Career Planning & Combination Of Student Curiosity And The Web Is Very Effective

There was a time when parents were the ultimatum source of information for any student interested in focusing on a specific educational field or career. However, things have changed beyond recognition today. Today, students are the ones who educate their parents by providing information about various career options.

There was a time when the prejudices and preferences of parents were given more importance. Today, the desire of the student to become a dancer, singer or even try his or her hand at acting is given more importance. So, what has changed?

It is the internet that is making a huge difference. No longer are students required to search for information only when they pass out of school. Career planning and focus on education has become a perennial affair. One can accumulate information over many years and use it accordingly.

One can even use friends on Facebook to get more information about different career options. The best part is that information is no longer restricted to the theoretical aspects. Rather, it covers all practical issues as well.

Another practical thing to come up on the web is online schools and degrees. Websites such as earnmydegree.com provide opportunities to working professionals and people who are always on the go. They have given an easy solution for all the aspiring degree holders

Does this mean that parents do not have any role in helping the child decide the career? Definitely not. However, the parents should not take up the task of searching for information and providing the same to the child. Rather, the parent should focus on being a mentor who shall provide course correction advice as and when required.

If the child is focusing on the positive aspects or is overestimating his or her capacity, it is essential for the parent to step in and speak the harsh truth even if it will be disliked. If this is not needed, then there is no need for parents to provide specific advice in career and studies related preparation. Kids are smart enough to use the resources at hand to take the right decision.

Filed Under: Careers, Education Tagged With: , ,

Building your Experience

It’s pretty obvious that you’ve got talent. You find yourself singing wherever you go, lingering after a theater performance to soak in the atmosphere or trying out that new dance move you saw on your favorite music video. If you wake up thinking about a career on the stage, you know you’re born to sign, dance, or act.

Although that career may seem out of reach, start now to make your dreams come true. You don’t have to be college-aged to start fleshing out a seller resume that colleges and academies won’t be able to resist.

Although many high schools do not offer performing arts programs, take advantage of classes and opportunities that are offered. Take an extra art or drama class. Try-out for as many school theater performances as your schedule allows. Join the dance team or sing in the choir.

Next, seek out opportunities in the community. Many communities have local theater groups that are open for public try-out. Take dance lessons or singing lessons from community professionals.

Look into what your local college has to offer. While they may not allow a high school student to act in a leading role in their shows, they probably won’t turn down some volunteer help for assistance with costumes, make-up, or stage set-up. Consider doing a mentorship with a college professor who teaches drama, dance, or choral directing. Shadow a professor as they go about their work. Many high schools have programs to help students make career choices and gain experience, take advantage of the opportunity to see an expert at work.

If options are slim, consider heading up your own group. Teach a group of children to dance or sing and have them perform.

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The Financial Considerations of Online Versus Traditional Educations

Deciding between a traditional college education and an online one can be daunting as there are many factors to consider. One of the most important aspects of this decision is the financial cost of a traditional education versus an online education. The following are some of the similarities and differences, in cost, between the two.

Earn While You Learn

Online education programs are designed for people who have to juggle classes with a job. Unlike a traditional education, you can work and earn a living while you earn a degree online.

A Better Future

Advancing a career is the goal for many who choose an online program. You can take courses slowly over time while you prepare for a shift in careers or to advance in the career you already have; choosing to earn a degree online often results in a better paying job.

Fewer Loans

Rather than emerging from college with a degree and years of debt, an online program can give you the same degree with less debt. By taking fewer courses at a time you can spread out the cost of earning your degree.

More Choice

The decision to earn a degree online means that you may have a wider selection of programs open to you than if you were to pursue a traditional education. You can then easily determine which college offers the best program for your needs and finances.

As more and more employers consider an online degree to be as good as a traditional degree, there’s every reason to make your finances a primary consideration when choosing a college degree program.

Filed Under: Education, Scholarships Tagged With: , ,

Making Your College Education Count

If you are majoring in the arts in college at a mainstream liberal arts school, you can still make the most of your career opportunities. You do not have to be accepted to a strictly performing arts college to have a successful career in the arts.

You do have to make the most of your opportunities though. If you want future employers to notice you, you need to have the needed experience under your belt that will attract future job opportunities.

Your art education and major classes will be essential. Learn all you can in your various drama, dance, art or vocal classes. Take advantage of the college’s variety of choices in courses. Don’t just focus on getting out, but take an extra class here or there to round-out your education in your particular major.

