A controversy broke out on Twitter earlier this week about an article in the Times Educational Supplement in which a teacher called Jonny Griffiths describes a conversation with a bright sixth-former who’s worried about his exam results. “Apart from you, Michael, who cares what you get in your A-levels?” he says. “What is better: to go to Cambridge with three As and hate it or go to Bangor with three Cs and love it?”

The controversy was not about whether the teacher was right to discourage his student to apply to Cambridge – no one thought that, obviously – but whether the article was genuine. Was Jonny Griffiths a real teacher or the fictional creation of a brilliant Tory satirist? Most people found it hard to believe that a teacher who didn’t want his pupils to do well could be in gainful employment.

Alas, Mr Griffiths is all too real. Since 2009, when I first mooted the idea of setting up a free school devoted to academic excellence, I’ve come across dozens of examples of the same attitude, all equally jaw-dropping.

For instance, there’s the now famous battle between the Diocese of Westminster and the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Holland Park. Once a grammar school, Cardinal Vaughan was forced to become a comprehensive in 1977, but it managed to retain its high standards thanks to a succession of great headmasters. It is currently the highest-performing state school in Kensington and Chelsea, and 13 of its pupils were offered places at Oxford or Cambridge last year.

As a voluntary-aided Catholic school, Cardinal Vaughan falls within the bailiwick of the Diocese of Westminster, and in 2008 the diocese’s education department referred it to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, accusing it of practising a form of covert selection. The Left-wing educationalists at the diocese wanted the school to be more “socially inclusive”. For those unfamiliar with New Labour gobbledegook, that’s code for “bog standard comprehensive”. The complaint was partially upheld.

Of the county’s 21 public school districts, five failed to supply preliminary, unofficial student count numbers by the end of the day after several Flint Journal requests.

Typically, one or two schools will fail to answer requests for tallies on count day. Last February, Carman-Ainsworth was the only district that did not supply a count. As of Wednesday evening, Bendle, Carman-Ainsworth, Flint, Montrose and Mt. Morris districts did not supply preliminary counts.

Many officials from those district’s said they either were still adding up numbers late in the day or that top-level administrators were not available to supply information.

For example, Flint School District spokesman Robert Campbell said, “one or two schools” were still having counts added up late in the day.

Of the schools that did report counts, most saw small changes.

The biggest reported change came from the Flushing district, which lost 140 students from February 2011 to February 2012.

The tally of 4,135 students is down from 4,275 pupils in February 2011. The count is used to figure 10 percent of state aid to the school district.

Denise Churchill, Flushing schools child accounting secretary, said “The drop could be attributed to several things,” but she did not offer any specific examples.

The Grand Blanc School District saw a 137 student increase compared to this time last year.

“Obviously, we are pleased with all of our schools’ abilities to retain more students,” said Superintendent Norman Abdella. “Each school, each teacher, works very hard to make sure our students are successful. And its seemed to pay off.”

What surprised Abdella  a little was the unusually small decrease in students since the October student count day.

Atherton847904-57 Beecher1,5041,580-76 BendleN/A1,085N/A Bentley850 873 23 Carman-AinsworthN/AN/AN/A Clio3,5803,669 89 Davison5,5145,46153 Fenton3,5463,45789 FlintN/A10,123N/A Flushing4,1354,275-140 Genesee8028011 Goodrich2,1562,11937 Grand Blanc8,7178,592125 Kearsley3,1333,138-5 Lake Fenton1,8511,8456 LakeVille1,5861,660-74 Linden 2,9602,975-15 MontroseN/A1,477N/A Mt. MorrisN/A2,658N/A Swartz Creek3,9793,9709 Westwood Heights94391627

There was a difference of only 23 students between the October student count day and Wednesday.

“Traditionally, weve dropped considerably between fall count and winter count, but this year weve seemed to retain more,” Abdella said. “In the past weve been as high as 100 students down. Were pleased to retain so many students.”

