A great place to start is at CollegeSurfing.com. Not only will you find information about traditional colleges, you will find out about technical education, certificate programs and the current job market.

There are certain steps you should take in order to change your circumstances:

Assess your skills and strengths

If you are having trouble with this, visit your local job service and ask for their skill assessment worksheets. You will be amazed how many skills you really have. Sometimes we are the last person to realize just how much we have learned along the way. Not every skill comes with a certificate. Do you realize you could easily list over 100 skills on your ability list? Start thinking. Skills don’t just come from schooling and work. You gain skills by volunteering, running a household, raising kids. Really assess yourself. This could be a very positive exercise. You may discover strengths you didn’t know you had.

Assess your passions

If you really want to succeed, you need to find out what you are passionate about. You can make a career out of anything you are passionate about. If you cannot find a job that would support your lifestyle and your passion, try to find a career that will help you pursue your passion after work. It will make your work much more enjoyable to see it as enabling you to do the things you really want to do.

Assess the job market

The job market changes over time. New careers emerge, others fade away. Check out  CollegeSurfing.com for information about current trends. After all, you don’t want to retrain yourself only to find the career you trained for is fading away. If you are going to change your life, plan it out. Know what to expect. Remember, job markets are regional as well. If you plan to stay in the area you are in, be sure to check what the prospects for the career you decide upon are in your area.

Get the background you need in order to succeed in the career you want

You have finally figured out what you want to do with your life, at least the next phase of your life. Most careers need more training than we find ourselves with at any given point in life. Start checking into your options. It is possible that the path you have chosen has multiple steps. That is okay. Our world is changing and people no longer stick with a single career their entire life. In fact, you may find yourself with seven different careers over the course of your life. Relax and enjoy it. Much of the fun in life is in the journey, not the endpoints.

If you need some ideas about where to get the training you need, try CollegeSurfing.com. They provide a wide range of information on schools of all types. From 4 year colleges to culinary schools. You figure out what you are looking for and this site will provide you with some options as to what type of school will provide you with the type of training you need.

I recently tried out their service and I was impressed. I didn’t try the typical college student profile. I went for the new reality for many older adults who are finding that they need to get a graduate degree to keep their current jobs or reenter the job market. Simple Tuition found four loans I would qualify for with interest rates ranging from 2.87% to 3.84%. That is not bad at all. And it was fast. I received those search results within a minute.

Loans aren’t your only option though. At any age you still have several means of helping to finance your college education:

- grants and scholarships

The vast majority of scholarships are aimed at high school seniors just applying to college, but that doesn’t mean others do not exist. Scholarships are also available to current undergraduate students, graduate students and a wide range of adults with special circumstances. Keep applying. Grants and scholarships are free money. You do not have to repay them, so any amount you can get will reduce the amount you have to come up with. Some scholarships are based on financial need, but not all of them. If you find that your academic performance is at the upper range of students, your current college may even have scholarships you can apply for while already attending the college.

- loans

Generally, loans subsidized by the Federal Government have lower interest rates, so check into those first. You definitely need to fill out a FAFSA form. You can do this at www.fafsa.ed.gov. This is an activity you can expect to complete every year. It does require a lot of information but without it you will not even be considered for federal loans, work-study programs and many scholarships at colleges. Make sure you submit your FAFSA in time to qualify for all financial aid considerations at your college. Every college has their own deadline.

Once you have applied for FAFSA, it is time to look at private lenders. This is where a site like Simple Tuition can really help. They will present you with a range of loans that fit your situation and you can apply for the loans right from their site.

- employer reimbursement

Many of the larger companies still offer a tuition reimbursement benefit. This also varies from      company to company. Some companies will only reimburse you for courses that are related to          their business, others reimburse you for any course taken while seeking a degree. If you are currently employed, check into it.

