Ladies and gentlemen, this week I'm going to speak a bit about an unselfish profession. A profession which is also a task: Physical Therapy (also known as: Physiotherapy).
I'm going to emphasize the basic points you need to know about this career:
1. Who is suitable for this profession?
2. What is the training track required for this career?
3. What are the main advantages of this profession?
4. What are the main disadvantages of this career?
Who is suitable for this profession?
In my opinion, a small fraction of society can to well with this profession. this profession requires a few basic characteristics which without even one of them, the person might not survive in the field:
1. Ability to experience pain and suffering of others - physical therapists don't work usually with very healthy people. This demands resilience from the therapist in order to put up with the daily routine.
2. Good manual skills - physical therapists work with their hands, thus they need a decent level of manual skills for performing the actual therapy. For example: Lifting a limb in order to demonstrate a move.
3. Ability to work as self employed - much of the job market in this field is based on independent service to people in their homes. For this to occur, the therapist must be able to run small practice including the basic running of a business (bookkeeping, service support, marketing etc.).
What is the training track required for this career?
Prepare your butt for a 4 year academic track! If you've thought it's a piece of cake to become a physical therapist, you've got it all wrong. the studies combine theory and practice as you should be trained both on the scientific (medicine) and on the practical (performance) side. The studies take a bout 30 hours a week and some work at home. Thus, it's not a track for easy life seekers.
What are the main advantages of this profession?
I'll tell you a little secret: most people do nothing significant in their jobs. They do absolutely nothing contributing to humanity or society. They do nothing fulfilling or reassuring. They do the same again and again, for months and years.
This can't be said about physical therapists. These people help people every day, all day. There's nothing unnecessary or pretending about their work. There's nothing done for the looks of it or for the impression.
By this I rest my case.
What are the main disadvantages of this career?
As in every career, if you're not suitable for this kind of work, you'll suffer and suffer big time! Do not choose these career without a proper career advice. I dare you!
Moreover, this profession is for people who love people, not for people who love money. Do not go for this career path because you hear of good wages in this field.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Optometry - I Can't See You..
Ladies and gentlemen, this week I'm going to say a few words about an absolutely crucial profession for human survival: optometry. Most of you have been a few times in glasses shop so you have already encountered optometrists before. So I'm going to detail a bit about:
1. Do optometrists just check your sight and sell glasses and lenses?
2. Where do optometrists work?
3. How much do they earn?
4. Who is suitable for this career?
Do optometrists just check your sight and sell glasses and lenses?
Well, the jobs optometrists do consist of:
1. Performing eye checks - yes, this is the main job of optometrists. If you can't imagine yourself look at people's eyes for long hours - this career is not for you.
2. Defining the needs of clients of glasses and lenses - as physicians prescribe medications, optometrists prescribe glasses and lenses.
3. guiding opticians (optometry technicians) what are the components needed for a pair of glasses or lenses.
Where do optometrists work?
So where can you find the creatures named "Optometrists" ?
1. Glasses shops - you know, optometrists prescribe glasses, and as such they can be found primarily in glasses shops.
2. Medical practices in hospitals and community clinics - where they perform eye tests for patients.
3. Academy - where they perform academic research concerning the multiple aspects of optometry.
How much do they earn?
If an optometrist starts a new business, then the income may be very little or very high. As an employee, the wages most of time are around the average at most of the cases and in most countries. This isn't a profession for making millions but for making a reasonable living.
Its advantage is its relative occupational security and comfortable working environment. The work is in indoors environment and in relax atmosphere. The field is relatively recession proof so layoffs aren't common.
Who is suitable for this career
I can portrait a few traits of a suitable person for this career:
1. Treatment oriented person - suitable for giving treatment to people.
2. Not a gold digger - suitable for making an average living and being content with it.
3. Routine seeker - suitable for a routine and uneventful work environment.
4. Suitable for long studies - not everyone can do well with 4 years of full time studies.
1. Do optometrists just check your sight and sell glasses and lenses?
2. Where do optometrists work?
3. How much do they earn?
4. Who is suitable for this career?
Do optometrists just check your sight and sell glasses and lenses?
Well, the jobs optometrists do consist of:
1. Performing eye checks - yes, this is the main job of optometrists. If you can't imagine yourself look at people's eyes for long hours - this career is not for you.
2. Defining the needs of clients of glasses and lenses - as physicians prescribe medications, optometrists prescribe glasses and lenses.
3. guiding opticians (optometry technicians) what are the components needed for a pair of glasses or lenses.
Where do optometrists work?
So where can you find the creatures named "Optometrists" ?
1. Glasses shops - you know, optometrists prescribe glasses, and as such they can be found primarily in glasses shops.
2. Medical practices in hospitals and community clinics - where they perform eye tests for patients.
3. Academy - where they perform academic research concerning the multiple aspects of optometry.
How much do they earn?
If an optometrist starts a new business, then the income may be very little or very high. As an employee, the wages most of time are around the average at most of the cases and in most countries. This isn't a profession for making millions but for making a reasonable living.
