Best Posts in Forum: Career, Work, Finances and Education

I agree with you ALL DAY!

 

History is written by those who have conquered. Western Civilization for all of its highly romanticized history has created a world that advanced culture, technology, and governance. Ideas from Western philosophy are incredibly useful today. For the most part, democracy is good, self-governance is good, liberty and the free exchange of ideas are good. What is not so good is the overly romantic view, a lot of what western cultures have done in the name of religion or philosophy is inherently evil and racist. Western cultures have a hard time reconciling that proposition. The reason is that some of these philosophies are evil, not other rationales can be made. Also, the so many of the world conflicts, weapons of war, weapons of mass destruction, wealth disparities are a direct result of a conquering culture no one wants to admit that.

I am cosmopolitan, some would call me part of the liberal elite, some in my own country don't view the world as I do, wanting it to be open, wanting ideas to blend, new culture to form, many of those people are direct descendants of people who have done nothing but pillage and conquer and take, mostly through violent force. They are afraid that we have learned too well and that threatens the order.

 

Yeah...all this makes sense but...umm...this is supposed to be a professional work environment. I've had to work with and manage plenty of fem gay dudes before...some knew some didn't and either way I was still discreet. Something about this situation isn't sitting well with me. I can't put my finger on it.

 

Awwwwwww, come here***hugs cypher21***

I wouldn't beat myself up. It's ok to have a career block during college, especially if you haven't gone to see the Wiz to get back home. It won't last long.

I would try to take a career aptitude test to identify at least two other possible skill areas you can pull out the box to help use as a Career Plan B.

I then would interview some people who have careers in your major. It is important to get their perspective based on their experiences for research purposes.

Forthgoing, after taking a career aptitude test, I would then try to talk to a career counselor to identify at least two Plan B careers.

Of course, while pursing the major, take advantage of short-term projects, internships and volunteering opportunities (www.volunteermatch.org), so that those things can help with telling you if you love this career or it's not for you.

You are in a good place, if you are in your first or second year. Be honest with yourself and prepare for a possible career change, if your heart isn't in your major. Just make sure that by the time your name is called to get your degree, your career goal is something you LOVE to do (not just because of money or salary), with a backup plan just in case.

 

Robert F. Smith is the richest black man in America



Morehouse College seniors got a surprise Sunday when billionaire investor Robert F. Smith announced during his commencement speech that he would pay off the student loan debt for the historically black college's graduating class.

"On behalf of the eight generations of my family who have been in this country, we're going to put a little fuel in your bus," he told the newly minted graduates in Atlanta before saying his family was creating a grant to eliminate their student loans.

The announcement was met with a standing ovation and chants of "MVP!"

"Now, I know my class will make sure they pay this forward," he continued. "I want my class to look at these (alumni) -- these beautiful Morehouse brothers -- and let's make sure every class has the same opportunity going forward because we are enough to take care of our own community. We are enough to ensure we have all the opportunities of the American dream."

The total amount covered for the 396 students is up to $40 million, said Morehouse President David A. Thomas. He called Smith's gesture "a liberation gift."

"When you have to service debt, the choices about what you can go do in the world are constrained," he said. "(Smith's gift) gives them the liberty to follow their dreams, their passions."
Students say they're overwhelmed with gratitude.

Students couldn't believe their ears when Smith made the announcement, three graduates of the all-men's college told CNN.

"We're looking at each other like, 'Is he being serious?' That's a lot of money," salutatorian Robert James, 21, said.

Jonathan Epps, 22, said Sunday afternoon he still hadn't fully grasped the magnitude of the "tremendous blessing," which he called the kindest, most generous thing he'd ever witnessed.



"It'll sink in as the years go on. I know that for a fact," he said. "I still don't really have words. ... It makes a great day just that much better." Epps said he has about $35,000 in student loan debt that his parents in Pleasanton, California, had pledged to help him pay off. He couldn't wait to break the news to them, he said.