The small shifts are a contrast from the shrinking enrollment many schools experienced in recent years as the Genesee County’s overall population and economy shrank.

For example, from 2001 to 2010, the county’s public schools lost roughly 10,000 students, moving from about 85,000 to 75,000.

Count day is used to determine districts’ official enrollment, and consequently how much government funding they will receive as funds are doled out in a per-pupil formula.

This school year, the state’s minimum per-pupil foundation allowance was $6,846. Lawmakers have yet to determine what next year’s foundation allowance will be.

However, the February count is less important than it has been in the past. This week’s count will be blended with October’s count to determine the year’s enrollment.

Starting this year, the fall tally accounts for 90 percent of the final count. Before this, the fall count was 75 percent, making the winter count worth 25 percent instead of 10 percent.

While an important day — with some schools luring students in with parties and prizes — the count Wednesday will only be preliminary.

Each district will have another month to account for absent students. And the numbers have to be converted to full-time-equivalent students, an important factor for schools with alternative education programs who typically have a high number of part-time students.

Linden Superintendent Ed Koledo is encouraged with today’s student count figures.

Today’s enrollment count resulted in 2,960 students for his district.

The school district counted 2,975 students last year during its February count day and 3,013 students in February of 2010.

Koledo said the school district was losing students for about three consecutive years at a higher rate, and sees this year that enrollment is leveling out.

“I’m encouraged, just as we seemed to be in the fall, we’re sustaining,” Koledo said.

Koledo cited families of the students moving out of the area and students graduating early for this year’s slight decline.

The Fenton School District saw an increase of nine students from the fall.

Doug Busch, director of finance and personnel for the district, said today’s enrollment count resulted in 3,546 students – an increase of nine from October’s 3,537 count.

“We’re pleased that our enrollment is increasing and think that we have a lot to offer to our students – great educational opportunities and a great staff,” Busch said.

The school district counted 3,457 students last year during its count day, and 3,490 students in February of 2010.

Busch said the district intends to analyze its count information later.

– Flint Journal Reporters Roberto Acosta, Dana DeFever, Amanda Emery, Sarah Schuch and Orrin Shawl contributed to this report.

Business Analysts also assess business models and their integration with technology. Business analysts are therefore business professionals who evaluate the structure of a business, including issues like sales, marketing, management, accounting, systems management, facilities, and personnel. Typically, this qualification can help in strengthening your credentials as a forecaster which is a job that requires having strong skills in Information Technology as well as in commerce and related areas in business administration and management. To obtain a business analyst degree, applicant must meet certain eligibility requirements and they should also possess require academic qualifications. Some colleges also take into account the applicants non-academic factors. They should however, for example, have 3.0 GPA (cumulative) from any institution that offers a bachelors level qualification.

Villanova University Online

• Essentials of Business Analysis
• Master Certificate in Business Analysis
• Mastering Business Analysis

Capella University

• Master of Science (MS) in Information Technology – Business Analysis

University of Phoenix

• BS in Information Technology – Business System Analysis

DeVry University

• Bachelor’s – Computer Information Systems – Systems Analysis and Integration

Business analyst courses can help a person in a number of ways. We all know that lack of such a qualification will become a drawback when it comes to finding a job as a business analyst. A typical business analyst course that will lead to earning a business analyst degree will cover a number of topics including those that deal with eliciting as well as analyzing of commercial needs and determining and developing as well as communicating information technology project requirements.

Business analyst degrees also requires studying the best way of implementing and also monitoring information technology solutions to meet required commerce goals. When choosing your business analyst degree you will want to also increase your knowledge as well as career options by earning more than one specialization which is part of their bachelor or even masters degree course.

For those students that have chosen elective business analyst training courses in their programs it is possible to use these to earn other specializations for example in areas like information technology. You should however keep in mind that extra specializations can lead to extending your total credits over and above the requirements of your commercial forecaster degree.