Its advantage is its relative occupational security and comfortable working environment. The work is in indoors environment and in relax atmosphere. The field is relatively recession proof so layoffs aren't common.
Who is suitable for this career
I can portrait a few traits of a suitable person for this career:
1. Treatment oriented person - suitable for giving treatment to people.
2. Not a gold digger - suitable for making an average living and being content with it.
3. Routine seeker - suitable for a routine and uneventful work environment.
4. Suitable for long studies - not everyone can do well with 4 years of full time studies.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Dental Hygenist - Open Your Mouth Now!
Ladies and gentlemen, this week I'm going to elaborate a bit about one of the most demanded professions in most countries: the female oriented field of dental hygiene. This profession which looks simple at first glance, requires prolonged training and years of experience and unsurprisingly demands a lot of manpower. I'm going to answer a few questions:
1. What are the responsibility fields of a dental hygienist?
2. Is this a feminine field?
3. What are the job & wage prospects of this field?
4. What is the proper training for this career?
What are the responsibility fields of a dental hygienist?
1. Performing a basic scrutiny to the patient's mouth and observing basic problems.
2. Observing basic gum issues.
3. Basic instruction for quitting smoking.
4. Instruction for mouth issue prevention by proper nutrition.
5. Tooth scaling removal.
6. Polishing the teeth using Fluoride.
7. Removing stitches (after mouth surgery).
Is this a feminine field?
Well, if 90% - 98% female employees in this field implies it is, so it is. Traditionally, para-medical professions have been identified with females in the last 100 years or so. So I guess that if you are male and don't see yourself in a feminine field, you better skip this article..
On the other hand, even if you are male and find this field as attractive to you, maybe you'll be able to overcome the gender issue in order to enjoy the benefits of the profession.
What are the job & wage prospects of this field?
It's hard to find an unemployed dental hygienist because of a few reasons:
1. There's always a demand for this service, as people tend to have tooth problems.
2. This profession needs a prolonged training. You can't work without a license and you can't have a license without a 3-4 years studies & training period.
3. It's not a million dollar career: you can make a decent living but generally not more. Thus the masses aren't attracted to this field.
What is the proper training for this career?
Generally speaking, dental hygienists need to study 3-4 years in order to get a degree and a license of a professional in this field. The academic and professional tracks reach about 2000 hours of study and practice. The profession is taught in universities and academic colleges, which means that you need to meet the admission criteria of academic institutions.
1. What are the responsibility fields of a dental hygienist?
2. Is this a feminine field?
3. What are the job & wage prospects of this field?
4. What is the proper training for this career?
What are the responsibility fields of a dental hygienist?
1. Performing a basic scrutiny to the patient's mouth and observing basic problems.
2. Observing basic gum issues.
3. Basic instruction for quitting smoking.
4. Instruction for mouth issue prevention by proper nutrition.
5. Tooth scaling removal.
6. Polishing the teeth using Fluoride.
7. Removing stitches (after mouth surgery).
Is this a feminine field?
Well, if 90% - 98% female employees in this field implies it is, so it is. Traditionally, para-medical professions have been identified with females in the last 100 years or so. So I guess that if you are male and don't see yourself in a feminine field, you better skip this article..
On the other hand, even if you are male and find this field as attractive to you, maybe you'll be able to overcome the gender issue in order to enjoy the benefits of the profession.
What are the job & wage prospects of this field?
It's hard to find an unemployed dental hygienist because of a few reasons:
1. There's always a demand for this service, as people tend to have tooth problems.
2. This profession needs a prolonged training. You can't work without a license and you can't have a license without a 3-4 years studies & training period.
3. It's not a million dollar career: you can make a decent living but generally not more. Thus the masses aren't attracted to this field.
What is the proper training for this career?
Generally speaking, dental hygienists need to study 3-4 years in order to get a degree and a license of a professional in this field. The academic and professional tracks reach about 2000 hours of study and practice. The profession is taught in universities and academic colleges, which means that you need to meet the admission criteria of academic institutions.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Technical Support Representative - What is it All About?
"This is Brad, technical representative. How can I help you?". We all know this phrase, whether we hear it on the phone, on email or on a chat. Most of the time we hear it when we contact a phone or an Internet company, but also a credit or insurance company. With your permission folks, I'll elaborate a bit on the technical support world of the Internet and phone industries.
I'll try to answer the following question:
1. What does a technical support representative do?
2. What are the promotion prospects of such a professional?
3. Does this occupation give professional satisfaction to its members?
4. Why does this occupation suffers from a high burnout rate?
What does a technical support representative do
Putting it simple, a technical support representative is responsible to maintain a technical service. As simple as that. Whether it's the Internet service we all have to make us browser the web, the cell phone we use every day or the hosting service for our site or blog. Even a slight technical problem may cause our site, phone or web browsing stop functioning and our day get spoilt.
Technically, the technical support representative is responsible for the following:
1. Understanding the problem which the user is facing.
2. Figuring out how to fix the mentioned problem.
3. Going step by step with the user to solve the problem.
4. Transferring a report to the superiors for statistical analysis and archiving.
What are the promotion prospects of such a professional?