The average college student ends up with $24,000 in student loan debt when they graduate. It is up to you to find the best financing options for you. Simple Tuition is a great way to get started. This company provides more financial information on their website. The service is free to their users. They make their money by receiving referral fees etc. from lenders when you decide to apply for one of the loans they suggest. Their search will provide you with information on loans from lenders they have an agreement with and others. They are clearly marked as such on the information you receive. In my test, I found no reason to not recommend this site.

One final tip, you do need to allow them to set a cookie in order to receive your loan recommendations.

Free membership

You will need to sign up in order to access the other free incentives. This process is fast and easy. After having tested it, it also does not appear to be spam intensive, something I always worry about. Getting informative e-mails is great, being bombarded by sales pitches is not.

Free online courses

After listening to one of their free online courses, I can tell you, they offer overviews of what you need to know with a bit of a sales pitch thrown in for their in depth classes. This is not unusual. After all, there is always more to learn, and which company does not want you to do your learning with them? You can dip into the world of exchange traded funds, gold, foreign exchange currency trading and more with these.

Free pro trader class

This one is being offered around the United States and in Canada by Online Trading Academy. I am a big believer in learning and having immediate access to the instructor is always good.

Free traders’ virtual magazine

This is an online publication which really looks like a magazine. You will find interesting articles in here. The lead article in the October issue is on modern trading systems. I found the articles to be well written and informative.

Free Power Trading Radio

This is a daily broadcast, generally by one of the  Online Trading Academy instructors. The one I listened to started with a recap of the trading day. They save their broadcasts for later access by their membership.

Having been in business for over a decade, gives their product some degree of credibility. They also appear to have a following of students who were very satisfied with what they learned, always a good sign. The negative reviews tended to focus on cost.

The Online Trading Academy provides enough free content, you should be able to get a feel for whether their product will be worthwhile for you. In any kind of learning, it depends on where the student is at, to know which step they need to take next in order to learn more. I always am happy to see free offers when evaluating the value of a course.

Only you know, where you are at. You need to take that into consideration for any course you consider. If you sign up for a Master’s degree course and you haven’t graduated from high school yet, you are probably setting yourself up for failure. On the other hand, if you have a lot of knowledge on a particular topic and you sign up for an introductory course, you are likely to be bored and consider it a waste of your time. Honestly evaluate where you are at and then find the courses that provide the next step.

The free courses at the Online Trading Academy are a great way to assess yourself. If the content resonates with you, if you understand what they are talking about and find you are adding to your knowledge, then this may be the perfect next step for you. If, on the other hand, you could be teaching the course, you may want to get in contact with them and see if they need more instructors.

You certainly cannot go wrong with their free content. Every investor has to start somewhere. Investing is the type of activity that requires continuous learning, if it isn’t learning about the methods of investing, it most certainly is learning about the current world events that may impact your investments.

FastWeb 

The first thing you need to do is register to Fastweb.  FastWeb has been the leading scholarship search provider for over fifteen years.  FastWeb matches users to scholarships based on their qualifications.  Their scholarship database contains over 1.3 million scholarships worth over $3 billion.  This gives you better odds at finding the right scholarship for your needs. 

Arnold Trust Fund Award 

The Arnold Trust Fund Award is a monetary award given to students who either demonstrate high academic achievement or are actively involved in their school or community. Once you complete the application and secure the award, you will become a full representative of the Arnold Trust Fund Award. 

The Award can be used at either public or private universities, depending on the stipulations.  The Arnold Trust Fund Award can also be used to cover room and board expenses though it is usually used to cover tuition. 

To qualify, students must fill out an application for the Arnold Trust Fund Award. This involves submitting an essay, letters of recommendation, or participating in an interview for consideration of the Award. 

Eugene and Dora Androlonis Endowed Scholarship 

Eugene and Dora Androlonis Endowed Scholarship is an award given to students who thrive in the classroom and outside as well through volunteer and community involvement. Students that receive the Endowed Scholarship are typically committed and hard-working.  Although the Endowed Scholarship application process is competitive and prestigious the awards can be immense. 

