Nicholas Wyman

Real-world skills – A key to success

Radio KGO San Francisco | Wednesday 23 December 2015

Michael Finney and Nicholas Wyman discuss todays’ most needed skills and jobs including those which pay over 70k a year and do not require a four year college degree. Nicholas explains that there are many pathways to success that do not necessarily require a four year college degree. With a return to apprenticeship and vocational pathways as a realistic alternative to a college degree, on the job learning is playing an important role in the acquisition of job specific skills.

Listen here:

Surgical Technologist: A Great Job That Doesn’t Require a College Degree

By Nicholas Wyman | Forbes | October 10, 2015

About two years ago I was staying at a hotel with my family in Wayne, Pennsylvania, just northwest of Philadelphia. My wife and I woke at 4 a.m. to a parent’s worst nightmare: my three-year-old son, James, gasping for breath, and turning blue. I called 911 while my wife carried James down to the hotel lobby. In minutes, an ambulance with an emergency medical technician (EMT) and a paramedic roared up to the hotel. The two medics diagnosed an attack of the croup, quickly stabilized James and got him to the hospital, where he made a full recovery.

I never got to thank the people who saved James’ life that night. But in the course of my research I’ve met and interviewed other emergency medical personnel with the same skills and dedication. I learned about the paths they took to their jobs – usually a combination of specialized technical courses (Associate’s Degree or Certificate programs) and on-the-job training. None of the people I talked to had started out with a traditional four-year college degree, and all were making a good living in meaningful and fulfilling careers.

I started wondering about other jobs in the healthcare field that are as patient-focused and rewarding as EMT, and don’t require a bachelor’s degree. I had a chance to find out about some when I spoke with Dr. Bryan Albrecht, President of Gateway Technical College in Wisconsin. Gateway has a significant number of Associate Degree and Certificate programs that lead to jobs in the healthcare industry, which the college and its business partners have identified as one with high future job growth.

One field Dr. Albrecht mentioned particularly intrigued me: Surgical Technology.

*Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. PHOTO (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI)*

Surgical technologists work in the operating room with doctors and nurses, maintaining the sterile field, monitoring a patient’s vital signs and keeping track of instruments (if this sounds easy, consider that an average of 300 instruments are required for a large-cavity operation, and up to 600 for longer surgeries). The surgical technologist prepares the operating theatre, prepares the patient, hands the surgeon the correct instruments, and makes sure every sponge or other foreign object is accounted for when the final stitch is closed.

Most people think you need years of advanced schooling at the highest levels to work in an operating room. To those who don’t learn or test well in a classroom – not to mention those unable or unwilling to shoulder the considerable financial burden of a medical or even nursing school education – work of this kind seems out of reach. But here is a field that prepares people for critical roles in the operating room – helping people when they are at their most helpless – with just a focused, two-year training program.
Dr. Albrecht told me the program is especially popular with young people. “Although the average age of our students is 31 – adults doing technical training for specific jobs – most of the people in the surgical technologist program come straight from high school.”

High school students find out about surgical technology and other technical health fields through Gateway’s outreach program, College Connection. The college sends its representatives into high school classrooms to educate students about in-demand, well-paying jobs in the local community, and the students then come to Gateway to tour the campus and state-of-the-art labs, which include four surgical suites and a simulation lab. “They’re as good as the hospital labs,” notes Dr. Albrecht.

The end result is that students who once thought healthcare jobs were limited to either doctor or nurse are exposed to a diverse network of well-paying careers. Starting pay for a surgical technologist is around $43,350 – a good salary for someone who may be just two years out of high school. But this is often just the first step in a long, upwardly mobile career.

Surgical technologists might take additional courses and training to go into specialty nursing areas. Or they might enroll in pre-med courses. Gateway has articulation agreements with local universities that help students make a smooth transition to a four-year college if they choose.

Says Dr Albrecht, “We’ve been expanding pathways, trying to create a clear direction for students from K-12 to 2- or 4-year colleges.”

My personal experience with highly trained medical personnel showed me how vital these fields are, and how rewarding they can be for those who practice them. You don’t need a four-year college degree (plus four years of medical school, and three years of residency!) to become a critical player in the healthcare field. You can get there via specialized training, focused dedication and a deep commitment to helping people. The opportunities are there, and growing.

Read this and more publications by Nicholas Wyman on Forbes here:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholaswyman/2015/10/10/surgical-technologist-a-great-job-that-doesnt-require-a-college-degree/

To Launch a Successful High-Tech Career, Go to Work in a Factory

By Nicholas Wyman | Forbes | September 21, 2015 |

“Ain’t gonna work in the factory
greasy up my clothes
Ain’t gonna work in the factory
get splinters in my toes”
– from The Factory Girl Song.

