Finish 2012 strong with an academic workshop from the Walker Center

ON TRACK: The Walker Center provides workshops
year-round to help you succeed in your classes

It can seem overwhelming to balance work, life, and earning your degree at any point during the year, but adult leaders can feel especially stretched thin during the holiday season. So we're continuing to offer academic workshops at the Walker Center through the New Year to keep you on track with your studies amid all the extra activities.

The Session 2 schedule includes academic workshops that will help with academic writing and research, as well as math skills. There are also personal development workshops to help you maintain work-life balance and discover your passion and purpose, and technology workshops, which cover the basics of Microsoft Word and Excel.

If you can't make in-person workshops, we're offering two online workshops as well. These are designed to help you increase your analytical thinking skills and develop good study habits. Check out the flyer for upcoming workshop dates and details.

To register for any of the workshops listed, contact the Walker Center at 888.467.3472, ext. 9251, 

or email WCAE@Peirce.edu. We look forward to seeing you!

3 of the best industries for Philadelphia entrepreneurs

One of our core missions is to provide adult learners in Philadelphia with the best outlook on the regional job market and the tools to help them succeed in it. So when Campus Philly shared some information about the best industries for Philadelphia entrepreneurs with us, we wanted to spread the knowledge to our blog readers. Read on for Campus Philly's take on three hot start-up industries in Philly right now.

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By Cara Donaldson, Campus Philly

If America were a start-up venture, Philadelphia would be its national headquarters. Historically, the city has been the core of revolutionary activity in the Unites States, so it should come as no surprise that now more than ever, entrepreneurship is the name of the game in the Philadelphia job market.

Currently, there are three distinct areas exploding within the start-up world—technology, food, and social responsibility. Keeping your finger on the pulse of these trends is important, as they signify an upward swing in the DIY career, and somewhat of a departure from more traditional career paths. To get you inspired, here is a snapshot of how ideas brewed in basements are making their mark on the new Philly job scene.

Technology

These days, it’s not so much the creation of advanced technology, but what you do with it that’s impressive. College towns like Philadelphia are experiencing a boom in start-ups, and incubators and angel funders are starting to take notice and invest. Shindig, TicketLeap, and Beyond.com are just a few of Philly’s success stories.

Read more »

The Philadelphia Tribune shines the spotlight on our new master’s degree program

The media continues to buzz about our launch of graduate-level education.

The latest is from The Philadelphia Tribune writer Damon Williams, who interviewed Peirce president Jim Mergiotti about why we created our Organizational Leadership & Management master’s degree program.

Damon wrote an article last week that explains why we created the program and how we hope it will benefit adult learners in Philadelphia. When asked why we chose Organizational Leadership & Management as our first master’s degree program, Jim told Damon:

This particular [program] was selected because what we had was an opportunity with MSOLM to provide leadership and managerial skills to complement what students had on the technical side…Many students have undergrad IT or business and legal degrees, and this gives the best of both worlds to those students. Coupled with a graduate program that is leadership oriented - one that helps them understand how organizations work and behave – will teach these folks how to take that next step in their careers.

To read the rest of Damon's coverage of our master's degree program, check out the full article now. Thanks, Damon, for highlighting our news!

Tips every adult learner should know for career development

DISCOVER: Our CDS workshops can give you
the job search advice you're looking for.

Whether you want to move up in your career, strengthen your professional networks, or change positions, the career development process can seem overwhelming. That’s why our Career Development Services (CDS) team holds multiple workshops each semester to help adult learners navigate the process successfully

The Session 2 Workshop Schedule is now available, and over the next few months we’ll be offering the following workshops:

• Transferable Skills: Career Change Tips. Considering a career change, but aren’t sure how to match your skill set to a new position? We’ll cover tips for creating your resume and writing a cover letter that are tailored to the position you’re applying for. This workshop can benefit career changers, those new to the workplace, and those who want to discover new techniques to improve their resume.
• Job Search Techniques. You will learn how to balance your job search with the rest of life’s responsibilities. Some skills you’ll learn to hone include time management and networking. You’ll also discover how to capitalize on social media and online job boards in your job search process.
• Interviewing Skills. You will learn interviewing strategies that can help you break the ice, build rapport, communicate your skills, address any negatives employers might see on your resume (including employment gaps), and respond to tricky questions.

Read more »

MOOCs versus online education offered by colleges and universities

MOOCs – or massive open online courses – have been abuzz in the media lately, and there are conflicting opinions about where they fit in the higher education spectrum. Many of these courses have been spearheaded by professors at Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, and other well-known colleges and universities and are usually inexpensive or free.

Here at Peirce, we applaud any advancement that allows more students to access education, and MOOCs can provide learning opportunities to those who might not be able to attend a traditional college degree program. But there are key differences between MOOCs and online education programs offered by colleges and universities, the biggest being that most MOOCs do not result in college credit. While some institutions offer certificates upon MOOC completion, most cannot be applied toward a college degree program. We want to help add some more clarity to the conversation and explain some of the other biggest variances.

Faculty engagement. Anyone can sign up for a MOOC, so thousands of students can take any given course at the same time. With such a large class size, students rarely have the chance to interact with the instructor. Assessments in MOOCs are often peer-reviewed or automatically graded, so instructors usually don’t have the opportunity to guide students in their progress.

