Tech Benefits

According to http://www.ere.net/2012/10/18/it-pay-raises-to-be-almost-twice-national-average/ salaries for tech workers will raise almost twice the national average in 2013. Many jobs dealing with the internet and wireless capabilities will see a substantial increase in salaries. This is also the reason many courses training someone for these tech forces are getting harder. It is not a walk in the park degree, but it seems to pay off in the long run. To learn more about tech workers and their benefits you can visit http://www.techworkers.com/ and http://www.norwalkcitizenonline.com/news/article/Tech-workers-sense-opportunity-as-health-care-law-4077190.php.

Career Fair

There was a career fair at the University of Southern Mississippi on Wednesday, October the 24 in the Thad Cochran Center room 216. There were many future employers there looking to network and connect with students at the university. There were employers ranging from local restaurants to bigger businesses across the states. Also the career services hosted a Careers in Law Panel Discussion the same day. This event helped students explore the field of law and taught them more about the process of becoming a lawyer. For more information about future programs and career fairs on the USM campus visit http://www.usm.edu/career-services. Some jobs that were at the career fair were http://www.unitedbloodservices.org/ and http://www.krispykreme.com/home.

Importance

What do you find most important in a job? Of course pay would be in the top three, but what is really so important? In earlier blogs I have talked about what makes a "good" job and I have recently found link to show you all what others truly think about this topic. The link is http://www.ere.net/2012/10/24/a-good-jobs-a-meaningful-job/ . I find the ratings very interesting because I seem to agree with many of them. I always thought I had a unique way of thinking, but it seems that in finding a job more people think that way then I thought. You can see others' insight to what a "good job" is at these sights http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/09/24/what-is-a-good-job/ and http://www.salon.com/2011/04/26/lind_good_jobs/.

What is considered a good job?

What is a "good" job? In today's economy any job should be a good job, but many people do not see it like that. Some people base it on how much money you make, but some people base it on the difference you make. For example, people who go into the Peace Corps do not go in for the money they make, but for the difference they make in people's lives. Although they do not make very much money, they still consider their job to be a good job. I personally think that it varies from person to person about what a good job is. You can see facts about the Peace Corps here from someone who has volunteered http://net.jasonpearce.com/peacecorps/faq.html#benifitsPay. You can also view http://www.peacecorps.gov/jobs/ and http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/resources/jobs/.

My Employment Problems

In this blog I will talk about my employment problems. It is extremely hard for me to find and keep a job mainly because I am a full time student and a part time athlete. I barely have any time to work. I am free on the weekeends, but even then I still have homework. Recently, I was employed at Olan Mills Portrait Studio in the Turtle Creek Mall. I was then forced to quit because it was bought out by LifeTouch Portraits. This buy out caused for store hours to change and the hours that were available, I was no longer available. I'm sure many things happen like this all the time, but it was my first encounter with it. Here are the websites to see their picture quality http://www.olanmills.com/ and http://lifetouch.com/. You can also view their store hours now by going through the Turtle Creek Mall website http://www.turtlecreekmall.com/shop/turtlecreek.nsf/index.

Unemployment and the election

Because of the drop of umeployment rates, the election may have gotten a bit tougher for Mitt Romney. Some of the states where unemployment rates dropped are most of the swing states. These states included: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. "If you add up the electoral votes in swing states that have unemployment rates higher than the national average and do the same for state below the national average, it splits about 50-50." This is a quote from the Washington Post, which the article can be seen here  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/10/19/unemployment-rate-drops-in-41-states-including-most-swing-states/. This quote means that if the undecided votes go on statistics like these and see them as econonic progess, then Obama could pull ahead in this election.  Employment rates have had an effect on elections for years. You can view these articles to see how long employment rates have played a roll in elections and how:  http://economics.about.com/cs/macroeconomics/a/presidency_3.htm and http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/10/05/jobs-election-obama-romney-analysis/1613551/.

Unemployment Rates

According to http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/labor/state-unemployment-update.aspx the umemployment rate has dropped 1.2 percent in the past year. The rates have dropped in 41 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Although majority of the states unemplyment rate dropped, some rates in other states still went up. This could have been casued by job losses, people quitting, companies being bought out and shut down, etc. The good news is however, improvement is being seen. Other good websites to view employment rates are http://www.bls.gov/cps/ and national news websites like NBC. This article on their website bring lots of insight to people who do not normally watch the employment rates http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/unemployment-rate-falls-7-8-economy-creates-114-000-jobs-1C6297030.

Unfair but Not Illegal

In the case of getting fired on an unfair case, does not make it necessarily illegal according to again http://www.las-elc.org/factsheets/12-facts.html#top. It is illegal to be fired over race, gender, sexual orientation, or because you called the police on them. Of course if under any other purpose, it is just a termination and most likely a bad reference. Some work places are just very picky about how things are handled. It is always smart to review your job handbook or rules before making any false accusations.You may view back to my previous blogs for help with that or to find another job look on again http://www.monster.com/ or http://www.indeed.com/.

Unsafe Work

According to http://www.las-elc.org/factsheets/12-facts.html#top it is okay to refuse to do work when you believe it would put your health in danger. Do not, however, just not do the work. Inform your supervisor first to see what else you can do to compensate for your work. This website tells the steps that should be taken if you are put in this situation http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/refuse.html. Also the website http://www.dol.govt.nz/workplace/knowledgebase/item/1424 secures the fact that you can refuse to do hazardous work, so stand up for your rights if you feel the need to.

Bad References

In this blog I will introduce another fact from http://www.las-elc.org/factsheets/12-facts.html#top. It is absolutely true that a former employer may tell a reference call bad things about you. It just has to be that the bad things are true. A former employer is not allowed to say false things about you. However, there ways to prepare for a bad reference call. The website http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2008/09/22/what-to-do-about-a-bad-reference gives great advice on what to do. Also the website http://ask.metafilter.com/87768/How-do-I-get-around-a-bad-reference-from-my-last-job gives advice on what to do. Always tell how you have grown from the experience, and turn the negative into a positive.

Paid Vacations

In the next few blogs I will discuss facts about employment courtesy of http://www.las-elc.org/factsheets/12-facts.html. Although this site is based off California laws, the facts I will pick will be able to be seen across many other states as well. In this blog I will discuss the "use it or lose it" vacation policy. This policy actually happens to be illegal in some states. Is it right for the boss to take away your vacation time after a certain period if you haven't used it? According to states like California it's not. This is can been on the website http://www.ehow.com/info_7748339_use-lose-vacation-policy.html. Some other bloggers also believe that it is wrong like http://ainleylaw.com/2012/05/15/vacation-pay-it-belongs-to-you/. I personally do not believe in it, but under certain circumstances I would love to see how this would play out.