Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day teaches kids about the professional rewards of education and hard work. This year is the 20th anniversary of the day, which will be recognized on April 25. Typically, over 37 million adults and youth ages 8 to 18 participate. It is an excellent way to expose children to a variety of careers as well as concepts such as professionalism, teamwork and the value of education.

If you’re considering participating, here are some hints to make the day rewarding for both you and the child.

1. You can participate even if you’re not a parent. The day is called Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day, which means that you can ask your neighbors, family members and friends if their children would be interested in learning about your career or your company. The same applies if you have children, but they’ve already been to work with you several times or just aren’t interested in going.

On the same note, if you have a child who isn’t interested in going to your workplace, see if they would like to go with a trusted friend or family member. Be sure you ask your friends or family before you mention anything to the child.

2. Plan ahead. Like with any activity, a little planning goes a long way. See if your company has planned activities, and consider how your child will participate throughout the work day. What would you like them to do or see you do? Get the child’s input about what they want to learn and see. You should also explain to them what to expect and how to act while at your work.

Try to make the day interesting and interactive. Go beyond job shadowing, but avoid asking them to make big decisions or take important phone calls. If things do go off plan or something goes wrong, stay positive and adapt.

Be sure that you don’t bring your children into an unsafe or inappropriate environment. For extra insight, talk with other people who have brought their children to work and see what worked well for them and what they might have done differently.

3. Introduce your co-workers. Explain that person’s job and their role in the organization to help children better understand the concepts of teamwork and responsibility. Have them show professionalism by shaking hands. Meeting with your co-workers is also a way to demonstrate the value of face-to-face interaction in business.

4. Ask the child to share the experience. One of the goals, in addition to having children learn about a workplace, is to encourage children to educate each other about their experiences. As part of this, tell the child’s teacher what you have planned, so that the child is more likely to share what they learned. At the end of the day, sit down with the kid to discuss what they enjoyed most and what they learned. Have them write a few sentences about the experience so that they can share it with classmates.

Sources

• http://www.daughtersandsonstowork.org/
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/04/25/the-dos-and-donts-of-take-your-kids-to-work-day/
• http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57420809/making-bring-your-child-to-work-day-meaningful/

Top trends in counseling psychology include healthy job growth, technological advancements, and greater sensitivity to diversity issues. Careers in this field exist in a multitude of settings, including hospitals, universities, career counseling centers and private clinics. An Argosy University graduate in this field may go on to work in one of numerous positions as an administrator, licensed counselor, university professor, researcher or consultant.

Solid Industry Growth
The job outlook in counseling psychology is expected to be faster than average. Population growth will increase the number of students in schools and universities, generating greater opportunities for school and career counselors. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, school and career counselors can expect 19 percent in employment growth from 2010 to 2020.

Additionally, times are changing and drug offenders are increasingly being sent to treatment programs rather than jail, increasing the need for counselors. Substance abuse and behavioral counselors can expect better than average job growth — with projections of 27 percent growth between 2010 and 2020.

Therapy via Technology
Technological advances are giving counselors new tools for reaching clients:

• A counselor and client can communicate via e-mail or video chat.
• Online discussion forums and chat rooms allow counselors to reach large groups of people.
• Counselors publish helpful articles online for the masses to access at all hours.
• Search engines assist clients to identify and contact the right practitioners.

Advances in technology have also made it convenient for aspiring counseling psychologists to obtain and advance their degrees in an accredited online program like Argosy University's Doctor of Education in Counseling Psychology program.

Also, with the availability of online professional journals and other online publications, counseling students and professionals have access to the latest research in the field. Online professional networks also make it easy for counselors to confer with their colleagues and advance their professional development opportunities.

Diversity and Sensitivity
Increased sensitivity to people of all backgrounds is another significant trend in this field. Diversity of culture, religious or spiritual orientation, gender identity, and physical disabilities are some of the issues that require knowledge and in-depth understanding. Students of counseling psychology programs receive important training on how to work with and demonstrate sensitivity towards clients from diverse backgrounds.

The services of counselors are vital and in high demand. With increased job opportunities, technological tools and diversity training, students who enroll in an online program in this field can expect a fulfilling career in the years ahead.

There is absolutely no doubt that Psychology is a discipline with a bright future. Psychology in the 21st century is somewhat different than it was in the last century, or at least different than what it was 30 to 40 years ago. Then, the major applied areas were clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, and industrial psychology/organizational psychology. Today, in addition to those areas, there are many newer areas and applied areas and subareas such as health psychology, family psychology, rehabilitation psychology, neuropsychology, clinical geropsychology, pain management and psychopharmacology, among others.

There is a noticeable increase in securing the knowledge of psychologists in sports. Another emerging area for psychologists is the protection of the nation. Psychological experts will be needed to examine the motivation and intents of the terrorists. There are congressional representatives on Capitol Hill who have been instrumental in advocating for mental illnesses to educate the members of Congress and their staff about PTSD and other challenges faced by many armed service members. There are others who are advocating providing comprehensive services to victims of trafficking women and children. Psychology is also at the forefront of illness prevention, rather than focusing merely on diagnosing and treating disorders. Psychologists are at the forefront of contributing solutions to the problems of drug addiction, poor interpersonal relationships, and violence at home and in the schools, and the potential harm we do to our environments.

