Engineers & Computer Scientists Needed

Startup companies are looking to hire engineers and computer scientists. Steve Hoey, development director for a San Diego nonprofit called "Connect," that supports the tech industry says, "It's hard to fill these positions because we have fewer and fewer people going into the technical fields." He estimates there are 5000 to 10,000 engineering jobs available in San Diego County. Help Wanted: Engineers and Computer Scientists tells you why. This article appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on April 27, 2012.

Summer Jobs

photo by Alan.light

Looking for a summer job in San Diego? Restaurants could be your ticket. This "U-T" article says 450,000 people are expected to be hired in restaurants nationally this summer with 5000 of those in San Diego. Restaurants Dishing Up Jobs says Corvette Diner, The Prado, Island Prime C Level and Gaslamp and other county restaurants could see a hiring increase. The article appeared in the "U-T San Diego on May 26, 2012.

Also check out these other articles about summer employment. Summer Jobs Going Fast says you should start applying asap. This "U-T San Diego" article surveys hiring managers about their hiring expectations for summer seasonal help. Take a peek at All Work... And Some Fun for information about summer jobs with four local employers: SeaWorld, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Legoland, and San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. Both articles appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on April 26, 2012.

Student Success – Time by Kelli Turpin

Leg #2 Time

Last time, I asked you to keep a time diary for a week.  Take out that time log and your motivational picture/paragraph.  Keep them in front of you as we talk.

Couple of things you need to know about time: First, time is constant.  Everyone has exactly 24 hours in his or her day.  No more, no less.  You can’t steal time from tomorrow; you can’t bank it for next week.  Twenty-four hours every day.  One hundred-sixty-eight hours every week.   During those 168 hours, there are things that must be done.  You know the things I mean:

• Sleeping
• Eating
• Bathing
• Working
• Taking care of kids
• Spending time w/ significant others, family, or friends
• Attending religious services
• Volunteer activities
• Commuting to and from all of these activities
  

Career Choice -- 4 Questions To Ask Yourself by Ray Wong

Susan Cain photo by Steve Jurvetson 

Thinking about a career change? Not sure what career to select? Author Susan Cain was adrift in her own wayward vessel, floundering without a rudder, until she asked herself some tough questions. Her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, provides insights that could help you find your path in life. Cain graduated from Harvard Law School and worked as a corporate attorney for ten years in a high-paying job that didn’t fit her personality. Cain was unhappy and wanted to make a career change, so she needed to do some soul-searching. 

In her book, Cain poses questions (page 218) that get to the root of who you are. The answers could very well lead you on the path to career fulfillment. First question -- what did you always want to do when you were growing up? This isn’t to imply that if you dreamed of becoming an astronaut as a child, you should immediately join NASA. The key to looking back is that if you wanted to be an astronaut, there was something there that tugged at you. Was it the thrill of being in space? The technology? The communication with your flight crew? The adventure? Wearing a spacesuit with the cool round helmet? There are clues from your childhood fantasy that can reveal a lot about what’s important to you.

Summer School

 2012 Summer School Options

The following list of colleges offering summer school classes was forwarded by City counselor Roberta Krauss courtesy of Grossmont College EOPS.

SDSU: Current local community college students can cross-enroll in one course at SDSU for $10 without being enrolled at a community college in the summer. The requirements for City students:

• Completed one semester at City
• Minimum 2.0 GPA
• CA resident
• No registration hold

Southwestern College: Limited summer courses at their satellite locations only.

Grossmont College: Limited six and eight week summer classes starting June 11.

Cuyamaca College: Limited six and eight week summer classes starting June 11.

Student Success – Motivation by Kelli Turpin

Leg #1: Motivation

Last time, I asked you to think about what “success” looks like for you.  If you did your homework, skip to the next paragraph.  If you didn’t (Lesson learned: do your homework!  There’s usually a reason for it), go ahead.  Do it now.  We’ll wait.  <bored humming>  Ready?

One of the first questions I ask students when they sit down in my office is “What’s your plan?”  Most people respond with something along the lines of “get a degree or transfer.”  If the major they’ve chosen is directly related to a job, like engineering, or social work, I nod.  If it’s something like psychology, or history or English, I push harder: “What do you want to do with an English degree?”  I’m not asking to satisfy my curiosity; I want to know how far ahead you’re thinking.  There’s nothing wrong with an English degree (If you've read my bio, you know that I have a couple of those myself), but finding a job that relates directly to English is tough.  My goal is to get you started at picturing your decade-older self.  Who are you going to be when you’re done with college?

Career/Transfer Center Reduced Hours

Important information relating to the Career/Transfer Center hours of operation – the following was sent by Vice President of Student Services, Peter White.

Due to continued severe understaffing (two of the three contract positions remain vacant and unfunded), the Transfer/Career Center will be closed during the months of May and June. In July, August, and continuing into the fall, the Center will be open for services Mondays and Wednesdays only, from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm. A reduced calendar of university advisor visits, classroom visits, and workshops will be made available on the two days each week that the Center is open. Students who need information on transfer and/or careers on the days the Center is closed should go to the Counseling office, where a limited range of services will be available.

Counseling Center Hours

In order to give students more opportunities for appointments, we are adhering to the following schedule in the counseling office until June. Appointments are available for career and academic planning. Walk-In is for 10-minute questions/answers. 

Monday-Thursday
8-9am	Appointments
9-10am	Walk-In Counseling
10-11:30am	Appointments
11:30am-1:30pm	Walk-In Counseling
1:30-5pm	Appointments
5-6pm	Walk-In Counseling
Friday
8-10am	Walk-In Counseling
10am-12pm	Appointments

College Major = $$$

Some college degrees are better than others if you want to avoid the unemployment line.  According to a Georgetown University study, a student is less likely to be unemployed with a degree in a healthcare field versus one in architecture, but is that how students should decide on their college majors?

This UT article, Employment Out of College A Matter of Degree, from Feb. 7, 2012 was forwarded by counseling support staff, John Gradilla. In the article, Elliot Hirshman, president of SDSU, says students shouldn’t base their college major only on economic benefits. He says there’s a bigger picture. What do you think?  

Student Success – An Introduction by Kelli Turpin

Student Success – An Introduction

 by Kelli Turpin

A successful student balances on a stool with three legs.  Leg #1 is motivation.  If you don’t want to be in college, it’s going to be extremely hard to make the time and spend the money to do it well.  Leg #2 is time.  A student must come to class prepared to learn in order to get the most out of class time.  All classes require reading and some kind of exams; most also require papers and other types of homework, all of which (with the exception of the actual exams) occur outside of class.  Leg #3 is money.  Class fees for California residents are relatively inexpensive – once the rates go up to $46 per unit, students in New Mexico, the state with the next cheapest fees, still pay an extra $2.50 per unit – but the expensive part of college is books.  The average college book is $100-$150 and some classes require multiple books at that price.  We’ll talk about each of the legs in separate posts, but first, we need to define what we mean by “success.”

Welcome to City Counseling

My name is Ray Wong, and I’m a counselor at City College. I will be working with my counseling colleague, Kelli Turpin, on this blog. We will post a new blog at least once a week to provide you with timely information to help you as a student. How are we going to help? By covering topics such as motivation, time management, money for school, career exploration, job trends, the services we provide, how to access counseling, career research strategies, and others.