effort. The University of Phoenix is great university for a lot of things, but I didn't feel like I learned enough about the core principles of business that I needed to understand to go into advanced management, so the MBA worked out perfectly.

How did you choose University of Phoenix for your undergrad studies?

I knew I was going to be going abroad, and I really wanted to get my degree, so it was pretty much my only option. University of Phoenix was the only online university that was accredited. I needed to get my degree, and I was going to be in a situation where I had time to study, but still needed to work. I didn't want to go to the one of the universities abroad because they aren't recognized in the U.S.

How did your online University of Phoenix education meet your expectations? Any downfalls?

There are positives and negatives to classes online. An overview of how its works is you have one class at a time, each class lasts five weeks; you really cram on one class, then move on to the next class. It's set up where they have what they call an online newsroom, sort of a chatroom, where the teacher posts lectures weekly, and students are required to post as part of class participation. There is a large amount of class participation that is required; we had to make sustentative postings; so there is a lot of writing. One of the strengths of the program is the fellow students, everyone is working together to help their fellow students. There is a positive side to all the postings; it's very good for developing writing skills. I was a good writer before, now I'm a great writer, and can write very quickly. You do work in teams, and you get assigned team projects. That's good, because business is all about teams these days; it's definitely the buzz theory. It does give you experience working in teams, which was beneficial for me. Now that I'm at Pepperdine, we are constantly working in teams, so it was good training for me.

On the downside, certain classes really do not lend themselves to the online environment, and presently, it seems like there's no real way to execute that on line. For instance, I took two accounting classes, and I still got kicked in the teeth with my first serious accounting class in Pepperdine. I'm sure that's not too uncommon. Accounting, statistics, classes that require a lot of questions are difficult online; for one assignment, you may have 20 questions, and waiting a day or two for a response makes it difficult. I really learned to do a lot on my own. For some classes, it would have been a lot easier if I would have had someone that I could have asked questions to directly, even classmates. As for prestige-wise, I did have concerns about getting into grad school with an online undergrad degree; some of the top universities won't even look at you. You will want to look at that, because if you want to get into top 20 business schools, you might have a tough time. There are also definitely some businesses that don't view University of Phoenix the same as a traditional four-year university. Given my situation at the time, the University of Phoenix was perfect and it worked well. It's a growing university, with 250,000 students.

What led you to Pepperdine University for your MBA current studies?

I was going to be moving back to the Los Angeles area, and as far as I know, UCLA, USC or Pepperdine are the big choices. Due to some timetable issues, when I started looking at getting my MBA, I planned to apply to start in the following year. I came in and had an interview at Pepperdine, and the people were incredible. They were very helpful, friendly and they really bent over backwards to make things work for me, they were very accommodating. They let me apply late after the deadline, and discussed scholarship options. I actually got 100% scholarship from them, which helped in my decision considerably.

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UCLA and USC do have stronger brand names, especially in the area of hiring. Pepperdine has a bit of a younger program, and may not ever have the same size as UCLA and USC, but it's a great university. The atmosphere was incredible, and so is the curriculum on international studies, which was something that was very important to me. They have a strong entrepreneurial management program, which was something else that I was looking for. And the scholarship money was a big deal for me as well. Really, they had everything that I was looking for. Plus, the campus is incredibly beautiful, on the mountains in Malibu, overlooking the ocean; the whole graduate campus has a 180 degree view of the ocean. You come in every morning and thank God you're alive; it's very beautiful.

Tell us about your MBA experiences thus far.

Classes are very demanding. The way classes are set up at Pepperdine is in trimesters, four classes at a time. Each class meets once a week, four hours a day, for seven week class; four, 13-week trimester. It's broken up in such a way that it's manageable. I'm also getting into the Pepperdine study abroad program. I applied for IESE in Spain, which is ranked No. 6 in the world, it's set up by Harvard case study model, a little different than what Pepperdine does. I'll be starting the four month program in September of 2006.

