Category: Your Workplace (Page 16 of 24)

Sociology Degree Jobs

April 29, 2011 / Michelle Burton

Sociology is one of the most misunderstood fields of study. Tell a group of people that you’re majoring in sociology and the first question they’ll ask is “uh, what are you going to do with that?” Fortunately, the answer is “plenty.”

Sociology is the study of the interaction, structure, collective behavior, and development of organized groups of people. Sociologists can find work in just about any area of business, and in health care, environment & society, government, demography, criminal justice, human services, education, community relations, and social science research. The list of specific job titles is extensive, but just a few are:

-Advocate
-College Administrator
-Community Relations Specialist
-Consultant
-Consumer Researcher
-Director of Advertising
-Law Enforcement Officer
-Marketing Manager
-Mental Health Counselor
-Personnel Training
-Public Assistance Agent
-Social Science Analyst
-Teacher
-Waste Manager

Salaries for these positions vary greatly by level of education, experience, company, and location, but you can expect to make anywhere from $27,000 per year on the low end up to $95,000+ on the high end. Management, director and postsecondary education positions typically fall on the higher end of the pay scale.

If you are interested in a sociology career, you should enroll in an accredited bachelor’s degree program with a major or focus in sociology. Although a bachelor’s degree is a great start, many professionals in this field hold a masters degree or higher. An undergraduate program can prepare you for an entry to mid-level career and/or for a master’s program. All program’s have specific course requirements, but you can always take additional courses that will help prepare you for multiple positions.

According to Top Online Colleges, major requirements may include, but are not limited to:

-Advanced Social Theory
-Directed Readings in Sociology
-Feminist Theories of Social Order
-Introduction of Social Theory
-Introduction to Society
-Medical Sociology
-Population Analysis
-Practicum in Applied Social Research
-Race and Ethnic Group Relations
-Religion in Society
-Research Methodology
-Rural Sociology
-Social Deviance
-Social Inequality
-Social Movements
-Social Problems
-Society and the Future
-Sociological Research
-Sociology of Childhood
-Sociology of Education
-Sociology of Gender Roles
-Sociology of Law
-Sociology of Sport
-Statistics for Social Research
-The Family
-The Individual in Society
-Urban Sociology
-Work, Industry, and Society
-Internship Program

To find the best sociology program, browse through college ranking sites such as Princetonreview.com and Petersons.com. You can also try U.S. News & World Report College Rankings. If you decide to search on your own through Bing or Google, always check the schools website for accreditation, especially if you have never heard of the school or the school operates exclusively online. This does not mean that unfamiliar schools and online schools do not offer high quality programs—most do, but you have to be careful today thanks to the proliferation of diploma mills and schools that have recently lost accreditation.

The following accrediting agencies are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It is important to note that, the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) is one of the top accrediting agencies for online colleges and programs.

-The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
-The Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
-The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
-The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)
-Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
-New England Association of Schools and Colleges
-North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
-Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
-Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

To review the full list of recognized agencies, visit the U.S. Department of Education.

Your Career, Your Compensation, Your Workplace

Want to Work Right Now? Sign with a Temp Agency!

April 28, 2011 / Michelle Burton

Never underestimate the power of a temp agency. This service isn’t just for folks interested in an assignment here and there. Most temp agencies today are in the business of filling temporary staffing needs for companies and finding long-term or permanent work for those that want it. Temp agencies are also called employment agencies, employment services, and temporary staffing agencies.

Many temp assignments lead to permanent positions and some are an excellent way to get your foot in the door at a company that might not be the most accessible. Once inside, you can begin to show the company what you’ve got, without having to go through an interview process or waiting for months on end for a call back. The temp agency does the screening for the company, which is one of the reasons the agency makes such a nice commission if you get hired for a full-time job.

In today’s job market, working through a temp agency or working at a temp agency while you’re looking for the ideal job might be the way to go. For starters, you’ll have a variety of assignments to choose from and in most cases, you can control how often you work. This comes in handy when you need a flexible schedule that allows time for interviews. There is such a thing as a career temp, but if you’re looking for something a bit more stable, let the agency know this and they’ll try to match you with long-term assignments and companies that they know may be looking to hire now or in the future.