In total, you would require 48 quarter credits and as many as twelve credits can be transferred to a specialization. Core business analysis courses include many different topics including but not limited to technical communications, introduction to enterprise application architecture and ethical and legal considerations in Information Technology. Specialization courses include Requirements Discovery as well as Documentation and Solution Analysis and Modeling and more.

With a commercial forecaster qualification in hand, it is possible to embark on a strong career path. Though the commercial climate is known to change from time to time, there is plenty of scope for career advancement for a commercial forecaster. Today, there are more than six hundred and eighty thousand people that work in this field. About 27% of them are self employed.

The growth in the business analyst field is expected to be high on account of complexities of modern commercial entities. There is therefore a need to integrate management with online functions which however is something that can be quite a complex task.

The job outlook for such a professional with a business analyst degree remains strong and there is likely to be a lot of growth in the future. The salary range for a business analyst at the lowest level is between approximately $20,000 and $40,000 annually. In the median salary range, such professionals can earn between $35,000 and $72,000 a year. At the highest level the salaries earned by them are between $64,000 and $132,000 per year.

The Associated Press, citing “a White House official … who spoke on condition of anonymity because the states had not yet been announced,” says the states are: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

One state, New Mexico, has been denied a waiver but is working with the administration to see if it can soon qualify, according to the wire service.

The goal of the waivers is to give states more flexibility as they seek to reach educational achievement goals set by the federal government when George W. Bush was president.

NPR’s Larry Abramson reported in September, when Obama’s waiver plan was announced, that:

“States that apply for and receive waivers no longer have to label schools as failing if they fall short of achievement goals. Instead, states can come up with their own plans to boost performance. They also no longer have to set aside a certain amount of federal money to deal with low performing schools. …

“States must show that they have ways to measure student growth and get students ready for college or a career. They also have to be developing comprehensive teacher evaluations that include the use of standardized test scores.”

The AP adds that while “No Child Left Behind requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014 … Obama’s action strips away that fundamental requirement for those approved for flexibility, provided they offer a viable plan instead. Under the deal, the states must show they will prepare children for college and careers, set new targets for improving achievement among all students, reward the best performing schools and focus help on the ones doing the worst.”

The plan for exemptions, Larry also reported, worries some “advocates for minority and special education students” who are concerned that such students will be ignored.

Tags: education, No Child Left Behind, President Obama

David Galbraith, from east Belfast, who is studying computing information technology, topped the leaderboard to take the title and the 1,000 prize in the grand final at Cass Business School in London.

Launched in September, the popular competition saw more than 3,000 students register and take four online exercises which were designed to assess their competencies, traits and aptitudes as well as identify their commercial awareness.

The 60 highest scorers were then invited to take part in the grand final where there were challenges including teamworking and communication exercises and a business case study.

A former pupil of Wellington College, David said: “The exercises we undertook ranged from having to construct a Lego tower to taking part in a debate about positive action.

“They were undoubtedly challenging and I had to think on my feet, but I also found them quite good fun.

“Obviously I’m delighted to have won, and I’m very grateful to the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Enterprise SU at Queen’s for their support.

“The experience was really worthwhile.

“It not only opened up potential job opportunities for me after graduation, but also led to my acceptance by the Brightest Minds organisation, which is quite an honour.”

Now that hes retired, the board is poised to bring those committees back. 

The five-member school board will vote at a meeting Thursday whether to revive 10 committees, which is one committee fewer than it had in 2008. 

Each panel would be led by one board member and have a second member serving on it. With two members on each committee, the board will not have a quorum and therefore will not be able to take any official votes. 

The committees would meet once every three months, and would call additional meetings as needed, said school board President Levon Manzie, who has come up with the list of committee assignments. Each board member would chair two committees. 

Meetings would be open to the public, board members said. Interim Superintendent Martha Peek and a board attorney would attend all committee meetings, as would the relevant school system staff. 

During a work session Thursday, board members said that without the committees theyve felt out of the loop on a lot of the measures theyve been asked to vote on. They said they often have had to table items with which they werent familiar during the boards regular, once-monthly meetings, until they could get more information. 