Pepperdine has so many different opportunities for clubs and participation, so when I got here I jumped right in. I've had a great experience so far. I started my own club, the Executive Alliance, which is still pretty young. I never had played golf before, and I wanted to learn how to play. So I decided to start a club that focuses on golf and golf training as a way to tie in to our huge alumni groups, as well the fully-employed MBA students and other people from the communities. Basically, we're all just playing golf together; the idea is to create more connections between the alumni and the community.

The Alumni are great to work with; the idea is that we're building one skill pretty commonly used by executives to tie everybody together and get them involved.

I'm a member of The Executive Committee, which is a great program. A group of executives, CEOS get together in groups of about 12, and they do group mentoring at UCLA, USC and Pepperdine. Students have to apply, and a group of 12 students from each school are paired with a high-end CEO, in my case from an LA construction co. We meet with him 12 times, six times privately one-on-one and six times as a group, and talk about career and personal development, life-work balance and those types of issue. When we have a group meeting, another CEO from a different organization comes, and we get to ask questions about what works for them. It's been an incredible experience.

We have pretty high-end speakers who come to university periodically, and I was selected by the faculty as a student ambassador, one of about 10. We act as the front line host to the people who come along with the speakers and we interact with the speakers themselves.

I'm a member of the Entrepreneur Club, which mainly revolves around the business plan competition, which I really want to participate in next year. You create business plans, submit them to a committee, pitch them, and the winner gets between $20,000 and $30000 seed money. I've been involved with IT Club, where we go through different contacts at the university and visit different technology firms in the LA area, meet with them, and discuss technology with them.

Out of all the things that I'm in, I feel the most honored to be selected as an Emerging Leader. This is the first year of the program at Pepperdine; I was one of 12 students chosen by the faculty as one of the emerging leaders in our class. We have meetings with the program director, and we offer perspective on what's worked, what hasn't and advice from student perspective. We're working on setting up a mentoring process for the next school year. As second year students, we'll be given a portion of the incoming student class that we'll be responsible for mentoring throughout their school time. It will be sort of an active leadership-training practicum. We're creating it as we go, as it's a new program.

How is active participation in campus organizations contributing to your MBA experience?

It's definitely a major part. Though it's not like this for everybody, for me, the networking and career advancement opportunities found in campus organizations are as important as anything I've learned. The more people I can meet and the more exposure I can get to different industries, the better for me. You hear of some university MBA programs that are very competitive, but Pepperdine has a very friendly atmosphere. Here, it's more collaborative between students, and there are a lot of things going on, charity activities and such. Personally, I think its very important to be involved; you can learn everything, in the end, a lot of the extra-curricular things you put on your resume are as important as anything else. A lot of companies don't even ask for your GPA, but they want to know what organizations you've been involved with and if you've had any leadership roles. For me it's a very important part, and I'm glad to be at a university that offers lots of opportunities.

In retrospect, what do you know now that you wish you knew before you pursued your business education?

If I could give any sort of advice it would be pick a career path, pick an industry, and a career goal, and work toward that consistent goal, and you'll get a lot more out of what you're learning. I've been broader in my focus; so in that sense, I haven't been able to take advantage of all of the opportunities because I haven't always been able to express where I want to go with it. If you are focused the entire time, you have a much better chance of graduating and getting into any kind of job you want.

What factors should prospective students consider when choosing an MBA program?

It depends on what's important to you, because everyone has different things that are important. Obviously you need to look at what you want to do, because different universities have different strengths. Beyond that, look for cultural fit. It's really important, because you are going to go through two years of very intense study, and if you don't work well with the people around you, it's going to be tough. For me, one of the things that I have been most pleased with at Pepperdine is the atmosphere. I don't think I would be as happy in a purely competitive environment. There is a big aspect of environmental fit that I think people really need to take into consideration when they are choosing their university. For me, I really figured out what I wanted by actually visiting the university; I was really able to feel the genuine friendliness of the campus.

