This is the shocking number of people under 45 still paying off student loans

This is the shocking number of people under 45 still paying off student loansThis is the shocking number of people under 45 still paying off student loansForty-five million Americans owe $1.5 trillion dollars in student-loan debt, and not everyone is going to have a billionaire philanthropist graduation speaker who will pay off their loans personally.Senator Elizabeth Warren has proposed getting rid of tens of millions of Americans student loans via a wealth tax, but that day, if it comes, is far in the future. A tiny percentage have sought out and been granted public student loan forgiveness, but most people are stuck paying off their debts for the long haul.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIn a new poll from the Economist/YouGov, it welches found that half of the adults with any college education have had student loans, and one in four people under the age of 45 are still payin g them off.Among the group of college-educated people 65 or older, 70% of them left school with no student debt tuition was cheaper back then.The weight of student debt is much heavier for young people who pay todays more expensive tuition. A full 56% of those under 30 who had a student loan has (or had) debts of more than $25,000.Meanwhile, 75% of those 65 and older with student debt had debts of under $25,000. (Only 15% of those under 30 can say the same.)Was it worth it?With frustration over the struggle to make payments at a breaking point, many are wondering if their education was even worth it.For 36% of the overall population, the answer was, No. And 46% of those still paying off their debts said it wasnt worth it.Those who had paid off their loans looked on the brighter side 53% said it was worth it.And those under 45 reported having a particularly hard time kick-starting their life because of their heavy debt burden. 3 in 10 put off buying a home (the same number delayed buying a car). Theyve had to delay bigger life decisions 15% postponed having children, and 12% took a rain check on getting married.A recent, related study said it takes Americans an average of 10 years to pay off their student loans.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Promoting Women in Engineering

Promoting Women in Engineering Promoting Women in Engineering Promoting Women in EngineeringWhen Nancy D. Fitzroy was studying at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the 1940s, RPI saw little need for female restroom accommodations, so small was the number of women science and engineering students enrolled there. I had to use the mens room, recalled Fitzroy in a 1998 oral history. The guys would stand guard outside the door while I was in there.View a video clip from ASMEs Oral History with Nancy FitzroyUndeterred by the inconveniencies and challenges of preparing for an engineering career in a male-dominated environment, Fitzroy would graduate from Rensselaer in 1949, before joining General Electric in Schenectady, NY. GEs engineering ranks, like those at the majority of technology firms in the 1950s and ensuing years, was staffed fruchtweinly by men, requiring Fitzroy, particularly in her early years at the company, to overcome a variety of obstacles, hardships, and even some preju dices.They wouldnt hire me as an engineer, because I was a girl, said Fitzroy. So they started me as an engineering assistant.Unfazed, Fitzroy would proceed to carve out a successful 37-year career at GE, working on research programs focused on heat transfer and fluid flow in gas turbines, nuclear reactors, space vehicles, and other systems. When Fitzroy became president of ASME in 1986, she pushed forward an agenda focused on steering more women and other underrepresented minorities into the profession and advancing their opportunities for career enrichment and advancement. Among other initiatives, Fitzroy was a leading influence in the creation of the ASME Board on Minorities and Women in Engineering. She was the first American woman to head a major engineering society. Former ASME President Nancy FitzroyWorkforce DiversityFitzroy was a crusader for engineering workforce diversity at a time when women had limited access to engineering programs. Opinions on reasons f or the underrepresentation of women in engineering vary. Some theories point to the era of the American homestead, when male owners of blacksmith and leather tanning shops took on their sons as apprentices, teaching skills to sustain the livelihood of families. This trend became generational, with access to women blocked.The trend continued in the ensuing years, though there were a few women engineering groundbreakers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Ellen Swallow Richards in 1873 became the first American woman to earn a degree in chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology before going on to make contributions in the field of water sanitation. Lillian Gilbreth, just a baby when ASME was founded in 1880, is credited with several firsts the first female prof of engineering at Purdue University, the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and the first female recipient of the Hoover Medal for distinguished public service by an engineer.Women i n ScienceRecent analysis of gender inequality in the profession has focused on perceptions on the part of women that engineering is the professional domain of men, and that males possess a stronger aptitude to handle the requisite training in math and science. A study by the American Sociological Association reveals that women often think of engineering as a gender-specific career and believe that society will see it the same way. And so as more and more women entered the general workforce in the last 25 years, most have shunned engineering and gravitated to other fields considered women-friendly, like law and medicine.When Fitzroy was ASME president, women comprised four percent of the engineering workforce. Today its 13 percent a marked improvement, however, short of diversity goals established by STEM leaders, who maintain that diversity in the workplace contributes to product innovation, global competence, and other successful corporate outcomes.Fitzroy, a fellow of ASME, was a n early advocate of engineering workforce diversity, and her tireless efforts to promote the role of women and minorities in technology influenced other ASME presidents. Susan H. Skemp and Victoria Rockwell along with a few male ASME presidents, notably Robert Nickell and Sam Zamrick were spokespersons for diversity. Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb, ASMEs fourth woman president, is currently in office.Read more about Promoting Women in Engineering The copyright of this program is owned by ASME.