Depending on the actual stipulations, the Endowed Scholarship can be used at public or private institutions.  The biggest perk of the Eugene and Dora Androlonis Endowed Scholarship is that the student may determine how to utilize the funds.  You may pay tuition or room and board; it is completely up to the recipient. 

After applying for the Eugene and Dora Androlonis Endowed Scholarship you may be required to write an essay, interview, or provide letters of recommendation. By enforcing such a rigorous process, the qualifications of the Eugene and Dora Androlonis Endowed Scholarship recipient are exceptional. 

Forgotten Dependants  

Forgotten Dependants, Inc. is a nonprofit charitable organization. This scholarship is meant for students who have lost a biological parent(s).   Students must be between the ages of 16-25. They also support dependants of Veterans that died while serving in active duty.   This scholarship is based for children in need.  You must complete your application by April 1^st each year.  

       – Complete an application. 

       – A “MY STORY” essay of 500 words or more expressing current goals &  objectives & other personal information 

       – Official High school or College Transcripts 

       – Photocopy of SAT or ACT results (optional) 

       – Letter of acceptance from a two or four-year College or University 

       – A copy of the death certificate 

       – Copy of the military form DD-214 (if applicable). 

       – One or two letters of reference from a current or former teacher, coach, employer, minister or anyone else that can attest to   the applicant’s character 

       – A document showing your relationship to the deceased 

These are only a few examples of scholarships that are available.  There are many more scholarships for kids with deceased parents.  Using tools such as the internet, scholarship search sites, (FastWeb) and books from your local bookstore can help you find the scholarship you are searching for.  Take advantage of this opportunity to fulfill your college dreams.

The link at http://www.blackexcel.org/200-Scholarships.html lists 200 scholarships for a variety of minority groups. What is really nice about the African American scholarships and grants is that the amounts are substantial. Many of these scholarships are in the $5000 and up range especially the ones tied to sciences. There has been a push to increase the presence of African Americans in the professional fields involving science and engineering. Just look at scholarships such as the UNCF Merck Science Initiative at http://umsi.uncf.org/ which offers undergraduate scholarships up to $25,000 or the American Physics Society’s scholarships at http://www.aps.org/programs/minorities/honors/.

You should also check out the traditionally African American colleges in the United States. There are about forty of them and most have African American scholarships to allow minorities to fulfill their dream of college. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking you can simply depend upon your ethnic background though. Remember, you are still applying to college, you need to demonstrate the appropriate qualifications to have a chance at these. However, if you are dedicated and can show that you have the skills to succeed, you have an excellent chance at receiving one of the African American scholarships.

Scholarship funds have been shrinking at most universities so if you are in high school and just starting on your search, determine which colleges and universities you are interested in and start checking into their tuition and housing fees. Most colleges end up raising fees every year. Some universities have been lucky and have been able to keep tuition rates unchanged such as The Ohio State University and others have such large endowment funds that they have been able to meet the economic downturn with increased financial aid efforts such as Harvard University.

Look at all the colleges. Don’t assume because they have a great reputation, you have no chance of affording an education at that institution. If your academic ability matches their criteria, even if they do not offer African American scholarships, you may qualify for minority scholarships or scholarships based on financial need. In the end, your success in receiving scholarships from specific universities will depend on how well you have matched up your abilities, interests and background with what the universities you are applying to are looking for.

If you are from Tennessee and applying to a university in Tennessee, you may not have as good a chance at an African American scholarship as you would at a university in a predominantly Caucasian state such as Utah or Idaho. Open your mind to a wider range of choices. Consider different locations. Don’t forget about your major either. Many scholarships are tied to what you plan to study. Race plays no role in many of these, however, there are minority scholarships tied to specific majors and companies. If you receive one from a company, they may expect you to work for them for a specified number of years once you graduate but in today’s job market that may be an added benefit rather than an attached string. Basically, it is up to you to take off the blinders. Look for African American Scholarships but don’t ignore the rest.