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Any advice for students considering scholarship opportunities?

Look into scholarships. I didn't have any idea that I could get a full ride. Until I came to visit Pepperdine, I hadn't even taken the GMAT yet, as I was planning to apply the next year. I spoke to an admissions counselor, and she told me that if I could get above a 700 on the GMAT, there would be scholarship money available, so that became my number one goal after that. There are a lot of scholarship opportunities, especially if you are willing to forgo the universities in the top 10-20 rankings. If you can get a high GMAT score, then there is so much money available. $60,000 for an MBA is a lot of money, so if you can find a way to avoid loans, do it. It's worth it. In fact, not a lot of people apply for the scholarships; there was a recent 6,000 scholarship at Pepperdine that only 10 people actually applied for.

How can prospective business school students assess their skill and aptitude?

When I started undergrad the first time, I did not consider business as a major at all. I wasn't really interested in numbers, as I was a more in creative type person. But business is so important; you can use it to do anything you want. As far as assessing aptitude to go into it, for most programs in the U.S., barring a few universities, it really is not as much aptitude as much as how much work you are willing to put in, how you apply yourself. There are very smart people who fail, and there are people who aren't that bright who do excellently in a business program. I wouldn't be as concerned with aptitude as with being able to buckle down and do the work, and figure out if you're at a place in your life where you are willing to put in that time.

A lot of undergrads in different fields, such as science or technology, come and do an MBA program, and find that it's more challenging than for those students with a business degree. Students might want to consider taking classes in some of the disciplines at a community college level. If you have bachelors in science, but haven't ever taken a business class, then it might be a good idea to take accounting at a junior college before you come in. In the MBA program, you move quickly and cover a lot of ground. It definitely would be a good idea to bone up on some areas before you start, so that once you are in an MBA program, you can focus on making sure you get the whole experience, not just the studies. Otherwise, you're missing the extracurricular activities, which are just as important as what you are learning in the classroom.

What can students applying to business schools and MBA programs do to increase their chances of being accepted?

I went out and bought a few books on the process, mainly, it comes down to the essays. If you're applying and you have some time, one thing that is good to do is to make sure you are doing something besides work, such as volunteering, which big tier universities especially are looking for. The essays are very important. I spent about two months working on my essays, six different ones; you really have to set your life down on the paper. You have to brand market yourself in these essays, you need cohesive themes, so take your time on the essays, ask for opinions, and listen to those opinions. Edit the essays 10 times if you need to. References are pretty important, as well; just like with your essays, you need to have a similar theme, feel free to tell your references what you hope for them to say.

Does graduating from a prestigious school make a difference in landing a good job?

I think it makes a difference. It was still a trade-off for me. I'm basically getting my MBA for free at a less-recognized university, but I am saving between $60,000 and $80,000 on school costs. All you have to do is compare starting salaries: I heard it reported that Harvard MBA starting salaries are $140,000 a year, while right now the average starting salary for Pepperdine MBA graduates is between $70,000 and $88,000. So you're making twice as much money out of the gate from Harvard.

How available are internships and other hands-on student experiences? Any tips for landing?

My internship won't be until next April or May, I have been actively connecting with people, but they don't start offering until January.

What advice can you give to prospective students thinking about a business education and career?

If you can pick our path early, really follow it, take some time and write down your goals and shoot for them; even if you don't achieve those goals, the process of writing them down is valuable and helps advance your career. When you do get into an MBA program, it's going to be pretty demanding, so be prepared. Make sure whoever you are living with, your family, knows you are going to pretty preoccupied and busy for a while.

h4. You & Your Career

Tell us about your entrepreneurial business career. How did you initially get involved in Internet-based businesses? How have you built on your experiences to succeed in new ventures?

