The complete list contains a wide variety of professions; everything from software developer, to hotel general manager, to veterinarian.

Here are the top 10 for your viewing pleasure:

1. Systems Engineer

2. Physician Assistant

3. College Professor

4. Nurse Practitioner

5. Information Technology Project Manager

6. Certified Public Accountant

7. Physical Therapist

8. Computer/Network Security Consultant

9. Intelligence Analyst

10. Sales Director

The findings are based on pay, job growth, and quality of life. PayScale.com partnered with Money in creating the list, and the pair used stats from the department of labor to determine expected growth.

College Professors Make the Grade at Number Three

I think they should celebrate by canceling finals in December. Maybe not. But really, students deserve some props for this ranking. Yes, professors haul in the Benjamins and yes, the job outlook is pretty good. But students make college professors’ worlds go ‘round.

We make their profession way more interesting than most other jobs. Let’s be honest, college is pretty much awesome. Professors get all the perks of college without the studying. They can go to the gym, use the libraries, and attend cool events (all for free). Then, as an even bigger bonus, they interact with college kids on a daily basis. Tell me that doesn’t keep you young. On the whole, college students are a pretty fun lot. We might sometimes be unmotivated, apathetic, etc., but we’re also generally amusing, generous, and friendly. Who wouldn’t want to work with us?

But I digress.

How are midterms going for everyone? Shoot me an e-mail (saul@studyblue.com) detailing your success story or topics you’d like to see covered in this blog.

I also need a good Halloween costume. Hit me up with some ideas StudyBlue Nation!

-Saul

p.s. Professional Beer Pong Player made honorable mention on Money’s list as a write-in.

Can you believe that summer break is quickly coming to an end?  I was flipping through the newspaper this weekend and almost every ad from the grocery store, hardware store, bookstores, even toy stores were advertising Back to School sales all focused towards welcoming college students back to campus.

StudyBlue is getting ready to welcome everyone back too.  We have been working hard this summer to add additional tools to help serious students study smarter.

As I said, this has been a crazy, busy summer for StudyBlue.  We have added additional members to our growing team, finalized our Board of Directors, attended the Google I/O conference, been working on fundraising opportunities, and as I said earlier added a lot of tools.

At the end of last year we surveyed StudyBlue users and 70% of users said that StudyBlue helped them earn better grades and ease their stress. We were really proud of these numbers, and we took them seriously.  We worked to add new tools to StudyBlue that could help students even more.

A new school year is a time for new beginnings.  Stay tuned for what new features we have in store for you.

We are very excited about this school year and can’t wait to see you back at StudyBlue.

StudyBlue.com is built entirely with a product known as the Google Web Toolkit (GWT). Without boring everyone with the nerdy details, GWT basically allows for the construction of massive scale web applications using the very popular, well documented coding language known as Java.  If you’ve been a user of StudyBlue for more than a few minutes, you’ve probably (hopefully) discovered some features that feel a lot like a desktop application as opposed to a web application. The easiest one to notice is the use of dragable popup-windows that are embedded directly into the site.

A lot of “Web 2.0″ sites like to make use of this dynamic, fast-acting responsiveness (known as AJAX).  You’ve probably noticed AJAX on Facebook (send a message) or Netflix (hover over a movie). Speaking from experience, I can tell you it takes an impressive team of talented programmers and designers to pull off this sleak feel.  Thanks to Google and GWT, we’ve been able to enhance the user experience with functionality and features that used to require a small army of developers.  We think that the GWT platform should provide us with the cutting-edge tools necessary to keep delivering smart study features for years to come.

So, if you’ll be in San Francisco at the end of May, stop by and check us out at the Google I/O Conference.  We’ll be hanging around the Developer Sandbox.

I don’t know how it is by you, but the weather here is beautiful today and I think we are going to be able to hear more refreshing stories  coming this Spring. If you come across an interesting story in your campus paper, please feel free to email the link to ben@studyblue.com.

…and now without further ado…

Campus News

Warning: Cancun on Hold
Penn State students are holding off on their spring break trips as Mexico has safety issues due to drug cartels.

Why are Textbooks so Expensive?
Iowa State University examines why textbooks cost so much and who is reaping all of the benefits.

No Need to Pass Notes in Class, New Website entirely Focuses on Relationship Gossip
The University of Kansas reports on a new website that is completely dedicated to relationship gossip.  While amusing…IS NOTHING SACRED ANYMORE?