Next, gain experience. Course work and classroom lectures are valuable, but they do not make-up for a lack of experience. Try out for your school’s choirs, theater shows, or dance teams. You will have an advantage since this is your particular interest and you will probably boast more of a background in these areas than the average student.

Next search out off-campus opportunities to make your resume look even better. While a college-performed show looks good on a resume, noting that you performed with a professional group or a down-town theater can look even better. Get involved with the community’s performing arts Groups, by either volunteering or finding employment in these areas. The more experience you have the better.

You can make your college experience a spring board for future professional opportunities. With a little time and research, you can find those opportunities that will give you the needed experience and will help you stand out. This will boost your chances of finding meaningful and satisfying employment opportunities later on.

Filed Under: Careers, Education Tagged With: , ,

Where Are The Scholarships?

You want to further your education.  You are a bright student.  You have worked very hard in high school so that you can go on to higher education.  Higher education is expensive, even if money has not been a problem.  If you have worked hard, stayed involved in your school and its activities and have made the good grades, garnering a scholarship of some sort should not be difficult.  Before you make the final decision of what school you will attend after graduation, there are many factors being weighed.  One of the most important is how you are going to pay for that education.  Scholarships vary widely from school to school, even student to student.  Finding the right school is very important, finding the way to pay for that school is a little tricky, but it can be done.

You have narrowed down your choices to the top two.  You have seen these schools, talked to the right people, maybe you have even been on a tour or spent the night at the schools.  Now you play the numbers game.  You apply to both schools and see who offers you the best scholarship.  More often than not, scholarships are bargaining chips.  Sometimes you can bargain with the school.  In some cases, there is always more money to be found.  Once you have received all the money you are going to from the school, you may need to do some more homework.  There are literally thousands of general scholarships out there for the taking.  More than 20% of scholarships offered go unclaimed at the beginning of every semester of college.  This is free money that is not being claimed.

There are search engines on the web.  There are web sites that will take your information and look for scholarships for you.  Your education is the most important thing you will do towards attaining the perfect career, getting all the financial help you can will insure that you are not paying for it for the rest of your life.

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Organizing Your Time for School

Textbook

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Schedule Classes Around Work

Before you register for classes, you’ll need to figure out how your work can be scheduled around school. You have many factors to consider, including travel time, study time, and scheduling time around online classes or labs. If you work in retail or food service, ask your supervisor if you can have a set schedule for the semester. That way you’ll know what days you have open for school, and what days are off limits. If you work in an office, you might need to plan on only taking night, weekend, or online classes. If you do enroll in online classes, remember that each class unit should represent an hour a week of class time and plan your schedule accordingly.

Make Time for Homework

Along with taking classes, you also need to plan for homework and study time. If you have a set lunch break at work, you can take along a text book and read it while you munch. You can do the same on your 15-minute break if you need to. You can also cut back on watching TV to study, take your text books to the laundromat, or simply try plan your week more efficiently.

Visit Art Shows, Music Events and Performances

Don’t forget about extracurricular activities. If you’re studying art then you should definitely go look at some art! Make sure you have time to go to the theatre, watch dance recitals, go to concerts, and visit the art galleries. There are generally plenty of shows on campus, and you can try to catch a performance right after class, after work, or after a study session at the library. Campus art galleries are usually open during the day, so you can visit them in between classes or during your lunch hour. Many coffee shops show art or hold poetry readings, and attending those is simply a matter of heading down after work or class.

Filed Under: Education

3 Tips for Auditioning for a Musical

Classical auditions tend to be fairly formal.

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Find a Piece That Fits Your Style

It’s important to find an audition piece that fits your style. Look for something that highlights your strengths, and downplays your weaknesses. For example, if you sing alto and can project your voice, then don’t pick a song that requires you to sing in falsetto. If you have a great voice for show tunes, then find a classic that you like, and stick with it. Don’t decide it’s too cheesy and try for an opera number or a pop song instead. Remember, picking a popular song isn’t going to help your chances if you can’t sing it.

Jump Right Into it

Once you’ve found a song you like practice, practice, practice. You want to be able to sing this song anywhere and anytime because when you walk into your audition you might not have a chance to relax before it’s your turn. Once you’re there, be prepared to just go. If you’re nervous and miss a line, jump back into the song as soon as you can. It’s more important to catch up to where you were than to stop the music and begin again from the start. The director wants to know that you’ll be able to improvise on stage if you have to instead of standing in the same spot like a dead fish.