I started out in a small direct marketing business because the opportunity presented itself when the Internet was just getting started. Working in a very small business is very different than in a large company, where your job description is what you are doing. In small business, you are doing everything. The Internet was the natural outgrowth of the small business wanting to take every opportunity available to it. The more you get involved with it, the more you build on it. The Internet is very exciting for me, there is always something new. It's changing so quickly you can't even keep up, you're competing on a world market, and really you're fighting for a top 10 position in the rankings; what's kept me there is the excitement of small business and new technology. I love that there's always something new and exciting, and I get to help forge the process, make it work, then move on. I like to create new processes, that's why I like the Internet so much.

I was the general manager, for the Barcareers.com portion of the Intertech business in Santa Barbara, Calif. Our profitability went through the roof, and we were able to cut employee costs considerably. Then I was the project manager for the MasterChefRecipes.com web site, which was a great idea, it didn't end up flying like we wanted. It was the first time I worked for a company that was 100% Internet, there was no separate strategy, which was kind of the problem. The success with the Internet is in coupling traditional marketing and business strategies and with new technologies with Internet, not just striking out on the Internet, more the exception than the rule.

Then I moved abroad to the Dominican Republic for three years while my fiance attended dental school there, and I created my own little company, SwebShop.net, to really dive into the web site end of the business for a while. I made web sites, doing work for other companies, which subcontract out parts of web sites all the time. Abroad, the costs were much lower than in the U.S.; we also made sites for local companies. It was a lot of fun.

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How has your business education benefited your entrepreneurial career thus far and vice versa?

A lot of the things I learned in the University of Phoenix program while I was in the Dominican Republic, I was doing at the same time. I like to learn as I go.

How do you plan to utilize your MBA in your career?

My career may look a little scattered, but there is some cohesiveness. I started in sales, went into managing sales/general manager, from there it's grown into the Internet, because that is one of the common markets. I'm looking to get into a big Internet companies like Google or Yahoo. I've worked in such small companies, I want to take a turn at one of the large companies to see how they work differently, and eventually I'd like to open my own business. It's a lot about contacts as well, if you get into the right company, you make a lot of great contacts.

What are some common myths about the business profession?

There are a lot of them. I think most are true, yet again, untrue. It depends on where you are. Some industries are very dog-eat-dog; others are a lot more cooperative.

Underestimating the impact of the change to the business world into a global economy is the biggest myth, though some people take it seriously. If someone tells you that outsourcing isn't going to be a big deal, that would be a myth. It's going to happen so much more; I was living abroad in a country where a fulltime web programmer with five years experience thought $500 a month was a good solid wage. We are going to see a lot of major shifts in a lot of major fields that we couldn't even imagine would be outsourced.

Who (or what) are your biggest inspirations?

To me the things that can be done over the Internet are inspiring. I look at Google as an inspiration, personally. What I see as the underlying philosophy in Google is that obviously they are a profitable company and making money, but it seems to have an altruistic goal to organize the world's knowledge, and it's revolutionizing and changing the world. Microsoft is netting something like a billion dollars a month in excess profit, yet they go around crushing other companies.

What do you consider your greatest success thus far? Biggest setback?

My greatest success at this point is that I did so well on the GMAT, I got a 720, in the 96th percentile, and I can't say that was a result of a lot of work, I only prepared for a month.

My biggest failure would be that I didn't finish college all the way through the first time; my funding dried up, but I could have done it somehow; I definitely regret dropping out rather than staying in. Though I think it would have been harder to get into grad school if I had stayed in the first time around; I did get better grades later.

Do you feel that is important for someone to be passionate about the field of business in order to be successful?

If your business is art, you just have to be passionate about your art, to facilitate your art. If your business is a professional manager, a CEO, then you need to be passionate about it for success. After all, this is going to be what you are doing a minimum of 40 hours a week.

An Introduction to The GMAT

Reena Vidyarthi | Articlebase — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:56:00 -0700

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is an annually conducted examination. It is an analysis of the general skills and abilities that one has aggregated over time.

