Have you ever thought about fall-out from your personal profile online? Have you ever thought about who might be looking you up on the Internet? Believe it or not, potential employers have been known to search the names of potential employees on the Internet to find information.

So what kind of information do you have out there? Jason Fry from the Wall Street Journal Online has this:

Last week a story crossed my desk claiming that a quarter of human-resources decision makers had rejected job candidates because of personal information found online.

The survey was conducted by a business social network, so I was skeptical of the numbers and the methodology. (My colleague and fellow Daily Fixer Carl Bialik takes a look here.) But I understand why the survey got a receptive audience. It mines something a lot of people my age find troubling — the idea that those younger than us are blithely unaware of the consequences of putting details about their personal lives online.

The conventional wisdom is that as those who grew up with the Net get older, they’ll pay the price for their youthful indiscretions — starting when they’re trying to get that first job and get Googled by the HR guy. And it’ll get worse from there. The members of Generation Exhibitionist will get older and wiser, but they’ll never escape from their boozy pictures and angry blog postings and other digital detritus. And eventually they’ll realize that they spent their teen years embroidering virtual scarlet letters for themselves that can never removed.

Having a college degree, a solid resume and a great interview should be your primary concerns when looking to get a new job – not your former past (or present) as a Myspace vixen. Just remember that you never know who might want to dig up information on you when it comes to job hunting. The best bet is to keep a low profile.

Are you looking to earn a degree in finance? There are many great and lucrative jobs in the world of finance. Becoming a personal financial advisor is one of them. So why is this a good one? FastCompany.com has this:
What they do: Work and business are about more than money, but money still matters. Just like your career, you need to manage your money. Financial advisers do what the job says: advise people on their personal financial matters. That definition isn’t helpful? OK. They review how risk averse clients are and strive to establish an investment strategy, including estate planning, that meets their needs. Some even sell insurance.
Why it’s hot: Because retirement is quickly approaching for many baby boomers, more and more people … | Read the rest of this entry »

Pharmaceutical companies spend almost 20 billion dollars a year marketing their products to doctors – and even future doctors. But are these marketing ploys going too far? The Baltimore Sun reports:
Medical student Clarence Lam marveled at the feast that a drug company sponsored this spring at the Inner Harbor’s upscale Capital Grille.
The night’s appetizer was seafood, the entree was filet mignon and dessert was cheesecake.
“They paid for everything,” recalled Lam, 26, who attends the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “They even covered the wine.”
Like other drugmakers, Novartis Pharmaceutical Co. sponsors such events to woo practicing doctors and to promote its products to future physicians such as Lam. It’s a common marketing tactic that is raising concerns on medical school campuses nationwide. Medical scholars … | Read the rest of this entry »

In Texas, Austin Community College is allowing high school students to take college courses whiles still in high school. They hope this encourages students to go to college and earn a degree.
News 8 Austin has this story:
Manuel Munoz is a junior in high school, but he’s already taking college courses at Austin Community College.
“I’m taking some history courses so I can be ahead both in college and in high school,” he said.
Munoz doesn’t have to pay a dime. He’s part of ACC’s Early College Start program. It’s one of several programs ACC offers academically eligible high school students.
ACC President Stephen B. Kinslow said the college encourages minority students to take part in school and hopes they’ll be more inclined to stick to … | Read the rest of this entry »

The medical and healthcare field is seeing great demand for qualified workers. There is also a great demand for Public Health professionals. Here is some in-depth information on a career in Public Health:
Public Health involves the coordination of knowledge and practice among all these disciplines to promote and protect the health of individuals and our population.
Public Health professionals typically specialize and pursue career opportunities in one or more of these disciplines. They often obtain a masters in public health (MPH) degree, a joint degree with another field (public policy, social work, business) or a doctorate degree.
Many physicians also obtain an MPH either before, during or after medical school because they want to have a broader impact on the health of the population.
Public Health … | Read the rest of this entry »

Many career fields are seeing an increase in the numbers of foreign students. This is especially prevalent in medical school. The Washington Post recently posted an article on diversity at med schools.
The six members of Medical Team 4 have a lot in common. Each wears a white coat, has a stethoscope for a necklace and has stayed up late this week. They can all start an IV and work up a solitary lung nodule.
They share something less obvious, too. With one exception, none has a grandparent born in the United States.
In the past 15 years, U.S. medicine has seen a huge influx of first- and second-generation immigrants. It follows and augments a different demographic trend that began 30 years ago with the acceptance of … | Read the rest of this entry »

Earning a degree in engineering can be even more exciting than you think. There are so many important jobs that require a background in Engineering. Do you think you have what it takes to succeed in engineering? Here are some attributes that might help point you towards a specific engineering career.
What do Neil Armstrong, Jimmy Carter, and Alfred Hitchcock have in common? Though they eventually chose very different careers – one as an astronaut, one as a president, and one as a filmmaker – they all started with an engineering education.
An engineering degree offers a wide range of career possibilities. Within the practice of engineering, there is an enormous variety of job functions.
If you are imaginative and creative, design engineering may be for … | Read the rest of this entry »

Many students these days rely on student loans to go to college. With tuition increases nationwide, parents are finding it more and more difficult to fund their child’s college education without assistance. But whom do you trust to make sure the loan is in your best interest? The Bush administration wants to regulate the relationship between universities and lenders
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration has proposed new rules aimed at clamping down on conflicts of interest in the student loan industry.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings had previously said she would issue the rules about this time and the department publicized the proposed rules Friday.
The action comes amid high-profile investigations into the student loan industry by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers in … | Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that many employees with paid vacation time never use it? It is important for everyone to take a little time off to refresh and relax. So why do more and more workers not take vacation? Yahoo! HotJobs has more:
Why Create More Work?
There are several reasons why workers don’t use all their vacation time: having too much work to do to take a vacation (36%), not being able to afford a getaway (34%), wanting to save vacation time for emergencies (32%), and worrying about coming back to an excessive workload after a vacation (15%).
Taking a “Mental Health Day”
When people do take time off, it’s often used in ways unrelated to vacations. In fact, nearly a third of respondents (31%) said they use … | Read the rest of this entry »

There are fascinating new careers in the US that you may not heard of. One hot career is Robot Programmer. Sound too futuristic? CNN money gives some highlights of this career, which may be an interesting choice for someone wanting to earn their associates degree in technology.
Robot Programmer
Salary range: $40,000-$100,000
Experience/skills: Associate degree in a technical field and extensive training. People skills also come in handy.
Perks: Lots of travel, helping clients customize each machine to a particular task
Who’s hiring? ABB, Fanuc, Motoman, Panasonic, Toyota
Back in 1990, Matt Zeigler was pulling 12-hour shifts as an arc welder for a forklift manufacturing firm in Indiana when a technician in a white lab coat came into the factory to work on a new $85,000 robotic welder. “I … | Read the rest of this entry »