
Lizzie asks…
I am an MBA graduate with major in Finance and Marketing from the California State University Hayward. I am interested in persuing career as a Venture Capitalist. How to proceed at entry level. Is there any certification required.
Best way to find out — call one and ask.

James asks…
I was wondering if anyone out there in the Bay Area has any internships or classes that I can take. I would love to train at an Investment Firm, or just study in a class. I have read tons of books and been the president of my school’s stock club for 4 years. I want to learn everything I can before I head to college next year! I will take all offers seriously as I am really motivated to learn everything I can before I leave.
Thanks
Try craigslist go to:
sfbay.craigslist.org/
they have lots of ads in the JOBS section who are looking for interns
Also, you can post your resume for free.
Good Luck!

Helen asks…
I’m starting a web design firm and we’re trying to research the market in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I don’t really know where to go to get the statistics and the data about the market here. What resources are available? I am looking for stats like how many start up companies are there per year in the SF bay area? how frequently do businesses redesign their websites? how many web design firms are there in the bay area? that sort of thing….any suggestions?
Dwight DJ has some good points (see up). You can also do some primary data research by conducting your own surveys, questionaires and focus group. Or you can pretend to be a student and visit existing firms and pretend that you are doing a huge huge project that will decide whether you graduate or not and start digging in questions like the data that they use for their market research and who their sources were, and other data that you need.
Or go to the local university or college design/computing/business department and ask whether they know a thing or two.
Btw, are you hiring? Lol

Ruth asks…
I am 23 and planning to move to NY this fall. Here are my credentials: Graduated from UC Berkeley in 2005, BA in Slavic Languages and Literature, very low GPA however, around a 2.3. Afterwards, I got a MS degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University. Ok GPA. Currently working as a Tax Accountant in a regional firm in the Bay Area, California. I’ve worked here for 4 months and already feel that accounting is not for me. I am just upset that the MS Tax degree cost me $20K. I am fascinated by the stock markets, and investing in general. I am contemplating a career change into something related to Hedge Funds or the like. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to transition to a finance career in hedge funds or other investment firms without any financial background, with a low undergrad GPA and a MS in Tax. What classes should I take, who should I talk to in order to build a network relationship? Any and all advice is appreciated!
Yes u can go to hedge funds as ur career because their is lot of potential in Indian stock market or no matter where ever in any part of the world and u can make money in no matter but let me tell u one thing, one thing u got to know is risk, i went through ur profile it has got lot of weightage and u can u do it in hedging from my opinion and my vision.
Best of luck and have a bright future

Sandy asks…
With rising unemployment, deteriorating consumer spending and economic conditions, getting a business, car, personal, etc regardless how small or large is quite of challenge. It’s quite interesting because everybody keeps talking optimistic about market recover, but unless credit conditions really shape up, it’s going to be a long road.
The only reason I am so angry is because I want to start my own business starting out medium range because I have a good business degree and work experience, but they keep telling me, the interest and terms are going to be sharp, you are not going to make much, its going to take a while to approve, and this that or another.
I am getting rather tired and even advanced markets like San Francisco bay area or New York City is having lot of trouble. This is a major concern because if entrepreneurs, college graduates, or experienced to get optimistic, they are going to go elsewhere, or not pursue advanced degrees as they will realize the potential is not as great or as permanent as they thought.
Thus, I have no reason to believe consumers spending will ever return to peak levels, not will business investment, start ups, or opportunities to advanced, which means many firms will lose top talents individuals, and go down altogether. Government bailouts will not encourage top talent, only pay and compensation will which is what they oppose.
I think this is a great question. You nailed it on the head with how most employees in the financial industry are thinking. I work in a bank as a lender and we’re all saying the same thing, in order for this market to turn around the banks HAVE to let loose a little on their conservative thinking. They’re thinking too much “in the box” and the box is small and if you don’t fit that formula (which majority don’t these days) then no one’s going to be approved. Did you know that over 80% of employment out there is started with small business owners or entrepreneurs like yourself?
This means that the government is taking away from creative thinking and not allowing great innovators to stream line more employment thus pumping more money into the economy. You are dead on with what you said. If the credit market doesn’t turn around this economy won’t, you have to allow business owners to borrow money because it’s impossible for business’s to start up without it. The cost involved far exceeds the revenue generated your first 5 years in business. Without a loan to fall back on you’re riding a sinking ship. You have to stay aflot somehow those first few years in order to succeed.
The government has taken measures to address this by pumping money into the financial sector potentially to allow banks for more wiggle room to lend HOWEVER the banks are receiving the money but they are still sitting in the corner sucking their thumb hoping the big monster just goes away. They’re not doing anything with it I have yet to see underwriting policies loosen up in fact it’s got even more stringent and nearly impossible for anybody to be approved for business loans.
More and more college graduates are coming into the work environment in debt up to their eye balls with student loans just to find out that the job they had in mind isn’t covering the bills as they had expected it too. You think they’ll want to go back to school to advance any further??? Doubt it.
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Mark asks…
I’m doing research on the Bay area rapid transit‘s automated train control system. I learned there was an accident around 1972 because of the use of this ATC system which was new technology at the time. I wonder if they are currently using it? Of course a much improved one.
They are still using it, but the latest version is much smoother and works much easier than the previous versions of the past.