A classmate, Elijah Nesly Dormeus, is the first of nine kids to graduate college. His mother made many sacrifices working minimum-wage jobs to provide for him and his eight siblings after Dormeus' father died when he was 5. In addition to the 22-year-old New Yorker's own $90,000 debt, he said his mother took out a loan to help get him through school. "All her serving, all her giving was not in vain," Dormeus said when asked what Smith's gift meant to his family.

Smith has made many other charitable donations

The students' benefactor also received an honorary degree Sunday, along with actor Angela Bassett and psychologist Edmund Gordon. The entrepreneur, founder of the investment firm Vista Equity Partners, is worth about $5 billion, according to Forbes, which reports he is the richest black person in America.

In 2017, Smith signed the Giving Pledge, an effort spearheaded by billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to convince wealthy Americans to give away half of their fortunes.
In signing the pledge, Smith said he would focus on causes that support equality for black Americans and the environment. His wife, model Hope Dworaczyk Smith, will focus on helping children, he wrote.
"I will never forget that my path was paved by my parents, grandparents and generations of African-Americans whose names I will never know," Smith said. "Their struggles, their courage, and their progress allowed me to strive and achieve. My story would only be possible in America, and it is incumbent on all of us to pay this inheritance forward."

The 56-year-old Smith was a chemical engineer for Goodyear and Kraft before attending business school. He worked for Goldman Sachs, specializing in technology investments, before starting Vista Equity in 2000.
Vista Equity invests solely in software, data, and technology companies and boasts capital commitments of $46 billion, the company's website says.

Smith has quite the generous streak. In 2016, Cornell University, one of his alma maters, renamed its chemical and biomolecular engineering school in honor of the Austin, Texas, investor after he committed to donating $50 million to the school. He's also donated millions to cancer research and the arts.
His Fund II Foundation provides grants under five pillars: preserving the African-American experience, safeguarding human rights, conserving the environment, providing music education and sustaining "critical American values such as entrepreneurialism," the organization says.

In 2017, Smith signed the Giving Pledge, an effort spearheaded by billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to convince wealthy Americans to give away half of their fortunes.

In signing the pledge, Smith said he would focus on causes that support equality for black Americans and the environment. His wife, model Hope Dworaczyk Smith, will focus on helping children, he wrote.
"I will never forget that my path was paved by my parents, grandparents and generations of African-Americans whose names I will never know," Smith said. "Their struggles, their courage, and their progress allowed me to strive and achieve. My story would only be possible in America, and it is incumbent on all of us to pay this inheritance forward."

Robert F. Smith surprises Morehouse grads with promise to pay off student loans - CNN

 

In case there's a ballet/dance conpany in your town and you thought they were only good for 'The Nutcracker'/'Swan Lake'. Believe it or not, yalls resident hoodrat friend @SB3 used to live this life.

 

Why being handsome is seen as a threat by bosses and bad for a man's career | Daily Mail Online

• Good-looking men less likely to get roles showcasing individual talents
• Instead tend to languish in less important positions in workplace teams
• But researchers in UK and US found women don't face same challenges
• Actor Rob Lowe said good looks had made it tough to further his career

if you thought it was just women who are judged on their looks at work, think again. It seems men have it far worse. Researchers say handsome men are less likely to get their dream job.

A study found that good-looking gents are seen as a threat by their male bosses and are less likely to be given roles that showcase their individual talents as a result.



Instead, they tend to languish in less important positions in workplace teams because they are still viewed as ‘competent’ even though they are unwanted competition for some.

However, the study found women don’t face the same challenges.

Researchers at University College London’s School of Management and the University of Maryland in the US carried out four experiments in offices.

They found that when men were hiring other men to work with them, their decision was affected by the attractiveness of the candidate and the type of job.



However, attractive women did not face the same problem because being pretty is not associated with competence among female stereotypes.