“Our current format does not lend itself to us receiving information,” Manzie said. “We must have access to the staff.” 

Nichols, who retired in December, was vocal in his goal to put an end to years of board micromanagement, which landed the entire school system on probation about 10 years ago. Besides eliminating the committees, he cut the number of regularly scheduled board meetings down from two a month to one. And he prohibited board members from asking questions of his staff directly during public meetings. 

Board members said reviving the committees is not a form of micromanagement; rather, the committees are tools to help them do their jobs. 

School boards set the policies of a school system, but superintendents are responsible for daily operations. 

“Were not attempting to micromanage,” Manzie said. “Were trying to have a format where we can ask questions.” 

Board member Ken Megginson, who was one of only two current board members who served prior to 2008, warned that the committee meetings are time-consuming. 

“If you think you can come for 15 minutes and leave,” Megginson said, “thats not going to happen.” 

But, he added, the committees are very informative. 

The other committees would be: intragovernment; policy/legal; safety and security; school and community relations; school facilities and land; student services; and technology. 

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Posters from past student theater performances adorned the walls of Franklin Delano Roosevelt High Schools auditorium, where parents gathered Monday for a meeting on school turnaround.

The city has started running through its closure protocol at dozens of low-performing schools it wants to turn around.

At Brooklyns Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, Superintendent Aimee Horowitz held a tense meeting with teachers to talk about the closure plan Monday afternoon. Hours later, she defended the plan to about 50 angry and bewildered parents at an early engagement meeting that has for the last two years been the Department of Educations first step in letting schools know they could be closed.

The pattern is set to repeat this week and beyond at dozens of l0w-performing schools that were midway through federally mandated overhaul processes known as transformation and restart until earlier this month, when Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city would instead try to use a different process, turnaround, at the schools. The switch, aimed at letting the city sidestep a state requirement that it negotiate new teacher evaluations with the United Federation of Teachers, would require the schools to be closed and immediately reopened after having at least half of their teachers replaced.

The mass-replacement plan drew fire from parents and students who said FDRs teachers are essential if academic performance is to improve.

I feel tortured, said Abdul Sager, a ninth-grader whose first language is Bengali. If a new teacher comes who doesnt know about my feelings and strategies to learn English, its going to take more time.

Parents found out about Mondays meeting in letters shortly after Bloombergs announcement and through automated telephone calls over the weekend announcing a parent-teacher association meeting with Horowitz, according to Robin Piraino, the mother of a ninth-grader. She said the messages didnt say the meeting would deal with FDRs proposed closure, and some people who attended the meeting were visibly surprised by the news.

Principal Steven Demarco implored families to push back against the citys plan by contacting legislators and elected officials. He also promised that FDR would survive the citys latest efforts to reshape the school.

Weve always been a family, weve always gotten through, he said. Regardless of what were called — transformation, restart, turnaround — we are continuing every day to make progress. That will continue until Im dragged out of here.

Demarcos predecessor was in fact yanked from the school. Starting transformation in 2010 required Roosevelts longtime principal, Geraldine Maione, to be replaced, so the Department of Education appointed Demarco, a 29-veteran of the school, to take her place. Then the city installed Maione at William E. Grady Career and Technical Education High School, another school that was undergoing transformation and could now be closed.

Since 2010, FDR had received millions of dollars in federal School Improvement Grants. Teachers said the funds had financed training sessions and overtime hours for leading after-school English classes for parents, tutoring students, and hosting a new advisory program called freshman and sophomore academies.

Weve invested our support in the English Language Learners, said Jorge Mitey, a Spanish teacher and FDRs union chapter leader, who had passed out large buttons showing Bloombergs face with a red strike-through to people attending the meeting. Theyre coming in on weekends, theyre coming after school. Weve given them more academic rigor to improve.