Conversely, many online programs offered by colleges and universities are structured so students can engage with their instructors frequently. Even though all or most of the interaction is done online, many instructors get to know their students, including their learning styles and how they’re faring in the class. One-on-one interaction is often crucial to helping students better understand and absorb course materials.

Read more »

What job candidates can learn from presidential candidates

All presidential candidates experience their fair share of media and public spotlight. They’re graded on what they say and how they say it, and there’s no shortage of lessons that can be gleaned about how to communicate, build a positive image, and demonstrate intelligence, aptitude, and strong character.

We can all learn from these experiences, especially job seekers. I put together eight of them when reporter Julia West recently asked me to speak on the similarities between a political campaign and the job search process. She utilized one of them in her article in Metro, which you can read now. To build on her article, here are my other seven suggestions for how any job seeker can create a strong campaign for a new position.

Blanket the market with strong visuals. Some campaign ads simply resonate and make you want to learn more about that candidate. Your resume and cover letter should as well. Make sure they are clear, concise, and relevant to your audience.

Read more »

Want to win a $10,000 scholarship toward your Peirce College tuition?

OPPORTUNITY: Apply for the President's Scholarship
to win up to $10,000 toward your education!

Part of Peirce's mission is to give adult learners access to the education they want and need to achieve their career and personal goals. One way we do that is by offering a multitude of scholarships that can assist students in financing their education.

One of the biggest scholarships we offer is the President's Scholarship, which awards up to $10,000 to several Peirce students. The application deadline for this year's President's Scholarship is fast-approaching -- all entries are due by Nov. 1.

Any number of Peirce students can win up to $10,000 in scholarship money. Last year, 19 Peirce students won a combined $50,000 toward their education. This year, it could be you!

New applicants to the College or current Peirce students with fewer than 15 Peirce College credits are eligible to apply for this scholarship. To enter, each candidate must submit a scholarship review package consisting of the following:

Read more »

How a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership & Management will benefit adult learners in Philadelphia

We recently unveiled Peirce's first master degree program -- a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership & Management, with classes beginning in fall 2013. We've already written about what this degree will offer, and want to provide more details about how this degree will benefit adult learners and can help them move into higher positions in their organizations.

This master's degree program gives adult learners a focused path to becoming strong leaders in their chosen field, from education to information technology, and more. Graduates will learn to develop and implement interpersonal, group, inter-group, or organization-wide change through classes in communication, leadership, and decision making.

As Peter Key reported when he covered our brand new program in the Philadelphia Business Journal, this master's degree program differs from MBA programs. While most MBA programs focus on traditional methods of business management with a quantitative approach, our program provides more contemporary methods of managing through motivation, commitment, inspiration, and communication.

Read more »

Some guidance for deciding if a career in HR is right for you

Job growth in the administrative and support sector is projected to grow by 21 percent by 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's anticipated that many of those jobs will be in employment and human resources services. So it's worth asking yourself: Is a career in human resources right for you?

I spoke with Julia West at Metro Philadelphia recently about just that topic and filled her in on what personality traits work best for human resources professionals. I mentioned that you must have a strong sense of ethics and confidentiality to work in human resources, and that people who can keep to themselves and not divulge sensitive information are best suited for the profession.

For more on what I and other experts said, be sure to read the full article.

CAREER IN HR? How to know if it's right for you

Read more »

What are the benefits of a college degree in a down economy?

Several media points have recently called the benefits of a college degree into question, in light of factors including stagnant employment numbers and increasingly high student debt. For instance, in Newsweek's cover article, "Is College a Lousy Investment?" the author comments that "the extra time and money spent pursuing a college diploma will leave [people] worse off than they were before they set foot on campus."

But it's a much more complicated issue than it seems. For instance, there's significant evidence underscoring how major career accomplishments can't be achieved without a college degree. We wanted to provide a counterpoint to those who say a college degree isn't worthwhile and share with you the five biggest career-focused benefits of a college degree.

LEARN TO EARN: The higher your education level,
the more you'll make over your lifetime.

People with a college degree earn more over their lifetime. 

We've said it before, but it remains one of the most important factors in the college degree debate. A college graduate can expect to earn about $2.3 million over their lifetime, while a high school graduate can expect about $1.23 million, on average. This is according to a Georgetown University study titled "The College Payoff: Education, Occupations, Lifetime Earnings." The study also estimates bachelor's degree holders make 74 percent more over their lifetime than high school graduates.

Obtaining a bachelor's degree also opens the door for further academic endeavors. According to the study, those who hold a graduate degree can expect lifetime earnings at least double that of those with only a high school diploma. Graduate degree holders have median lifetime earnings of $2.7 million.

Read more »

Unveiling … the first Peirce College graduate degree program

Since we opened our doors in 1865, we've been focused on offering practical business education to the Philadelphia community. Over the past 147 years, we've stayed true to our mission of providing a quality and affordable education for working adult students, supporting career advancement, and encouraging lifelong learning.

We've undergone a dramatic transformation over the past two decades to support that mission and to continue to provide Philadelphians with the education they want and need to stay relevant in today's workforce. We evolved beyond a junior college and began offering bachelor's degrees in 1997, then expanded into online education in 1999.

Today, we're continuing that transformation by introducing graduate level education at Peirce College. Our inaugural master's degree will be a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership & Management, with classes starting in September 2013.

Read more »