Most people think that technical support representative don't have many promotion prospects. This belief isn't necessarily true. Let's have a look at some of the promotion prospects for them:
1. Team leader - running a group of technical support representatives, usually of 5-10 people.
2. Technical support engineer - with a degree in the respective technical field (electronics, software etc.), the representative can work as an engineer for supporting customers i.e understanding a technical system and advising the customers about the proper use of them.
3. Running an independent technical laboratory - many niches of technical support enable their employees to run their own businesses. For example, a representative in the cellular industry may open a small business dealing with fixing and modifying cell phones.
Does this occupation give professional satisfaction to its members?
"In the eyes of the beholder" - if you have support & advice for others, you may find your home at this field. For people who are suitable for this niche, giving guidance and help to other people in fields they master can be definitely fulfilling.
But the issue is that people tend to get into this field because they have no other alternatives. Many employees in the field come from technical backgrounds (engineers, technicians) with no job prospects in their professions. This leads to unsuitable technical representatives who tend to burn out relatively fast.
Why does this occupation suffers from a high burnout rate?
I can count 2 main reasons:
1. The meager payout - most technical support jobs offer wages about 1/2 as high as engineering jobs. This figure leads to unserious regards for this profession. Employees just can't relate to their jobs very seriously when they earn 1/3 to 1/2 the sum the engineers at the same company earn.
2. Lack of compatibility - most technical support representatives don't have the tendency for giving assistance and advice. They're just not for this sort of a job. They're mostly technical nerds having to put up with this kind of a job because they have no other option.
I'll try to answer the following question:
1. What does a technical support representative do?
2. What are the promotion prospects of such a professional?
3. Does this occupation give professional satisfaction to its members?
4. Why does this occupation suffers from a high burnout rate?
What does a technical support representative do
Putting it simple, a technical support representative is responsible to maintain a technical service. As simple as that. Whether it's the Internet service we all have to make us browser the web, the cell phone we use every day or the hosting service for our site or blog. Even a slight technical problem may cause our site, phone or web browsing stop functioning and our day get spoilt.
Technically, the technical support representative is responsible for the following:
1. Understanding the problem which the user is facing.
2. Figuring out how to fix the mentioned problem.
3. Going step by step with the user to solve the problem.
4. Transferring a report to the superiors for statistical analysis and archiving.
What are the promotion prospects of such a professional?
Most people think that technical support representative don't have many promotion prospects. This belief isn't necessarily true. Let's have a look at some of the promotion prospects for them:
1. Team leader - running a group of technical support representatives, usually of 5-10 people.
2. Technical support engineer - with a degree in the respective technical field (electronics, software etc.), the representative can work as an engineer for supporting customers i.e understanding a technical system and advising the customers about the proper use of them.
3. Running an independent technical laboratory - many niches of technical support enable their employees to run their own businesses. For example, a representative in the cellular industry may open a small business dealing with fixing and modifying cell phones.
Does this occupation give professional satisfaction to its members?
"In the eyes of the beholder" - if you have support & advice for others, you may find your home at this field. For people who are suitable for this niche, giving guidance and help to other people in fields they master can be definitely fulfilling.
But the issue is that people tend to get into this field because they have no other alternatives. Many employees in the field come from technical backgrounds (engineers, technicians) with no job prospects in their professions. This leads to unsuitable technical representatives who tend to burn out relatively fast.
Why does this occupation suffers from a high burnout rate?
I can count 2 main reasons:
1. The meager payout - most technical support jobs offer wages about 1/2 as high as engineering jobs. This figure leads to unserious regards for this profession. Employees just can't relate to their jobs very seriously when they earn 1/3 to 1/2 the sum the engineers at the same company earn.
2. Lack of compatibility - most technical support representatives don't have the tendency for giving assistance and advice. They're just not for this sort of a job. They're mostly technical nerds having to put up with this kind of a job because they have no other option.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Love or Money - How to Choose a Career?
Ladies and gentlemen, Nice to have you here again! This week I'm going to express my thoughts about how should people choose their careers: by what they love or by what should give them them a decent standard of living. This is the main question young people ask themselves in the western world. This is the question most of young people in the developing world don't ask themselves because they don't have the luxury of choosing their career. I'll discuss the following questions:
1. Who needs to ask this question?
2. The advantages of choosing a career by its job prospects.
3. The advantages of choosing a career by your passion.
4. What do I really think about the issue?
Who needs to ask this question?
Do you have to ask yourself this question? it depends on another basic question: do you really care what you actually do at work? If you don't really care, it's quite obvious that you should choose a career by the vocational prospects it should give you. By "Vocational Prospects" I refer to the difficulty of finding a job, the wages level it gives on average and the work environment (physical condition, stress level and human quality) it offers.
On the other hand, if you have a dream of what you would like to do in your career, you shouldn't really ask yourself this question, but you should make modification to the dream to meet reality. For example, if you have a dream to be a painter, you should consider going for a career in architecture or in interior design. By this way, you would satisfy both your desires and your pocket.