Lead researcher, assistant professor Sun Young Lee of Maryland University, said: ‘Managers are affected by stereotypes and make hiring decisions to serve their own self-interests so organisations may not get the most competent candidates.

‘With more companies involving employees in recruitment processes, this important point needs attention.

‘Awareness that hiring is affected by potential work relationships and stereotyping tendencies can help organisations improve their selection processes.’



To get the best workers, irrespective of looks, bigger companies may find it more beneficial to have a neutral, outside recruitment company doing the hiring, she suggested.

“When there are these subtle hints of competition within colleagues, as is often the case, then attractive males are actually at a disadvantage, and they're actually discriminated against,” said organizational behavior researcher Marko Pitesa in an interview with NPR.

The findings only apply in certain roles — there’s a reason unemployment lines aren’t chock full of handsome devils. Pitesa says that the effect is observed in roles and fields where coworkers compete directly with one another. Pitesa uses the example of a car dealership: Cars sold by another salesman mean less cars sold by you, thereby impacting your bottom line. Subconsciously, men may avoid hiring handsome men because they perceive them to be too competent.

Otherwise, good looks can be an asset — in cooperative environments, people want to hire those who can help them the most, which means attractive males have the edge.



Pitesa noted that he observed the effect equally in both men and women when evaluating candidates. Interestingly, women suffer from the opposite bias. Attractive women are seen as less competent, so in a way they experience the same pitfalls as attractive men — just for different reasons.

The findings come after actor Rob Lowe complained about how he had found it tough to further his career because of his good looks.

He told the New York Times in April 2014: ‘There’s this unbelievable bias and prejudice against quote-unquote good-looking people , that they can’t be in pain or they can’t have rough lives or be deep or interesting.

‘They can't be any of the things that you long to play as an actor. I'm getting to play those parts now and loving it. When I was a teen idol, I was so goddamn pretty I wouldn't have taken myself seriously.’

 

“To Mr. Munno, my principal, there’s a whole lot of things I’ve wanted to say to you for a long time. ... I’m here as the UPrep 2018 valedictorian to tell you that you couldn’t break me. I’m still here and I’m still here strong,” Jaisaan said in his address. “And after all these years, all this anger I’ve had toward you and UPrep as a whole, I realized I had to let that go in order to better myself. And I forgive you for everything I held against you.”



Imagine earning your spot as valedictorian for your class, only to have it taken away from you, without the principal even looking at your speech?

That’s what happened to Jaisaan Lovett, who recently graduated from University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men, with a full ride to Clark Atlanta University to boot.

Not only is Jaisaan smart and hardworking, he is the first black valedictorian from his school and had prepared a speech meant to address things he thought were important such as thanks to his parents, siblings, teachers, classmates ... and especially his principal.

However, that speech would never be heard at graduation. The school refused to let him speak. Lovett said that was due to personal issues between himself and Joseph Munno, the principal, WCNC reports.



However, with the help of Rochester, N.Y., Mayor Lovely Warren, who Jaisaan happened to be interning with, his speech was not only heard by the people in the school but the whole city, and now the whole nation.

Warren invited Jaisaan to City Hall to deliver the speech, which was then uploaded to the city’s official YouTube channel.

 

These four men have partnered up to create Harlem Capital, taking on the task of funding black and brown founders, full speed ahead. According to the site, their goal is to invest in 1,000 diverse founders over the next 20 years. Meet the team below:


John Henry (Image: Harlem Capital)

John Henry is venture partner of Harlem Capital Partners where he focuses on operational improvements, deal sourcing, brand management and investor relations. In addition, he is the managing partner of a real estate fund, VM Properties. Henry previously invested in seed stage real estate tech companies through an accelerator, AREA. He also hosted Open For Business, a branded podcast from eBay and Gimlet Creative, about building businesses from the ground up. The show debuted at No. 1 on the Business Podcasts charts on iTunes.

