Top 5 Skills I Wish My College Would Have Taught Me

A person spends the most important time of his life earning the jewel of education and knowledge. It requires decades to obtain a Master’s Degree so you can spend the next decade of your life getting a reputed job to pay your bills.
Unfortunately, college students are still searching for new ways and sources to learn those skills which are important to succeed in practical life.

Colleges are designed to equip students with a professional education which is imperative for the future of a student. However, the ground realities are much different than it supposed to be.
These colleges now are only providing the wealth of information limited to classrooms and college. In the outside world, this is not as required as it used to be. This is due to outdated course material and useless exercises.

The college which is supposed to teach us skills for the future like speaking and communication led us down, and students are searching for custom dissertation services from outside to keep their education in the right flow.
That is why I and other people like me had to make efforts on our own to learn those skills which were the responsibility of colleges to teach us.

We know how much effort we put in to learn these skills. That is why I don’t want others to suffer the same struggle and I wrote this post for their assistance. I am going to list down some major skills that every college should teach their students so they would not have to face embarrassment in practical life.

1. Research

Researching is one of those skills which are really hard to acquire. It requires only one thing, and that is patience. Nowadays researching has become much easier due to the ever-growing intelligence of Google.
We have specific queries through which finding things have become much easier than ever. Though it is important for the query generator to know what he is searching for and which relevant keyword can take him to that desired search result.

Albeit, these queries and all other internet researching hacks are not enough to fulfill the needs of researching required in practical life. It is the routine job of professionals to collect data and information. Not just from the internet but by digging libraries or interviewing people too. Due to different academic services, students have become dependent on these companies and colleges have failed to develop their research skills in them. Which is critical as I mentioned before.

2. Critical Thinking

Without having the skills to find a pin within the bag of sand, you cannot analyze the pin. Without having research skills, it is almost impossible for a person especially a fresh graduate to develop the skill of critical thinking.
Research teaches a person numerous outside things which ultimately connect at some point of research. This becomes the core point of critical thinking.

Critical thinking is one of the most demanded traits in the corporate world. This skill allows a person to view another side of things that most people without critical thinking are unable to see.
If any student develops this skill in his college days, he or she would not only capable of gathering information but can also analyze the collected data from a different perspective.
Through this, students can solve their problems through creative and much more effective ways. Is a plus point which employers always want to see in their employees.

3. Time Management

Most of the problems that students of this era are facing are due to a lack of time management. A billionaire and a homeless both have an equal number of hours in a day. It entirely depends on how a person utilizes these 24 hours and manages them. Once again, college is supposed to be an ideal place to teach you this skill.

Time management is a code that helps you maintaining balance in everything personally and professionally. This is another skill that is hard to acquire but one must-have.
Students can learn this skill on their own too just by bringing discipline into their life. Allotting time for each act of the day and then sticking to this routine can help a student in achieving this skill.

4. Public Speaking

Public speaking is the trait of leaders.
Every leader in the world is a public speaker first and then something else. Colleges try to develop these skills in students by arranging different events and conducting presentation sessions. Students can take out the fear of speaking in front of an audience. However, these efforts can only make you brave enough to speak in public but not capable of speaking the right words.

Public speaking is not only about having a loud voice and being resounding to everyone in the audience. It is more about organizing your thoughts, choosing the right words and the tone that touch the heart of the masses.
This skill is imperative especially when it comes to leadership positions in companies. A person who is a manager or in an authoritative position in the company is responsible for speaking up for his team and to his team to keep their motivations high.

5. Teamwork Skills

Being a professional, one has to be a team player and adaptable to every group. This skill has now become imperative to have since the advent of technology in almost every field of life that requires a team to manage.

Conversely, colleges are working against this trait. Most of the colleges prefer their students to work individually. That is why the grads colleges and universities are producing, are unable to adjust and to cope with all the ups and downs a team faces while working on any project. This skill determines either you are a positive inclusion in any company and a horse of a long race.

Author’s Bio

Joe Pirest is an Entrepreneur and a student of Business Management who likes to work on everything related to media including production, design, and media ethics. He also works with a writing company and gives dissertation help to students in need.