To locate a temp agency in your area, all you have to do is search online using your favorite search engine or flip through the yellow pages. Compile a list of around 10 agencies and check out their websites. Some agencies may specialize in jobs in the arts while others may be dedicated to providing clerical staff for local companies.

Still, some may specialize in retail, the food and beverage industry, media jobs, temporary medical staffing or blue collar jobs. This is why researching each temp agency is important. You don’t want to waste your time signing up with an agency that doesn’t specialize in jobs that match your skill set.

Once you’ve located several agencies that you think are a good match, forward your resume. The agency will guide you through the process of submitting your resume and any other supporting documentation online. If they think you might be a good fit, you will receive a call for an interview. Be prepared to spend at least 2 hours at the agency interviewing, taking tests, and filling out paperwork.

Once you’re a member of the talent pool, you will leave the office with several timecards for your first few assignments. If you are ready and willing to work within 24 hours, if assignments are available, you will get a call—so be ready. Some assignments are even same day, so if you’re willing to work on short notice, you could receive a significant amount of work early on.

If you’re really interested in finding a long-term assignment or a permanent job, never turn down an assignment if you can help it. It’s not uncommon for a 2-week long assignment to lead to a full-time job in the world of temping.

For more information about temp agencies, read Top Temp Agencies by Time Out New York. Many of the agencies listed in this article have offices across the country.

Your Career, Your Workplace

Who’s the Man: Bullz-Eye’s favorite good, bad and strange bosses

April 27, 2011 / admin

As we prepare to say goodbye to Michael Scott, Bullz-Eye is honoring television’s best, worst, and strangest bosses. Most of them are just a device to motivate the main character, but there are a few who stand out, for reasons both good (they have your back) and bad (they might kill you). Others still are just odd, or can be both a spectacular boss and the most irritating prick on the planet.

Here are just a few of Bullz-Eye’s favorite bosses:

Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”)

Jack Donaghy is, for lack of a need for any other definition, a man. He is the man we all aspire to be, even the hipster kids among us. He is tireless, unflappable, and totally at the top of his game. Before meeting his wife, he was chasing tail with Bob Ballard and drinking wine from ancient Phoenician amphoras. He consumes scotch like water. Jack Donaghy named his fists Saint Patrick and Saint Michael, a fact we know only because those fists were used to fight his own father. He eschews the familiar and espouses the opulent. Most of all, he somehow finds it in his arrogant heart to mentor one of the strangest bosses around: Liz Lemon.

Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole, “Office Space”)

Lumbergh, meanwhile, is terrifying because he is one of the most realistic bosses the entertainment world has ever seen. Promoted beyond his skill set — assuming he even has a skill set — Lumbergh knows he has a good thing, and he’ll be damned if he’s going to lose his cushy job to any of the peons beneath him, so he micromanages the bejeezus out of them, makes them work on weekends, and will even steal their cubicle walls if it helps drop employee morale. Monty Burns is playing at the Oprah level of power; there are only a handful of people with that kind of influence. But Lumbergh…the corporate world is littered with guys like him. God help us.

Gregory House (Hugh Laurie, “House M.D.”)

He will risk his own life to save the life of a patient. He will also take a knitting needle to the eye before complimenting one of his fellow doctors. Dr. Gregory House is a brilliant doctor but a pretty awful human being, so while you will get the education of a lifetime under his tutelage, the emotional scars from the experience may never heal.

For the full list of Bullz-Eye’s favorite bosses – good, bad, and strange – head over to the Bullz-Eye Blog.

Your Workplace

Why Travel Nurse Jobs are on the Rise

April 24, 2011 / Michelle Burton

Healthcare jobs overall account for 26 percent of all new jobs created in the U.S. today and at 2.6 million, registered nurses make up the nation’s largest healthcare group. This group is expected to grow by a whopping 22 percent over the next seven years, adding more than half a million new jobs to talent pool. This will be the largest number of new jobs for any occupation in the U.S.

This trend is expected to continue beyond seven years of as America’s aging population continues to grow. Advances in technology in the area of patient care, a push for preventative care, and the need to replace nurses that retire from the field will also contribute to the trend.

Although the outlook is outstanding for the nursing profession overall, some nurses will fare even better than others. The projected growth rate for RNs working in offices of physicians is 48 percent. Travel nursing (or home health care service nurses) is number two on the list with projected growth of 33 percent over the next seven years. Nursing care facilities is number three on the list at 25 percent, and employment services is number four on the list at 24 percent. Job growth for RNs working in hospitals, public and private, will average 17 percent over the next seven years.