At the age of 18, Henry left college to pursue what became his first company, an on-demand laundry service. He quickly carved out a niche in film and television production, handling wardrobe for clients such as Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: SVU, Power, and more. Within just two years of launching Mobile City, the company was successfully acquired. Afterwards, Henry co-founded a nonprofit incubator, Cofound Harlem, with a mission to incubate over 100 companies north of 96th street in New York City.


Henri Pierre-Jacques (Image: Harlem Capital)

Henri Pierre-Jacques is co-founder and managing partner of Harlem Capital Partners where he focuses on fund strategies, processes, VC partnerships, value-add opportunities and financial analysis. Pierre-Jacques is currently an M.B.A. candidate at Harvard Business School (2019).

Previously, Pierre-Jacques was a private equity associate at ICV Partners where he evaluated and conducted due diligence on mid-market buy-out opportunities. Prior to ICV, he was an investment banking analyst in the Real Estate, Gaming & Lodging Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he completed mergers & acquisitions, debt refinances, and various strategic alternatives. Pierre-Jacques sat on a nonprofit board for Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) where he focused on social engagement, professional development, and philanthropy for MLT alumni in the NYC area.


Jarrid Tingle (Image: Harlem Capital)

Jarrid Tingle is co-founder and managing partner of Harlem Capital Partners where he focuses on deal sourcing, organizational strategy, financial analysis, and due diligence efforts. Tingle is currently an M.B.A. candidate at Harvard Business School (2019).

Tingle was a private equity investment professional at ICV Partners. At ICV, he was responsible for evaluating control investment opportunities, constructing financial models, and monitoring two portfolio companies to assist with annual budgets and strategic initiatives (e.g., add-on acquisitions, business development, and financing).

Prior to ICV, he was an investment banking analyst in the Global Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group at Barclays where he executed several M&A and financing transactions. Outside of HCP and ICV, Tingle is co-president of the Lantern Senior Society Graduate Board, a graduate director for the Eta Chapter of Delta Phi Fraternity, and an MLT MBA Prep Fellow.


Brandon Bryant (Image: Harlem Capital)

Brandon Bryant is co-founder and venture partner of Harlem Capital Partners where he focuses on deal sourcing, market analysis, and fund strategies. In addition, Bryant is the creative director of Wall Street Paper, a digital creative outlet that is focused on lifestyle and culture for the modern gentleman. He has partnered with prominent brands such as GQ Magazine, Cole Haan, Perry Ellis, and Diageo.

Previously, Bryant was the head of Social Engagement at Wilson, where he focused on digital media strategy for clients specifically on mobile and social media. Prior, he was an investment banking analyst in the Debt Capital Markets Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he analyzed debt structures for clients in preparations for IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and spin-offs.

Check out their investment criteria here.

 

African-Americans over-represented among low-paying college majors

More African-Americans are going to college than ever before. But according to new research from the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, African-American college students are more likely to pursue majors that lead to low-paying jobs, setting up many for future debt and underemployment. And over time these occupational choices contribute to the wealth and opportunity gap between whites and blacks that spans generations.

“Basically, African-Americans have been going to the right church but sitting in the wrong pew,” director Anthony Carnevale said. “In a way they are using education to climb the social and economic ladder, but they’re being steered toward majors that will make them low-earners.”

African-Americans make up only a small percentage of some of the highest-paying of majors, including those in STEM and business. They’re only 8 percent of engineering, 7 percent of mathematics and 5 percent of computer science majors. Worse, Carnevale said even those who do major in high-paying fields, typically choose the lowest paying major within them. For example, the majority of black women in STEM typically study biology, the lowest-paying of the science discipline. Among engineers, most black men study civil engineering, the lowest-paying in that sector.