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Cultivate Exceptional Writing Skills for Success in College

For the past few years, the popularity of technical sciences grew significantly. Modern students are no longer interested in writing stories or drawing pictures. They are more focused on revealing the secrets of programming, creating the codes of applications, and considerations on how to build another Tesla car that will surpass the success of Elon Musk.  However, no matter their intentions and expectations, they still need to understand how to write in an effective way.

Today, the words still have the same power as they had 20, 50 or 100 years ago. They help to reach the success by making prominent statements. They help to explain the results of the most complicated technical experiment to everyone, and they break all the boundaries between different nations. Thus, even though you have chosen technical science, it does not mean that you have chosen to forget how to write.

Building exceptional writing skills for success in college and beyond is essential to everyone.  However, here the question arises: how to cultivate this skill? In this article, we are going to talk about making students love writing and turning their ability to write to a totally new level. 

Why does a student need to write perfectly

The first question that students may ask is why exactly they need to work on their writing skill. The matter is that still being students they need to write a lot, starting from the essays and up to dissertations and scholarship papers. Thus, they must understand the peculiarities of each type of academic paper and additionally have an idea of how they should use words properly to reach the desired effect.

These skills never come in theory. In order to write well, a student must practice a lot. This will help to determine weak points in writing, the common problems that appear, and even develop their own writing style.

9 tips to improve writing skills

It goes without saying, that practice should always rely upon the theory. So before you start to work on the writing skill, you need to check the list of recommendations that will help you choose a proper direction.

1. Make reading your common activity

Reading is not only about expanding your knowledge and building confidence in different spheres. It also helps to build a proper foundation for a sufficient writing. The more you read, the more writing styles, new words, approaches to story building you meet. Do pay attention to such details if you want to improve your writing.

2. Make writing a daily habit

Writing will not be a problem for you if you make it your habit. Here’s everything like with sports. The first couple of weeks it seems to be too difficult, the next month you start to enjoy the process, and two weeks more and you cannot live without that. Write as frequently as it’s possible, and you will notice the results soon.

3. Try different styles

If you have strong intentions to turn writing into a talent, it would be better to give a try to different writing styles. In this way, you will be able to determine what works great for you, and which of the styles suits you more.

4. Read headlines of magazine covers

If you want to write strongly, you need to find out the strategies used by famous copywriters and journalists. Just pay attention to the magazine covers. In fact, they have everything you need to know about the most effective ways of creating content. All of them are catchy, and you would admit that even if the idea itself is not interesting to you, but you still want to read this article due to a strong headline.

5. Boosting your grammar skills

Many students think that grammar is not so important when it comes to the writing in adult life. However, when you compose an email to your business partner, you always pay attention to the smallest details, including commas and tenses used. So it’s better to start improving your grammar now to be able to write flawlessly and create content that has perfect ideas and perfect form.

6. Enroll some writing courses

If you have strong intentions to become a great writer, take some courses where all technical aspects of creating a perfect text are explained. Of course, you need to get ready to prepare some home assignments and learn the materials that will help you to build a perfect understanding of good writing. But if you have enough time for that it definitely worth the efforts.

7. Find a writing partner

If you feel that writing is too complicated for you, and you can do nothing with that, you need to find someone who will inspire you to keep writing no matter what happens. It will be better if your writing partner either has the same intentions as you or already achieved some prominent results in writing.

8. Learn not to get distracted

One of the main enemies of good writing is distractions. Unfortunately, today there are too many of them, starting for the messengers and up to a noisy city that just leaves you no chances to stay focused. Thus, you need to either eliminate these distractions or to find a way not to pay attention to them.

9. Give a try to editing and proofreading

In some cases, to start to write perfectly all you need is to start noticing the mistakes. When you try yourself in editing and proofreading, you will be able to discover the common mistakes of students, improve your grammar, and build and understanding of a well-organized and perfectly-structured text. Additionally, this will help you proofread your writing in future so you won’t need to use any additional services and enjoy the high quality of your papers.

A love for writing is what you need to cultivate. Only some individuals were born with the passion for writing, but most of us must work hard to gain this passion. However, when you start to get the results of your work on writing, you start to understand that you’ve done everything right and now you got rid of all writing problems.

