Pasadena Trade Schools, Colleges & Universities

Pasadena, Crown City or the Rose Town – no matter what you call this beautiful city of the State of California in the United States, its attractions are nevertheless fascinating. With a total area of more than 23 square miles, and a population of over 140 thousand people, Pasadena is ranked as the 40th city in the state and the 183rd city in the nation in terms of its largeness. Located in the Los Angeles County, the city was incorporated on 1886. Not only is Pasadena one of the key cultural focuses of the San Gabriel Valley, it is also the base of several cultural and technological institutions and organizations. Unquestionably doing justice to its name, Pasadena is famous for its yearly Rose Bowl football games as well as Tournament of Roses parade.

Pasadena is bordered by a dozen areas, including Altadena, Arcadia, Eagle Rock, Glendale, Temple City and others. From a mere population of around 400 people in the 1880s, Pasadena now has more than 137 thousand people, with over 55 thousand households and over 30 thousand families. The city hosts the Tournament of Roses Parade on the first day of every year since 1890 with the aim to portray the blooming paradise of Pasadena to the world during a time when cities like New York are deep in snow. This Rose Parade includes many attractions such as bands, equestrian units and floats which usually need around a hundred thousand flowers and greenery to be covered. Another of the city’s most hyped event – the Tournament of Roses – is a Rose Bowl Game hosted by the national historic landmark Rose Bowl. This began as the first post-season college football game on the New Year’s Day in the city.

Tourists seeking to visit the most talked about places of Pasadena can begin with the Rose Bowl Stadium. The stadium witnesses the yearly Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day as well as college football playoff semifinal games every 3 years and UCLA Bruins football team games. Moreover, the stadium has also witnesses 5 Super Bowls and several BCS National Championship games. There is the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center beside this stadium, where the final practices of the US Olympic swimming in 2000 were hosted. There is also the Rose Bowl Tennis Center adjacent to the stadium. Music lovers can soothe their ears with the music by Pasadena Symphony established in 1928 and still offers many concerts throughout the year at the Ambassador Auditorium. The Pasadena Playhouse also offers around 7 shows per season. The city also has a heart for visual arts, with establishments such as Pasadena Arts Institute, Pasadena Society of Artists California Art Club. There exist art museums and galleries too, including Pasadena Museum of History with history centers, mansions and gardens, Norton Simon Museum with European paintings, Southern Asian sculptures and contemporary art, and Pacific Asia Museum with garden courtyard and Asian collections.

Industries to Consider Finding Careers

 

Pasadena had begun to attract people from all over the nation since the 1880s as a resort city. This led to a tremendous growth of the city, particularly with the boom of the real estate following the emergence of numerous tourist accommodations and business districts. The city quickly grabbed the 8th position in the state, deeming to be a twin city to Los Angeles. The city boasted rich craftsmanship during the 1900s, especially American art and design. The examples of the art still exist in the form of masterpieces and historical landmarks such as Gamble House and Robert R Blacker House. Scientific and manufacturing advancement increased in the city since the second World War, with commencement of several companies, the result of which is now seen in big brands like Tetra Tech and Ameron International. The city now has a diverse range of companies based in Pasadena such as Industrial Toys, Pentrex, Avery Dennison, East West Bank, CPO Commerce Inc., Blaze Pizza, Goldstar Events, Vroman’s Bookstore, Courthouse News Service, Green Dot Corporation, Red Hen Press, Architectural Resources Group, Western Resources Group, Kronos Digital Entertainment and Stac Electronics.

More than 47 percent of the employees in Pasadena works in the business, finance and management sectors, over 15 percent works in sales, office and administrative support areas, 10.8 percent in professions related to arts, design, entertainment, sports and media, 9.7 percent in the sectors of computer, engineering and science, 5.9 percent in educational sector, 4.6 percent works in the sector of personal care, 3.8 percent in production and transportation and 1.9 percent in the food making sector. The city has more than 1.1 million business entities with fewer than 10 employees, over 280 thousand companies with 10 to 50 employees, more than 62 thousand businesses with 50 to 250 employees and over 8 thousand organizations with over 250 employees. The huge number of firms with fewer than ten employees represents a strong presence of entrepreneurship in Pasadena.