The GMAT test is a consistent form of evaluation that aids business schools or ‘B-Schools’ in estimating the skills and qualifications of the candidate; which are essential for advanced study in business and management. It helps to calibrate the basic verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills of the applicant.

h4. Examination format

The examination is composed of three main sections. There is an essay section called as Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). There are also two multiple-choice sections, namely, Quantitative and Verbal.

• Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) Section

The GMAT test commences with the Analytical Writing Assessment Section. The AWA division offers and tests two unique writing skills,

1. Analysis of an issue

2. Analysis of an argument

There are 30 minutes allotted for each type of analysis. The applicants are provided with a computer on which they can type and save their essays using a common and manageable word-processing program. After the completion of the AWA section, the Verbal and Quantitative sections follow. However, these multiple-choice questions can appear in random order.

• Quantitative Section

On the completion of the AWA section there is an optional ten-minute break; after which the Quantitative section starts. This division of the GMAT examination consists of 37 multiple-choice questions. The questions are broadly divided into two categories,

1. Data Sufficiency

2. Problem Solving

There are approximately 24 questions on Problem Solving and 13 questions on Data Sufficiency. The candidate is allotted 75 minutes to complete the entire section.

• Verbal Section

After the completion of the Quantitative Section, there is another optional ten-minute break; and it is time for the final Verbal Section of the GMAT test. This section consists of 41 multiple-choice questions. These questions are categorized into three types,

1. Reading Comprehension

2. Critical Reasoning

3. Sentence Correction

There are approximately 41 questions on Reading Comprehension, 14 questions on Critical Reading and 13 questions on Sentence Correction. There are maximum 75 minutes available to complete the entire Verbal Section.

h4. B Schools and GMAT scores

Since 1954, applicants have undertaken the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) to exhibit their skills and potential to Business Schools or ‘B-Schools’ admission committees. The GMAT examination chiefly tests the following skills,

• Endurance and concentration power

• Command over English grammar, mathematics skills, logic and reasoning

• Guesswork and decision making

• Ability to solve problems

An applicant of the GMAT test receives four scores as the result of the examination; every score denoting the result of the corresponding type of section of GMAT. The significance of the different scores is mentioned below,

• Quantitative scaled sub score

This score ranges from 0 to 60. Effectively the maximum score is 51.

• Verbal scaled sub score

This score ranges from 0 to 60. Effectively the maximum score is 48.

• Overall scaled score

This score ranges from 200 to 800. It is the amalgamation of Math and Verbal scores. Hence, it is an overall score. B-schools stress importance chiefly for the overall score.

• Analytical Writing Assessment score

This score ranges from 0 to 6. It has a lower priority compared to the 200 to 800 cumulative score.

The GMAT examination is graded curve that is set beforehand. As a result, the scaled score will correspond to a certain percentile. For example, an overall score of 720 corresponds approximately to 99th percentile. This indicates that 99 percent of the applicants scored at or below this grade.

The demand for MBA is increasing at a breath-taking pace. Hence, now it has become pivotal to acquire high score in GMAT as B-Schools are brimming with applicants. MBA graduates are pulling fat salaries in today’s cut-throat competitive market. This fact has boosted the importance of high GMAT scores.

Associate and Bachelor Degrees in Business Administration

SalesHQ.com & BusinessSchools.com — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:55:00 -0700

Do you wind up the leader of almost every group project you get involved in? Do other people frequently ask you for financial advice? Do you watch _"The Apprentice"_ and similar TV shows and say to yourself, "I could do better than all these people"? You might never get to be the president of a multi-billion-dollar company, but businesses all over the world need people with managerial and financial skills. They can promote non-managerial employees into management or positions of financial responsibility. If you get training in business administration, you'll have skills that firms everywhere are looking for.

Whether you're finishing high school and want an important, rewarding career, or you've been working for a few years and want to improve your prospects, a business degree can be the avenue to fulfilling your dreams.

h4. What are starting salaries like for people with a BA in Business Administration?