Cheap Spring Break–Gator Style
The University of Florida offers economic spring break alternatives.  Not to sound trite, but I’m a “Sconie” and I think the weather in Gainesville sounds delightful.

Want better Grades (Use StudyBlue ) and Live in the Dorms
Researchers at Iowa State University find that students who live in the dorms earn a substantially higher GPA than those living off campus.

Remember when Mom and Dad used to Reward you for those Good Grades?
A new website founded by Texas A&M students has a system set up where your sponsors give you money for good grades.

Porn, a Southern Tradition
Researchers at Harvard found that Southern states (moreover, traditionally “red” states) are the biggest consumer of Internet pornography.

Alums provide Students Tips for Dealing with Bad Economy
A group of alumni got together at the University of Wisconsin to provide students (especially graduating students) ideas for making it through this poor economic climate.

Green Beer and Beer Goggles
A Penn State tradition of St Patty’s Day celebrations took things to an extreme this year. Messy, messy Lions.

Cyber Bullies
Illinois State University reports that as social networks continue to increase so do bullies on the Internet.

Insert Depressing Music Here – Job Cuts
Yale is cutting up to 300 faculty and staff positions next school year.

E-Learning Alternatives
The University of Florida is looking at alternatives to traditional E-Learning teaching tools such as wiki’s and blogs.

Life after College…Ahhhh
Ohio State students reassure peers that there is life after OSU.

www…The Place Students go to Waste Time
The University of Washington reports that the Internet is the #1 time suck for college students.  I guess I didn’t have to tell you that.

Oh, and a little StudyBlue news…big release coming next weekend.  We are really excited about the updates.  Also, we are now tweeting.  You can follow StudyBlue on twitter at: http://twitter.com/studyblue

And that was the news…

If you come across a good story in the coming weeks, send it our way.

Until next time, this is Ben with StudyBlue signing off.

…and now without further ado…

Campus News

The Biggest Losers
Students at Iowa State are striving to be the biggest loser across all college campuses having already lost 1,484 pounds.

Everyone is Looking for a Job
Students at the University of Kansas are having a hard time even finding an On-Campus job.

Risky Gators Watching Dirty Movies
The University of Florida is really stepping out of its shell, last week bringing the Internet to the dorms, this week showing NC-17 movies…what’s next I ask…what is next?

Bad Economy Not Hurting the Rubber Industry
Michigan State University finds that as the economy continues to crap out on us, one industry that is not hurting the condom industry.   Condom sales are already up 6% two months in this year, proving that in a bad economy people are looking for alternative forms of entertainment.

Students want Cheaper Contraception
It all comes back to the economy doesn’t it?  In these tough economic times, students at Stanford are asking the school for cheaper contraception.

Tipsy Tuesdays, Wasted Wednesdays and Thirsty Thursdays
A University of Wisconsin researcher finds that excessive drinking doesn’t just impair your body, it can seriously effect your grades as well.

Dance, Dance, Dance
Professors Give Dancers a Break
Dancers Train Months in Advance
Dancers Raise $7,490,133.87
Students at Penn State University dance for a good cause.  For 46 straight hours over 700 PSU students dance without sleep or sitting earning over 7 million dollars to help with pediatric cancer.

Cow Urine…mmm…Refreshing
Illinois State University reports that an Indian delicacy could become a common tap in the US.

One little Puppy Jumping on the Bed, One Fell off and Bumped his Head; No more Monkeys’ Jumping on the Bed
Harvard University has ended testing on monkeys and is now testing on dogs.   Poor Sparky.

Condi Back on Campus
Form Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has returned to Stanford following her time with the Bush administration with a mixed reception.

The Easiest A
Students in Biology 100 had a big exam this week and everyone earned an A because the professor didn’t make enough copies of the exam.  Sweet!
And that was the news…

If you come across a good story in the coming weeks, send it our way.

Until next time, this is Ben with StudyBlue signing off.

…and now without further ado…

Campus News

Now you can Tell on People and not get Beat Up
Iowa State University has developed an ethics hotline; a number that you can call and rat out your peers without the humiliating social ramifications.

Juicy Gossip Never Dies
With the recent passing of the website Juicycampus.com, the University of Kansas is reporting that a new website has quickly come to the rescue of those who love to gossip and spread rumors around campus.  Welcome College ACB.