African-American college students tend to have majors in public service which are also some of the country’s lowest-paying. As this chart shows, African-Americans are over-represented in majors that are some of the lowest paying. Image from Center on Education and the Workforce

In contrast, black college students are over-represented in service-oriented fields: humanities, education and social work (shown in the chart below). One of the lowest-paying majors common among African-Americans with a bachelor’s degree is early childhood education and the median earnings is only $38,000 annually compared to $65,000 for computer science (the lowest among high-paying majors for African-Americans). Carnivale says this is largely because American society overall “does not value service-oriented occupations.”


As this chart shows, African-Americans are over-represented in majors that are some of the lowest paying. Image from Center on Education and the Workforce

Another reason for the disparity is merely personal choice. Many service-oriented majors lead to careers that are vital to political and social movements in poor, minority communities around the country. And the study indicates that African-Americans who have strong community-based values enter into college majors that reflect those values. Despite comprising just 12 percent of the population, African-Americans are 20 percent of all community organizers.

The center also points out that the majority of college-educated African-Americans earn their degrees from two-year institutions or open-admission four-year colleges and universities. Seventy percent of African-Americans who graduate from college attended an open-admission school. With a few exceptions, these institutions not only have limited majors and course offerings, but also lack personnel and academic resources for consistent mentorship. Often, the result is a black student being what Carnevale calls “risk adverse,” or shying away from the unfamiliar.

Over time, low-paying majors affect economic prosperity. There’s a $4 million difference in earnings between a four-year degree in early childhood education and petroleum engineering over an entire career. Black students end up with less savings and disposable income paying for educations that landed them low-paying jobs in the first place. It stifles the African-American middle class and contributes to the country’s economic inequality.

So what’s the solution? The Center on Education and the Workforce recommends aggressive counseling of minority students early on, encouraging young African-Americans to develop careers in tech, business and STEM that incorporate elements of community service. Carnevale points out that a black business executive could still be a community advocate by providing jobs and small business loans.

“We don’t want to say education is a bad thing for African-Americans because it’s not,” Carnevale says. “On the other hand, to the extent that choices are limited and experience is limited, the pursuit of their passion needs to be informed. Chasing your dreams shouldn’t turn into a nightmare.”

 

It’s a fact that some people are pre-destined for greatness. That seems to be the case for a young man who was literally born to fly.

His name is Jonathan Strickland and would you believe that by the age of 14, he already held six world records for piloting an aircraft?!

Wait, young Mr. Strickland wasn’t through. By the time he reached 23, he became one the youngest commercial airline captains in the United States. And if that is not enough to get you excited, he has now made history again, by becoming the youngest pilot (25 years old) hired by UPS in their 110-year history.

Here’s what UPS, his new employer has to say about Jonathan Strickland on its Facebook page:

“His incredible work ethic and support from groups like Young Eagles and the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals have helped Jonathan achieve his goals. UPS is proud to partner with OBAP and Jonathan, and we can’t wait to see where his career takes him next.”

 

I was reading an article on Adam 4 Adam about older men dating younger men. I wasn’t trying to feel what that article had to say, as I believe in staying in my own dating sandbox, plus/minus a few years. I give equal “side eye” to black men who whine about white guys putting filters for white only in Grinder, Scruff and other apps, just as I do to older guys complaining about not being seen as viable by younger guys. This doesn’t change the fact that gay folk can have ridiculous notions about age and aging. Human beings naturally congregate with like human beings, by age, race, interests, etc. Get over it. But the article DID get me thinking about how older (i.e. Over 40) gay/bi men can and should interact with younger men. Steel sharpens steel; men should help sharpen other men.

There have to be places for gay/bi men to come together that don’t necessarily involve hookups. This is part of the reason why I joined Cypher Avenue’s message forums; for conversation and exchange of ideas. Many young gay men get this experience through personal or professional associations. I know quite a few older gay/bi brothers (very often closeted) that belong to Black Greek fraternities that mentor younger members, both sides knowing of their sexual orientation. And we all know religious or other professional men’s conventions and gatherings that—behind the scenes and in between sessions and seminars—turn into hookups, and DL parties and other offline gatherings.