Your opportunities for financial assistance start with catholic elementary school tuition. For example, in the Diocese of Buffalo any student attending a catholic elementary school can apply for financial aid whether they are catholic or not. This program can get you through eighth grade and then it continues with catholic high school scholarship applications. I believe all catholic high schools offer financial assistance to families in financial need. You automatically get a reduced tuition rate by being a qualified catholic with a letter from your pastor.  In addition to that, you may receive financial assistance if you could otherwise not afford to attend a catholic high school. Expect to be a model student if you receive one of these scholarships, both academically as well as in your behavior.

Once you get out of high school the catholic high school scholarships really multiply. For many of the scholarships to catholic universities you must have attended a catholic high school to qualify. Many organizations offer such scholarships though. You can apply at the Knights of Columbus at www.kofc.org . They offer many scholarships for seminary and degrees leading to priesthood but also offer scholarships leading to other degrees.

You can find a list of scholarships at http://www.catholic.org/collegiate/scholarships.php. Some catholic scholarships are specific to a certain university or parish or both such as the A.L. Cosgrove Student Service Award which you can read about at http://www.catholic.org/collegiate/scholarships.php . Some depend on your heritage such as the Knights of Lithuania National Scholarships at http://www.knightsoflithuania.com/ which requires you to be catholic and be of Lithuanian descent. Others have very high academic expectations such as the Daniel Clifford Nolan Endowed Scholarship which expects you to be in the top 10% of your class in law school.

Religious scholarships are not limited to catholic high school scholarships though. You can find them for most denominations and even if you are catholic you can restrict your search even further by looking for Roman catholic scholarships which do exist or expanding your choices by looking for Christian scholarships. One site you may want to check into is at http://www.christianconnector.com. This site also has a scholarship drawing for Christian colleges.

As with any other type of scholarship, beware of scams. Just because you are looking at religious scholarships, do not throw out your common sense. Keep some of that free thinker spirit alive. You do not want to pay money to apply for a scholarship. You do not want to have to wait until after college to receive the funds. Religious groups have long been targets of scam artists because they are perceived as good natured and perhaps naïve. You are planning to go to college. Obviously, you are smart enough to see through those scams, so if the offer looks too good, it probably is.

Start with the well-known religious organizations first. Many of them offer scholarships. Better yet, start with your local parish. You may want to ask your pastor. It is unlikely that you are the first student he has encountered that is in search of additional college funding. He may be able to guide you towards groups or organizations that have helped past parish members.

Philanthropic organizations have noticed the disparity between what college costs and what your average family can afford. Even if you are well off and you and your spouse earn $80,000, you still need help. The guidelines seem to think that you can afford to pay about $35,000 per year out of that for college. What world do they live in? Not mine. So if you didn’t raise a super achiever and you still want your child to go to college, here are some easy scholarships I discovered.

First of all there are the weird scholarships. These are the ones where some rather unique organization has decided to offer a scholarship to help raise their public profile, a winning idea for everyone. One of my favorites is the Starfleet Academy Scholarship. If you are a fan of Star Trek, go check it out at http://academy.sfi.org/student/scholarship.shtml. You must be a member in good standing for at least a year before applying, so don’t waste any time. Look at it now, this is a $500 scholarship.

Other easy scholarships are the ones offered by universities for student athletes. For example Texas Southern University offers bowling scholarships for female athletes who have at least a 21 on the ACT or 1400 on the SAT. That isn’t too hard to achieve. Apply at www.tsu.edu. They supplement their sports scholarships with academic scholarships to make them more enticing. Not all athletic scholarships are for football and basketball even though it may seem like it. If you are really good at a less popular sport, your chances at a scholarship may be very good. Search for colleges based on your sport to see what your options may be.