Starting Median Salary: $43,000

Mid-career Median Salary: $72,100

_Source: Payscale_

h4. Curriculum

To earn a bachelor's degree in business administration, students generally need to complete a “business core,” a term given to the group of classes every business student is required to complete. A degree is then rounded out through general education requirements (such as history, science, and English) and business electives. Most bachelor's degree programs take four years to complete, though there are accelerated program options at many colleges and universities.

Associate's degrees in business administration are also offered. Generally, an associate's degree program lasts two years and is comprised of the business core and electives but does not include general education requirements.

Here are some of the subjects you might learn if you choose to study business:

• You will be called on to write memos and reports, give presentations, and much more, so *business communication & correspondence* polishes your verbal and written skills to a professional level.

• *Economics* is the science of money and the distribution of resources; microeconomics examines it on the personal and small-business scale, while macroeconomics examines it on a big-business and government-policy scale.

• *Finance* teaches you how the banking, capital, and debt markets work; how to use them to raise money for your firm; and how to wisely use that money through budgeting and cash-flow and risk analysis.

• Study *accounting* to understand how to track and report your company's financial activity, and how to use those reports as a basis for business decisions.

• *Leadership and organizational behavior* show you how individuals and groups function in an organization, how to set goals for an organization, and how to lead and motivate the organization's people and groups toward those goals.

• Especially in today's business climate, *ethics & corporate responsibility* are tremendously important. You and your firm need to make decisions that are morally right, not just for yourselves but for your shareholders, employees, community, environment, and society.

• *Marketing* is the study of making customers aware of your product, making the product optimally available to them, and motivating them to buy it.

• *Negotiation* will prepare you to get what you want when bargaining with employees, vendors, customers, and others.

• Developing and manufacturing products is the province of *operations management*; learn *technology management* to integrate new devices and processes, especially relating to information technology, into your business.

• In *entrepreneurship*, you'll learn how to identify potential business opportunities, get the backing you'll need to start them up, and develop them into viable organizations.

• *Strategy* shows you how to evaluate the information you have about your firm and its resources, the marketplace, the industry, and society in order to make better decisions about what your firm should be doing in the future.

h4. Internships

Most college and university business programs will include an internship or practicum at an external company where you can put your education into practice. Some programs absolutely require it; a good internship can perfectly position you for a job at the same company or an even better one when you finish school.

h2. Salary Info For Associate's vs Bachelors Degree Holders

Median Salary by State or Province - Degree: Associate of Business Administration (ABA) (United States)

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Median Salary by Sales Territory - Degree: Associate of Business Administration (ABA) (United States)

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Meanwhile, if you pursue a higher degree - a Bachelor's - then you will be more competitive for higher level jobs and therefore will earn more money.

Median Salary by State or Province - Degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA/AB), Business Administration (United States)

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Median Salary by Sales Territory - Degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA/AB), Business Administration (United States)

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Bachelor of Arts in Marketing

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:53:00 -0700

Have a creative knack? Like to think of exciting, cutting-edge ways to catch people's attention? Have you ever been curious about why people make the purchasing decisions they do? Then marketing is right up your alley!

With today's competitive job arena, it is important to be an expert in and specialty field you enter. By earning your marketing degree, you will be more desired and much more competent at your marketing position. This type of education background also sets you up for future success, by teaching you valuable economic and business skills. According to Ferris State University, "One out of every five presidents or chief executive officers in the nation's top 500 businesses was, as an undergraduate, a marketing major."

What are starting salaries like for people with a BA in Marketing?

Starting Median Salary: $40,8000

Mid-career Median Salary: $79,600

_Source: Payscale_

Classes usually include Marketing Research, Consumer Behavior, Marketing Strategy, Global Marketing Management, International Business, and Entrepreneurship. Earning your Bachelor of Arts in Marketing may take 2-4 years, depending on the speed of your trac. These classes can be taken online and/or on a college campus.