The advantages of choosing a career by its job prospects
A famous criminal attorney once said: "I've never had a dirty conscience because I've never had one". The most profitable decision you could make is choosing a career by the job prospects it gives: the ability to find a job, the wage level you could get, the work environment it could give you and the vocational security. I've never met a person who made a career decision solely based on the job prospects complaining about his/her fate.
On the other hand, not everyone can be so benefit oriented: people usually have tendencies, likes and dislikes and other aspirations. It's good to choose a career by its job prospects but only if you don't really have a conscience regarding the issue.
The advantages of choosing a career by your passion
Donald Trump is really for this attitude: he believes that in order to be successful in a career, one must be in love with it. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a great success throughout a 30 year career. If people dislike what thy do on a daily basis, they would suffer from an early burnout and a sharp decline in productivity and eventually quit their career.
So as Trump puts it, you should first get along well with a career and then think of its job prospects.
What do I really think about the issue?
There are 3 possibilities:
1. You don't care about what you do at work - in this case you should choose a career by its prospects.
2. You have a dream - in this case you should choose a career as close to your dream which can provide for you.
3. You care about what you do t work and also care about the job prospects - hopefully for you would find a career interesting and also beneficial.
1. Who needs to ask this question?
2. The advantages of choosing a career by its job prospects.
3. The advantages of choosing a career by your passion.
4. What do I really think about the issue?
Who needs to ask this question?
Do you have to ask yourself this question? it depends on another basic question: do you really care what you actually do at work? If you don't really care, it's quite obvious that you should choose a career by the vocational prospects it should give you. By "Vocational Prospects" I refer to the difficulty of finding a job, the wages level it gives on average and the work environment (physical condition, stress level and human quality) it offers.
On the other hand, if you have a dream of what you would like to do in your career, you shouldn't really ask yourself this question, but you should make modification to the dream to meet reality. For example, if you have a dream to be a painter, you should consider going for a career in architecture or in interior design. By this way, you would satisfy both your desires and your pocket.
The advantages of choosing a career by its job prospects
A famous criminal attorney once said: "I've never had a dirty conscience because I've never had one". The most profitable decision you could make is choosing a career by the job prospects it gives: the ability to find a job, the wage level you could get, the work environment it could give you and the vocational security. I've never met a person who made a career decision solely based on the job prospects complaining about his/her fate.
On the other hand, not everyone can be so benefit oriented: people usually have tendencies, likes and dislikes and other aspirations. It's good to choose a career by its job prospects but only if you don't really have a conscience regarding the issue.
The advantages of choosing a career by your passion
Donald Trump is really for this attitude: he believes that in order to be successful in a career, one must be in love with it. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a great success throughout a 30 year career. If people dislike what thy do on a daily basis, they would suffer from an early burnout and a sharp decline in productivity and eventually quit their career.
So as Trump puts it, you should first get along well with a career and then think of its job prospects.
What do I really think about the issue?
There are 3 possibilities:
1. You don't care about what you do at work - in this case you should choose a career by its prospects.
2. You have a dream - in this case you should choose a career as close to your dream which can provide for you.
3. You care about what you do t work and also care about the job prospects - hopefully for you would find a career interesting and also beneficial.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
NBA? DBA!
Ladies and gentlemen, this week I'm going to tell you a bit about a profession that has been gaining influence and might in the last 2 decades: the database administrator. I'm going to elaborate a bit about the following points:
1. What is included under this title "Database Administrator"?
2. What benefits can this profession give its occupants?
3. What are the drawbacks of this profession?
4. How can you become a database administrator?
What is included under this title "Database Administrator"?
Database - is a virtual set of tables. As simple as that. Imagine a set of thousands of tables packed together and placed on a computer: this is a database. Why is this so important? because any website you visit stores its data on a database. For example: when you log in to Facebook, all the data on your personal account are originally stored on a database, and when you log in, the data gets imported from the database into your personal account so you can view it.
A database administrator is the professional responsible to develop and maintain databases: create new databases, securing them from viruses and other threats, help staff use them adequately or even performing data retrieval for other people in the organization.
What benefits can this profession gives its occupants?
1. Relatively high occupational security - because this position gives a wide knowledge of the organization's inner data (including confidential data) which makes the organization think again and again before sacking such an employee. In addition, this isn't a research & development job (i.e it doesn't involve directly in product development) thus the employer always needs the employee for maintenance of the information assets.
2. Not a small screw in the machine - everybody knows the database administrator. Everybody needs the database administrator. This is because everybody needs data thus everybody needs the DBA. Kapish?
What are the drawbacks of this profession?
1. Most people don't dream often of a day in front of a computer. Such a job is commonly perceived as geeky and boring. Women seldom get attracted to such a career because they're inclined to interpersonal jobs like healthcare or teaching positions. Thus, most people aren't inclined to computer oriented careers.
