Heading out to beat the Turkey Day rush, but I didn’t want to leave without letting you know that the Turkey edition of the Carnival of College Admissions is live! It’s the perfect side dish on a slow office day, I must say.

As always, CollegeSurfing is thrilled to be in such awesome higher ed blogging company — so many thanks to my fellow Carnival contributors (don’t miss out on their informative, sometime hilarious posts!), and host, Mark Montgomery.

One more thing to be thankful for: The next Carnival of College Admissions will be hosted right here, at the CollegeSurfing Insider blog on December 10th. For details on participating, drop me a line: dawn@collegebound.net.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

There’s something to be said about paying your dues in the working world, especially now as the country faces the highest unemployment rate in 14 years. A low-paying job is better than no job, I say, and according to one career expert, it might even be the best thing you ever do for your career. That expert is Paul Facella, CEO of consulting firm Inside Management and author of “Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s” (McGraw-Hill, November 2008).

I love this idea in the same way that I think internships are often more eye opening than any business class you’ll take. Even if you’re filing and running mail from floor to floor, there’s much to be observed. And in my own experience, working in a video store during college taught me more about customer relations, marketing, and sales than my business minor did. No joke! I also have a good friend who worked at the mall to help pay the bills while she was earning her master’s degree in speech therapy. She wound up climbing up the retail chain while she schooled, and ended up becoming a regional manager for a prominent clothing store. So you never know.

That being said, here’s Facella’s rationale for why working in McDonald’s — or an equivalent low-rung job — can be a real learning experience (beyond how to operate the fry machine), if you let it…

• It teaches you the ropes.
  Be curious, ask questions, and offer suggestions. You’ll wind up learning more about business than in most MBA classes.
• It hones your work style.
  Always work hard—and never be satisfied. Traits such as these will serve you down the road as an executive or entrepreneur.
• It refines relationship skills.
  Now is the time to perfect your people skills. “Practice” listening more than talking, resolving conflicts, and rolling with the punches.
• It creates opportunities.
  Choose wisely and you can move up the ranks quickly. Look for a company like McDonald’s, with a proven track record of aggressive talent management and exceptional career velocity.
• It forms networks.
  Take care with your work relationships—higher-ups, peers, and subordinates. You’ll have career champions for a lifetime.
• It reinforces humility.
  There is no upside to unemployment. Learn to appreciate the goodness of work itself and what a job can teach you.

The point here is not necessarily to go work at the local fast food joint if you’re out of work, or that school is a waste of time. But when entering a new job or career — especially in a down market — you may have to consider opportunities beneath your skill level or take a pay cut. In doing so, however, it may give you a chance to apply and flex the skills you learned about in the classroom. And that just may turn out to be a wise investment.

Tell me about your lowest level job and what you learned there…

Many career experts will tell you that it’s vital to learn new skills to stay afloat and competitive in a tough job market. If you’re like me, you equate that with hard skills, like some sort of computer proficiency like Web design, or knowledge that’s very specific to a trade (like medical billing). Often overlooked is the most basic of communication skills — learning a new language.

Like anything else, becoming conversant in a new language requires a time and money investment, and therefore, you need to consider what the payoff will be beyond showing off at parties. In other words, you’ll have to choose a language that can open up new career avenues for you. For instance, if you currently work in the business sector and deal with international clients, it might serve you to learn Japanese if that’s what your company’s client base speaks. If you work in fields like homeland security or in the armed forces, being able to speak and understand Arabic is an extremely coveted skill (think Jack Bauer on “24″!). Educators who can speak Spanish or Chinese can better serve a growing population of ESL students. If you work in the hotel and restaurant industry, consider learning a language that will help you better converse with clients and vendors (perhaps French or Italian?). Realtors who work in areas with a lot of non-English speaking buyers/sellers can pick up new business by eliminating the need for a translator. The list goes on and on…

The great thing about learning a language, is that it’s a skill you can take with you forever, and it’s relatively less expensive to pursue than some other courses of study. Plus, many language study providers allow you to learn at home online, or with really in-depth software programs. In other words, it can be done at your own pace. On an intellectual level, once you become confident in your new language abilities, you’re on your way to experiencing a whole new culture, and it may even inspire you to visit new places — not only in your career, but in your personal travels.

What about you? Have you been considering learning a language? Or if you have already, please share how it’s helped in your career and life.