But what about those younger gay/bi men who don’t belong to some fraternity, organization, or other professional association where they can interact with older men who can be professional, business, cultural or spiritual mentors without some ulterior or sexual “Daddy” motives involved? Where does the young, geeky or artsy or nerdy gay black male go for some advice for advice or encouragement, particularly if they don’t live in a big city; come from an impoverished background with no male figures; or only have access to like-minded individuals over the Internet? Having been that nerdy, arty, geeky kid that didn’t belong to a college fraternity or have some black professional mentor or role model take me under his wing, I had to go through life alone and figure out my way and successes through trial and error, being the “first black guy,” that “one black guy” or the “fly in the buttermilk” in many educational or professional settings.

As I’ve told my own nephews, I don’t mind having made mistakes in life as long as those who come after me learn from them and don’t repeat them. That’s why I’m quick with “the daps” and encouragement for all the younger members on the message forums who are entering their chosen professions, finishing school, getting out and seeing the world. When I was in my 20s, there were barely any sites like Cypher Avenue. Yeah, there were the USENET boards, AOL chat rooms, etc. in the 90s but they didn’t have the immediate impact of today’s social media tools. But I’m a firm believer in the face-to-face. Online communication is great but sometimes the Internet can flatten the dimensionality of interaction.

QUESTION: How should and in what better ways can older gay men (those 40 and older), particularly older black gay men, mentor younger gay men? Scholarships? Organizations? Personal relationships?







Read the whole post here.

 

“Racism is alive and well,” one researcher says.

My four going on five year old Niece is experiencing this first hand in Pre-K right now.
She's the lone black student left in her class that hasn't been removed because of behavior problems.
She was having trouble with her reading and the teacher felt that the way to handle it was to not give her the material since she wasn't ready.
I felt differently and reasoned that if she's not getting it in school, get the material and do it at home so that she could learn to become ready, fast forward a few months later and she's one of the strongest readers in her class.
Learning doesn't end at the ring of the bell, it's just if not more important to enforce it at home as it is during school hours.
Her teacher seems to have all of the patience in the world for many of the typical, behavioral or introductory learning issues the kids have as long as they look like her.
Picking up and running to a new school would have been the easy answer but my Sister listened to me and realized this is unfortunately just the beginning.


Rebecca KleinEditor, HuffPost Education

A new study found that white and black teachers had different predictions when asked about the same black student.

White teachers tend to have a lot more faith in the abilities of students who look like them, according to a new study.

The study from Johns Hopkins and American University researchers found when white and black teachers were asked about the same student, white teachers had comparatively negative predictions for their students of color.

The research was published in the journal Economics of Education Review. Conclusions are based on a data set from a 2002 longitudinal study that followed over 8,000 10th-grade students. Included in the data set was a survey where reading and math teachers were asked about the long-term capabilities of the same student. Researchers stratified survey answers by the race and gender of teachers and students.

The results are disheartening.

When asked to rank the likelihood that their students would graduate, white teachers (and other non-black educators) were 12 percentage points more likely than black teachers to say their black students wouldn’t finish high school. On the other hand, black teachers had similar estimations of both their black and white students. Non-black educators were also significantly less likely to predict that their black students would complete college.

White teachers had particularly harsh predictions for black boys. Non-black teachers thought their black male students were 5 percent less likely to graduate high school than their black female students.

The study is the first step in a larger research project to determine how teacher expectations impact student outcomes, said Johns Hopkins University economist Nicholas Papageorge, who co-authored the study. This study does not yet show causation between teacher expectations and outcomes, but it does indicate a systemic bias. He called the results “shocking and alarming.”

“What I would like to do is make teachers aware of biases,” Papageorge said on the question of whether teachers should undergo cultural competency training. “Racism is alive and well. I’m sure when people look at a black young man they have certain views, and they might not realize they have these views, and that’s really dangerous.”

