Blog

Here’s some insight. Depending on your browser and Google search settings, you can start typing and Google will suggest search topics based on what it sees. If you start typing in, “how to figure out what…” Google automatically suggests you may be searching results for “how to figure out what...

I had a conversation with a young man recently who expressed interest in exploring the plumbing or HVAC trades. He had no experience in those trades, though he was mechanically inclined and always working around the house fixing and building things. But he had a full-time job and a family to support,...

It’s your lucky day. For the TLDNR (‘too long, did not read’) among us, the answer to the question posed by the article’s title can be boiled down to this: Jobs are the building blocks of a career. Interested in exploring this a little deeper? Read on. Beyond the Words We all should...

Hardly a week goes by when I don’t come across and article like this one reporting on the labor shortage playing out nationwide. In this case, a survey reports that 70% of remodeling contractors are saying they can’t find enough help, especially skilled workers. Many of them have to turn down jobs...

A bandwagon is rolling across the country. It’s exemplified by this website and many other organizations that are devoting time, effort and money to address the nationwide shortage of skilled labor. In late February, Lowe’s Companies, Inc., the parent company of the country’s second largest home...

How did they do it? How did Barack Obama figure out he wanted to be the president of the United States one day? What helped Elon Musk decided to become an entrepreneur? Is there a course to take, or a book to read, about how to decide on a career? Don’t be concerned if you’re […]

I composed that headline with a sense of bitter irony. Most high-school counselors and a good portion of the general public tend to think that the only people entering the trades are those “not cut out for college.” Put more bluntly, they think college is for smart kids while the worst students gravitate...

Regular readers of this blog know that a subject I hammer on repeatedly is the high cost of college and the dubious return on investment that brings for many college graduates – even worse for college dropouts. If you’re in the mood for a review, check out this blog from last August.  Bringing me...

I’m a news junkie. As a journalist by calling, that’s to be expected. My daily reading list (mostly online nowadays) includes the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Economist magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune (my hometown daily newspapers) and a local suburban newspaper...