Do you have some other ideas on how to make students love writing? Leave your comments and suggestions to share your experience of cultivating writing!

About the Author

Lori Wade is a freelance content writer for Thriving Writer who is interested in a wide range of spheres from education and online marketing to entrepreneurship. She is also an aspiring tutor striving to bring education to another level like we all do. If you are interested in writing, you can find her on Twitter or Google+ or find her on other social media. Read and take over Lori’s useful insights!

Positive Words Research – How to Cultivate Exceptional Writing Skills for Success in College and Beyond

Cultivate Exceptional Writing Skills

Best 7 Ways to Monetize Writing Skills And Make Money

Blogs are so popular these days. They can be a hobby, a source of entertainment, or a source of valuable information – moreover, they can also become a way to earn a living. If you’ve been thinking about how to earn money while doing what you love, blogging can become an amazing opportunity for you, but only if you learn how to monetize it right.

There are so many ways to monetize your writing skills with the help of your blog – however, today I want to focus on 7 most popular ones. 

1. Freelance blogging

If you have a blog that is already quite popular, you can offer your blogging services to clients and companies. In this case, your blog can be viewed as a portfolio as well as a way to draw more clients to you (especially if your search engines ranking is quite high).

That’s why, if you don’t mind working for other people and writing articles on given topics, this could be a great opportunity for you to monetize your writing skills.

2. eBook

If you are a professional in your niche and have a lot of things to share with your audience, you can write an eBook and sell it with the help of your blog (or on Amazon, using your blog for a promotion). Novel writers can consider this option too: many online writers these days have their own blogs where they share various tips and tricks as well as some information about the upcoming books.

This would be especially great if you want to become a novelist but struggle with finding a publisher: in this case, you can build a loyal audience with the help of your blog and ensure that even self-publishing will pay off.

 3. Mentoring

Some niche experts offer their tutoring or coaching services to their readers for a reasonable price (for example, they can give a paid lesson on writing skills or offer a business coaching session). Of course, you have to be skilled and popular enough to seriously consider this option. Make sure that you do have things you can share to make people’s lives better. Also, think about whether it will be easy for you or not.

Some people are good at communicating and explaining things to others, while some find it too energy-consuming and complicated. If you are one of the first ones, this is definitely an option for you.

4. Banner ads

While various banner ads don’t give you too much money, they are one of the best options for beginner bloggers. You can start using them almost right away and if you choose to partner with banner services, the whole process will be automatic – and very easy.

So if you’re looking for a way to earn some extra money while promoting your blog and making it more popular, this could be a nice option.

5. Product reviews

Popular bloggers can earn money for writing paid reviews for certain products. Some bloggers do it in exchange for gifts, but if your blog is popular enough, you can definitely go bigger and start charging money for such services.

Of course, your profit will depend on a niche you’re working in, but some niches are easier to monetize than others.

6. Selling your own products or services

Maybe you’re a photographer running a photoblog or a creator of amazing handmade jewelry who has a blog about handmade stuff? In this case, you can use your blog to offer your products or services to the readers. Moreover, even if you don’t have your own products yet, you can create them later – for example, some beauty bloggers start with reviews and tutorials but end up creating their own cosmetic products.

7. Premium content

Most beginner bloggers offer premium content in exchange for email subscription, but if your audience is very big and loyal, you can go further and offer some kind of a paid premium content. For example, this could be some kind of a digital product: a video tutorial or a lecture, a pattern set, a schedule for something, or some interesting articles. The price of such content may vary depending on its value, starting from a dollar or a few per download.

The only important thing here is to set the price right as well as ensure that this content is definitely valuable (otherwise, your audience might feel disappointed).

As you see, you can monetize your blog in many ways, which depend on your niche, on what you can offer, and on how popular your blog actually is. You could focus on one of these options only or choose to combine a few of them if you want. Either way, I wish you to succeed in your blogging career!

