205 Valarie R. Austin, Career and College Readiness Expert, Author and Trainer Shares Expertise on Careers for Youth To Consider During Pandemic Shifts

Valarie Austin is President of Vauboix Publishing, LLC. She is  Lieutenant Colonel (Retired, U.S. Army) Austin is a career and college readiness author and trainer. Her college readiness book, “The Student's Comprehensive Guide For College & Other Life Lessons,” is featured on Amazon.com and various other book outlets. 

Valarie is a prolific and successful professional speaker who has presented to audiences at the VeteransBizUp! Virtual Conference 2021, public libraries, high schools, sorority college preparedness workshops, and other venues.

Valarie is a  model academic career training and expertise and she shares with youth about careers and the importance of attending college and careers and if they chose not to attend college? She shared the name of the colleges she attended.

She shares why she decided to author your book, “The Student’s Comprehensive Guide for College & Other Life Lessons,” about career and college readiness planning.

Valarie discussed a few ways that parents can prepare their children for after high school graduation in pursuit of post-secondary schooling.

Listeners are provided with the differences between blue-collar and white-collar careers and why blue-collar careers are just as important to pursue as white-collar careers in today’s economy.

Some criteria that young adults and their parents should contemplate when selecting colleges or technical schools to attend were shared by Valarie.

Return on Investment young adults should be considered when selecting a postsecondary school. A few alternatives to college for young people were provided. Valarie shared what circumstances should a high school graduate think about postponing attendance at post-secondary schooling such as college.

Valarie shared insight on why there is such an epidemic of student loan debt. She provides steps students and parents can take to reduce the student loan debt burden. That's not all, she synopses how early career exploration reduces the amount of student loan debt, which currently stands at $1.61 trillion as of Feb 2022.

Emphasis is placed on why is it important that young adults receive early and often financial literacy training such as budgeting, saving, and more.

Dialogue takes place on how parents balance their retirement and saving for their children’s post-secondary schooling, it is a wonderful discussion. 

Valarie publishes blog articles on LinkedIn and hosts a career exploration series called “Employer Speaks” on Youtube. Paul asked what motivates her to branch into those areas to supplement authoring her book and conduct college readiness workshops.

As many have been impacted by the pandemic, Valarie shares the impact it had on her ability to conduct career and college readiness workshops. She shares how she was able to adapt and there were fewer in-person events in 2020 and 2021.

Inquiring minds wanted to know if Valarie could improve one thing in high school to prepare students for post-secondary schooling, she shared what it would be?

The last thing Valarie Austin shares is her May 4, 2022, live event that takes place between 6-7:30 PM, hosted by the Howard County Library System (HCLS). This career workshop titled "College Here I Come, Practical Tips for College-Ready Students." is being held at the East Columbia Branch, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD 21045 (410) 315-7700.

If you have questions you can contact Valarie  Austin at info@vauboixpublishingllc.com

Discover more about Valarie's book, The Student's Comprehensive Guide For College & Other Life Lessons https://bit.ly/3N7v3H7