Forty percent of FDRs 3,400 students are considered English language learners, a data point that teachers said makes it impossible for the school to meet the citys expectations, especially for its four-year graduation rate. Of the students who entered as ninth-graders in 2006, 59 percent graduated four years later, giving FDR a graduation rate just two points below the city average. The school received Bs on its two most recent city progress reports.

Current policies do not reflect research on how students learn languages — many of our hardest-working students at this school are English language learners, said one teacher, who asked not to be named because she is worried about keeping her job. All research shows that it takes five to seven years to become academically proficient in a second language, and that is only if you have literacy in your first language. But many of our students come in with literacy challenges in their first language, Chinese, Spanish.

The meetings are a first step in the citys notification process for school closures. For the last two years, the city has held early engagement hearings at schools it is considering shuttering before finalizing the closure slate. Then the city must hold public hearings at each school slated for closure before the citywide school board, the Panel for Educational Policy, votes on them. The panel has never rejected a city proposal. By law, the city must also issue detailed reports about the closures impact, called Education Impact Statements, at least six months before the start of the school year when the closures would begin — a deadline that is just weeks away.

Other school communities are gearing up to protest the turnaround plan at meetings with superintendents later this week. On Wednesday, teachers at Brooklyns John Dewey High School say they will defend the progress the school has made under the restart model to department officials and ask them to let current teachers stay in the school.

No appointment is needed; exams are given on a first-come, first-served basis.

Students from the dental school organize the day of service. Both volunteer faculty and student dentists provide the services.

Depending on the type of care needed, patients with certain dental needs may qualify for additional free or greatly reduced-price services. Participants who want to become regular dental school patients will receive a $20 voucher to help defray the admitting cost.

Call (216) 368-3819 or (216) 368-6766 weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for details.

Teachers will be able to keep unruly pupils behind at the end of the school day without warning after ministers scrapped the existing 24-hour notice period for parents.

The Government insisted the rules – being introduced from today – would make children more accountable for their bad behaviour.

It is among a series of Coalition reforms enshrined in the Education Act 2011 designed to crack down on classroom indiscipline. This includes increased powers to search pupils for banned items, granting teachers anonymity when accused of assault and giving heads the final say on expulsions.

It comes amid fears that the balance of power in schools has swung too far towards pupils in recent years.

Almost 1,000 children are suspended from school for abuse and assault every day and two-thirds of teachers admit bad behaviour is driving professionals out of the classroom.

Image via Flickr

Plan Something Great

An Android phone is a great tool for keeping all your checklists and schedules together, even if you’re throwing a party at the last minute. There are plenty of places to find tips for planning a party using your Android if you’re really interested. A lot of people nowadays are the bustling social bees, mingling at every fete and never had the time to be the party’s master, hosting a party of their own.

Go Where the Fun Is

There’s a lot of fun to have between Thanksgiving and New Year. While a lot of people think that only major parties are worth scheduling their time around, every party you go might be the one where you encounter your future business partner or rub elbows with the investor who will help you make your dreams come true; or for a memorable one, meet your soul mate.

Considering how many phone numbers you may end up getting over the season, Android’s massive hard drive is a crucial component of keeping everything straight. The VoiceNotes app is great for it lets you “jot down” important tidbits about that someone who you may be too hung over to recall later on.

Image via Flickr

Keep Up With Gifts

Plenty of people think that the only reason you need to record anything is to know what to get for whom. This isn’t the case at all, since there’s a chance you might also be receiving gifts. Unless you want this to be the last year you get anything at all, you’d better remember the folks who got you something with a nice text of gratitude. Appreciate apps is a great way to let people know you’re grateful for what they’ve given you.

Spreading Yuletide cheers—this is more like the season to have an Android smartphone that lets you do pretty much anything. See how Android phones can make your life easier and more convenient?

Turn on the radio, and in less than 30 minutes you can probably find at least one one-hit wonder. A one-hit wonder is a band who managed to get only one single song impressed into the hearts and minds of the people. The hit may have driven a torrent of album sales through the roof but they could never live up to their single hit and soon faded into obscurity.

