Not sure if zoology or stripping is the job for you? You want
http://www.athabascau.ca/html/services/counselling/careers or www.athabascau.ca/alumni/jobs.html
These two gems are the latest in my search for informative websites within the dusky passageways of the AU website. As distance education students our schedules are somewhat flexible (yes, I can make out the sound of laughter from all of you). More flexible anyway, than those at traditional universities. Often in this “flexible” schedule lies a job or job search. That’s where these two sites come in.
http://www.athabascau.ca/html/services/counselling/careers is where to start if you need guidance in choosing a career. The website is brought to us by the AU counselling department and features a career assessment quiz which asks you to rate yourself on a bunch of topics such as interests, skills and values. From there you are given a score for your aptitude on social, commercial, administrative, analytical, creative and practical areas. Click on your highest score and it will take you to a list of careers suited to you. Click on the career and you’ll see the corresponding AU degree. Interesting and fun, especially if you like self quizzes. The choices of careers are a bit limited but still gives a good overview of suitable career choices.
The next step is finding where to work. Courtesy of our friends at Athabasca University Alumni Relations is a list of employment resources. Click on this link – http://www.athabascau.ca/alumni/jobs.html – to see the employment listings. I’m assuming that this site was developed for new grads, but is a great place to check out the job market for your future profession. It consists of a ton of links to job search sites, employers and other universities. You can also check out links for career research, interview help, more career self assessment sites and resumes. Happy job hunting!
Neat Stuff: Both these sites are handy resources for career research and job hunting. The best thing about them is the wide variety of links to interesting and instructive websites. Nothing extraordinary, so I guess what is the foremost quality of these websites is their simplicity and easy maneuvering.
Not so Neat Stuff: For once I am at a loss for words. Like I said above, these sites were nothing remarkable, but are still essential to students and soon to be grads. I don’t have any valuable criticism or witty remarks (come on.. I am witty, aren’t I??), so you can fill in the blank: This site sucks because__________________.
Rating: ****/5 Please bookmark these sites if you want a job or will want one in the near future. Even if you don’t want to work, at least it will look like you do!
Tired of the National Post? http://www.theonion.com
News flash: “Schwarzenegger Running Out Of Movie-Related Campaign Slogans”, “Breakup Secretly Hilarious to Friends”, and “Satan Depressed All Weekend After Man Opts Out Of Casino Trip.”
Where can one find these “news” stories, you may ask? Why, at The Onion of course. You may have heard of it already. This satirical online newspaper originated in 1988 at Madison, Wisconsin as a printed publication. The website followed in 1996. The content you will find on The Onion ranges from outrageous celebrity stories (such as “Celine Dion secluded In Lab Developing New Perfume”) to the mundane and trivial ( I really enjoyed the “Teens “?Going to Town’ With Restaurant Comment Cards”) . I laughed out loud several times while viewing this website. It is pure satire at its best (it does not compare to MAD , though nothing ever will). I would much rather read these news stories than my local paper (which seems to focus their headlines on anything cow – does beef have to come from Alberta to be loved?).
I stumbled into this website while looking for information on the new marijuana decriminalization bill. I clicked on a link in my search engine titled “Marijuana linked to:” The headline was “Marijuana Linked to Sitting Around and Getting High.” I almost peed my pants. TheOnion.com also has an e-mail newsletter, contests and personal ads. This newspaper also comes in print form available at Chapters and you can access it from your handheld by going to mobile.theonion.com or mobile.theonionavclub.com. If you need a break from studying or you lost that Jar Jar Binks figurine auction on Ebay, check out The Onion. At the very least you’ll roll your eyes.
Neat Stuff: If you like The Onion, try the Onion AV Club. This is a complete media information website. It is divided into features, reviews (very comprehensive – cinema, music, video, words, and films that time forgot), columns (“Justify your existence” – a short Q&A with up and coming bands; and “Savage Love” – A “Dear Sandra” for the Onion), and comics. I like that the stuff reviewed is a little off the beaten path.
Not so Neat Stuff: Loads and loads of advertising. Granted they are not in-your-face types of sponsorship, but nevertheless still there. Their list of sponsors is kind of tongue-in-cheek and goofy, but it’s still advertising. Did I mention there is advertising?
Rating: ***.5/5 To goof off, or not to goof off: what was the question again? Some of the humor may not delight everyone, but I liked it and I dare you to like it too. Check out this website, or pick up the print edition at your local corporate-takeover giant, profit grasping, friendly neighborhood bookstore. It’s a fun place to waste time but like its vegetable namesake, The Onion is best in small doses.