The city has several minimum wage jobs, particularly in the hospitality industry which continues to be extremely strong in Pasadena for decades after decades. The economic indicators continue to rise in the housing and hotel construction and development with more and more projects coming in the nearby future. Such projects hold great significance in the formation of hundreds of jobs. The city is coming up with programs targeted towards aiding the youth in qualifying for new jobs this year. It also has newer campaigns for the Pasadena First Buy Local Program which helps and promotes the local industries and organizations.

 

Top Careers and Entering the Job Market in Pasadena

 

The top employers of Pasadena are Jet Propulsion Laboratory with more than 5 thousand employees, Kaiser Permanente with over 4.7 thousand employees, California Institute of Technology with over 3.9 thousand employees, Huntington Hospital with more than 3.2 thousand employees, Pasadena Unified School District with around 3 thousand employees, AT&T with over 2.5 thousand employees, City of Pasadena with more than 2.1 thousand employees, Pasadena City College with around 1.5 thousand employees, Bank of America with over 1.3 thousand employees and Pacific Clinics with more than 1.1 thousand employees. Other large employers include AHMC Healthcare Inc, California State University, Children’s Hospital, UCLA, and Cedars Sinai Medical Centers. The fastest growing jobs in the city are estimated to be personal care aides, home health aides, brickmasons, post-secondary health specialties teachers, telecommunications line repairers, ceiling tile installers, market research specialists and analysts, painters, helpers and physical therapist aides.

The city has an unemployment rate of around 4.6 percent which is more than a percent lower than the national average of 5.2 percent. The unemployment rate of Pasadena is however increasing now with more and more young talents joining the job sector. The job growth is around 1.37 percent, slightly lower than the US average of 1.59 percent but the future job growth over the next decade is estimated to be around 38.15 percent for Pasadena. The income tax and sales tax rates are higher compared to the national average. The income tax rate is 8 percent while the sales tax rate is 9 percent for Pasadena while it is 4.6 percent and 6 percent in US. The income per capita in Pasadena is around $ 41 thousand, which is higher than the national average of around $ 28 thousand while the median household income is more than $ 70 thousand, which is also higher than the national average of almost $ 53 thousand. Around 11 percent of the people has income less than $ 15 thousand, 11 percent earns around $ 15 to 30 thousand, 13 percent has income around $ 30 to 50 thousand, 15 percent earns $ 50 to 75 thousand, 28 percent has income around $ 75 to 150 thousand, and more than 19 percent earns above $ 150 thousand.

There are several companies which ranks at the top as best workplaces in Pasadena, including Google which has managed to acquire the top position again on the Fortune list. Such companies provide a valuable arena to the people seeking apt jobs in terms of factors going beyond mere salaries. The companies who have managed to stay on the top of the list in terms of job satisfactions and management credibility are not just worth it for great payments but more due to benefits offered and work-life balance opportunities with sought after incentives. Google is still on top with benefits including free bikes, gym access, free laundry and even death benefits. Other companies who have made it to the list include SAS with a great work life balance, and more than $2 thousand million of annual revenue, the Boston Consulting Group with lucrative compensation packages and mother friendly environment and over $3.7 thousand million annual revenue, Edward Jones with a turnover lower than 8 percent and an annual revenue of over $5 thousand million, Quicken Loans with remarkable work culture and Genentech with annual revenue of over $14.8 thousand million and a flexible time off for employees as well as advancement opportunities.

