Jobless Rates Vary by Major

In another recent article in the Post-Dispatch, the author discusses how the rate of unemployment varies widely by what your degree is in. This is interesting, because it wasn't necessarily something I considered when I decided to major in journalism for my bachelor's degree. 

Maybe I should have pursued a career in teaching, seeing as how the jobless rate for those types of majors is down to 5.4%. According to the research cited in the article, the jobless rate is highest among liberal arts majors, while it's lowest among majors that align with occupations (like engineering). 


It also makes sure to mention that the jobless rate among bachelor degree holders is at 5% while it is at 3% for graduate degree holders. It mentions that sometimes the best thing to do when unemployment rates spike is to go to graduate school to make yourself more marketable. This is actually part of the reason I chose to attend graduate school. 


Below is taken from the article:

Here are some unemployment rates and average earnings for recent grads:

Architecture; 9.2 percent jobless, $36,000

Fine arts: 12.6 percent jobless, $30,000

Theater: 7.8 percent jobless, $26,000

Business; 7 percent jobless, $37,000

Accounting; 6.8 percent jobless, $43,000

Hospitality management; 9.1 percent jobless, $32,000

Journalism; 7.7 percent jobless, $32,000

Information systems; 11.7 percent jobless, $43,000

Computer science; 7.8 percent jobless, $50,000

Math; 6.1 percent jobless, $40,000

Education:  6 percent jobless, $34,000

Electrical engineer; 7.3 percent jobless, $57,000

Nurse; 4 percent jobless, $48,000

English; 9.2 percent jobless, $32,000

Philosophy and religion; 10.8 percent jobless, $30,000

History; 10.2 percent jobless, $32,000

Chemistry; 6.6 percent jobless, $32,000

Economics; 9.4 percent, $48,000

Apple Rumors: The Next iPhone

Every year since the original iPhone came out, the rumor mill has run rampant about what each version of the phone would feature. Unlike Android, Apple is very closed off when it comes to what their new releases of products will feature. When it comes down to it, no one outside of Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California knows what the phone will truly feature. That's what makes this time of year so fun! So here is my best guess as to what some of the features will be on the next version of the iPhone.

When Can I Get It? 
Apple typically has released their new iPhone models between June and October. Most of the early models came out in June, while the latest model, the iPhone 4S, was released in October. In addition to that, recent reports that Qualcomm, is having some supply shortages, alludes to an October release as well. The microchip that Qualcomm is developing is reportedly supposed to enable the next iPhone to have 4G LTE capabilities. This leads me to...

Finally some 4G? 
As I just stated, it's being reported that one reason the release date is being pushed back because Qualcomm is experiencing some shortages in materials needed for a processor that would allow for 4G LTE connectivity. This has long been a sticking point for many with regards to the iPhone. To date, the iPhone has not been able to offer 4G connectivity, so upgrading to that would be huge for Apple (although also a bit behind the curve, as Android offered 4G over a year ago). On April 19, Reuters reported that Qualcomm wouldn't be able to meet the demand due to manufacturing restraints the would increase company operating costs. In addition, the new iPad offers 4G connectivity. It would only make sense for the next version of the iPhone to also offer that same connectivity.

Will the Screen Be Bigger?
Another sticking point for iPhone enthusiasts is the size of the actual screen. To date, iPhone has stuck with a 3.5 inch screen, while other (Android) phones have been released with screens as large as 5.3 inches (the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note). That's almost two inches bigger! In this day and age where users are able to stream movies to their mobile phones, and Youtube video watching is a popular past-time, mobile phones definitely benefit from not only the size of the display but the clarity. There are also some rumors of a redesign to the chassis of the phone as well, moving towards a more rounded back design, similar to the iPad. If the iPhone was to move to an edge to edge design with the screen, I'm sure many of it's users would be happy, and they might even be able to convert a few more Android users to iPhones.

Rumors will continue to run at a dizzying pace until the next version of the iPhone is released, but we can all speculate right? I think that in order to stay current with the competition, Apple MUST have 4G capabilities, at least offer a larger screen size, and possibly offer more RAM memory/a faster processor (not that the processor in the 4S is slow!). If Apple really wants to captivate a new audience, they'll redesign the phone. This is likely to gain even more interest from non-iPhone users.

The Downfall of St. Louis' Roberts Brothers?

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently posted an article highlighting the plight of the Roberts Brothers' (Mike and Steve) financial problems with their St. Louis and nationwide businesses. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet Mr. Michael Roberts and take a tour of the Roberts Complex on North Kingshighway a couple of years ago. It was impressive. It also was impressive to me that not only were the Roberts brothers a product of St. Louis City and successful black businessmen, they were also products of Lindenwood. Michael Roberts told me personally that he had been a founding member of the first black student union at Lindenwood.

Because of their foundation in the business atmosphere in St. Louis, it is extremely disappointing to see the financial issues that their enterprise is experiencing. Not only are they being sued by different contractors and such, they are also being sued by banks for defaulting on loans. They have several buildings in the St. Louis area that held great promise, but now sit dormant, such as the Roberts Towers in downtown St. Louis. The article even makes mention of the fact that the Roberts brothers missed one court date for a lawsuit because it coincided with another. That is saddening. One can only hope that the Roberts brothers indeed have a plan like they mentioned in the article, and that it works out for them.

Instagram is Making Headlines; Purchased by Facebook

If you are an iPhone user, chances are you’ve heard of the application called “Instagram.” Instagram promotes itself as a ” … free, fun, and simple way to make and share gorgeous photos …” and has millions of downloads. For those who have no experience with it, it’s almost like Twitter, but with pictures. You can follow your friends (or strangers!) and their pictures that they post will appear on your public timeline.

On April 3, Instagram officially opened it’s doors to the Android world. Following that release, Instagram saw approximately 1 million downloads within the first 12 hours. That’s in addition to the over 30 million downloads the app has seen in the last 18 months.

If opening it’s doors to Android wasn’t enough, yesterday, Facebook Inc, announced that they would be buying Instagram for, get this…$1 billion dollars in cash and stock. It’s rumored that Facebook Inc, purchased Instagram in order to keep a competitor such as Google from purchasing it.

For those Instagrammers fearful of what may come of Instagram after being purchased by Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, was quoted as saying, “”We need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.”

“Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people,” Zuckerberg said.

In my opinion, something like this was bound to happen given the popularity of the application. While those who are heavily into social networking and meeting new people via the internet, the explosion in popularity of Instagram will appeal to you. For others, who prefer a more intimate atmosphere for there social networking, it may be a turn off that Instagram is becoming more and more widely used. It is already used by several companies to promote their product, so being purchased by Facebook may only add to that, given the capabilities of Facebook to make connections between people.

Now, a company could post it's graphs or something similar on Instagram for it's employers to see during a meeting, or could use Instagram to announce the hiring of new employees and feature their picture, while providing the link to everyone who has that employer listed on their Facebook page. It simply is providing another way for people to communicate with each other socially in the corporate and public sector.