If those aren’t easy enough, try for some truly easy scholarships. These are the ones where you sign up for a drawing and if you are lucky, you have your college funds. One of these is at the student loan network at http://www.studentloannetwork.com/10K/. They have monthly scholarship drawing. Of course, your chances at these depend on the number of participants which can be quite high. Someone has to win. It might as well be you. I have seen similar drawings at local bank branches. Keep your eyes open and don’t skip an opportunity to enter one of these. The smaller the circle of potential winners the better.

The vast majority of easy scholarships seem to require essays. These can be short 3 sentence essays to 10 page short stories. Your best bet on those is to find some that you feel passionate about. If you like the idea of a short essay, try http://www.microessayscholarships.com. This site awards a $1000 scholarship every three months. The majority of essay contests appear to require 600 to 1500 word essays. If you enter just one essay contest per week, that gives you 52 chances to win a scholarship. Not bad.

Even if you go with the non essay scholarship applications, it should be worth your time to fill out at least one entry per week. Remember, the more contests you enter, the higher the chances of you winning one. Keep your eyes on any local opportunity that arises. After all, if you live in a town of 10,000, how many of those residents could possibly be ready to enter college? Your chances go way up.   You may even get a consolation prize just for entering. Are you going to turn down a free pizza?

Federal Pell Grant

Apply for grants.  The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain post baccalaureate students to encourage admission to postsecondary education.  This is for students that make under $45,000 a year.  The amount of the grant depends on: the student’s expected family contribution (EFC); tuition expenses; enrollment status (Full or Part Time); and if the student attends a full academic year or less.  You can apply for this grant for free at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.

Scholarships

There are tons of Scholarships for all types of students.  This is another option for getting free money for college.  The first thing you need to do is register to Fastweb.  FastWeb has been the leading scholarship search provider for over fifteen years.  FastWeb matches users to scholarships based on their qualifications.  Their scholarship database contains over 1.3 million scholarships worth over $3 billion.  This gives you better odds at finding the right scholarship for your needs.  Get matched up with your scholarship at http://www.fastweb.com/.

Loans

I put loans last because you should apply for all the free money you can get.  Once you have your grants and scholarships in place, apply for your loans.  There are two types of loans for school that are offered.  A Subsidized Loan is based on financial need.  If you qualify the government will pay the interest on your loan while you attend school and six months after.  They may pay the interest on your loan even if it has deferred payments once you graduate.  You can take out an Unsubsidized Loan even without financial need.  Unlike the Subsidized Loan you are responsible to pay the interest from the time the loan is disbursed.  You can choose to pay it or allow it to accrue and capitalize it to your loan.  Which means you must repay and increased amount.  Educate yourself before applying for a loan at http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp.

Get researching and get your money for college, don’t let your dreams pass you by.

When a company makes you a job offer there are usually 2 factors that impact the level of salary they offer you.  The first is the perceived value you will bring to the company and the second is how much they have budgeted for that position.  The first is a variable you have some control over, the second is one you have absolutely no control over.  In my experience interviewing and hiring I would often come across quality candidates who would be wonderful additions to my team but there salary demands just exceeded what was budgeted for that position.  Even though there may have been some flexibility, it was within a certain range and after that it was beyond my control.  However there are some simple things you can do to improve your chances of higher compensation.

Don’t be afraid to ask – There is a verse in the Bible that says “you have not because you ask not”.  A company may just be willing to bump your salary but you won’t know that unless you ask.  Please be realistic in your asking.  If a job is advertised with a salary of $50,000 you may be able to move them a few thousand dollars but keep it within reason.

Demonstrate your history of success – Your paycheck is often based on an expected level of performance.  Most companies don’t mind paying for results, but they hate overpaying for potential.  If you have a track record of successes throughout every step in your career companies will be willing to reward you for that, because you can help their bottom line.  If you have received any awards, great reviews, any press coverage for things you have done then bring these to the table.  This is your time to shine and if you have the goods don’t be afraid to let them know that.  It’s ok to be confident but don’t be cocky, because I hated cocky people when I interviewed and most people usually do.