Sophia Clark graduated from the University in the City of New York with B.A. in Journalism, 2011. She is a creative writer from New York who loves to share her thoughts with readers, now she writes for BeforeWriting. In her free time she enjoys writing fiction as well as reading it. Her big dream is to publish a novel one day. Connect with her on Twitter .

Positive Words Research – 7 Ways to Monetize Writing Skills – 7 Best Tips

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Best 6 Digital Skills That Can Boost Your Career Today

Many business organizations tend to have what is referred to as “a digital skills gap”. What this really means is they lack a staff equipped with the necessary firsthand knowledge in working with digital applications, tools, and strategies. By taking the time and effort to master certain digital skillsets, you can, of course, increase your worth in the career you have chosen. Doing this also offers you the necessary room to improve your future career opportunities as well. Well then, here are 6 digital skills that can boost your career in ways you would never have deemed possible.

Image editing

Image editing is a fantastic digital skill, which will heighten your overall influence in the office setting. Been able to create mesmerizing visual aids for your company will showcase your exceptional talents to your bosses. When you are bent on becoming a pro in churning out things like infographics, or branding graphics, you must comprehend the workings of the best image editors such as Photoshop. So, when you are able to demonstrate your image editing capabilities, you will give your career a boost, by opening up new job roles.

Video production

The video is a great content format when it comes to spreading a firm’s brand identity and message to prospective clients. This can naturally present a golden opportunity for those individuals who have a vested interest in assisting the company they work for in creating excellent video content. If you are that kind of an employee, the roles you could assume can vary. From managing video production projects to honing the video shooting or editing skills of your fellow colleagues. Some of the best instances of being creative with the video for your firm are producing content that showcases its culture. Producing video interviews of satisfied clients or even video product reviews that elaborate on the benefits of your products or services. On the other hand, been good at video production can be very useful whenever you are seeking greener pastures. More and more business establishments are now accepting creative forms of job applications. Therefore, being able to demonstrate your capabilities of tailor-making video content will definitely place you ahead of the rest of the pack.

HTML

In this particular scenario, you don’t really need to be a bonafide web developer to be of use to your company. All you got to do is simply develop a fair proficiency in reading HTML code. This will place you in a position where you can be able to liaise with external agencies in formulating and implementing your firm’s website strategies. While also being at hand to notice alterations and even fix simple bugs whenever the need arises. By been conversant with some basic HTML skills, you can substantially enhance your value as an all-around employee.

SEO and content marketing

The right search engine optimization and content marketing techniques are a prerequisite in boosting your firm’s website search engine rankings. The higher you company ranks in your niche search parameters, the more traffic it is bound to receive. Having some working understanding of SEO and content marketing in general lets you determine the best methods to implement in creating viable content. Some of the most notable include keyword research and thinking like your target audience to identify which content might spark their interest. Also, you will be able to execute vital competition analysis in areas such as keyword integration to identify how you can beat them and churn out much better content.

Social media marketing

Around 2.34 billion individuals are now social media users, and many of them can snugly fit into what you would label as your company’s target audience. Taking your time to learn the ins and outs of social media marketing can greatly boost your career. This will enable you to be in a position of effectively handling all your business’s social media accounts. This is primarily through churning out content that both entertains and enlightens your target audience and leads them to your firm’s website.

Touch typing

Finally, touch typing is an essential digital skill you will have to master if you wish to expand your career horizons. Basically, it is designed to greatly improve your typing speed as well as accuracy. By learning typing best practices including ideal finger placement on the keyboard, you will significantly improve your productivity. While learning the right typing ergonomics will allow you to be able to efficiently prevent injuries and fatigue, even if you are engaged in protracted typing sessions on a frequent basis. It is pretty simple to start learning touch typing with passing a quick online typing test, use an online tutor and see the progress.

My name is Adam Fort, I’m an education strategist at Ratatype.com. This project helps children and adults to learn touch typing via an online typing test and lessons. I am in charge of developing the proper typing lessons and exercise for typists who want to improve their typing speed. I also have a commercial pilot’s license which I’m proud of.

Positive Words Research – 6 Digital Skills that Can Boost Your Career

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4 Digital Skills to Learn for Free Online And Be Successful

What are those 4 digital skills to learn for free online which will make you have the perfect digital skills to thrive on the internet?