640x0 — F-35 Lightning II assembly line workers work on a cockpit at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tom Pennington, file)

Americans believe in factories. According to a study by the Manufacturing Institute, 90% of Americans think a robust manufacturing base is vital to the U.S. economy and many would welcome a manufacturing facility in their community.

But only if someone else is working there, apparently. The same study reveals that very few Americans want to work in manufacturing themselves, and only one in three would encourage their children to pursue manufacturing careers. The younger the respondent, the less attractive manufacturing becomes, with people between the ages of 19 and 33 ranking it dead last as a career choice.
Why this disconnect? Why, if Americans think manufacturing is so important, do so few want to work in the industry or encourage their children to do so?
The main problem is image. Many Americans cling to the outdated notion of manufacturing as low-skilled, menial work. A poll conducted by the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association (FMA) found that 61% of teenagers have no interest in manufacturing because they prefer to pursue a “professional” career. They don’t think manufacturing jobs are intellectually rewarding and they don’t see opportunities for career development or advancement in the factory.
Many people also think – incorrectly – of manufacturing as dirty or dangerous, picturing huge, clanking machines on dusty shop floors. With that image in mind, its no surprise that young women, in particular, do not see a future for themselves in that kind of workplace. In fact, women make up only 24% of manufacturing jobs, though they constitute around 50% of the overall U.S. workforce.
These perceptions are reinforced and perpetrated constantly by the media, popular culture, and even the national community of college counselsors that largely refuses to acknowledge – let alone encourage – careers in manufacturing as a viable and attractive option for an ambitious young person.

The problem is, these perceptions are all wrong.

The technological advances of the last few decades have transformed manufacturing workplaces into gleaning, modern state of the art hubs of innovation and industry that bear no resemblance to the factories of yore. Manufacturing today is “smart” and it requires smart people. Modern factories are high-tech and fully networked, relying on complex computers and machines. And factory workers need both production skills and technical knowledge to run them, completely redefining what was once considered “blue-collar” work.
Modern factory workers specialize in engineering, electronics, information technology, robotics, mechatronics, design, and research and development. They understand and repair complex machines and computers, analyze data, and manage production systems in real time. These are challenging, sophisticated jobs that require thought and creativity and problem- solving skill.
Modern manufacturing jobs are not only challenging, but also well-paying. In fact, they pay around 20 percent more than work in other industries, with the average manufacturing worker earning over $77,000 in 2013. Manufacturing executives are willing to pay top dollar for skilled workers precisely because the work is not low-skill or menial.

Due in large part to the unfavorable impression many Americans have of manufacturing careers, there is a profound shortage of skilled workers in the field. The greatest shortages are in technology and computer skills. In other words, in order to stay globally competitive, and keep factories and jobs on our shores, companies desperately need people with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills, as well as strong foundation skills like problem-solving and critical thinking.
The good news is that if you have these skills, you will find plenty of well-paying manufacturing jobs practically at your fingertips. In fact, 80 percent of manufacturing executives say they are willing to pay above market rates to hire qualified people because they are in such short supply. And if you are a woman you may fare even better; the industry is making a particular effort to welcome young women, by taking measures to make them aware of the variety of career options available in manufacturing, and publically recognizing women who currently hold leadership positions in the field.
How does one get the skills for this brave new world of high-tech factory work? Many of the jobs in manufacturing require some post-secondary education, but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree. You can get the requisite in-demand skills through apprenticeship, which combines structured, paid, on-the-job training with classroom learning. You can complete a certification program, and gain a recognized, portable, industry-wide credential. Or you can get an associate’s degree that mixes practical experience with relevant academic study.
The jobs are there, the pay is high, and the opportunities are abundant. It’s a good time to work in the factory.

Raed this and more articles by Nicholas Wyman on Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholaswyman/2015/09/21/to-launch-a-successful-high-tech-career-go-to-work-in-a-factory/

Why We Desperately Need To Bring Back Vocational Training In Schools

By Nicholas Wyman | Forbes | September 2, 2015

Throughout most of U.S. history, American high school students were routinely taught vocational and job-ready skills along with the 3s: reading, writing and arithmetic. Indeed readers of a certain age are likely to have fond memories of huddling over wooden workbenches learning a craft such as woodwork or maybe metal work, or any one of the hands-on projects that characterized the once-ubiquitous shop class.

But in the 1950s, a different philosophy emerged: the theory that students should follow separate educational tracks according to ability. The idea was that the college-bound would take traditional academic courses (Latin, creative writing, science, math) and received no vocational training. Those students not headed for college would take basic academic courses, along with vocational training, or “shop.”

