10 Reasons To Consider A Trade Career
A huge demand exists for people in the trades, especially the skilled trades like HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc. Almost every trade employer cites a shortage of workers as one of the main problems facing the business. Pay scales are high and going up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS)show average wages of between $50,000-$60,000 for all […]
Do You Have What It Takes?
Not everyone has the talent and personal characteristics to become a skilled trade worker. Too many high school counselors think the trades are for people whose academics are not good enough for college. It reveals more about their ignorance than the intelligence of the students they point toward the trades. If you’re thinking about a trade […]
The Joy Of Parenthood & Beyond
I write this as the proud father of two grown daughters and absolutely giddy grandfather of four impossibly charming granddaughters, ranging in age from 6 to 15. (Any mistakes I make can be attributed to inhaling too many estrogen molecules. It was worse when our household also included two female cats, now deceased.) Like me, most people who […]
Did You Know College Scholarships Are Taxable?
I didn’t, not until reading an article that appeared in the May 23, 2020 edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The U.S. Tax Code runs to tens of thousands of pages in volumes that occupy an entire bookshelf in tax accountant offices. Even the best among them have trouble keeping up with all the […]
Numbers Tell A Story
I read a lot, always have. Much of my reading is to satisfy personal interests and has little application to my professional life, but I always have my eyes peeled for bits of information that are relevant to the things I write about for trade audiences. In that vein I will share with you some […]
Equal Pay For Equal Work
The headline reflects a goal that has served as a rallying cry for feminists. Various studies show a large discrepancy in pay scales for women versus men for similar types of jobs, but I recently came across an article that opened my eyes. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, across the […]
The Surprising Truth About College Completion Rates
College dropout rates are higher than you think. The number of students who haven’t completed the courses require to graduate are higher than you might believe, as well. If there’s any good news to this scenario, it’s that both dropout and non-completion rates are improving. Still, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that only […]
Tips On Choosing A Career
If you’re in high school right now, you’ll have to work until you’re 67 years old before being fully entitled to your Social Security retirement benefits. It means you’ll be working for 50 years or maybe even more. Deciding on a career and your next level of education has never been more important than it […]
Connecting With A Career You Will Love
Yes, you are supposed to love what you do for a living. You’re going to spend about eight hours a day doing it, so it makes sense to be sure you’ve made a wise choice. Is every minute of a good job going to be enjoyable? That’s an unrealistic expectation. Most of the time, though, […]
Jobs, Careers, And Vocations: Figuring Out What To Do With Your Life
It’s both interesting and frustrating. When it comes to language, seldom is there just one and only one word to describe something. It’s why some of us say we have a job, while others say it’s a career, and yet a different group might refer to it as a vocation. These three terms generally mean […]