University of Florida, Welcome to the 1990’s
The University of Florida has taken a huge technological step into the 1990’s offering a new-fangled technology, created by Al Gore, known as “The Internet” and added it to their dormitories.

Wow! Textbooks are Expensive
Berkeley students and administrators are looking at ways to help cut textbook costs including textbook rentals, more course packets, and even moving towards electronic textbooks.

Michigan Keeps Feeling the Crunch–Governor to Cut $100 Million from States High Education Budget
Students at Michigan State and the University of Michigan, along with the rest of the colleges in the state are going to be feeling the economic crunch very close to home.  The Governor of the great state of Michigan has proposed a 20% budget cut to all higher education funding in the state…ouch!

Watermelon Sex
A researcher at Texas A&M University recently found that watermelons can have Viagra-like effects…Love the Valentines Day issues…love them!

Applications Down
The University of Wisconsin is facing a decrease in their applications for the 2009 academic year.

Frat Suspended
You know things are bad at Penn State when the national fraternity chapter has to suspend a house.  That must be major hazing…”Blue, you my boy Blue”

Bad Economy, Bye, Bye Kitty
Students at Illinois State University are cutting costs by getting rid of their pets.  This totally wins “Biggest Bummer Award” of the day.

Pantsless Protest in the Cafeteria
This is kinda gross to me, Harvard students don’t wear pants because of dining hall restrictions…this is just odd.  My reaction to this is, “dude, put your pants on, I’m trying to eat”.

Big Smiles, Coed Living
I am assuming a large population of Yale men are happy with the news that their dorms are going coed.

And that was the news… If you come across a good story in the coming weeks, send it our way. Until next time, this is Ben with StudyBlue signing off.

Not surprising, going through the campus papers, the big story this week on campus and in the world for that matter is the economy, the stimulus package, and how the economy and the new stimulus package will effect you, the college community. However , that is not all the news in the college world, oh no, there have been many more stories…so without further ado…

Campus News:

Everyone is Feeling the Pinch
The economy is hurting every industry and higher education is not alone.  Yale, much like many universities across the country is capping faculty and staff salaries in the coming year.

Want Herpes?  Play Beer Pong!
By far, my favorite story comes from Ohio State University where they have found that Beer Pong has spread viruses such as the flu, mono, even herpes.

Custodians Do the Dirty Work
A great story from Iowa State University focusing on the work of the dorm custodial staff.

University of Florida Sorority has the Nora Virus…Barf
It looks like Valentines Day is going to be a hand washing party at their House.

Admission just got a Little Tougher
If you want to enroll to Berkeley next year, make sure your at the top of your class because it looks like their new enrollment process just became a bit more difficult.

Fight, Fight, Fight…Perhaps a bit too much Testosterone
Michigan State football player pleads guilty to fight with Michigan State hockey player…really…the fight took place after the bell rang behind the swings.  Fortunately the principal was tipped off prior to the incident and nobody was badly hurt.

Sad Day for College Startup
A Michigan State college startup company ruckus.com closed their doors this week.  Sad day for the college startup world.

Hell No, We Won’t Go…
University of Wisconsin students protest tuition increase as recession continues.

There He is Mr. America
Penn State guy participates in beauty pageant…guys are pretty too.

Recession…Really…Tell that to the Students Who didn’t Show up to the Job Fair
University of Washington students are not showing to job fairs and not scheduling interviews on campus because they don’t think people are hiring.  Here’s a tip, you won’t get a job if you don’t apply for one.  If you are graduating and looking for a job, it might take a while, but you will find one; it just takes work.

Your DNA and the Social Network
Researchers and Harvard and San Diego State found that a person’s genetic code could influence the social networks they are involved in.  Pretty cool stuff!

Students Keeping Students Healthy
A group of students at the University of Michigan have started a company that focuses on student nutrition and promotes living a healthy lifestyle.

Pat Summit Gets Win # 1,000
Finally, congratulations to Pat Summit and the University of Tennessee.  Pat Summit was the first college coach to win 1000 as a college basketball coach.

And that was the news… If you come across a good story in the coming weeks, send it our way. Until next time, this is Ben with StudyBlue signing off.

World E-Learning Conference

There are some really cool classes and schools out there are now that are experimenting with this very idea ( http://openhighschool.org/ or Free Online College).  However, as you can imagine many schools and administrators have issues with these sorts of learning environments because it is difficult to monitor the ciriculm and even more so, it is difficult to monitise this sort of adventure.