Given, the internet does indeed possess a very dark side and is culpable for a wide variety of social ills. Yet there are also some general exceptions to this detrimental trend. To begin with, the internet is in an excellent position of equipping you with useful real-world skills. Even better, there are some that you can be able to master without spending a dime. As such, there is no shortage of valuable knowledge online, which you can capitalize on to improve your life and even career. Well, here then are some top 4

Given, the internet does indeed possess a very dark side and is culpable for a wide variety of social ills. Yet there are also some general exceptions to this detrimental trend. To begin with, the internet is in an excellent position of equipping you with useful real-world skills. Even better, there are some that you can be able to master without spending a dime. As such, there is no shortage of valuable knowledge online, which you can capitalize on to improve your life and even career. Well, here then are some top 4 digital skills to learn for free online that you may want to look into.

1. How to successfully launch a startup

If you are burning with an intense entrepreneurship zeal, but are perhaps clueless on what to do next, the internet can effectively sort you out. Now more than ever, there are numerous websites, which offer entrepreneurship courses at no cost at all. Through which you can conveniently learn just what you need to do to build your startup from the ground up.

One of the finest of these courses is labeled ‘how to start a startup.’ These lessons are taught under the auspices of Stanford University working hand at hand with the University of Reddit. The chief instructor of this course is none other than Sam Altman, the founder of Y Combinator. The ‘how to start a startup’ course curriculum includes guest lectures from highly acclaimed speakers from companies like PayPal, LinkedIn, Facebook, and so on.

2. Learn the basics of coding

The internet is crammed to the gills with many free courses on web design, web development, and even programming. By enrolling in the best of these courses, you can be in a position of learning extremely useful and very in-demand high technology skills. Should you wish to build a professional website from scratch or develop the next big mobile app, there are numerous websites that can assist you in your quest. You will be able to understand the basics of HTML, JavaScript, CSS, database manipulation, and a wide range of programming languages. The Code Academy is definitely one of the best websites that offer free tutorials for all the above-listed digital skills. Harvard University also offers an introductory course for computer science online totally for free.

3. Learn a foreign language

Being multilingual is a very marketable skill to possess as a professional. Taking the necessary time to master several foreign languages can expand your career prospects in ways you would never have deemed possible. To this end, there happen to be many websites, which are primarily devoted to teaching foreign languages to their users at no charge at all.

The finest of these online courses are highly acclaimed for being extensive and can cover a plethora of languages. Some of the most notable languages English users can learn are French, German, Italian, Irish, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Portuguese, Hebrew, Hindu to name but a few. One of the most comprehensive foreign language courses online you could enroll in are those offered by DouLingo. This website makes it a point to update its curriculum on a regular basis to make sure that it can adequately cater to the requirements and preferences of its students.

4. Learn touch typing

Touch typing is yet another invaluable skill you can be able to master for free through the internet. In essence, this skill is designed to assist you in significantly improve typing speed as well as typing accuracy. This is brought about by the learner integrating an ingenious typing method that places reliance on motor reflexes rather than sight. Basically, mastering touch typing lets you place your full concentration on your PC’s screen as opposed to the keyboard while typing. Being a touch typist can greatly improve your overall productivity.

You will be able to type elaborate and in-depth professional reports, internal circulars, and even business proposals in a much quicker time than you formerly did. This, in its turn, will naturally make you more marketable to both your current employer and prospective ones. Finally, the art of touch typing also lets you imbibe typing best practices such as ideal keyboard finger placement and the right posture to integrate when typing. All of which can greatly minimize the risks of sustaining injuries or a lot of fatigue when you engage in typing for protracted periods of time. If you wish to determine just how fast you can type and discover effective methods of improving your average typing speed and accuracy, start with one of the free online courses and be sure it can be fun and easy.

About the Author

My name is Daria Postoyalkina, I’m a development manager at Ratatype. This project helps children and adults to learn touch typing via an online typing test and lessons. I am in charge of developing the proper typing lessons and exercise for typists who want to improve their typing speed.

Positive Words Research – 4 Digital Skills to Learn for Free Online

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