The study raises questions about whether the low expectations white educators set for black students sometimes becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy — especially when the nation’s teaching force is currently overwhelmingly white and female.

“If I’m a teacher and decide that a student isn’t any good, I may be communicating that to the student,” Papageorge said in a press release. “A teacher telling a student they’re not smart will weigh heavily on how that student feels about their future and perhaps the effort they put into doing well in school.”

Rebecca Klein covers the challenges faced in school discipline, school segregation, and the achievement gap in K-12 education. In particular, she is drilling down into the programs and innovations that are trying to solve these problems. Tips? Email Rebecca.Klein@huffingtonpost.com.

 

Sigh...I've been there OMG. Man. When ever a job leaves the US its because the foreign labor is cheaper and the executives and owners of the company will make more money.
*************

In a video uploaded to YouTube, a gathering of workers at an Indianapolis air conditioning manufacturing plant are stunned and enraged when told they’ll soon be out of work because the company is moving their jobs to Mexico.

The large crowd of employees of a Carrier Air Conditioner manufacturing plant in Indianapolis can be seen milling around as a speaker — dressed in a suit and standing on a stage — addresses them and gives them the bad news.

“The best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterrey, Mexico,” the man can be heard explaining.

The crowd reacts with shouts of outrage, including one man who can be heard yelling, “F*ck you.”

Following that bombshell, he adds that the local distribution center will also be closed, putting more people out of work.

After attempting to calm the crowd down saying he had important information that employees will want to know for the future he explains that the move is being made to “ensure high levels of [manufacturing] quality.”

He goes on to provide them with the cold comfort that “It is important that you understand that there will be no impact on jobs today.”

According to Fox News, the closures will put over 1,400 people out of work.
***************
Thanks NAFTA and TPP by the way Bernie was against both.

 

In my current employment status (temporary), just came across this piece of information.

CareerBuilder Releases List of Hottest Jobs for 2016 - CareerBuilder

In addition to this piece of information, I'm curious to know what the First Job Experience was like for any in the Cypher Avenue community and what any of you learned from it.

 

As part of my night routine to skim through my read-it-later app for articles I saved throughout the day, I found this gem. An interesting perspective given here and I mostly agree. Thoughts?

Original Article:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/opinion/sunday/you-dont-need-more-free-time.html?_r=1

You Don’t Need More Free Time


Gray Matter

By CRISTOBAL YOUNG JAN. 8, 2016



AMERICANS work some of the longest hours in the Western world, and many struggle to achieve a healthy balance between work and life. As a result, there is an understandable tendency to assume that the problem we face is one of quantity: We simply do not have enough free time. “If I could just get a few more hours off work each week,” you might think, “I would be happier.”

This may be true. But the situation, I believe, is more complicated than that. As I discovered in a study that I published with my colleague Chaeyoon Lim in the journal Sociological Science, it’s not just that we have a shortage of free time; it’s also that our free time, in order to be satisfying, often must align with that of our friends and loved ones. We face a problem, in other words, of coordination. Work-life balance is not something that you can solve on your own.

Our study, which drew on data from more than 500,000 respondents to the Gallup Daily Poll, examined the day-to-day fluctuations and patterns in people’s emotions, week after week. Two facts about emotional well-being emerged — one that was intuitive, the other surprising.

The intuitive finding was that people’s feelings of well-being closely tracked the workweek. As measured by things such as anxiety, stress, laughter and enjoyment, our well-being is lowest Monday through Thursday. The workweek is a slog. Well-being edges up on Friday, and really peaks on Saturday and Sunday. We are, in a real sense, living for the weekend.

The surprising finding was that this is also true of unemployed people. We found that the jobless showed almost exactly the same day-to-day pattern in emotional well-being as working people did. Their positive emotions soared on the weekend, and dropped back down again on Monday.

It seems obvious why working people cherish the weekend: It’s a respite from work. But why is the weekend also so important to the unemployed?