Be willing to accept performance based compensation – I have spent over 15 years in sales and one of the things I have always loved about sales is I can determine how much money I make.  If you are confident in your ability to improve the performance of the company, then ask if a clause can be added to your compensation that if I improve performance by a certain percentage than that would result in either a bonus or pay raise, preferably the pay raise.  Remember companies don’t usually mind paying for results.

Negotiate the non-salary aspects of your compensation – Remember salary is not the only thing that makes up your compensation.  Vacation time, personal days and other perks make up this as well.  Maybe a company has a smaller budget and they can’t increase the salary but maybe they can give you an extra week of vacation or flex time to make up for the salary.  In some instances in my career I have traded more time off for a little less money and I really didn’t mind because I enjoyed the time off.

Another key factor in negotiation is how much do you really want the position and how badly do you want to work for the company.  If it’s a place you really want to work then its ok to start a little lower because you will have plenty of time to grow and increase compensation along the way.  As I stated in the beginning there are no tricks but confidence and good performance history will go a long way to getting maximum results.

Here are some additional thoughts on the topic:

Tips for a Successful Salary Negotiation
The Career Doctor
Negotiate Your Salary in a Down Economy

If you said “no,” you’re crazy.

If you said “yes,” you should have a Health Savings Account set up.  If you don’t, you’re turning your back on that coupon.

A Health Savings Account allows you to set aside funds to use for those out-of-pocket expenses.  Where does the discount come into play?  You don’t pay income taxes on the money used to fund the account.  Depending on where you fall within the tax brackets for your highest marginal rate, that can amount to significant savings.

Not everyone liked the idea of HSA’s when they were originally introduced.  Some people argued that they were inequitable, would drive up the price of insurance and were just generally a horrible idea.  But love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re here now and it makes sense to use them if you can.

That’s why just about everyone who has ever thought about medical expenses for more than five minutes recommends HSA’s.

Certified Financial Planner Allen Goldfarb succinctly states the smart argument in favor of participating in a Health Savings Account program:

I would go ahead and sign up for your company’s health savings account which will enable you to pay for certain medical expenses on a pretax basis. Any monies not used in this calendar year can be rolled over and continue to be used in future years.

Barbara O’Connell of WhereToFindCare.com echoes those sentiments, listing HSA’s as one of her preferred tips for controlling health care expenses:

Take advantage of Health Savings Accounts, or flexible spending accounts. If you have ongoing medical expenses, these accounts can save you money by allowing you to avoid paying income taxes on dollars spent on qualified health expenses.

I’m guessing that many of you who aren’t using an HSA aren’t skipping out because you think it’s a rotten deal.  The explanation more likely stems from complacency and/or procrastination.  It’s something you know you should do.  It’s something you’ve been planning to do.  It’s just not something you’ve actually done!

Well, this is a very good time to get the ball rolling or to escalate your involvement.  There are two reasons why you should get busy today if you don’t already have things set up.  Both stem from the fact that it’s already December!

Open enrollment periods for many employer-provided health coverage plans occur in December.  In other words, if you don’t make something happen quickly, you may be out in the cold, missing your health care savings “coupon” opportunity for another year.  In an Associated Press piece, Eileen AJ O’Connelly notes that some programs have already shut the window for 2010, but many of you may still have time to hop aboard the HSA express if you act quickly.

The Fort Worth Business Press provides another compelling reason to get your Health Savings Account situation squared away before you start using that 2010 desk calendar.  Taxes.  With another year almost in the books, the clock is ticking to find ways to reduce your 2009 tax exposure.  HSA involvement might help you out.  The article explains that, “If you become eligible to make health savings account (HSA) contributions in December of this year, make a full year’s worth of deductible HSA contributions for 2009.”

There are some things that are a good idea for some people some of the time.  Then there are things that are a good idea for many people most of the time.  HSA’s are one of those rare things that are a good idea for just about everyone almost always!  Unless you have a rare set of circumstances that dejustify HSA involvement, it’s time to get things started.