Image Courtesy of Flickr

Even though it may sound derogatory, a one-hit wonder band managed to get the timing perfect to connect with thousands of people. The song is fondly remembered; and while they may lack the longevity factor, there are thousands of no-hit bands who would willingly trade places with them for just a moment of glory.

The Falling ‘Stars’ in Your Company

While we hold a special place in our society and our hearts for the musical one-hit-wonders, the same can’t be said of employees who have the same traits.

Even office has them; for one brief moment, they shined. Maybe they closed a huge deal that took the company to the next level; or solved the customer’s problems with a unique approach that earned them the respect of their peers. But too often, these employees ride on their one success and don’t consistently deliver good results.

They, too, may be respected for their contribution, but in business, results are expected consistently.

This is especially problematic in the IT department. You may have a superstar IT worker who created the perfect infrastructure for your company; perhaps they wrote the technical manual that has become the internal bible for your software or services. But after their big success, nothing else special has been seen.

The Ropes to Know in IT

IT is a tricky department. The landscape changes almost daily. The flood of new technologies, cutting-edge products, and latest threats are non-stop. It’s just not the place for someone to rest on their laurels.

If you are looking for workers who are more than a one-hit wonder take a look at IT recruiting services. They can help you find a consistent hit-maker; someone who is well-versed in the cutting-edge technology and delivers results.

You may be looking for temporary staff augmentation or permanent hires—either way IT recruiting can help. They provide candidates with a wealth of knowledge and experiences in specific vertical industries. You spend less time training new workers and more time getting results.

Image Courtesy of Flickr

So the next time you hear familiar one-hit wonders on the radio, take the time to enjoy their song and be glad that they are on the radio and not in your company.

The Parents Helping Parents program is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 25 at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, 1521 N. Elms Rd.

Judy Apgar, a retired professor from Saginaw Valley State University and is a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer with the Weiss Advocacy Center, will host the program.

According to a press release on the event, Apgar “will talk about the growth and development of a child from Prebirth to Adolescence and how parents can cope with the issues that come up in each of these stages to help improve the quality of their children’s lives.”

For more information, please visit the Weiss Advocacy Center website at

You can still purchase stand-alone fax machines or you can purchase multifunction machines that fax, copy, scan and print. While having a hard copy of a fax is convenient, online faxing seems to fit more into the digital age. Online faxing with Metrofax not only helps you transfer executed documents, it can also save you time.

On the Road

When you need to send that important fax of a document to a client or the home office, the last place you want to be is on the road. Online faxing helps break that tether that requires you to be near a physical fax machine to send a document.

With online faxing, you can send and receive documents while you are on the road using your cellular phone or mobile computing device. It saves you the hassle of having to find an office supply store with a fax service.

Storing Your Documents

One of the great things about online faxing is that you can quickly and easily store documents in digital folders. It makes it easier to store documents in an organized filing system, which also allows for quick retrieval.

The ability to store faxed documents in digital folders also saves on the time needed to print documents. When you use online faxing, you can access the information in the document without having to hunt down a printer and wait for the document to print.

Document Creation

Using online faxing makes it easier to alter documents and fax them back for approval. You can also fax documents you create much quicker when you cut out the extra steps of having to print the document, create a cover sheet, dial the fax machine and send the fax.

Confirmation

Anyone who has ever sent a fax using a fax machine or multifunction device knows how frustrating it can be to have to wait until the document sends before receiving a confirmation page. With online faxing, you no longer have to wait for the document to buffer and then send before getting confirmation. You can either get an instant confirmation after your fax is sent, or you can arrange to have the confirmation emailed to you so that you can review it when you have time.

Online faxing is the more efficient way to send and receive faxed documents. It can save you time and allows you to get on to the more important tasks of your workday.