More than 500,000 new jobs will be up for grabs over the next seven years and nursing programs are having a tough time keeping up with the demand. Nursing programs are more difficult complete than they were in earlier years and licensing requirements have become stricter than ever before. Fortunately, certain areas of nursing such as travel nursing have increased in popularity among nurses of all skill levels, and the demand by hospitals and other facilities has increased tremendously. This makes the difficult road from nursing student to registered nurse well worth it for many aspiring nurses interested in a mobile lifestyle.

There are more than 300 travel nursing agencies in the U.S. today and just about every hospital, retirement community, home health care service, nursing homes, and even mental health facilities, use travel nurses. It is important to note that many hospitals hire travel nurses directly. In these cases the travel nurse will report to the HR department to receive their assignment for any given length of time. In some cases, the assignment may change daily, in others it may change weekly or monthly. Agency travel nurses may report to the agency daily, weekly, monthly or every several months, depending on the length of the assignment.

It is important to note that the length of assignment varies greatly by agency and location (city, suburb, rural), but many travel nurses report 13 weeks as an average assignment.

In addition to a high demand for travel nurses, travel nursing jobs offer higher salaries and more “perks” than home-based nursing jobs. In addition to the opportunity to visit different parts of any given state or different parts of the country every few weeks or so, many hospitals lure travel nurses by offering a free private apartment, a travel allowance or reimbursement for travel (tax free), free health, life, and dental insurance, licensure reimbursement, AAA Membership, and unlimited free CEU credits while on assignment. Travel nurse agencies offer the same benefits, but if the assignment changes frequently, agencies pay for accommodations and any related relocation expenses.

Salaries for travel nurses vary, but they typically earn a minimum of 15 percent more than home-based nurses. It is not uncommon for an agency to pay thousands of dollars for a single assignment that lasts several weeks. Travel nurses earn an average salary of $83,200 per year ($40/hr.). Median annual wages of home-based registered nurses is around $62,450 per year ($30/hr.). Most travel nurse agencies offer signing bonuses, referral bonuses, and bonuses upon completion of an assignment.

Travel nursing is expected to continue to grow at a much faster than average pace for the next several decades. The demand for travel nurses has resulted in an increase in the number of agencies available across the nation. This has created intense competition among agencies. As a result, the competition among agencies continues to drive travel nurse salaries and benefits up.

To keep up with the latest news and trends in travel nursing visit Travelnursing.com.

Your Career, Your Compensation, Your Workplace

registered nurse jobs

Crafting a Catchy Cover Letter

March 14, 2011 / Michelle Burton

RESUME_COVER LETTER

One of the worst things you can do during your job search is send a generic cover letter to a potential employer. And by generic, we mean using openers such as, “In response to your advertisement for the position, I am sending my resume for your review.” The problem with this is, everyone uses “stock” openers such as this, so it will rarely (if ever) help you stand out from the crowd. Instead, use a branding statement as your opener such as, “With more than 10 years of forensic accounting experience…” See the difference? The second opener addresses the company’s need for a forensic accountant and it let’s them know right away that the applicant is well seasoned.

Once you’ve made it past the opener, it’s important to include facts that support the requirements. The International Business Times offers this example:

“I see you are interested in hiring someone with strategic-change management experience.” (Or whatever the key requirement of the position is-highlight it here). Then tell-or even better, SHOW-the reader why you have that experience: “In my present role with ABC Distributors, I did XYZ, which resulted in JKL.” Showing the potential employer-right off the bat-you possess a desired attribute or requirement for the position will prompt the hiring manager to invest more time in reading your resume.
If your cover letter states-in so many words-“I am the perfect match for your opening, and I can meet/exceed your needs…” then you immediately get my attention, and I’m more likely to invest time in reviewing your resume.
Here’s a tip: do not use bullet points or material word-for-word from your resume; provide the hiring manager with fresh information on your cover letter.

Details are important too, so make sure:

-The formatting for your resume and cover letter match
-The headings match
-There are no typos or spelling and grammatical errors
-Your contact information is current, including your main email address

And finally, at the end of your cover letter, always offer to follow up by phone or email within one to two weeks, then mark your calendar.