David asks…
Why just not ask BART employees? If you’ll be working for the BART, I’m sure they’ll give you some kind of packet with information and such. You could do some investigating. Cruise around and see what they wear. Then you can get an idea.

Lizzie asks…
I want to become a BART Train Operator in San Francisco, California. But all of my family lives in Ohio. Do you think it would be a good idea to go ahead and do it? I’d love to be a train operator because it’s so peaceful and you work alone. I just don’t know about moving to California to do it.
On a BART train the operator doesn’t operate the train.BART trains are run by computer and all the operator is there for is as a fail safe.I talked to a BART operator once and she said it was a pretty boring job in many ways.I don’t know how much they earn but San Francisco is a very expensive city to live in.It is a great city though.

Betty asks…
Balboa Park Station
401 Geneva Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
Glen Park Station
2901 Diamond Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
24th St. Mission
2800 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
16th St. Mission
2000 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Civic Center
1150 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Powell St.
899 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Montgomery St.
598 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Embarcadero
298 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

Donald asks…
I bought the $70 Clipper Card.
Can I use it to go from San Francisco to San Bruno?
Easy 10 points!
If you loaded $70 in cash on your card yes.
If you loaded the $70 fast pass on your card then no unless you don’t go through the fare gates at San Bruno. The $70 fast pass only includes Bart in the city.
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Betty asks…
Would like to find a source with all the new headlines, released in the web2.0 / internet marketing / seo / sem… field.
Anybody? Be great if it could be rss?
Hi there,
Here are a few that I subscribe to:
Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/
Aaron Wall’s SEO Book http://www.seobook.com/node (He’s off to get married and won’t be back until the end of October, but his archives and his book are fantastic)
http://www.seomoz.org/blog – This one is the grandaddy of SEO blogs.
Good luck!
Naomi Dunford
Itty Bitty Marketing

David asks…
I’m doing a presentation and I’m looking for any really good sites that supply this sort of information, preferably with videos.
Briefing.com is great if you’re willing to pay the subscription fee. Also check out Tech Ticker and Market News Video which have videos (and no subscription fee).

Mandy asks…
I’m looking for websites that give you very insightful reviews on internet/digital/online marketing in Europe, especially in the field of SEO, Lead Generation and so on. Thanks.
I would suggest the following websites:
Problogger.net
Copyblogger.com
thetrafficblogger.com

Laura asks…
I’m conducting a radio Interview for my class and its going to be with a marketing professor. Topics might include marketing strategy or research, internet marketing, consumer behavior, new product development and management, brand or sales management, business to business marketing, e-business marketing strategy, international marketing, etc.
The problem is, how do I derive a story of significance from any of these as my assignment requires? E.g.: has there been anything in the news surrounding these topics that could keep an audience intrigued and of which I could formulate some great questions?
Thank u so much!
How about:
From a marketing perspective, what is the best strategy to help a company overcome well-publicized recalls (like recent Peter Pan recall) or actual illness from their product (like in Taco Bell e-coli)?
Was the guerilla marketing tactics used by the Cartoon Network (placing light boxes under overpasses, etc.) ethical? It certainly generated a lot of publicity thanks to Boston and Homeland Security? What did they do wrong and how could they have done it different?
Edit: The other answerer gave me another idea…Discuss the impact of advertising prescription drugs directly to the lay audience. Essentially it is driving people to the doctor to request medications they would never have dreamed of taking without the advertising. Is this practice contributing to rising health care costs and the growing trend for relying on pharmaceuticals for all our problems?

