Education for All

Whether you need (e.g., you are a student or otherwise have deadlines on reading) or simply want to have the ability to read and understand more quickly, learning speed reading is the way to go. Not everyone thinks that reading is a skill that can be improved in this way, but like any other skill, practice is the key. Almost anyone can learn to speed read, it is merely a matter of finding a technique which is effective for them.

Think back to the last book you read. Odds are that some parts were important enough to hold your interest, and others that you felt could have been passed over. Once you learn to identify these parts, you will find yourself skipping past these and absorbing only the relevant material. This means you can gain speed without sacrificing understanding (and doing without the filler).

Second, start skipping small words or phrases. This seems difficult to do at first, but if you’ve been reading for any length of time at all, you already know that words and phrases will follow patterns. For instance, if you read a line that begins ‘She would cut off her nose…’ you know that there is a good chance that it will end with ‘to spite her face.’ This skill is called inference, and you’ll find that it is far easier than you think it is; once you start practicing it, you will start to improve dramatically. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a lot of confusing information about credit scores out there. Once you understand what a credit score is, how it affects your life, and why it is important to build and maintain good credit, you may also want to know how, exactly, a credit score is calculated. There are some factors you can take into consideration if you want to check credit score.

First, if you have never owned a credit card, had bills in your name, or borrowed money of any sort, your credit score is zero. While this is not considered bad credit, it is almost as hard to get a loan with no credit as it is with bad credit. Some companies may be willing to take a chance to give credit cards for people with bad or no credit score, but it is much better to build up a little credit by owning cards, and living a stable life.

Credit history is about 35% of your total credit score. Bills that have gone unpaid or debts that have defaulted will hurt your credit score for 7 to 10 years before they are erased. Another 15% of your credit score is length of credit history. It is important to start building credit as soon as possible. Your credit score will improve with age as long as you maintain bank accounts. Information such as length of employment or residence can also fall under this category, so if you have a very stable life, you’ll have a better score than someone who moves around often. About 30% of your score depends on what you currently owe. It is important to only take out the loans you really need and to repay them on time or early if at all possible. 10% of your credit score is based on new accounts. They will look at how many different loans you’ve applied for in the past and how many different accounts you have open. By knowing how your credit score is calculated you can easily spot mistakes, which may hurt your credit now or in the future.

In today’s competitive living environment, going back to school is a popular option for working individuals to build their skill set and stay competitive to current employment and be more attractive to future employers. MBA is one of the most popular educational options especially for mid-career professions to be trained for more advanced leadership roles in various businesses and industries. Today, a number of accredited universities offer online MBA degree program, making an MBA not only more affordable but much more convenient also. The question is: Is earning an online MBA worth it?

Let look at some facts before you get an answer for the above question:

An online MBA degree won’t guarantee you a great job and salary, but the odds of increasing your earnings will increase after earning your MBA degree. Many companies have a salary scale based on educational background. According to the recent survey of financial workers based on skill, education and seniority levels found that Chief Financial Officers who get to the position without a degree have an average salary o $38,950, those with a bachelor degree earned $50,000 extra, which is $88,850, and MBAs at the position earned an average of $105,000. This shows that the Return of Investment (ROI) with an MBA degree is well worth it. Read the rest of this entry »