Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Ready

Beyond Ready is Horizon Point’s line of resources for students preparing for college and/or career.

  • Career Spotlight: Market Research Analyst

    Career Spotlight: Market Research Analyst

    Do you like analyzing data? Are you interested in sales forecasting? If so, then a career as a Market Research Analystmay be perfect for you.

    On the other hand, if you don’t enjoy gathering data, preparing reports, critical thinking and problem solving, becoming a market research analyst may not be a good fit for you.

    Market research analysts study market conditions to examine potential sales of a product or service. They help companies understand what products people want, who will buy them, and at what price.

    Bureau of Labor Statistics

    What do you need to be a Market Research Analyst?

    Education:

    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, market research analysts typically need a bachelor’s degree in market research or a related field. Many have degrees in fields such as statistics, math, and computer science. Others have backgrounds in business administration, the social sciences, or communication. Some market research analyst jobs require a master’s degree.

    If you are a high school student and would like to become a market research analyst, consider taking a marketing or business class while in high school.

    Market Research Analyst may be a good career change option for advertising managers, public relations specialists and economists.

    Skills:

    Market Research Analysts know about:

    • Customer Service
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Critical Thinking & Complex Problem Solving
    • Communications & Media
    • Monitoring
    • Coordination

    Is the field growing?

    ONET reports that careers in Market Research are expected to increase by 32% over the next 10 years.

    What is the pay like?

    March3

     

    What’s the Holland Code* for a Market Research Analyst?

     

    Interest code: IEC – Investigative, Enterprising, Conventional

    Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
    Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
    Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

    Source: http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1161.00

     

    If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Market Research Analyst, go to ONET. You should also check out U.S. News & Work Reports article Market Research Analyst.

     

    Would you want to be a Market Research Analyst? Why or why not?

     

    *Holland Codes are a way to classify a person based on their skills and interests as well as jobs based on the nature of the work. If you have an interest in knowing what your Holland Code is in order to match yourself to careers to pursue, you can read more about our assessment process.

  • Career Spotlight: Urban Planner

    Career Spotlight: Urban Planner

    Do you love planning? Are you a good communicator who has a passion for designing? Are interested in geography? If so, then a career as an Urban Planner may be perfect for you.

    On the other hand, if you don’t enjoy working directly with the public or developing strategies and thinking creatively, becoming an urban planner may not be a good fit for you.

    Urban and regional planners develop plans and programs for the use of land. Their plans help create communities, accommodate population growth, and revitalize physical facilities in towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.Read more at Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Check out American Planning Association to find out more about urban planning.

    What do you need to be an Urban Planner?

    Education:

    A minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree (typically in civil engineering) is required to become an urban planner and most planners have a Master’s Degree.

    If you are a high school student and would like to become an urban planner, consider taking geography, pre-engineering and economics in high school.

    Urban planning may be an option for Engineers and Project Managers interested in a career change. Find out more at Education Portal.

    Skills:

    Urban Planners know about:

    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Speaking and Active Listening
    • Critical Thinking
    • CAD Software
    • Judgment & Decision Making
    • Social Perceptiveness

    Is the field growing?

    ONET reports that careers in Urban Planning are expected to increase by 10% over the next 10 years.

    What is the pay like?

    Pay-UrbanPlanner

     

    What’s the Holland Code* for an Urban Planner?

    Interest code: IEA – Investigative, Enterprising, Artistic

    Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
    Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
    Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

     

    Source: http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3051.00

     

    If you are interested in learning more about becoming an Urban Planner, check out ONET.

    Would you want to be an Urban Planner? Why or why not?

    *Holland Codes are a way to classify a person based on their skills and interests as well as jobs based on the nature of the work. If you have an interest in knowing what your Holland Code is in order to match yourself to careers to pursue, you can read more about our assessment process.

  • Goal Setting for Students

    Goal Setting for Students

    I’ve always been a list maker. I love to make a list at the end of each work day, so I can draw a red line through item after time the following work day. And, by the way, I don’t just do this for work. I do it for everything: grocery list, kid’s activities for the week, Christmas shopping list, cleaning for the week and the list goes on and on. I’m the queen of lists.

    That being said, even though I’m a list maker, I’m still not as organized as I would like to be. But, when I began the process of quarterly goal setting and implemented a weekly tracking process, organization and my life ran much smoother.

    I believe this process can not only be valuable in a person’s career, but is a great tool to help students become more organized and, long term, be ready for college or career. What a great habit to begin as a high school student?

    First things first words written on the chalkboard
    First things first words written on the chalkboard

    To quote Stephen Covey, first things first, developing a mission statement is a great way to get on the right track. Check out Developing a Personal Mission Statement to prevent stress and burnout  and Power of 3 – Mission and Purpose to help you develop a mission statement. Then, you are in a great position to begin your quarterly goal setting. You can begin this most any time of year, but I suggest beginning on January 1 or in the summer before the upcoming school year. Develop 3 or 4 goals for the quarter. Then, document how you will achieve those goals. This will help you as you begin entering action items into you weekly tracking spreadsheet.

    Even if you are very disciplined, it is great to have an accountability partner. So, grab a friend and begin the process together. How great will it be to be entering your senior year of high school and already be on the right track for college or career? You could have your portfolio complete, applications completed to your top college choice, job shadowing experience and even taken the ACT for the fourth time. You will be leaps and bounds ahead of some of your classmates.

    Check out our Goal Setting Worksheet to help you get started.