Donald asks…
I want to promote my small business on FACEBOOK, anyone have any ideas or suggestions in how to promote this business, besides the news papers /magazines.
“If you are going to promote your business here are some suggestion that are common and everyone using since last 4/5 decades these are :-
(1) Press Releases (2)Trade Shows (3)E-mail (4)Advertising (5)Direct Mail (6)Yellow Pages
ETC.but above of these one is most important and effective method i gonna tell you that’s “”INTERNET MARKETING THROUGH FACEBOOK”” facebook is tremendous and vast social network where million of net user give attendance every moment that is the single place where you may promote your small business on large scale you may share your product or business with hundreds of people according to your search. It need only a right decision to work..facebook require a only profile to join groups, friends, then you have to Establish a home page for your business is relatively inexpensive and can reach many people. Use newsgroups that focus on areas similar to your line of business to draw attention to the site. Always include a phone number or email address so that interested visitors can contact you. If you are a retailer, consider putting photographs of your products online, even if you’re not ready to let people to order your wares over the Internet. You may use different way to promote and market the business that’s very easy and powerful..you may hire any reliable company who works for internet marketing some time back during net surfing my eyes caught a name that magicsolv.com i read about ’em carefully everything was regarding to business promotion. In my opinion you must try out hope u will get some fruitful i hope so..best of luck.”
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Lizzie asks…
I am planning to move and am trying to get some research done to make an educated move, and Raleigh NC sounds like I would like it but I haven’t been able to find out if it is easy to get a job. Like something entery level, construction or restaurant jobs. Could anyone tell me anything about it?
Construction seems pretty active. I think the fact that there are over a dozen cranes towering over downtown is a good sign.
Restaurants are almost always hiring, particularly for well-trained waitstaff and cooks in upscale restaurants. Raleigh and neighboring Durham are becoming regional hubs for fantastic restaurants. Especially in their urban/downtown areas.

Richard asks…
My fiance and I are looking to move to the Atlanta area. She is in the Medical Field and I am in Law Enforcement/Security Field. We were looking at the possibility to move to Raleigh, NC, but it is such a small town so the job oportunity is probably not as great as Atlanta’s. Please provide your input. Thanks.
Metro Atlanta has an explosive population currently over 5 million people (currently 5.6 million) on its way towards six million and ranks eighth in the country. Since the year 2000 Atlanta ranks as the number one fastest growing area in the country in terms of numerical increase. Atlanta ranks as the third largest city in the nation and has the fastest growing millionaire population in the United States.
There is much to like about Atlanta Georgia – the economic capital of the Southeast . Atlanta is proud to be home to 13 of the Fortune 500 companies not to mention that over Atlanta has the fourth highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country. Atlanta is home to Coca-Cola, Home Depot, CNN, UPS, and AT&T mobility all of which are leaders in their field. Did you know that Atlanta is the cleanest city in the nation or that it has the 2nd most shopping per capita behind Chicago? For more information visit www.AtlantaGaToday.com.

Donald asks…
I am looking to relocate to raleigh, NC in a few months but I need to know how the job market is there. I am in AZ and the pay is $10.00 to start, can i earn simular to that in Raleigh? Any help would be helpful!
I can just say that, in general, the job market for medical billing is not really so abundant even though schools seem to say otherwise. My cousin has worked in medical billing for over three years and has been looking for a similar job to no avail. It may be partly because everything is so much more computerized these days though I’m not sure. And regarding medical coding, I believe that one needs certification and perhaps even a year experience beforehand. And I don’t know about the NC area per se. I would say that if you really would like to go to school for medical assistant, to go to a county vocational-technical school which will be much less money than the private schools.

Paul asks…
I currently live in atlanta ga and have been searching for employment for a month with no luck! I really don’t want to move but I don’t want to live off of unemployment either
Go for it.Nice area.I know the area well.

Sandra asks…
My girlfriend and I are both recent college graduates who left the North East MA&NY for the south for more a reasonable cost of living. We moved to Myrtle Beach, SC b/c a friend lived here, realized there is a terrible professional job market (other than hospitality industry) and are now thinking of going to Raleigh, NC. We’ve done some research and it looks promising I’m just looking for any other information or suggestions people from that area have. Especially if someone else has moved there. Thanks in advance for anyt comments!
I think that a move to Raleigh sounds like a good option for you – yes, there will be many more job opportunites in the Triangle Area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill), especially if you’re in technology or research. But just in general, there are lots of good job opportunites for people with college degrees.
You’ll be 2-3 hours from the beach, and 3-4 hours from the mountains. Raleigh is very green, lots of trees, it may remind you of NY/MA but 10-20 degrees warmer for most of the year. I think it’s a great place to live.
Real estate wise, I don’t know how expensive Myrtle Beach is, but if you’re from the NE, it should seem reasonable.
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Laura asks…
One of my friend holds South Korean passport, and for his flight back to Korea in June he has to transfer in San Francisco.
Toronto~~San Francisco~~Seoul
However, due to strage reasons the passport is left in the washing machine.
US visa is mostly fine but lose all the colors on it, it becomes lighter and brighter. Ink splashed through the surface slightly.
Passport is fine and all the personel info remains well on it.
Do you think he can pass the immigration when he has to change flight in San Francisco??
If it’s not, what wil be the solution of US Immigration?
Or he should apply for temporary visa or permission?? I am not very clear about it.
Thank u for helping
Please ask at immigration right away to avoid problems.