2. There aren't relatively many positions of database administrators. They get hired to deal with large database and most businesses don't need large databases. In contrast, for every little aspect in a software there's a need of a programmer or for every small issue in a local network, there's a need of a system administrator.
How can you become a database administrator?
As in every computing profession, there are 2 main tracks to follow: the academic and the non-academic.
1. Academic - study 3-4 years of computing related degree (mainly Computer Science or Information Systems) and then start as a apprentice in the databases field. Advantage: getting great learning skills which would be beneficial in the day to day demanding routine. Disadvantage: long and hard studies and sometimes also expensive.
2. Non academic - study a certification course (like: SQL Server Database Administrator or Oracle DBA) and then start as a newbie in the industry. Advantage: short studies (not more than a year). Disadvantage: weak learning skills and non existent theoretical background.
1. What is included under this title "Database Administrator"?
2. What benefits can this profession give its occupants?
3. What are the drawbacks of this profession?
4. How can you become a database administrator?
What is included under this title "Database Administrator"?
Database - is a virtual set of tables. As simple as that. Imagine a set of thousands of tables packed together and placed on a computer: this is a database. Why is this so important? because any website you visit stores its data on a database. For example: when you log in to Facebook, all the data on your personal account are originally stored on a database, and when you log in, the data gets imported from the database into your personal account so you can view it.
A database administrator is the professional responsible to develop and maintain databases: create new databases, securing them from viruses and other threats, help staff use them adequately or even performing data retrieval for other people in the organization.
What benefits can this profession gives its occupants?
1. Relatively high occupational security - because this position gives a wide knowledge of the organization's inner data (including confidential data) which makes the organization think again and again before sacking such an employee. In addition, this isn't a research & development job (i.e it doesn't involve directly in product development) thus the employer always needs the employee for maintenance of the information assets.
2. Not a small screw in the machine - everybody knows the database administrator. Everybody needs the database administrator. This is because everybody needs data thus everybody needs the DBA. Kapish?
What are the drawbacks of this profession?
1. Most people don't dream often of a day in front of a computer. Such a job is commonly perceived as geeky and boring. Women seldom get attracted to such a career because they're inclined to interpersonal jobs like healthcare or teaching positions. Thus, most people aren't inclined to computer oriented careers.
2. There aren't relatively many positions of database administrators. They get hired to deal with large database and most businesses don't need large databases. In contrast, for every little aspect in a software there's a need of a programmer or for every small issue in a local network, there's a need of a system administrator.
How can you become a database administrator?
As in every computing profession, there are 2 main tracks to follow: the academic and the non-academic.
1. Academic - study 3-4 years of computing related degree (mainly Computer Science or Information Systems) and then start as a apprentice in the databases field. Advantage: getting great learning skills which would be beneficial in the day to day demanding routine. Disadvantage: long and hard studies and sometimes also expensive.
2. Non academic - study a certification course (like: SQL Server Database Administrator or Oracle DBA) and then start as a newbie in the industry. Advantage: short studies (not more than a year). Disadvantage: weak learning skills and non existent theoretical background.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Webmaster - The Master of the Web
Ladies and gentlemen, this week I'm going to write a bit about some sort of a guy. We know him as a "Webmaster", think he's a fat lifeless geek who does something with our website or websites we try (in vain) to work with. So I'm going to elaborate a bit about this newly created profession. I'm going to refer to a few questions:
1. What is actually a "Webmaster" and what's his daily routine?
2. What are the qualifications for being a webmaster.
3. What are the advantages of this job.
4. What are the disadvantages of this job?
5. Summary - who should consider this career path seriously?
What is actually a "Webmaster" and what's his daily routine?
A "Webmaster" in its basic meaning is a person managing a website. As simple as that. But if we wish to elaborate a bit, we could say that the webmaster's job consists of:
1. Build websites, including picking up the technology for them and entering contents to them. Nowadays most of the websites are built on site "baking" platforms (such as: Joomla, Wordpress, Blogspot) and the webmaster should be familiar with working with them.
2. SEO - search engine optimization i.e. promoting the website to appear as high as possible on Google and other search results, as this is the main source of traffic for the website.
3. Serving customer support both to the owner of the website and its visitors, in order to improve its quality and answer questions regarding its use.
4. Security - forming a security policy for the website ensuring its survival and smooth running. Preventing hackers and viruses harm the website.
What are the qualifications for being a webmaster?
There are 2 main approaches for this question:
1. Study a BSc degree in Computer Science or in Information Systems for 3-4 years and then start working as a junior webmaster or a junior web developer. The advantage: improved learning capabilities and work discipline.
2. Study a short Webmaster course (3-4 month) and find an employer willing to hire you as an apprentice. The advantage: a short training track. The disadvantage: limited learning capabilities and not mentally prepared for this kind of work.
"Learning capabilities" - in computing, a professional is demanded to keep learning new material almost on a daily basis, as the computing field is infinite in size and challenges always pop up. Thus improved learning capabilities are an asset for long time work in the field.
"Mentally prepared" - Computing work require sharp capabilities like: long time concentration, perseverance in solving problems, working in teams or well organized work abilities.
