Source: CareerProNews
There are many reasons people want to become lawyers. One of the most common reasons is a desire to help people. Elder law is a legal specialty that helps a rapidly growing segment of the population — the elderly.

Elder law is a pretty new field. It began only two decades ago. The American Bar Association recognized it as a distinct field in the early 1990s.

Although it’s a new field, it’s expanding quickly. There are now about 5,000 members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) in the United States.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) predicts that demand for lawyers will grow at an average rate through 2014. However, the OOH predicts that elder law is one of the legal areas that will see the most growth.

Allan Bogutz practices elder law in Arizona. He says the recent development of elder law shouldn’t be surprising.

“In 1900, the average life expectancy was 46 years,” he says. “The causes of death were different. They were infection, industrial accidents and childbirth. People are living longer now. So when we talk about elder law being a new field, elders are kind of a new field as well. Law and aging is a new issue completely, because aging is a new issue.”

Shifting roles within families and social changes are also contributing to this need.

“Prior to World War II, we could expect that elder people would, for the most part, go to live with their families,” Bogutz says. “Care responsibilities for older people fell on daughters and daughters-in-law. Now, nobody’s home in two-income families, and also people retire to distant places and their family is not there. So contextually, elder law is a new field meeting a new need.”

What exactly do elder law attorneys do? Depending on their cases, elder law attorneys could work on issues such as age discrimination, elder abuse, long-term care planning and guardianship.

Bogutz says that within the field, some sub-specialties will likely be in high demand. These include family business succession (the logistics of passing on a family business), arrangements for disabled adult children, taxes and financial planning.

Ann Krauss is a spokesperson for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). She says that as the baby-boomer generation ages, more people will be looking for information and legal advice on these issues.

Hugh McLellan practices elder law. He says that when he and his partner started their firm in 1992, they practiced both elder and labor law.

“After a while, we just thought, ‘This is crazy. We don’t need to do labor law, there’s so much work in elder law,’” he says.

McLellan believe elder law will provide opportunities for at least the next 20 years. During this time period, the number of people aged 65 and up is expected to continually increase.

Like other lawyers, elder law attorneys must first attend university. Then they attend law school. Law school is three years of study. Students must then pass the bar exams for their state. After completing this education, they can practice law.

Elder law training is similar to other legal specialties, but those in the field say elder law can provide some unique opportunities.

“Elder law is different from other areas,” Krauss says. She says elder law is not adversarial, in contrast to the perception many people have of law. “Individuals attracted to elder law seem to have that caring and compassionate willingness to go above and beyond for their clients.”

Krauss gives examples of NAELA members holding their clients’ hands in hospital emergency rooms and finding new homes for dogs after the death of clients.

Bogutz says those unique aspects of elder law require a special set of skills.

“Elder law has two components,” he explains. “One involves the specific areas of law that affect older persons, which include things like retirement, pensions, planning for giving your business to your children, planning for possible disability needs, age discrimination, planning for housing as people’s needs change and planning for what’s going to happen at the time of your death.

“The second component of elder law is the lawyer’s knowledge of the specific needs of aging clients. That involves things like dealing with special furniture for people who have difficulty getting up or down — and special furniture might mean nothing more than chairs with arms — making sure that buildings are accessible for people with disabilities, using larger print for documents, being available to provide home visits if necessary. Also being sensitive to the issues that are around changes of life, such as retirement or facing the end of life.”

Bogutz adds that the practice of elder law can also have many benefits. “It’s an extremely rewarding practice, professionally and emotionally,” he says. “I think you learn more from working with older clients, and many of us don’t get to be close to older people too much.”

At the same time, he recognizes the potential emotional downfalls of working with aging — and eventually dying — clients.

“At some point you acknowledge that the end of life is a natural, normal component of life,” he says. “Helping people to address that in a professional way, and making certain that all of their wishes are carried out and end-of-life care is going to be given in the way they prefer, gives you a certain satisfaction as well.

“So it can be frustrating to lose clients, but at the same time you have a sense of accomplishment that you helped them do it their way.”

Bogutz adds that elder law can also show a more positive view of growing old.

“We sometimes make assumptions about older persons that simply aren’t true.A very small percentage have substantial hearing loss. A very small percentage have physical disabilities. A very small percentage go to nursing homes. Many people are healthy, active and vital until the last couple months of their lives.”

Bogutz says that if students are interested in elder law, they can begin by getting involved with older people right away. He adds there are always opportunities to volunteer. “There are retirement homes, nursing home, retirement communities that are looking for people to assist with sometimes just looking in on people, sometimes with delivering meals, sometimes simply providing socialization,” he says.

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
Links to services and resources available to older people
http://www.n4a.org/

National Elder Law Foundation
Certifies experienced elder law attorneys in the U.S.
http://www.nelf.org/index.htm

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
National organization of elder law attorneys
http://www.naela.com

I’m curious. How many of you are feeling affected by the economy right now?

Are you worried about your business? Are you looking for more income streams? Do you want to start a business but are afraid this isn’t the right time? Or are you doing great right now?

If you have read my blog or ezine for any length of time, you know that I am committe to bringing you GOOD news regarding various growth industries and new career opportunities.

That’s why I was intrigued by Ali Brown’s new free teleclass on Thursday, March 5, called “How to Create Your OWN Strong Economy This Year…

With Online Information Marketing.” Here’s the link to sign up:

http://www.netofficetoolbox.com/app/?af=942498

And don’t forget to share your thoughts and questions below. I’d love to know what you really think about your business and the economy right now.