Ken asks…
Im flying economy from san francisco to seoul and i wanted to know if people preferred one over the other in regards to service, seat quality, food, etc. Price notwithstanding…although it is almost $200 cheaper at the moment if i go with asiana!
I’ve flown Singapore quite a few times and each time was quite pleased with the service, food and in-flight entertainment. Skytrax ranks only six airlines in the world as 5-star airlines, Singapore is one of them, as is Asiana. I’ve never flown with Asiana, but Skytrax has dozens of passenger reviews and most are very positive. For a $200 savings, they might be worth a try:
http://www.airlinequality.com/StarRanking/5star.htm
http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/OZ.htm

Carol asks…
I will be traveling from San Francisco to Manila via Incheon Airport (Seoul). Im arriving 8PM (Asiana Airlines) and departing the next day 7AM (Cebu Pacific Air). Is it possible to just stay in the airport for the night? How can I claim my checked-in luggage and Boarding pass for my connecting flight to Manila? –Thanks in advance for the help–
You won’t be able to claim your checked luggage. It will be automatically transfered to your new flight. You will either be given a boarding pass for your cebu flight when you check in at SF, but if not, you can get your boarding pass at your departing gate at cebu. If they don’t give you the boarding pass at SF, then ask for detailed instructions on what to do. You can stay at the airport overnight, but it’s not going to be comfortable. You can go to the spa for several hours to freshen up, but you can always go to the airport hotel.

Michael asks…
I am flying to Beijing next year. I used a popular site for finding prices. I wonder why a direct NONSTOP flight from San Francisco to Beijing has $300 additional fees, while another one that stops in Los Angeles and Seoul (3 total landings, two different airlines, additional baggage handling efforts) has only $97 taxes and fees. The logic of it escapes me, unless the San Francisco based US Airline has found another way to milk consumers.
Taxes in the US are fairly standard – there is one fee that is a percentage of your ticket, and several other taxes (usually 3) which can be charged at each stop, but will be under $5 each (it usually comes to a bout 10.90 per stop).
Taxes are charged in other countries as well, sometimes as a percentage, and others as flat amounts – these can be very complex. Canada, for instance charges a different percentage tax depending on what region you are flying out of.
As to other, airline, fees I cant really comment, and its hard to say why the difference was so great, unless the fare was significantly greater. There would likely be extra taxes for the connections in LAX and Seoul, though these might be minor. Or perhaps there is some additional tax in China for direct cross the ocean flights. Hard to say.

Nancy asks…
I’m being made known of relocation opportunities. I’m in a bit of confusion as to which one to choose considering the current industrial recession, local tax rules, cost of living, work permit for my spouse etc. Here are the choices:
London, Singapore, Washington, New York, Atlanta, Cambridge, San Francisco, Toronto, Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney.
Please help me figure out the factors I should look at before making the apt decision. Thanks a bunch!
I think you should include far side of the moon or a least Mars to make sure you have all your bases covered.
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Richard asks…
I gave my daughter one of our Directv receiver to take to college. She goes to Michigan State in East Lansing Michigan. We had Green Bay local channels at home. Now at college she gets all the channels except local channels. It just says searching for satellite. Can this be fixed or do we just live with out them?
If your daughter wants local channels, it will have to be the ones serving East Lansing, not Green Bay.
Note: she would have to subscribe for service separate from yours because a given subscription is only supposed to serve a single house address. So it would be a full-blown single subscription, not mirroring your subscription as before. Which probably means DirecTv would need to send a new access card associated with her new subscription.
So, if you don’t want to go through the trouble, your daughter can just use that receiver for the satellite channels, and prop up a pair of bunny ears for local. That is, if the multipath fading in the dorms doesn’t make a total mess of the off-air signal.