The key to answering this question is to recognize that not all time is equal. Time is, in many ways, what sociologists call a “network good.”

Network goods are things that derive their value from being widely shared. Take your computer: Its value depends in large measure on how many other people also have a computer. This is because you use your computer as, among other things, a communication technology: for Internet access, email, Facebook and file sharing. When everyone you know has a computer, the technology is indispensable. But if you were the only person with a computer, its value would be limited.

Free time is also a network good. The weekend derives much of its importance from the fact that so many people are off work together.

To help demonstrate this, my colleague and I conducted a second study, this time using the American Time Use Survey, which tracks how much time people spend doing various activities. We found that the weekly cycle in well-being from our previous study was mirrored in the pattern of time that people spent with family and friends — which was roughly double on weekends what it was during the week. According to our calculations, this increase of social time on the weekend accounted for roughly half the spike in weekend well-being.

Again, this was the same for the jobless. Monday to Friday offers five days when the unemployed are off work by themselves, searching job ads, doing household chores and so on. While the jobless have “free time” during the week, their friends and family still have to go to work. The weekend is when the jobless fall back into sync with society.

The weekend, then, is not just a respite from work, but also gives similar relief from unemployment. It is a time when people can get what they’ve been missing: time together.

This conclusion points to a key feature of the work-life problem: You cannot get more “weekend” simply by taking an extra day off work yourself. If we were to take more time off as individuals, we would be likely to spend that time, as the jobless do, waiting for other people to finish work. We are stuck “at work,” in a sense, by the work schedules of our family and friends.

Over the past few years, many workplaces have looked for ways to create more flexibility in individual work schedules. There is no question that doing so has many benefits. But my research suggests that a disadvantage of these efforts is that they may lead us even further from a weekend-like system of coordinated social time. They threaten, ultimately, to exacerbate the decline in civic engagement and social contact known as the “bowling alone” problem.

The solution might be found in a form of constraint: more standardization of the time for work and the time for life.

• 
  Cristobal Young is an assistant professor of sociology at Stanford University.
  

 

Whenever I talk to people and they ask me what I do for a living I say that I am in the Foreign Service. The usual response is "what is that?" I then have to break it down further and say that I am a United States Diplomat and that get requires further explanation. Well today friends, I am going to give you US Diplomacy 101.

Diplomats represent a country in an official capacity. That means they are charged by oath and decree to speak and act for a particular state (Country). Diplomats perform a wide range of jobs and act in a variety of capacities. In the United States Foreign Service Officer have five fundamental functions (1) Political, meaning acting in the political sphere between states (countries) doing everything from negotiation treaties to informing countries that we are going to war, (2) Public Diplomacy, meaning going into a foreign country and learning everything about it from politics to art to music, i.e., learning about culture, (3) Economic, this speaks for itself, these officers deal with all things economic, primarily trade but its deeper then just that, (4) Management, these officers deal will all foreign assets, i.e., buildings, people, personnel managements, ports, they deal will everything that America owns overseas and they also management it all, (5) Consular Service, these officers are the people you meet working at the front desk of the US facility you go to when you are abroad, they stamp your passport, they get you out of jail when you are locked up abroad, they facilitate foreign adoptions, foreign marriages, they evacuate you when there are problems. The consular service is quite possibly the most important. All of it is aimed at protecting Americans abroad and representing the United States as an entity in the International Community.

For me, I am in the political track. I have attached a video that explains it further.

I write this posting because I think more black Americans should consider a career that prides itself on representing America to the world. The people that do this should be reflective of America. The United States Department of State is by far the most LGBT/SGL friendly department in the entire federal government and offer so much support for its people and families. Blacks and minorities are underrepresented. It offers an opportunity to travel the world, meet new people, experience different cultures, and represents the United States. It also comes with diplomatic immunity, LOTS of benefits, and a decent living where you earn enough money to live off of one persons income. Just a thought from this International Relations nerd!

Sincerely,
BlackguyExecutive