What are the advantages of this job?
1. Playing your computer and your Internet for 45 hours a week on duty - bookkeeping? sales job? teaching? Playing!
This is a job in which you live online: get new content every day, look at other sites in order to improve your sites, watch Youtube video for getting ideas for your sites.
2. Young atmosphere - in this job you always feels young, whether it's because the majority of people are young (till 30 years old) or whether it's because the creative nature of this position.
3. Combining technical and visual skills - in this position you are both a programmer (a technical occupation) and a designer (a visual occupation), which is a rare combination between 2 almost opposite field.
4. Money money money - this is definitely a rewarding job, as in most countries the wages are about 50% higher than the average, which is a tempting figure to people suitable for such career.
What are the disadvantages of this job?
1. Not everyone is a geek - you know, there are people in this world, unnecessarily stupid or lazy, who would climb the walls if needed to work 45 hours a week in front of a laptop. Computing work still isn't appealing to most of the population thus such a career wouldn't be as popular as a law or finance career.
2. Age bias - this filed is relatively a young one, as the internet began its evolution in the mid 90's, so the average employee age is about 33-35 which means that 40+ year old employees might be a little old right now for this field.
3. Always learning - keep learning new ideas and notions is absolutely fabulous but not for everyone. Most people would put up perfectly with a routine job with no novelty and no new ideas every now and then. Thus most people would find it hard to deal with the rapid evolution of the internet world.
Summary - who should consider this career path seriously?
As in every case - this career path would be great for people who are attracted to its advantages and not discouraged by its disadvantages. Anyway, I can recommend that you take a career counselling in order to check your tendencies and capabilities thoroughly and not choose a career based on the decisions of your peers.
1. What is actually a "Webmaster" and what's his daily routine?
2. What are the qualifications for being a webmaster.
3. What are the advantages of this job.
4. What are the disadvantages of this job?
5. Summary - who should consider this career path seriously?
What is actually a "Webmaster" and what's his daily routine?
A "Webmaster" in its basic meaning is a person managing a website. As simple as that. But if we wish to elaborate a bit, we could say that the webmaster's job consists of:
1. Build websites, including picking up the technology for them and entering contents to them. Nowadays most of the websites are built on site "baking" platforms (such as: Joomla, Wordpress, Blogspot) and the webmaster should be familiar with working with them.
2. SEO - search engine optimization i.e. promoting the website to appear as high as possible on Google and other search results, as this is the main source of traffic for the website.
3. Serving customer support both to the owner of the website and its visitors, in order to improve its quality and answer questions regarding its use.
4. Security - forming a security policy for the website ensuring its survival and smooth running. Preventing hackers and viruses harm the website.
What are the qualifications for being a webmaster?
There are 2 main approaches for this question:
1. Study a BSc degree in Computer Science or in Information Systems for 3-4 years and then start working as a junior webmaster or a junior web developer. The advantage: improved learning capabilities and work discipline.
2. Study a short Webmaster course (3-4 month) and find an employer willing to hire you as an apprentice. The advantage: a short training track. The disadvantage: limited learning capabilities and not mentally prepared for this kind of work.
"Learning capabilities" - in computing, a professional is demanded to keep learning new material almost on a daily basis, as the computing field is infinite in size and challenges always pop up. Thus improved learning capabilities are an asset for long time work in the field.
"Mentally prepared" - Computing work require sharp capabilities like: long time concentration, perseverance in solving problems, working in teams or well organized work abilities.
What are the advantages of this job?
1. Playing your computer and your Internet for 45 hours a week on duty - bookkeeping? sales job? teaching? Playing!
This is a job in which you live online: get new content every day, look at other sites in order to improve your sites, watch Youtube video for getting ideas for your sites.
2. Young atmosphere - in this job you always feels young, whether it's because the majority of people are young (till 30 years old) or whether it's because the creative nature of this position.
3. Combining technical and visual skills - in this position you are both a programmer (a technical occupation) and a designer (a visual occupation), which is a rare combination between 2 almost opposite field.
4. Money money money - this is definitely a rewarding job, as in most countries the wages are about 50% higher than the average, which is a tempting figure to people suitable for such career.
What are the disadvantages of this job?
1. Not everyone is a geek - you know, there are people in this world, unnecessarily stupid or lazy, who would climb the walls if needed to work 45 hours a week in front of a laptop. Computing work still isn't appealing to most of the population thus such a career wouldn't be as popular as a law or finance career.
2. Age bias - this filed is relatively a young one, as the internet began its evolution in the mid 90's, so the average employee age is about 33-35 which means that 40+ year old employees might be a little old right now for this field.
3. Always learning - keep learning new ideas and notions is absolutely fabulous but not for everyone. Most people would put up perfectly with a routine job with no novelty and no new ideas every now and then. Thus most people would find it hard to deal with the rapid evolution of the internet world.
Summary - who should consider this career path seriously?