Typical marketing jobs include titles like Marketing Manager, Marketing Coordinator, Marketing Director, Project Manager, Marketing, Marketing Specialist, and Account Manager. Down the line in your career, you could pursue even higher-level positions like Vice-President or even CEO of a company! With the right education, doors of possibility will open for you.

Median Salary by Job - Degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA/AB), Marketing (United States)

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Bachelor of Science, Computer Science

SalesHQ.com — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:52:00 -0700

Do you enjoy working with computers? Have you ever been curious about the way they work and how they can accomplish all the fascinating tasks they do? These days, it's all about the people behind the magic - computer programmers. Writing code takes a certain problem-solving mindset, whether you’re writing scripts, software, or web applications. If you’re starting a career as a programmer or software developer, a Computer Science or CS degree is a great way to develop the mindset of a coder and learn a first programming language or two.

Once you’re comfortable working with that mindset, learning new languages and development environments is usually pretty easy. The best coders are good at their jobs not because they’ve memorized the ins and outs of a certain language (though that helps), but because they know how to attack problems in creative ways.

Why Do I Need a Computer Science Degree?

College graduates earn almost double the salary of non-graduates, and in technology you’ll often need a degree to open up certain career paths. While there are plenty of successful self-taught developers, engineers, and programmers, a degree is the easiest way to demonstrate to an employer that you’ve mastered the skills you need to succeed at the job you’re pursuing.

Computer science students learn basic concepts of structured coding and object-oriented design and development. A good CS program will acquaint students with the basic elements of programming and scripting languages, usually through in-depth work with one or two key programming languages.

CS students complete various projects designed to acquaint them with different levels of software design and engineering. Any good CS program will cover both low and high-level programming languages, the differences between complied and interpreted languages, and how to properly comment and debug code.

The foundation students gain by completing a computer science degree is a critical platform for starting a programming career. Students who’ve mastered the above concepts will be well prepared to master new programming languages and solve different types of coding problems as they continue to grow in their careers.

What are starting salaries like for people with a BS in Computer Science?

Starting Median Salary: $55,900

Mid-career Median Salary: $95,500

_Source: Payscale_

Considering tech is a constantly growing industry, there are thousands of jobs available in positions such as Software Engineer / Programmer, Information Technology (IT) Manager, Software Developer, Web Applications, Programmer Analyst, Information Technology (IT) Consultant, Project Manager and more.

Median Salary by State or Province - Degree: Bachelor of Science (BS/BSc/SB), Computer Science (CS) (United States)

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Median Salary by Sales Territory - Degree: Bachelor of Science (BS/BSc/SB), Computer Science (CS) (United States)

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Want to Get into Graduate School? Here's How...

Bridget Kulla, FastWeb.com — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:51:00 -0700

If you’ve decided to head back to the classroom for an advanced degree, get ready to face some competition. Between 2004 and 2016, the number of masters degrees granted is expected to increase by 35 percent. To stand out from the pack, get organized to make your graduate application shine.

h4. Graduate school applications generally require:

• Transcript

• GRE or other standardized test scores

• Letters of recommendation

• Personal statement and/or admissions essay(s)

• Audition, manuscript, portfolio – usually only required for creative fields like visual arts, dance or creative writing

For students planning to start graduate school in the fall, application deadlines can range from as early as August to as late as spring, although most deadlines fall between December and March. Don’t wait until then to start your application. Follow a general timeline:

Summer:

• Ask for letters of recommendation

• Sign up for graduate school exams like the GRE (Graduate Record Examination, required for graduate programs that do not require one of the following subject-specific tests), MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test, required for medical school), LSAT (Law School Admissions Test, required for law school), DAT (Dental Admissions Test, required for dental school), or GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test, required for business school).

Fall:

• Take graduate school exams

• Request application materials

• Research sources of financial aid

• Arrange for official transcripts to be sent

Late Fall:

• Complete your applications (Don’t forget to save a copy!)