Sports psychologists as a group often consult to local professional teams to ensure their peak performance and to assist the players’ in adjusting to being away from family responsibilities during training camps.

Psychologists are also needed to share their expertise in the protection of the nation. To meet this need, the University of Maryland established a Homeland Security Center of Excellence, which will span both domestic and international issues. Areas of work for psychologists will include examining the sources of terrorism and responses to it; analyzing the psychological impact of terrorism on society and increasing American public’s resilience in the face of threats. Psychological experts will be needed to examine motivation and intents of terrorists so as to formulate counter response strategies.

Psychology is playing a great role not just in diagnosing and treating of disorders, but has begun to focus on illness prevention as well. Psychologists strive to help people learn how to make healthy behavior a routine part of everyday living. Indeed many difficulties facing society today are problems about behavior: for instance drug addiction, poor interpersonal relationships, violence at home, in the schools, and in the street, and the potential harm we do to our environment. Psychologists are at the forefront in contributing solutions to these problems because of their extensive training in collecting and analyzing data as well as in developing intervention strategies.

It is evident that Psychology in the times ahead will expand to new frontiers, as it has already begun taking great strides in areas unforeseen three to four decades back.

Armed with your newly-earned degree, you’re confident you have the skills to fill the position you’ve always wanted in the job market. While confidence is undoubtedly important, how you present yourself during the interview and beyond can have a big impact on how you are perceived. In order to put your best foot forward, take a look at some of our tips for dressing to impress.

• For the Interview –Even if you know that the company dress code is casual, it’s better to overdress for the interview than to under dress. Wearing a suit is always a good way to go, with solid colors in navy, black, or gray. Avoid wearing too much jewelry, cologne or perfume. For women, light makeup and conservative shoes are ideal. Men should wear a long-sleeved shirt and both should keep their hairstyles neat and professional.
• Dress for the Job You Want – If your goal is to advance your position at your current company, your new degree will help, but you may also need to upgrade your appearance. An excellent illustration of this can be found in The Wall Street Journal’s article “How to Look and Act Like a Leader.” It includes a before and after photograph of a vice president at Sara Lee who cleaned up her appearance to help advance her career.
• Observe Those Around You – It can often be helpful, when deciding how to dress for the office, to look at your coworkers. How do those superior to you in the company dress? Taking cues from them can help you ensure that your appearance fits the company culture.

When dressing for the office, professionalism should always be foremost in your mind. While who are at work isn’t just what we look like, it does play an important role in the overall picture.

Welcome to the fifth installment in our blog series taking a look at the future of some the occupational fields you’ll find here at Argosy University Online Programs. Today, we’re going to be looking at some trends and career outlooks for educators with graduate degrees.

To set some additional context for his post, Argosy University Online Programs’ College of Education offers the following graduate degrees:

• EdD in Higher and Postsecondary Education*
• EdD in Teaching and Learning*
• Master of Arts in Education in Teaching and Learning*
• Master of Arts in Education in Adult Education and Training*
• Master of Arts in Higher and Postsecondary Education*

So, what is the outlook for teaching professionals who choose to pursue a graduate degree? Our graduate degree programs in Education are designed to provide students with the practical training and the personal development they require to enhance their career potential. According to an article on SnartMoney.com, graduate degrees in education might help teachers advance their career:

“Relative to other fields, teachers still don’t make much 16% less than other college-educated professionals, according to the Economic Policy Institute. But the gap for teachers with a master s degree is less than for those with only a bachelor s. Thanks to union contracts, a master s degree automatically bumps many public school teachers up to a higher pay range, says the University of California s Sims. Moving up into administrative roles also typically requires an advanced degree, and the jump can pay off. The median salary for a high school teacher in 2008 was $51,180, while elementary and secondary administrators made a median salary of $83,880.”

Similarly, according to a recent study mentioned in US News and World Report:

“Among the 15 fields of study analyzed in the report, median earnings of those with a graduate degree in the field, irrespective of tenure, are an average of 38.3 percent higher than those who only possess a bachelor's degree in the same field. "Is it worth it?" asks Reid Linn, dean of the Graduate School at James Madison University. "I am unaware of any study that has ever proven that more education and more guided practice and direct experience has hurt anyone or negatively impacted someone's life over a lifetime." 

With all of this in mind, what about the overall outlook for teachers in the coming years, what does the job market look like for teachers moving forward? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, looking at trends for kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers:

"Employment of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers is expected to grow by 13 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations.

Through 2018, overall student enrollments in elementary, middle, and secondary schools—a key factor in the demand for teachers—are expected to rise more slowly than in the past as children of the baby-boom generation leave the school system. Projected enrollments will vary by region. Rapidly growing States in the South and West will experience the largest enrollment increases."

Want to learn more about pursuing a graduate degree as a teacher? Here is another article from US News & World Report, with some helpful tips and the Bureau of Labor Statistics can provide even more information on the outlook as a whole.

See www.auprograms.info  for program duration, tuition, fees, and other costs, median debt, federal salary data, alumni success, and other important info.

*Only campuses in Arizona, California, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, and Utah offer programs that lead to teacher, administrator, or school psychologist certification, licensure, or endorsement in any State in the United States. The programs offered through Argosy University – Online Programs DO NOT lead to teacher or administrator certification , licensure, or endorsement in any State in the United States, regardless of the state in which the student resides.