Blog Post: Last week to sign up for adult & community education courses for the fall term

Whether you are looking for a job, want to grow in your existing job, or have ever thought about opening up your own business, taking a very reasonably priced course in your local (or not so local) adult & community education program is a very good idea. 

In my book, “How to Get Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job” (book’s web site), my chapter titled, “I Am a Stock” compares your value as an employee to the value of a stock.  Below is a quote from my book:

“As an asset in the workplace, you are just like a stock on the Stock Exchange.  If a company comes out with a great new product idea, one that will take the market by storm, you might be tempted to purchase that stock based on the potential of the new product.  However, for that stock price to increase, the company would have to make the product, introduce it the marketplace, and the product would have to perform as advertised.  If not the stock price may not only fail to increase, but could decline.

The same concept is true in the workplace.  You are hired based on the company’s expectations.  You need to meet those expectations to keep your job.  To meet expectations, you will be expected to not only utilize the skills and knowledge indicated on your resume, but to learn how to apply them to the specific tasks you will be performing on your job.  You will also be expected to be a positive influence in the workplace.  To get a promotion, you will have to increase your skill and knowledge base (e.g. learning Excel and Access) and/or learn how to perform more complex functions at work (e.g. how to operate more complex machines so you can fill in when a co-worker is absent) and/or display abilities required of employees at higher job levels in the company (e.g. good leadership skills).

As you continue to add to your skill and knowledge base both on and off the job, your value to the company (and other companies) increases.  So your “personal employee stock price” increases.  As your “employee stock price” increases, your compensation (wages/salary plus benefits) increases as well.

Therefore, you must continue to learn on and off the job, if you want to grow your pay significantly.  After all, as Simon and Garfunkel sang, “I am a Stock, I am an Island ”, or something like that.”

So take computer courses such as Word, Excel, Advanced Internet Skills, or PowerPoint to become more valuable.  There are also courses in bookkeeping, accounting and QuickBooks.  Some schools are even offering courses in specific industry services such as air conditioning, skin care, and importing & exporting.

I teach in the Jupiter High School Program.  In my consulting business I charge as much as $8,000 for writing a business plan for a client.  However, I am teaching a business plan course (usually taught only once a year) that the School has priced at $50 (20 hour course).  The course teaches individuals how to research, write, structure, and strategize a business plan themselves.  What’s great about this course is that in addition to teaching generic information, there are classroom discussions which help the participants develop business strategies and tactics customized for their specific businesses.  In fact, the strategy portion of the class has resulted in small business owners that already have business plans taking the course just to receive this business consulting.  If the entrepreneur comes out with even one idea to help his/her bottom line, it was well worth the effort of taking the course.

There is one last item I want to comment on.  In addition to taking courses to improve your earning potential, I see the need for courses to help people deal with mounting stresses of every day life, especially in these economically challenging times.  Therefore, I asked my Assistant Vice Principal, Mark Mellone, to allow me to offer a course that is a social outlet that provides stress relief, while teaching interesting information.  For me, I find listening to music a great way to mellow out.  So I am teaching a course Rock Music Appreciation – Battle of the Bands.  In the course, you will listen to rock music from the 60’s (Beatles, Stones, etc.) thru today (Coldplay, Green Day, etc.) all night while you learn all about the band/artist whose music is playing.  No memorization, no big deal if you come late or have to leave early.  Participants are encouraged to sit back, relax, take the day’s/life’s stresses off their shoulders for awhile and, if they choose, to socialize with friends taking the course with them, or with new people they meet in class.

Keep in mind that this is a trial.  If you would like to have more of these types of “social courses”, and are a music lover, come to this class now so we can demonstrate the need for more of these types of courses.

You can sign up for my classes at Jupiter High School between 2:00 PM and 9:00 PM Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Catch you in my next blog.