  • Career Spotlight: High School Teacher

    Career Spotlight: High School Teacher

    Do you love kids? Are you a good communicator who has a passion for coaching and developing others? Is organization one of your strengths? If so, then a career as a High School Teacher may be perfect for you.

    On the other hand, if you don’t enjoy being around children or are interested in an enormous salary, becoming a teacher may not be a good fit for you.

    High school teachers help prepare students for life after graduation. They teach academic lessons and various skills that students will need to attend college and to enter the job market. Read more at Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Check out this article from The Washington Post to find out the 12 Qualities Great Teachers Share.

    What do you need to be a High School Teacher?

    Education:

    A Bachelor’s Degree is required to become a high school teacher.

    If you are a high school student and would like to become a teacher, focus on taking classes in the subject(s) you plan to teach.

    If you are interested in a career change to the education field and already have a Bachelor’s Degree, you can enroll in an alternative certification program and become a teacher in 1-2 years. Find out more at Education Portal.

    Skills:

    High School Teachers know about:

    • Learning Strategies
    • Speaking and Active Listening
    • Critical Thinking
    • Time Management
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Social Perceptiveness

    Is the field growing?

    ONET reports a “Bright Outlook” for High School Teaching Jobs. Careers in this field are expected to have a large number of job openings over the next 10 years.

    According to Teach.com, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education is a great example of an area where there is a high demand for great teachers. Teaching might be an ideal career change for an individual with a degree in one of the STEM areas.

    students

     

    What is the pay like?

     

    High School Teacher Pay

     

    What’s the Holland Code* for a High School Teacher?

     

    Interest code: SAE- Social, Artistic, Enterprising

    Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
    Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
    Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

     

    Source: http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2141.00

     

    If you are interested in learning more about becoming a High School Teacher, check out ONET.

     

    Would you want to be a High School Teacher? Why or why not?

     

    *Holland Codes are a way to classify a person based on their skills and interests as well as jobs based on the nature of the work.  If you have an interest in knowing what your Holland Code is in order to match yourself to careers to pursue, you can read more about our assessment process.

  • The Best Books to Give for Every Person on Your Christmas Gift List

    The Best Books to Give for Every Person on Your Christmas Gift List

    My reading list for 2014 has been shorter than my 2013 list for a variety of reasons- new baby, more time spent devoted to working with some wonderful clients and probably, most importantly, due to not setting a goal around reading this year (But that’s a post for another day- stay tuned for lots of good goal setting stuff soon to help us all kick off those New Year’s resolutions in the right fashion.)

    But, I have read some good ones this year and want to recommend my top picks organized for those hard to shop for people in which you may still be searching for the right gift.

     

    For the Business Person: Scale: Seven Proven Principles to Grow Your Business and Get Your Life Back Although the title of the book implies that this book is for business owners, the book is really for anyone that wants to work smarter not harder.

    Favorite quotes from the book:

    “The world doesn’t pay you for the hours you put in; it pays you for the value you create.”

    The right parking space for your company lies at the intersection of three factors: your company’s biggest strengths (your parking space must rely on what you do really well); your market’s deepest desires around your type of product or service (it must be something that your market values); and the open spaces your competitors don’t already own in the mind of your market (it is very expensive to move another company out of a space if they truly already own it). 

    For an article that says the same thing as the above quote for the job seeker check out:  Why Pursuing Your Passion is Not Enough

     

    For the seemingly lost and the youth contemplating direction for his or her future:  Steve Jobs

    Favorite quotes from the book:

    “Jobs also began to feel guilty, he later said, about spending so much of his parents’ money on an education that did not seem worthwhile. ‘All of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition,’ he recounted in a famous commencement address at Stanford. ‘I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out okay.’”

    “There falls a shadow, as T. S. Eliot noted, between the conception and the creation. In the annals of innovation, new ideas are only part of the equation. Execution is just as important.”

    “I’ve learned over the years that when you have really good people you don’t have to baby them,” Jobs later explained. “By expecting them to do great things, you can get them to do great things. The original Mac team taught me that A-plus players like to work together, and they don’t like it if you tolerate B work. Ask any member of that Mac team. They will tell you it was worth the pain.”  

    For more on the thoughts this last quote reflects see: Leadership Lessons from College Football: The “Mediocre” and Team Success

     

    For anyone who wants to be better:  Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements

    Favorite quote from the book:

    “1.Every day, use your strengths. 2. Identify someone with a shared mission who encourages your growth. Spend more time with this person. 3. Opt into more social time with the people and teams you enjoy being around.”

     

    For the Avid Reader:  Get them an e-reader and encourage them to go digital.  I mostly made the switch to digital after extreme reluctance.  I like a book in my hand and lots on my shelves.  But, I have begun reading on my iPad through the Kindle app and love it. Most notably, I love that I can highlight and save quotes from books I’ve read and find them as references all in one place.   Let me tell you, this blog post was much easier this year with digital files than it was last year because I could easily find and quote my favorites with a click of the mouse.

    For the avid reader who is still reluctant to switch to e-reading:  Give them a subscription to Signed Firsts from Square Booksin Oxford, MS.  This classic bookstore just makes you happy when you walk in.  It is one of the last true, locally owned bookstores and they have a program where you get a book (sometimes two) a month which include ēnew releases, hardback and signed.   They mail them to your door each month and charge you monthly for the book(s) sent.

    What was your best read this year?