Career Center
Key Considerations in Motorcycle Repair Training
You probably enjoy working on bikes or you wouldn’t have enrolled in a motorcycle technician training course. Chances are also good that you have your own machine and have tinkered on it for years, either repairing the engine and other parts or tweaking settings so it runs like a champ. But there’s a huge difference between working on your own bike and working for a repair shop. For one thing, you’ll have to fix things quickly and on deadline. And bikes have become more complicated, with computerized fuel and electrical systems.
Your depth and breadth of training depends on the program where you’ve enrolled. Some offer generalized instruction in two and four-stoke engines, suspension systems, brakes and electrical, chassis, exhaust, and lubrication. Other programs also include studies on repair and maintenance of ATVs, mopeds, scooters, dirt bikes, and other vehicles.
Perhaps you just want to learn how to better service and repair your own bike. Or, you may be starting a career or taking advanced training to bolster your skills. Here are some key things to consider in motorcycle training:
Certifications. Are you planning on working on a range of makes and models or a single manufacturer? For example, you may want to concentrate on Harley-Davidson bikes. Or should you consider detailed, specific training and certification to work on BMW, Honda, Ducati, Yamaha, Triumph, Kawasaki, or Suzuki machines?
Specializations. Are you planning on joining an existing company as a specialist? Should you consider training in paint and detailing? Have you considered focusing on marine as well as motorcycle systems? Perhaps you want to work for a manufacturer or parts supplier (making it essential to study detailed specs for forks, control cables, bearings, valves, or gear shifters).
Fundamental Shop Studies. Does your training program include basic, but fundamental, studies in shop procedures, major tools, troubleshooting techniques, understanding shop manuals, diagnostic equipment, job costing, routine scheduled maintenance, tires, power train, and hydraulics? You’ll need these to succeed!
Five Top Websites for ESL Students
Teaching English abroad is not only a great way to see the world, it’s a great opportunity to discover who you are. When you work in a foreign country, you learn how others see you and your country. You’ll also have a fantastic opportunity to learn new languages, study new cultures, see historical landmarks, and make new lifelong friends.
However, it’s not always easy to melt into your new home while still developing lessons, navigating cultural…
How to Shoot Children’s Photos, Painlessly
It takes all kinds to take pictures. If you’re in art or design school and plan on a career in photography you’ll enjoy many career options, including commercial photography, fashion, advertising, photojournalism, or portrait work. Portrait photography can be rewarding and enjoyable. There are family sittings, graduations, weddings, and shoots for babies and children.
Child photography brings its unique set of challenges. For one thing, the subjects are not always the most cooperative. They cry, wander…
Free Vector Graphics for Design Majors
Today’s professional graphic designers rely upon vector graphics to build the corporate logos that create successful brands. In your college courses, you’ll no doubt be exposed to software that can import and manipulate vector graphics. Unlike raster images created by dots, vector graphics use mathematical formulas to store shapes and lines, allowing the designer to resize images for practically every use–banners, illustrations, web comps, or logos.
It might surprise you to learn that working artists often…
Key Tools for Substance-Abuse Counselors
Among all the therapy professions, substance-abuse counselors comprise the fastest-rising group of workers in the field. According to the Department of Labor, the nation will add nearly 30,000 new drug and alcohol counselors, for a 34 percent increase in jobs during the 2006-2016 decade. Counselors are not only needed to work with individuals who suffer from substance abuse, but also to assist family members impacted by loss of a loved one to drugs or alcohol.
The…
Common Mistakes of Inexperienced Speakers
Even if you’re enrolled in an online degree program where you type to your instructors and classmates, you’ll need to brush up on your public speaking skills if you expect to thrive in the workplace. Public speaking classes were once a fundamental part of the general education curriculum.
Perhaps you’re not enrolled in a business program. But the chances are outstanding that you’re going to have to speak with co-workers, to recruiters at job interviews, or…
Vector Graphics Software for Designers
Whether you’re a designer, graphics artist, animator, multi-media web creator, or visual arts student, you’ll find it to your advantage to make good friends with vector graphics software. Your professors and instructors should introduce you to vector concepts and the computer programs that bring them to life.
There are two major graphics display formats used in the industries: vector and raster. Raster objects are created in pixels, the tiny dots that assemble the image. The disadvantage…
Successful Test-taking Strategies
Is your test-taking strategy working? Do you keep up with lessons or put out fires only when test deadlines loom? Do you stay awake the night before the exam, cramming notes (and an inordinate amount of coffee and junk food) into your system? Some students modify their study skills and testing stratagems during their learning careers. What once worked when you could devote your life to your classes may not be so effective when you’re…
Four Key Web Benefits for Entrepreneurs
Here’s a startling statistic for entrepreneurs: nearly half of today’s small businesses don’t have a website. A survey by CNNMoney revealed that 46 percent of America’s 25 million small businesses have no online presence. The report suggested that business owners fear a large price tag for website development and hosting, despite the abundant, contrary evidence that inexpensive do-it-yourself website solutions are readily available.
The advantages of having even a simple, static website without eCommerce capabilities are legion.…
Career Designations for Social Workers
Social workers are concerned with the well-being of their communities, dedicated to compassionate service to families and individuals with pressing financial, emotional, housing, and health problems. They step up to assist clients with disabilities, to offer employment training, substance abuse treatment, or counseling for child welfare, gerontology, spousal abuse, or homelessness.
The Labor Department reports that completion of a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) is often the key educational requirement for entry into this challenging,…
Andy Wasser, Associate Dean, Carnegie Mellon University
Andy Wasser, Associate Dean at Carnegie Mellon University, Graduate Information Systems Management Program joins us today to discuss distance education.
Tell us about the distance learning programs offered at Carnegie Mellon University.
The Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program at Carnegie Mellon is designed to develop the next generation of IT leaders. The distance delivery of MSIT has been in place for over six years and has a successful track record of replicating the strengths…
40 Reasons to Go to College, Why Go to College? Your Answer…
1. A Better Paying Job Among the most obvious of reasons - college graduates, on average, make more than those who only completed high school. If there was a “Top One Reason to Go to College” list, this would probably be it. But we are much more comprehensive than that here.
2. Meet Your Employer’s Expectations As the job market gets saturated with graduates, more and more open positions are asking for degrees. You practically need a…