Chris

Hicham

This is where Academic Networks like StudyBlue.com come into play.  Here are pictures of Chris Klundt and Hicham Bouabdallah our President and CTO, both hard at work at StudyBlue.com. 

StudyBlue.com offers students a place that they can openly express their ideas, share their information, and learn from one another.  We have created a forum for students and educators to work together to share knowledge…not to mention a great place to study for finals…thats right folks, finals are right around the corner…better start studying today.

I digress, all in all, the conference was very productive.  I met a lot of informed and interesting people, heard some exhilarating discussions, was able to present and give some people some insight into StudyBlue.com.  The thing that was very promising was that we are certainly on the right track.  Education is headed in a more open direction and StudyBlue will continue to help students study utilizing the tools that need to study smarter not harder.

So, I finally left Vegas -

Jumped on a plane back to Madison, with a stop in Minneapolis -

Leaving Madison

Vegas baby!

Governor Jim Doyle

Oh, and on my way back from Minneapolis, the Governor of Wisconsin, Governor Jim Doyle was on my flight, sitting a couple of rows behind me,in COACH!!!

All in all, it was a very productive trip, lost a bunch of money, met some very interesting and people, and learned a great deal about the future of open education.

Thanks-

Ben

I am pleased and excited to announce the launch of StudyBlue.com today.  I believe that you will find the new look and feel refreshing and professional.  Furthermore, some of the additions mentioned in the below posts (i.e. flashcard keyboard controls, bookmarks across university’s and hotlinks in the search) should certainly make studying a little easier.

As I have said many times, the Academic Network is the wave of the future.  Students are looking for tools to help them study more efficiently.  While there are competitors in this marketplace that are simple “note” sites with wacky gimics and a lot of fluff.  I believe StudyBlue.com has a couple of key advantages over our competitors.

First, we sincerely care about our users.  We take user feedback seriously and try to update based on your needs.  Heck, I’m a fairly recent college graduate (we all are at StudyBlue) and I know what is going to help you get better grades and save you time.  Not to mention, help you learn the material. If you’re not happy, we’re not doing our job.

Second, we’re not simply a “notes” website. There are a lot of sites on the web today offering students class notes…and if you upload your notes you can earn…name your prize.  These sites give Academic Networks a bad name.  The goal of an Academic Network isn’t to be a shortcut or cheating for students;  absolutely not, in fact the goal is to help students study and efficiently learn material.  While notes are great.  They do not cut it alone.  That is why we offer flashcards, study groups, notes, chat boards, tutors, book outlines, calendars, and much more.  I believe that the Internet can and will revolutionize education, but to do so, we need to provide students with the tools that will help them study, interact, and learn.

Finally, StudyBlue.com prides itself as a premier Academic Network that helps students study more efficiently.  We believe students should study smarter, not harder.  This isn’t just some lame saying, we truly believe that the Internet is the future of education and we are on the forefront. We believe that there are a variety of tools that help students study and while we don’t have them all (yet), we will continue building our site to provide you, our users with the most efficient study gear around.

Today is an exciting day for us, changing to studyblue.com, but this is only the beginning.  Over the next few months we will continually upgrade our site with new and innovative academic technologies.

I can say, I am certainly excited about the future of StudyBlue.

Ben Jedd

Chief Communications Officer

ben@studyblue.com

Education is the act of relaying knowledge. Being able to write down ideas, be it on a clay scribe, spiral notebook, or Macbook Pro has allowed students the ability to save, remember, and share information. Let’s take a look back at how it all began.

Dating back to 10,000 B.C.E., the Hunters and Gatherers passed down their traditions, practices and beliefs through oral traditions. About 7000 years later, ancient civilizations began writing their “history” on a clay stylus. This was one of the greatest revolutions in education. The act of writing down information and historical events changed the way people learned, remembered and taught. This led to the Egyptians writing in hieroglyphics, the Greeks developing an alphabet and civilizations throughout the world developing scripts and keeping records of historical events.

As time went on, world and theological leaders dictated what should and could be learned. Essentially, history was remembered based on what the church and political figures dictated valuable and how “they” wanted to be remembered.

Everything changed again, when the Gutenberg Printing Press was created in 1439. Perhaps the greatest educational technology ever developed, the printing press made it possible to print multiple copies of a text, thus making the most popular book of the time, the Bible, available to everyone…think “Xerox” but really old.

