Meteor Shower Tonight

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If you live in the Northeast (as many Allen School students and faculty do) and if you wake up early to start your day, you may be treated to an amazing sight.  The next few pre-dawn mornings will host the annual Leonid Meteor Shower.  Every November, the Earth passes through the tale of comet, Tempel-Tuttle.  The bits of frozen debris in the comet’s tail enter into the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up forming streaks of fire across the sky.  The shooting stars, as many as 20 per hour, will be most visible Thursday and Friday AM between 3AM and dawn.  So if you’re up early to make the coffee, and if you’re far enough away from city lights, have a look up at the dark, pre-dawn skies for an awesome celestial show.  For more about the Leonid Meteor Shower, click here for Wired magazine’s article on the subject.

Top 20 Industries Where Jobs Are Returning

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Well, no one here will likely be surprised, but according to US News & World Report the healthcare field is near the top of the list of industries where jobs are returning fastest.  According to their article linked here: “Healthcare. There was barely a recession in healthcare–employment has been rising consistently in almost every specialty. This is one of the few fields in which there are more jobs today than before the recession began. A lot more, in fact. Jobs gained in 2010: 204,000 Change since 2007: 738,000 jobs gained“ Mining, warehousing and oil extraction also made the list.  But aren’t you glad to be in healthcare rather than digging, lifting or drilling?

Is Fast Food “Less Delicious” than Slow Cooked Food?

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Science has been looking into the causes of obesity in the US population.  One interesting idea is that society has grown less interested in preparing its own food.  As both sexes in the modern world typically work out of the home, food technology has improved to shorten the time it takes to prepare meals.  As a result, the meals themselves are less satisfying and Americans try to regain the satisfaction by consuming more.  When we take our time to prepare a meal from scratch, our brains perceive it as “more delicious”.  Maybe they’ve never tasted my wife’s cooking!  (Just kidding honey!)  These are interesting ideas, but really, is there any evidence to support these conclusions?  Yes!  The article linked here appeared in Wired magazine and it discusses some of the experiments scientists performed to try and get to the bottom of this question.  You’ll be surprised to learn what they’ve found.  Read it and form your own conclusion.

More Ways to Improve Your Resumé

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One of our regular themes here at the Allen School Blog is resumé help/tips/ideas.  As our students graduate and make their way into new careers, the resumé takes on greater significance.  So here’s another in that series courtesy of Lifehack.org.  For the details on each of the eight tips below, click here for the full article.
  1. Make a great first impression.
  2. Select specific industries, businesses, and disciplines
  3. Highlight your expertise, capabilities, skills, and successes.
  4. Improve readability
  5. Quantify your career job, and work life accomplishments.
  6. Polish and showcase accomplishments.
  7. Resume length.

Medical Assistant is #1 Job for Work-Life Balance

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According to this article from Yahoo! entitled, ” Jobs that Let You Flex Your Freedom”, medical assistant is the best job for work-life balance.  The number four job on the list is medical transcriptionist.  Read the article at Yahoo! for the details.

Seeing is Not Always Believing

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Watch this fascinating video about the McGurk Effect.  It deals with the way our brains interpret the vast quantity of stimulus we absorb every minute.  From sounds to visual images, our amazing noggins are able to separate out all the different input and make sense of it.  However, just like optical illusions trick our eyes, there are also “auditory” illusions that can dupe our ears.  This is important as you enter (or re-enter) the career world.  Remember, you may hear your employer or supervisor say one thing, but the boss may have actually said something completely different.  The moral?  Listen carefully!

Tomorrow Is Election Day – Get Out and Vote

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Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last few months, you’ve seen the unbelievable amount of money spent on campaign advertising.  This year a record $4billion is being spent on campaign ads.  I know of a million ways (at least) that the $4billion could have been spent better.  But alas, this is the system we have.  So let’s make it worth it for all the cash that would otherwise be a complete waste and get out there and  VOTE!  Don’t forget, many generations of Americans laid down their lives to protect your right to vote.  So honor those who have fallen by exercising your franchise and make your voice heard.  Tomorrow, November 2, is Election Day.  Go and pull the lever for the people you feel best reflect your values.  Or at least, vote against those whose values run counter to you own.  It is your most precious right as an American!

It’s Not What You Know, It’s How Well You Interact

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You know the old saying, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” that is the key to success.  Well, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have recently published findings in Science magazine that confirm this old adage.  In school we always wanted the “brainy” kid to be our lab partner right?  In the job world, we always seek to engage the smartest/most experienced people to work on our project team.  The thinking being that having the smartest people in our work groups would ensure a good grade or superior job performance.  But it seems that intelligence is not the essential ingredient to success in the group format.  Rather, it is social sensitivity – the ability to pick up on emotional clues from others – that makes for the most effective groups.    Read a good synopsis of the findings of this fascinating study that was published here in Wired magazine.  Remember it when your employer asks you to team up with others to handle a task or project.

In Haiti: Its Not Lack of Science, It’s Poverty

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On top of the utter destruction wrought upon the island nation of Haiti by this year’s earthquake, a cruel new misfortune is adding to the misery. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Haitians, people whose homes were destroyed in quake, are living in squalid conditions in temporary tent camps. Without adequate access to clean water or sufficient medical supplies, an epidemic of Cholera has broken out. BoingBoing blogger, Maggie Baker explains what Cholera is and does:
“The bug behind this devastation—the bacterium Vibrio cholerae—is a fascinating and frustrating creature. Fascinating, because of its role in the development of epidemiology and what we’re still learning from it. Frustrating, because it ought to be relatively simple to treat and prevent infection. We know what to do to help a cholera victim survive. All it takes is access to clean water and the most basic medical supplies. The trouble here isn’t science, it’s poverty. Cholera is, essentially, the worst food poisoning you can possibly imagine. In fact, it’s related to Vibrio vulnificus, a bacteria that tends to infect people via undercooked seafood. After you ingest the cholera bacteria, it’ll hang out in your gut for a few days before symptoms kick in. Once they do, though, cholera can kill you within hours. How? I’ll be blunt: Massive, constant diarrhea that drains the body of fluids and electrolytes and leaves victims looking like glassy-eyed, hollow-cheeked corpses before they actually are.”
The problem isn’t that medical science cannot beat cholera.  In fact all that’s needed to beat cholera is clean water and antibiotics.  The problem is poverty – there simply isn’t enough money to ensure clean drinking water and access to simple medical treatment for the Haitian population.  Over the jump is a list of places where you can contribute (even the smallest donation is HUGELY valuable) to saving the lives of people who simply shouldn’t have to die. Continue reading…

Some Factual Information About Job Growth

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With the upcoming election, politicians are yammering on and on about the jobs picture in this country and how it should affect your choice on whom to vote for. Needless to say, when listening to politicians, you’re likely to hear more lies than truths. However, the facts are out there if one wishes to seek them out. Now, no one can say that the jobs picture is pretty and we are a far way away from returning to the full employment we enjoyed before the economy tanked. However, it is an indisputable fact (as shown in the video below) that job losses have been shrinking and job growth has returned (albeit slowly) since 2009. Also, you should give yourselves a pat on the back for chosing a career in an industry that is poised for significant growth. Keep this video in mind when listening to the candidates talk about unemployment on the campaign trail. And don’t forget to vote on November 2nd!