As in every case - this career path would be great for people who are attracted to its advantages and not discouraged by its disadvantages. Anyway, I can recommend that you take a career counselling in order to check your tendencies and capabilities thoroughly and not choose a career based on the decisions of your peers.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Graphic Design Career - What It All About?
Ladies and gentlemen, this week we're going to have a little discussion about a not-so-well-known profession which millions of people around the world make a living from and which deserves our attention when approaching a debate about career choice.
I'm going to discuss a few points in this article:
1. What does this profession consist of?
2. What are the advantages of this profession?
3. What are the disadvantages of this profession?
4. Who should consider this as a career?
What does this profession consist of:
Graphic design is actually the visual expression of ideas and values i.e. putting what a company, an organization or an individual wish to express into a visible implementation. The graphical design field consists of 2 main sub-fields:
1. Imprint design - this is the graphics put on a paper: logos, advertisments, symbols, banners, or page layouts. This refers to how should these objectives look in order to promote the idea they stand for. Who would buy a car of a brand that its advertisments look ugly or obsolete?
2. Online design - this is the graphics put on Internet pages, where the appeal to the eye is crucial to the very survival of a site due to the sharp competition between websites and the fact that a website must make its visitors come back again and again.
What are the advantages of this profession?
As it sounds, this career may offer a few advantages for people who are suitable for using them wisely:
1. Independence oriented - working as a graphic designer is perfectly suitable working as a freelancer or other form of self employment, as it technically based on your wits and a laptop. You don't have to rent a workshop or an office as you can perfectly work from your room at home. Even if you work for a company on a regular basis, it seems plausible for you to do most of the work from home.
2. Age bias proof - working as a graphic designer doesn't seem to be much influenced by the "40 years old crisis", as professions based on the esthetics world tend to be exempt from an age bias due to the fact that the requirements for these professions develop slowly along the years so 50 years old designer are commonly better than 35 years old ones.
3. Creativity - yes, this job is not as ordinary and routine as working as a bookkeeper or a post office clerk. Here you need to come up now and then with new ideas of how o present things to your customers. You can't do the same every week and every month. The ability to come up with new ideas on a regular basis is creativity.
4. Possible short training time - alongside 4 year academic tracks, a designer may get the basic training needed for the job market by attending a short term course of a couple of month. It's true that such short training courses wouldn't make the next Picasso, but still it might train a person well enough in order to start working at the field.
What are the disadvantages of this profession?
Ironically, the advantages of this career yield its disadvantages:
1. Most work is as self employed 1 person team. For some it's a great advantage but for most it's a disaster. Wake up when you want? Come up with new ideas? Working alone? dealing with customers? I bet at least 80% of people would freak out in such an environment.
2. Short training time also means: almost everyone can enter this field as its entrance barriers are quite low. This means that never can occur a state of manpower shortage in this field, which mean that you'll never find employment easily and your life will probably not be a garden of roses.
3. Income - this career isn't basically for very ambitious people financially as it seldom offers wages higher than the average and in many cases designers struggle to pay the bills. Therefore, you should think carefully whether you're willing to put up with this side effect.
Who should consider this as a career?
The answer for this is extremely obvious - people who like the advantages of this career path and can put up with its disadvantages. Every career path can be great for the suitable person or horrible for the unsuitable one. There's no good or bad answer for this. But do yourself a favor - think if you see yourself in this career for at least 20 years. A career choice is not for 5 years, but for decades.
Civil Engineering - Should It Intersest You?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my article about the important field of Civil Engineering. In this article I'll answer a few principle questions:
1. What is actually "Civil Engineering"?
2. What are the advatntages of this career?
3. What are th disadvantages of this career?
4. Who is this career suitable for?
5. What are the requirements for acquiring this career?
What is actually "Civil Engineering"
This term refers to the world of construction: buildings, roads, bridges, railways or tunnels.
Civil engineer is a professional for designing construction, i.e. how should a structure be built physically, taking into account the physics of materials involved in construction. The engineer is responsible that a building would be built stable and strong enough to make it resistant to many challenges: winds, earthquake, storms, material aging impact or weight burdens.
The unique side of civil engineering is that most of the work gets done outdoors in construction or paving sites, as the engineer is responsible to supervise the construction works, in order to make sure that the actual work gets performed by the plans and by the regulations.
What are the advatntages of this career?
1. Working outdoors - many people aren't keen on working indoors, mainly in front of computers. Civil Engineering is the main alternative (among technical fields) for working mainly outdoors: in construction sites, paving or excavation sites.
2. Working with people - unlike most engineering jobs which deal mainly with tools, materials and computers, Civil Engineering deals mainly with managing projects and people, as the main focus is on the human factor and not on the technical factor.
3. No age bias - technical fields are infamous for having a sharp age bias, as mature workers (mainly 45 years old and above) find difficulties in finding proper employment. Civil Engineering, as being management oriented, is somewhat different in this aspect and engineers generally can find employment till retirement age.
4. Self employment prospects - in nowadays' unstable job market, being able to be a freelancer or an entrepreneur can be a career saver. If you don't get what I say, ask an unemployed electrical or mechanical engineer aged 45 or more and you'll get a straight answer.