Over the centuries, the printing press improved, allowing for the mass distribution of newspapers, periodicals and other printed media. As the technology grew, so did the amount of available literature. This meant that “history” and “education” did not have to be dictated by just the wealthy and powerful. The printing of textbook became widely adopted as a primary teaching instrument. And by the 1800s, textbooks were standard in education.

Let’s jump a hundred more years to the 20th century, when the computer and Internet were developed. These two technologies have changed the way that today’s students study. Education is no longer defined as sitting in a classroom, because today’s students can study online. Furthermore, classes can take place anywhere. A professor could be in Scranton, PA while a student is studying, researching, and writing all from the comfort of their home in Paris, France. Just as the clay scribe and printing press were revolutionary so too are the computer and Internet.

The computer puts the power of the printing press in the hands of every student. This combined with the Internet allows students distribute their knowledge faster and on a global scale.

Today, practically every college, high school and grade school in the country has computer and Internet access available for student use. In fact, in 2007 about 75% of college students owned laptops. Students owning laptops obviously makes notetaking and studying much easier. They can work on school anywhere.

It goes without saying that today’s students are technologically savvy. Substantially more savvy than their professors and school administrators. However, those school administrators and professors are the one’s choosing the students Learning Management Systems and essentially making an impact on the students future. They are dictating how students can utilize the 21st century “printing press”.

A Learning Management System is a tool that is built to assist professors, educators and trainers with classroom management, tracking of students, and delivering educational messages. Learning Management Systems provide administrators and instructors real-time access to learning content. Some of the largest Learning Management Systems, probably found on your campuses, are BlackBoard, Web CT, Moodle, Angel, Sakai, and Desire2Learn.

While these tools have made a large impact on academia and have helped to unite technology and education, from my perspective they have three main problems. First, they are cost prohibitive. These systems are wicked expensive; between implementation, training, and maintenance these tools cost the institution as well as you the tax/tuition payer a great deal of money.

Second, the technological learning curve; let’s face it, professors are not typically the most technologically savvy consumers (for the most part, I know that there are a lot of professors, especially younger professors out there that are great with technology, I am not talking about you…and you are a small percentage) and it takes them a long time to accept and adapt to new technologies. If a professor isn’t utilizing the Learning Management System for all intensive purposes that tool does not exist. The tool is only as good as the professor who uses it.

Finally, Learning Management Systems are built from the top down (essentially built for the administrators and professors down to the students). While the administrators and professors are the people teaching with the tool, you, the students are the one’s using the tool. You are MUCH more tech-savvy than those implementing the tool for you. They are slowing your learning curve. The roadblocks the teachers face with technology are the same blocks you, the students will face because students are ultimately only going to follow their instructors lead.

You, the students, need a tool built from the student up to the professor. You are the one learning and trying to better your future. Welcome, Academic Network!

The Academic Network is a network for today’s technologically elite students. We are all familiar with a Social Network (i.e. Facebook, MySpace), a place to socialize with friends and let them know your new cell phone number in case you lose your phone at 2am Halloween night…this has happened to me…not pretty. The difference between a Social Network and an Academic Network is that a Social Network is a toy and an Academic Network is a tool. The Academic Network is there to help students study more efficiently. Because today’s student is busy with social, educational, extracurricular, and job related obligations, adding efficiencies to your life is of the utmost importance. The Academic Network is a one-stop shop for students to study with peers (in their class, at their school, or with students across the world). Students can find notes, do research, socialize, and study in groups or individually all in one place. We believe that we have created the most efficient place for students to study smarter, not harder—StudyBlue.com.

We believe that StudyBlue.com is going to revolutionize the way students study online. We know that today’s students learn better utilizing the tools that they are familiar with, and there is no better tool for students than the Internet. Students and teachers alike can take advantage of the academic and organizational support tools on StudyBlue.com, including a database of class notes from top students around the country; flashcards with study reminders; chapter outlines for textbooks; online study groups; class forums; tutor matchmaking, and a shared calendar that helps track classes, deadlines and other academic obligations. All these tools are built on a networking feature that connects students by course, school, major and textbook.

While we are in no way saying we have created the next clay scribe or printing press, we do believe that we have created a tool that is going to be the future of education for students, teachers and administrators.

Ben Jedd
Chief Communications Officer
StudyBlue.com