 

Trade Schools and Colleges in Pasadena

 

Pasadena has a number of educational institutions known for the specialized programs offered. One of the biggest institutes of the world continues to be California Institute of Technology, established in 1891 with the motto: The truth shall make you free. This private doctorate granting university is usually known by the name Caltech. The institution was established initially as a preparatory and vocational school in 1891 known as the Throop University and then Throop College of Technology which converted into the California Institute of Technology in 1921. This is one of the universities belonging to the group of Institutes of Technology in the United States. This group is predominantly focused on the progress of applied sciences and technical arts. There are 6 academic divisions in the university with particular concentration on engineering and scientific research, and other divisions being Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, and Humanities and Social Sciences. The university offers 24 majors and 6 minors across the academic divisions. Caltech has more than three hundred professorial faculty and over 2.2 thousand students, around a thousand undergraduates and over 1.2 thousand postgraduates. The alumni and faculty of Caltech include more than 30 Nobel Prize winners, half a dozen Turing Award winners, and over 70 US National Medal of Science and Technology. The campus is spread across 124 acres in Pasadena, with the first year students required to reside on campus. Caltech has sports teams in baseball, basketball, fencing, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball and water polo, with the Caltech Beavers which participates in 13 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Divison III. Caltech also has the Caltech Orchestra consisting of an entire 70 piece orchestra of students, faculty and staff. The university continues to be a research university with an extremely high research activity, especially in STEM fields.

 

Pasadena also has the Pasadena City College which was established on 1924 and has the motto of – Student success, our top priority. With more than 25 thousand students, this is a community college situated in Pasadena. It was founded as the Pasadena Junior College which merged with John Muir College in 1954, and became known as Pasadena Area Junior College District and then Pasadena Area Community College District. There are more than 26 thousand students enrolled in the institute, with over 4 hundred full time professors and more than 1 thousand part time professors, and over 3 hundred classified staff. The college offers a number of academic programs, including languages, mathematics, publishing, music, visual arts, healthcare, ethnic studies, product design, television and radio, and graphic communications technology. There are several athletic programs offered at the college such as football, basketball, baseball, tennis, softball, swimming, cross country, and soccer. The sports team of the college is called the Lancers.

 

The Art Center College of Design is a private, nonprofit institute in Pasadena established in 1930. It was founded as the Art Center School which started granting Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in arts since 1949 and was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1955. The institute got its present name in 1965 and now has more than 1.7 thousand students, 1.5 thousand of which is undergraduates and around 200 postgraduates. This college has shifted to the Hillside Campus in 1976 and is now spread on 175 acres of campus. With 2 campuses in Pasadena (Hillside Campus and South Campus), both the campuses of the Art Center College of Design are known for the architectural elegance. The college provides undergraduate and graduate programs in several art and design fields. It also offers public programs for children and high school students as well as a rare degree in Interaction Design.

 

Fuller Theological Seminary is a seminary established in 1947 in Pasadena with initial aim to reform fundamentalism. It has many regional campuses in the western US. With more than 4 thousand students from 90 nations and over hundred denominations, this seminary is well known inside and across the national borders. The institute is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada as well as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It has 3 schools of psychology, theology, and intercultural studies and offers 18 degree programs, with 7 Master’s degrees and 11 Advanced degrees. The seminary has a 90 thousand square foot library called the David Allan Hubbard Library in Pasadena.

 

The University of the People is a tuition free private university established in 2009 in Pasadena. This nonprofit institution of higher education has more than 5 thousand students and is accredited by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation, United States Department of Education, and Distance Education Accrediting Commission. It began in 2009 with around 200 students from around 50 nations across the world. The institute witnessed the graduation of its first batch in 2014 with students from 4 different nations. The university began its MBA program in 2016 and admitted 5000 students from 180 nations in the same year. It offers 7 degrees for the undergraduate program, including BS in Business Administration, Computer Science and Health Studies and AS in all 3 of them. There is no tuition cost involved in this university; however there exists registration fee and exam administration fee.

 

Resources in Pasadena
www.pasedfoundation.org

http://cityofpasadena.net/waterandpower/education/

http://www.pusd.us