Ability tracking did not sit well with educators or parents, who believed students were assigned to tracks not by aptitude, but by socio-economic status and race. The result being that by the end of the 1950s, what was once a perfectly respectable, even mainstream educational path came to be viewed as a remedial track that restricted minority and working-class students.

Image: Instructor helps a student participating in a woodworking manufacturing training program in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Photographer: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg Charlie Negron — Image:
Instructor helps a student participating in a woodworking manufacturing training program in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Photographer: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg Charlie Negron

The backlash against tracking, however, did not bring vocational education back to the academic core. Instead, the focus shifted to preparing all students for college, and college prep is still the center of the U.S. high school curriculum.

So what’s the harm in prepping kids for college? Won’t all students benefit from a high-level, four-year academic degree program? As it turns out, not really. For one thing, people have a huge and diverse range of different skills and learning styles. Not everyone is good at math, biology, history and other traditional subjects that characterize college-level work. Not everyone is fascinated by Greek mythology, or enamored with Victorian literature, or enraptured by classical music. Some students are mechanical; others are artistic. Some focus best in a lecture hall or classroom; still others learn best by doing, and would thrive in the studio, workshop or shop floor.

And not everyone goes to college. The latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that about 68% of high students attend college. That means over 30% graduate with neither academic nor job skills.

But even the 68% aren’t doing so well. Almost 40% of students who begin four-year college programs don’t complete them, which translates into a whole lot of wasted time, wasted money, and burdensome student loan debt. Of those who do finish college, one-third or more will end up in jobs they could have had without a four-year degree. The BLS found that 37% of currently employed college grads are doing work for which only a high school degree is required.

It is true that earnings studies show college graduates earn more over a lifetime than high school graduates. However, these studies have some weaknesses. For example, over 53% of recent college graduates are unemployed or under-employed. And income for college graduates varies widely by major – philosophy graduates don’t nearly earn what business studies graduates do. Finally, earnings studies compare college graduates to all high school graduates. But the subset of high school students who graduate with vocational training – those who go into well-paying, skilled jobs – the picture for non-college graduates looks much rosier.

Yet despite the growing evidence that four-year college programs serve fewer and fewer of our students, states continue to cut vocational programs. In 2013, for example, the Los Angeles Unified School District, with more than 600,000 students, made plans to cut almost all of its CTE programs by the end of the year. The justification, of course, is budgetary; these programs (which include auto body technology, aviation maintenance, audio production, real estate and photography) are expensive to operate. But in a situation where 70% of high school students do not go to college, nearly half of those who do go fail to graduate, and over half of the graduates are unemployed or underemployed, is vocational education really expendable? Or is it the smartest investment we could make in our children, our businesses, and our country’s economic future?

The U.S. economy has changed. The manufacturing sector is growing and modernizing, creating a wealth of challenging, well-paying, highly skilled jobs for those with the skills to do them. The demise of vocational education at the high school level has bred a skills shortage in manufacturing today, and with it a wealth of career opportunities for both under-employed college grads and high school students looking for direct pathways to interesting, lucrative careers. Many of the jobs in manufacturing are attainable through apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and vocational programs offered at community colleges. They don’t require expensive, four-year degrees for which many students are not suited.

And contrary to what many parents believe, students who get job specific skills in high school and choose vocational careers often go on to get additional education. The modern workplace favors those with solid, transferable skills who are open to continued learning. Most young people today will have many jobs over the course of their lifetime, and a good number will have multiple careers that require new and more sophisticated skills.

Just a few decades ago, our public education system provided able opportunities for young people to learn about careers in manufacturing and other vocational trades. Yet, today, high-schoolers hear barely a whisper about the many doors that the vocational education path can open. The “college-for-everyone” mentality has pushed awareness of other possible career paths to the margins. The cost to the individuals and the economy as a whole is high. If we want everyone’s kid to succeed, we need to bring vocational education back to the core of high school learning.

Source:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholaswyman/2015/09/01/why-we-desperately-need-to-bring-back-vocational-training-in-schools/

Talking Jobs and Career Preparation with Jim Bohannon

The Jim Bohannon Show | June 23rd, 2015 |

There are many pathways to a successful and rewarding, well-paying career, and college is just one of them. Author of ‘Job U – How to Find Wealth and Success by Developing the Skills Companies Actually Need’, Nicholas Wyman talks about the ‘college for everyone’ myth, how to successfully target the position you are interested in, and the things you can do to ensure you are giving yourself the best head start.

Listen here:

Original Posting

http://www.jimbotalk.net/programhighlights?date=20150623