Linda asks…
I am thinking about transferring to csu east bay to do the speech language pathology program because the nursing is really hard to get into at any school.I I would get my masters degree because I know BS degree won’t do much with this field. Is there a strong job market for speech language pathologist right now? I know a lot of them work in schools but if the schools do not have a lot of money right now then how do I know if it is a good career to get into.Do they work in hospitals?
Speech-language pathologists work in a variety of settings–schools, hospitals, home health, nursing homes, early intervention programs, and private clinics are probably the most common. I am working as an SLP right now and receive an average of 5-6 calls per month from staffing agencies (mostly for schools or nursing homes) looking for SLPs. That said, some of these jobs are short term or out of my area. I live in small city in the mountain west and there is usually at least a hand full of open jobs in our area. Compared to some other job markets, my impression is that the market for SLPs is fairly strong. Most SLPs I know enjoy their jobs, although it has taken some of us awhile to find right job and setting for ourselves. Most SLPs I know welcome questions from aspiring clinicians. Consider contacting an SLP in your area and asking her about the job market.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (asha.org) has a list of undergraduate and graduate programs in communication disorders and speech-language pathology (as well as audiology). If you’re not able to get into your first choice program, this is a great resource.
Keep in mind that Masters degree programs for speech-language pathology tend to be moderately competitive. The programs that I am aware of look at GRE scores, GPA, and references before accepting an applicant.

Susan asks…
I live in the east bay area, oakland or sf. if so what are the hours? thanks
Sorry, can’t help since Christmas is over, hope you got the answer before you went there.

Helen asks…
I am an international student planning to do an MBA and I already got approved in a good AACSB accredited US school (Cal State East Bay in California), but I am also considering UK schools who are ranked among the top 100 business schools in Economist and Financial Times Ranking. Those are:
– Durham University – triple accredited (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIOUS)
– Aston University – also triple accredited
– University of Bath – AMBA accredited
and another good MBA program which is AMBA accredited (Kingston University).
Should I go for the US degree or for a top ranked UK MBA? They both meet my objectives as they have a concentration in marketing.
US MBA in integrated programme is better, at the same time you will find more people from your country

Donald asks…
Please change the pronouns if needed or add/delete unwanted words. Thanks in advance. Easy points to gain
Attention all Employees
Bank of America will be sponsoring a special program of college classes for their employees. The company will reimburse any employee the full cost of tuition and books if those employees attend the classes. You must receive a grade of C or higher to be eligible for reimbursement of course and book fees. The reason for this program is to build a better relationship with our customers and in our workforce. Skyline Community College, in cooperation with Bank of America, will offer a group of courses for college credit at a very convenient location for our employees. Actually, the classes will be offered at your downtown and East Bay branches. The cost of the tuition is $180 for a semester course. Night and weekend classes are available for your convenience.
Here is a list of the courses required for this program:
BADM 1000 Business Language Skills MW 6:00- 7:15pm
SPCH 1000 Fundamental-Interpersonal Communication MW 7:30- 8:45pm
ACCT 1310 Financial Accounting TTh 6:00- 7:15pm
MARK 2010 Principles of Marketing TTh 7:30- 8:45pm
ITNT 2300 Networking Fundamentals Sa 8:30- 9:45am
ITAP 1220 Speed Building Su 6:00- 7:15pm
Bank of America is willing to pay these fees because we value education highly. If you are interested, please call Jean Fujimoto at Ext. 660 no later than 6 pm on April 5th.
Skyline Community College, in cooperation with Bank of America, will offer a group of courses for college credit at a very convenient location for our employees. Actually, the classes will be offered at your downtown and East Bay branches.
I would remove ‘Actually, the’ and just start the sentence with Classes will be offered…
In the beginning, Bank of America is in the third person, and at the end it’s in the first person. Decide if you want the more personal first person or the more formal third and change one of them.
You could also combine the sentences about reimbursement to read- The company will reimburse any employee the full cost of tuition and books if those employees attend the classes and receive a grade of C or higher. (in the two sentences you change from ‘the employee’ to ‘you’, so this will fix that problem and also make it a little shorter. The fewer words you use, the more likely people are to read it. Yes, I know this is coming from someone writing a long answer to your question, lol!
Skyline Community College, in cooperation with Bank of America, will offer a group of courses for college credit. For your convenience, they will be offered at both the downtown and East Bay branches.
These are just suggestions and I know they may not work for you. That’s perfectly okay! :0)
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