What are th disadvantages of this career
1. Medium occupational stability - the construction & infrastructure fields is the most dependant on the Supply and demand curve, thus it may have periods of high demand for workers and periods of low demand. This means that civil engineers may work 40 years in the field but out of these years they may be unemployed for 5-10 years.
2. High level of responsibility - civil engineers are liable both for their signatures and for the implementation of proper construction at field. No other kind of engineers have such level of liability.
3. Long hours - civil engineers work relatively long hours, as they work at least 50 hours a week. This is caused by the fact they work outdoors and they commute many times to long locations. Additionally, the peaks of workloads cause frequent weekly long hours of work.
Who is this career suitable for
1. Outdoors people - people who prefer to work outdoors: travel a lot, meeting a lot of people and staying long hours on open space. People who would be bored to death staying in an office running computers and telephones.
2. Amateurs of unorthodox life - people who strive for a lot of changes and a lot of challenges. People who the term "9 to 5" makes them feel bored and frustrated. people who the term "computer" reminds them of the term "geek". People who don't care working sometimes 12 hours a day.
3. Entrepreneurs by nature - people who need desperately the option of starting their own business, should it be a freelancing service or projects initiation. People who wouldn't stay in careers which let them be only employed and not employers.
What are the requirements for acquiring this career?
1. Academic track - 4 years of BSc studies in Civil Engineering in an accredited university. This track requires good capabilities in mathematics and physics and motivation to put in about 40 hours a week in studying.
2. Attraction - due to the fact that Civil Engineering is a demanding career, I wouldn't recommend it to people without a basic attraction to the its characteristics: mainly working outdoors, managing and dealing with people and long working hours.
1. What is actually "Civil Engineering"?
2. What are the advatntages of this career?
3. What are th disadvantages of this career?
4. Who is this career suitable for?
5. What are the requirements for acquiring this career?
What is actually "Civil Engineering"
This term refers to the world of construction: buildings, roads, bridges, railways or tunnels.
Civil engineer is a professional for designing construction, i.e. how should a structure be built physically, taking into account the physics of materials involved in construction. The engineer is responsible that a building would be built stable and strong enough to make it resistant to many challenges: winds, earthquake, storms, material aging impact or weight burdens.
The unique side of civil engineering is that most of the work gets done outdoors in construction or paving sites, as the engineer is responsible to supervise the construction works, in order to make sure that the actual work gets performed by the plans and by the regulations.
What are the advatntages of this career?
1. Working outdoors - many people aren't keen on working indoors, mainly in front of computers. Civil Engineering is the main alternative (among technical fields) for working mainly outdoors: in construction sites, paving or excavation sites.
2. Working with people - unlike most engineering jobs which deal mainly with tools, materials and computers, Civil Engineering deals mainly with managing projects and people, as the main focus is on the human factor and not on the technical factor.
3. No age bias - technical fields are infamous for having a sharp age bias, as mature workers (mainly 45 years old and above) find difficulties in finding proper employment. Civil Engineering, as being management oriented, is somewhat different in this aspect and engineers generally can find employment till retirement age.
4. Self employment prospects - in nowadays' unstable job market, being able to be a freelancer or an entrepreneur can be a career saver. If you don't get what I say, ask an unemployed electrical or mechanical engineer aged 45 or more and you'll get a straight answer.
What are th disadvantages of this career
1. Medium occupational stability - the construction & infrastructure fields is the most dependant on the Supply and demand curve, thus it may have periods of high demand for workers and periods of low demand. This means that civil engineers may work 40 years in the field but out of these years they may be unemployed for 5-10 years.
2. High level of responsibility - civil engineers are liable both for their signatures and for the implementation of proper construction at field. No other kind of engineers have such level of liability.
3. Long hours - civil engineers work relatively long hours, as they work at least 50 hours a week. This is caused by the fact they work outdoors and they commute many times to long locations. Additionally, the peaks of workloads cause frequent weekly long hours of work.
Who is this career suitable for
1. Outdoors people - people who prefer to work outdoors: travel a lot, meeting a lot of people and staying long hours on open space. People who would be bored to death staying in an office running computers and telephones.
2. Amateurs of unorthodox life - people who strive for a lot of changes and a lot of challenges. People who the term "9 to 5" makes them feel bored and frustrated. people who the term "computer" reminds them of the term "geek". People who don't care working sometimes 12 hours a day.
3. Entrepreneurs by nature - people who need desperately the option of starting their own business, should it be a freelancing service or projects initiation. People who wouldn't stay in careers which let them be only employed and not employers.
What are the requirements for acquiring this career?
1. Academic track - 4 years of BSc studies in Civil Engineering in an accredited university. This track requires good capabilities in mathematics and physics and motivation to put in about 40 hours a week in studying.
2. Attraction - due to the fact that Civil Engineering is a demanding career, I wouldn't recommend it to people without a basic attraction to the its characteristics: mainly working outdoors, managing and dealing with people and long working hours.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)