• Finalize your essays

Winter:

• Send in your completed applications

• File your FAFSA

• Apply for financial aid

Spring:

• Visit campuses

• Prepare for interviews

• Submit your acceptance or decline admission

[page]

Getting your graduate application together will take some time, but it will also take money. Schools charge application fees that can range from $20 to $90, with an average cost of about $50. Additionally, you will have to cover costs of $112 to $240 for standardized test fees. Getting official copies of your transcript will set you back an average of $5 per copy. These fees tend to go up each year, so check for the latest costs. Also factor in mailing, printing and copying costs, which can add up if you are applying to more than one school. Get your application budget in order before you get your applications ready.

Admissions committees want to make sure you will be a good fit for their program. In addition to your undergraduate GPA, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, and personal statement, admissions committees also look for students who are passionate about a field of study and will succeed in graduate school and beyond. Background preparation in your field and other relevant experience will also be considered. Committees want to see that you are a hard worker and are open to academic challenges.

Your graduate field of study will be more specific than your undergraduate major and so will the application review process. Unlike undergraduate admissions, your application will most likely be reviewed by two separate committees. In addition to the graduate office of admission, each graduate department will assess applications. Since your application will be evaluated by faculty members who are knowledgeable about your field, you will be under greater scrutiny.

Spend extra effort ensuring your application reflects your motivation and passion for your field. Your personal statement and letters of recommendation are the best venues to get this across. Have professors read and offer advice on your personal statement. Carefully choose faculty members who know you well and understand your academic goals to write your recommendation letters.

Finally, make sure you send everything in on time. All your hard work will be for nothing if you miss the application deadline. Some graduate programs require that separate application materials be sent to the school to which you are applying and to the graduate admissions office. Check with your program to ensure that your application will reach all of the necessary offices by the deadline date. Applying with an online application can save you the trouble of going to the post office, but make sure you submit a completed application and print a hard copy for your records.

Getting organized and spending a little extra time on your application is the first step to earning a graduate degree at your top-choice school.

This article originally appeared on Fastweb, one of our sister sites.

Bachelor of Science, Human Resources

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:49:00 -0700

Human resource management covers a wide variety of tasks and functions within an organization, including: recruiting and hiring, employee compensation and benefits, corporate policy, employee assistance, and training. Within the field of human resource management there is an endless list of possible jobs. Some of these include: recruiters, EEO officers, employer relations specialist, benefits managers, training and development managers, and labor relations, just to name a few.

A bachelor's degree in human resources equips graduates with the necessary background and tools to enter a human resources career in a variety of business settings.

Programs typically include a comprehensive overview of human resources principles and practices, business and technology training and communication courses.

In general, course work for a bachelor's degree in human resources covers contemporary HR issues, organizational theory and design, behavioral science, legal issues in HR management, performance management and assessment, employee training and development, and compensation and benefits.

Students can also expect a human resources bachelor's program to include core business training in areas such as accounting, finance, information technology and marketing. Additionally, most programs require an array of general education courses to meet various general studies distributions and also allow room for electives.

With a bachelor's degree in human resources, graduates qualify for human resources leadership roles in private, public and nonprofit organizations. Specific HR competencies covered in these bachelor degree programs include training and development, strategic staffing, labor and employment law, managing organizational change, compensation and benefits, leadership and team building. Undergraduates with a bachelor's degree in human resources often work as human resources generalists, corporate recruiters and employee benefits managers, while others take positions as training specialists, employee relations managers and HR information systems managers.

Jobs in the human resource industry are plentiful. Because human resource management is needed in every industry, and just about any company with 50 or more employees has human resource workers, human resource professionals have a great deal of options available to them. Specific job availability and salary depend on the specific area one pursues. However, the Bureau of Labor statistics reported that human resource jobs are expected to grow 36 percent or more through 2012, and in 2002 the average annual salary for human resource managers was just under $65,000.

Median Salary by Job - Degree: Bachelor of Science (BS/BSc/SB), Human Resources (United States)

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