Military Humanitarian or Compassionate Assignments

Military Humanitarian or Compassionate AssignmentsMilitary Humanitarian or Compassionate AssignmentsIts an unfortunate truth that sometimes during a military career, a member may experience a severe family hardship which requires his/her presence to resolve, with circumstances which make resolving it withemergency leaveimpractical. To help military members in such situations, each of the serviceshas developed a program that allows military members to be re-assigned, or temporarily deferred fromthe assignment if they have a severe family hardship which requires their presence to resolve. TheAir Force, Navy,Marine Corps, and Coast Guard call this program Humanitarian Assignments. The Army calls their program Compassionate Assignments. Exceptional Family Member Program While leid a component of Humanitarian/Compassionate Assignments, the Exceptional Family MemberProgram or EFMP warrants special mention. EFMP was developed to make sure military family members (dependents) with specia l needs (medical, educational, etc.), receive the special attention they require. A small part of this program is integrated into the military assignments system. When a military member has dependents (spouse, son, daughter, step-son, step-daughter, etc.) with special needs, they are enrolled in EFMP. If the member is selected for an accompanied assignment, one of the first things that happen is the EFMP folks at the losing base contact the EFMP folks at the projected gaining base to determine if the dependents special needs can be adequately addressed at the new location. If not, the assignment iscanceled. It ensures that military dependents are not forced to move to locations where their special needs cannot be adequately addressed, either by the military installation or in the local community. EFMP does not restrict a member from doing his/her share of unaccompanied assignments, however, so they can still deploy. The program merely makes sure that members arent selected for an ac companied assignment to areas where their dependents would not get the special attention they require. Humanitarian/Compassionate Reassignments A Humanitarian Assignment is a special assignment authorized to alleviate a hardship so severe an emergency leave cannot fully resolve it. While each of the serviceshasdifferent procedures, there are some requirements that are common to all the branches. To qualify for a Humanitarian Assignment consideration, a military member must have a documented and substantiated herausforderung involving a family member, which is significantly more severe than other military members situation. Family Member is generally defined asspouse, child, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, a person in locoparentis or other persons residing in the household who are dependent for over half of their financial support. In the Coast Guard,father-in-law, andmother-in-law do not qualify as family members for Humanitarian Assignments. The problem must be ab le to be resolved within a specific time-frame (six months to two years, depending on the branch of service). Military members are expected to be available for worldwide assignment, at all times, according to the needs of the service. Thats a large part of why they get a paycheck. For those who have a permanent or prolonged family problem that prevents reassignment, humanitarian discharge is generally the appropriate action. The Comptroller General has ruled that the military services cannot fund an assignment relocation for humanitarian reasons only. That means there must be a valid slot at the gaining base for the persons rank and job. For example, the Air Force would not be able to reassign an F-15 Fighter Aircraft Mechanic to a base that does not have slots for F-15 Fighter Aircraft Mechanics. However, sometimes a service will allow a member to re-train into a different job, to fill a required slot at the Humanitarian Assignment Location. Army Compassionate Action Requests T he Army calls their Humanitarian Assignment Program Compassionate Action Requests. Compassionate actions are requests from individual soldiers when personal problems exist. The two types of compassionate requests are when personal problems are Temporary (resolvable within a year)Not expected to be resolved within a year Reassignment may be authorized when there are extreme family problems, and the soldiers presence is needed. A soldier may get adeletion or deferment from an overseas assignment if the problem requires them to stay in the U.S. for a short time. If the problem is chronic or cant be resolved in a short amount of time, a compassionate discharge procedureis generally the fruchtwein appropriate action. Consideration for reassignment may be given in cases of extreme family problems that are not expected to be resolved within a year if it meets the needs of the Army. Requests are made on DA Form 3739, Application for Assignment/Deletion/Deferment for Extreme Family Problems submitted through the chain of command. It must be done by the soldier.Commanders can disapprove of compassionate requests when they do not meet the prerequisites. The Army Personnel Command has approval authority for a compassionate reassignment. Criteria The soldier needs to be present to resolve the problem, and it cant be done with leave.The problem cannot have been foreseen when the soldier last entered active duty.A family member includes spouse, child, parent, minor brother or sister, a person in loco parentis, or the only living blood relative of the soldier. If not one of those people, they must be documented as a dependent or, in the case of parents-in-law, no other member of the spouses family can help.For reassignment, a job (MOS) of the correct rank must be available at the requested installation. A pending assignment may be deferred until the request is decided. However, soldiers in basic training will not be deferred from AIT pending the results.The problem must b e temporary and resolvable within one year, although longer deferments are sometimes approved. Examples of Requests That Are Normally Approved Death, rape, or a severe psychotic episode of your spouse or minor childTerminal illness of an immediate family member whose doctor documents they are expected to pass within 12 monthsMajor surgery for a spouse or minor child which will have 12 months or less of recovery timeIf you were separated from your family due to military service (not negligence or misconduct) and your children are being placed in foster careAdoption if the child is being placed within 90 days and the adoption was initiated before notification of reassignment Soldiers en route from an accompanied OCONUS tour to an unaccompanied OCONUS tour may be deferred for up to 30 days. The deferment is for settlement of family when the soldiers presence is required for unforeseen problemsThe recent death of other family members with extenuating circumstances Examples of Req uests That Are Normally Not Approved The desire to move to a new areaDivorce or separation and legal actions relating to it, including child custodyGaining child custody in a divorceSole parenthoodSpouses difficult pregnancyFamily members allergiesHousing problemsFinancial problemsChronic problems relating to parents or parents-in-law If a compassionate action request is disapproved, a soldier may only request reconsideration for the same family emergency one time. If that is disapproved, there will be no further reconsideration. For complete details about the Armys Compassionate Assignments Program, seeArmy Regulation 614-200,?Enlisted Assignments and Utilization Management, paragraph 5-8.??