Image via Wikipedia

Marcellus oil in the Marcellus Shale provided almost 50,000 people with jobs in 2011. This number is only for jobs in Pennsylvania, not including the thousands of jobs in New York, Ohio, and other states that overlap with this broad oil- and gas-rich shale. Jobs are available with no experience and little education.

Entry Level Positions on an Oil Rig

There are at least seven positions on the average Marcellus oil rig, ranging from cleaner and floor hand to rig manager. All positions except for the manager require heavy lifting and all-weather work.

There are three entry level positions on an oil rig: a cleaner, a lease hand, and a floor hand. All three positions involve keeping the rig and pad site clean and performing whatever unskilled labor is necessary.

A lease hand is also responsible for driving vehicles to transport equipment and waste, as well as loading and unloading trucks. While a lease hand can be promoted to a floor hand, a floor hand is also an entry level position that involves basic maintenance of the site and performing any other unskilled labor necessary.

Skilled Positions on a Rig

A motor hand is usually a promoted floor hand. This job requires some skill in assisting the Derrick hand with maintaining the rig’s motors. The Derrick hand is in charge of guiding and steadying the drill pipe in addition to maintaining all systems and fluids needed for drilling. The motor hand and Derrick hand also train new employees and are often required to travel.

The driller is the person who runs the whole drilling rig. He positions the rig to begin drilling and dismantles the rig once drilling is complete. The driller has the responsibility of planning the work of all members of the rig, as well as ensuring that they are properly trained and understand all safety procedures. He also operates the pumps and other equipment, and records the rig’s operation. He is responsible for the rig and all workers.

Qualifications

Almost all of the requirements for an entry level job in oil and gas can be learned on the job or with short seminars or classes. Energy companies and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) both provides tips and regulations in dealing with natural hazards or working around heavy equipment. Generally, a driver’s license, first aid training, and basic training on drilling and rig safety is enough for an entry-level position at an oil rig or other industry field.

Image via Wikipedia

While workers can take classes, most jobs in Marcellus oil only require a fourth grade education. Expertise is desired in certain positions, such as a Motor Hand or Derrick Hand, which are responsible for the maintainance and operation of the rig’s motors. Many times these positions are filled by promoted workers who have worked at the rig, meaning that wherever you start, you have the chance to raise your wage and work experience even more.

Image via Flickr

Remove Suspicious Toolbars

Uninstall any toolbar you are unfamiliar with, using Zugo LTD for instance. An unfamiliar toolbar could be a gateway for spyware to make its way into your system where your financial information can be stolen. Not to mention a computer that runs as slow as the days when you had a dial-up Internet connection. Computers should not run this slow, and you should not buy a new one if it does. There are many free programs available that will allow you to cut and quarantine harmful adware, spyware and trojan viruses that are solely designed to kill your computer and steal your personal information.

Be Careful with What You Download

Image via Wikipedia

It’s also important to recognize and understand how these elements invade your computer in the first place. Indeed, it is time for you as a user to accept some responsibility for these programs coming in because they didn’t get there on their own. Most of the time, the user gets lured into downloading or accepting harmful malware. Usually, the user downloads a game, and when the game works, everything seems fine. However, most games can include malware or viruses piggybacking that game download.

Likewise, free music downloads are rarely free. Many of the most populated music download sites contain a sea of harmful malware which will ruin your computer if left unattended. Typically, these programs will slow your computer down, revealing a dead giveaway to their existence. It’s important to recognize that some of the more advanced viruses will do nothing conspicuous to hurt your computer. Instead, viruses will sit tight and relay information back to someone who can make use of it by advertising to your likes or stealing your passwords.

Clean Your Computer

Monitor your computer the same way your check your credit reports or the oil in your car, except with even more diligence. Download two to three reliable sweepers for malware and viruses. Run these programs on a weekly, if not, a daily basis. The many benefits of such diligence include increased speed for your computer and elimination of search history from your system, leaving less online footprint. In terms of cost, these programs are usually free, and by running them, you will find you can have the same computer for years to come instead of looking to buy a new one next year.