Don’t get Intimidated by Other People

When you walk into an audition, you’re on equal ground with everyone else. Yes, there are probably people with better voices, more experience, and more talent than you. Some of them are probably at your same audition, but that doesn’t mean you should just give up and walk out the door. You don’t know what parts they’re auditioning for, if their schedule allows for a lead part, or what the director is even looking for in the first place. Not everyone is your competition, and by worrying you’ll miss out on enjoying the auditioning process.

Filed Under: Education, The Arts

Art History Degree Online

Some people say that while engineers and scientists make our lives longer and easier to live, poets and artists are the people who make life worth living. Perhaps you have an appreciation for beautiful and intriguing things that most people do not have the skills to create. If so, you might make a good art historian. Also, considering that the internet has made it far easier than ever before to get a degree in just about every field, getting an art history degree may actually be reasonably easy. Of course, you do have to find the right school. But once you do, there are several great career options that will open up for you. After all, those who remember the past can choose which parts of it they are going to relive.

Getting an art history degree starts with selecting the best college for you. So, when it comes to online universities, sites such as elearners.com are incredibly useful to the young turk who appreciates the past and wants to learn more about it. You can do all kinds of research with regard to how well a particular university handles the subject matter, as well as finding out what the curriculum is ultimately going to entail. After all, it is better to decide whether a particular place is right for you or not early on, as opposed to going for awhile and then expensively quitting.

Fortunately, the rewards of being an art history major are quite pleasant. Not only can you be an art history teacher at the high school (or with an advanced degree, college) level. You can also become the curator of a museum, and put on presentations about aspects of the ancient world and the beauty it conceived. Or, if you wish to pursue the arts as your personal vocation, your studies of art history can serve to enrich your own work. No artists out there are better than classically trained ones.

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Finding Places to Study

The Library

This may seem like an obvious choice for studying, and it can be. You have the advantage of being surrounded by books, so if you need extra information you can easily find it, and it’s a calm and quiet environment that will provide you with very little distractions. There are also computers and copy machines that are available for student use. This is a great location for doing a lot of hefty research.

The Coffee Shop

Studying at a coffee shop allows you to have certain amenities that are simply not practical in a library: namely, coffee and snacks, but mostly coffee. Coffee shops are great places to meet a group of people for discussing class lessons and research topics, and you can study in a warm and relaxed environment. Plus, many coffee shops offer wifi to their customers, so you might be able to do some internet research while you’re there.

The Quad

Every campus has a quad, a grassy area in the middle of all the buildings where students like to congregate on the grass or at the tables and benches. This is a great places to study in between classes because you can read a text book while you’re soaking up Vitamin D. Spending time outside is healthy for both your mind and your body, and by studying outside you can expose yourself to some sunlight and fresh air and still get your work done.

The Comfort of Home

The best thing about studying at home is that you’re in your own environment where you feel the most comfortable. Find a nice quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, make sure you have plenty of light and do your best to eliminate distractions. If you need to, you can turn on the radio for some background noise, but try to avoid the temptation to zone out to TV or surf the internet.

Filed Under: Education

Four Basic Classes not to Take for Granted

When you’re studying visual and performing arts, there are basic classes that you should never take for granted. As an artist, you need to be able to draw and know how to compose images. Theatre art majors need to know how to act, as well as the structure of stage management. Singers need to know how to read notes, compose music, and how to control their voices. Dancers need to understand cultural influences on dance, as well as techniques and choreography.

Drawing and Art Composition

Before you can run you need to learn how to walk. Visual arts are so varied, but they all rely on the basic skills of drawing and art composition. Even if your art involves three dimensional pieces or sculptures, you need to be able to sketch out your ideas in a way that’s understandable.

Acting and Theatre Production

Believe it or not, but acting is an important skill to fine tune if you want to make it as an actor. Acting classes offer hands on experience with trying different techniques, as well as a basic foundation for terminology and history of the art. Theatre production is important because it will give you a working knowledge of how all the back end stuff works, which you need to know if you plan on spending any time on stage.

Music Theory and Voice Lessons

If you’re going to be a musician you need to be able to read music. You also need to learn how to control your voice, adjust pitch and volume, and learn basic terminology. You won’t be able to successfully write music if you can’t put it to paper.

Dance History

Dancing is such an integral part of human history and every culture, and many of forms of dancing can be traced back to their cultural roots. Taking a dance history class will give you a better understanding of different forms of dance, as well as terminology and a base knowledge of choreography.

Filed Under: Education, The Arts
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