Credit is fast becoming an outdated concept. The stock market is tanking. Layoffs are out of control. There is one bright spot in this down market, however; many of those affected (or afraid of being affected) are taking a proactive approach to getting back on their feet via continuing, technical, or career education.

According to a New York Times article this week, applications are surging at New York’s community colleges, a sign that adults are seeking to improve their skills or learn new ones to make themselves more marketable.

And an increasing number of adults looking for a second income have been turning to the continuing education department at La Guardia Community College in Long Island City for classes in taxi driving and computer repair; enrollment in computerized bookkeeping for Windows is up 57 percent.

“This is unprecedented,” said Winston Yarde, Queensborough’s director of admissions. “When Circuit City lays off hundreds of employees, these are the students who are coming to Q.C.C. to prepare themselves for careers in electronic technology, not just jobs.”

… In some fields, like health services, the growth has been even more rapid, as much as 30 percent on some campuses.

The news is encouraging in the sense that people are not taking the impending recession lightly. They are trying to arm themselves with specialized career training so they can land jobs in secure fields, or avoid being laid off. It’s something to consider, no matter your industry or career level.

Have you been thinking about taking some courses?

I really discovered my love of The Beatles in college, and it’s continued to grow ever since. So I was delighted to once again participate in the Carnival of College Admissions, this time Fab Four style! Thanks to Mark Montgomery for putting together an all Beatles edition, and for including the CollegeSurfing blog as well as our sister blog, CollegeBound’s U. Got It?.

Some things I learned so far from perusing the fun posts listed:

• There are practical questions every students should ask when choosing a college — thanks Kate Scozzaro of myUsearch blog!
• A topic near and dear to my CollegeSurfing heart, written by Khan at the Higher Education Blog: Why you might be better off going to a career or technical school.
• And a very timely issue: the Money Blue Book blog lists the best student credit cards to avoid debt trouble.

But of course, there’s more to explore “across the universe” — at the Carnival, that is. So get surfin’ and let us know which posts (and which Beatles songs) are your faves!

In the Spirit of Veteran’s Day, I’d like to offer up an article on the military. This is a story about a man who traveled throughout the world to serve his country and still managed to take online classes to earn his degree.

You see, it is possible to earn a degree in other fields that interest you no matter what your location. Once you leave the military, then you have the skills to go out and work in another field. In the case of our friend, 1st Sgt. Mark McKaig, he has stayed in the military and encourages his men to follow in his footsteps. One hundred percent tuition assistance is pretty hard to just give up. Why not take advantage of something that is provided to you, as a member of the military?

Read McKaig’s story for inspiration and begin your search for distance education programs. You never know what doors may open for you in the future and an education is certainly a step in the right direction!

Happy Veteran’s Day to all!!

-Amanda Fornecker

Not surpisingly, the buzz around the office today is the election. The long lines at the polls, who’s going straight after work, who is nervous about the outcome, etc. It’s an important day when one considers what’s at stake for the future of our economy and our country in general.

It may also have a profound effect on what will happen in your career. If the economy gets back on track or if continues to tank based on the decisions of the new president elect, it can mean the difference between a layoff and a promotion.

Looking back over the last eight years, my own life has changed dramatically. For one thing, I wasn’t yet married or a parent (I now have my second child on the way). I also worked for a print magazine, had no clue what a blog was, or ever thought that I’d spend my days thinking about site traffic, SEO, or social networking. So in a sense, my career took a totally different turn than I expected, even though I work for the same company. I’m sure major things have occured in the lives of many of you reading this as well. Of course, 9/11 also happened, and Hurricane Katrina, and this year, we face an economic crisis, all of which continue to impact people in serious ways. In other words, you never know what life will bring.

That’s why I’m trying to think of this election in terms of that all too common job interview question: Where do you see yourself in four years from now? So that who I vote for today, might just steer the course of things to come. Economic decisions made by the next president could affect future 401K balances or college savings for my kids. The point is, we have a chance to choose the person that we think will be best for our future, so I’m not taking that lightly. And neither should you.

In the meantime, we have to keep doing our part in adjusting to the economic climate, job shifts, and more. That means if pumping up our credentials with an educational program is what it takes to keep our jobs or find a more stable one, we need to be proactive and do that. We have to stop envying the designer handbags or fancy cars that some of our coworkers have, and spend and save wisely just in case. But most of all, we have to be positive and be ready for the changes that are coming — even if your candidate doesn’t win. Whatever the outcome, here’s hoping that the next four years take you to new career heights.

Happy voting!

So, where do you see yourself in four years?