Freelance illustrators turn art into careers. But it takes more than artistic talent to become your own boss and work as a freelance illustrator. Business sense is also required.

Freelance illustrators make their living by creating pictures for books, magazines and other publications. They may also create logos for businesses. Many commercial products, such as textiles, gift wrap, stationary, greeting cards or calendars, also require illustrations.

Jobs Illustrated

More than half of fine artists in the U.S. are self-employed. Compared to other American workers, that makes them 3.5 times more likely to be self-employed. That’s according to a 2008 report by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Ian Challis has worked as a self-employed artist and designer in Seattle, Washington for 20 years. He says being able to work for himself from home is a great benefit to his job.

“I can make a decent living doing what I love,” he says. “It’s like getting paid for a hobby.”

However, he says that the salary can vary a lot. “You could make nothing to $300,000 per year depending on how popular your designs are,” he says.

One way freelance illustrators make money is by licensing designs to publishing or manufacturing companies. Most of their pay comes from royalties. That’s a percentage of the cost of the item that’s sold. If a product that uses your illustration sells well, you make more money. If it doesn’t sell well, the company will stop producing it, and your pay will stop too.

Getting Experience

Working as a freelance illustrator can be a part-time or full-time job. Many people who do this begin slowly. They do other jobs and begin to build a client-base to get some experience. Building a portfolio (a collection of best work) is important for illustrators so that they can show off their style and accomplishments.

There are no formal requirements to starting your own freelance illustration business. But in reality, artists are often well-educated. In the U.S., artists are twice as likely as other American workers to have college degrees.

The role of graphic designers and artists requires them to build a large foundation of skills to make a living, says Nancy Winberg. She is an illustrator and graphic artist in Seattle, Washington. She says it’s important not to limit yourself.

“Job descriptions are always changing with the advent of new technology, and it is important to keep up to date with the resources that are in demand,” she says. She has gained experience as a scenic painter at a theater, and as a graphic designer, web designer, desktop publisher and digital photographer.

Heather Castles is an illustrator and graphic designer. She went to college for illustration and design. Then she got a job and gained experience in the field. After a few years of experience with publishing companies, she went out on her own. She now finds employment by researching different companies online and sending them samples of her work. She used to do freelance work in the mornings and work for a design studio in the afternoons. Now she is a new parent and does only the freelance work.

“The lovely thing about freelancing is it’s such a flexible type of work, I can fit it in whenever I have time available and make my own hours,” she says.

Knowing the Market

To be able to market yourself to potential employers, you must know what kind of work is available. For example, you could create graphics for online stock use, the gaming industry, greeting cards or other retail items, even children’s books.

“The diverse applications for illustration require an artist to examine and focus in on what they want to specialize in,” says Winberg.

Most artists develop a certain style that makes their work suitable to a niche in the large illustration market. “In college, I was informed that the best way to create a demand for your illustration was to develop a personal signature style and to strive for a consistent look,” says Winberg. She adds that the gaming industry is another market that demands talented artists with sophisticated computer software skills.

Illustrators can work in fine art or commercial art. Fine art is created by hand and commercial art is digital. Work done by hand must be scanned and digitalized to make it suitable for printing or online use. Since that creates an added step, many artists now create all their work digitally.

“Regardless of the changes in graphic design technology, there is still a demand for traditional artwork. Most evidence of hand-rendered illustration can be seen in children’s books and editorial illustration,” says Winberg.

Getting Your Name Out

Online social networking is an easy and free way to advertise your illustration services. Kimberly Schwede is an illustrator and graphic designer. She uses Facebook to network. She has a “fan club” to advertise her most recent artwork.

She also joined a group of women entrepreneurs. This has brought her a lot of work, such as designing logos for new businesses.

When she was starting out she didn’t wait for work to find her. She went out and asked for it. She would look for websites that sold things that were cute and feminine. Her illustration style matches that niche. She would e-mail the website and ask if they needed a new logo.

“E-mailing is so easy. There really isn’t any rejection because if they don’t like your work they just won’t respond — versus meeting someone in person and having them say ’sorry but we’re just not that into your illustration style’ to your face,” says Schwede.

She loves working for herself. “You definitely have to hustle though,” she admits. In addition to e-mailing, she also isn’t shy about mailing postcards with illustration samples to greeting card companies or publishers.

Ups and Downs of Freelance Work

Schwede encourages artists to consider a career in freelance illustration. But she says you have to be patient while building your career. “In addition, you have to be able to deal with criticism because not everyone is going to like your work. It’s good to be well-rounded too. For me, having basic graphic design skills where I can design a tri-fold brochure helps a lot with my salary. Living solely on illustration work is tough,” she says.

Freelance workers often find it’s a feast or a famine. One week they may be working long hours to meet multiple deadlines for different clients. The next week they could have no clients at all.

“Sometimes I get down when the work flow slows down, but I always have to remind myself things will pick up again,” says Schwede.

Society of Illustrators
An American society that promotes the art and appreciation of illustration

Set up an Illustration Business in 10 Steps
Great tips from Heather Castles

Creating Comics
Resources for illustrators

42 eXplore
Lots of fun links to get your pencils moving

Steve Lieber: Suggestions on Getting Started Learning the Craft
A successful comic illustrator shares his wisdom

source: careerpronews

People have long been visiting the country to pick their own fruit. But these days, there are many more activities enticing tourists to the farm.

Farmers are finding unique and innovative ways to attract city slickers, not only to bolster income but also to promote agriculture and rural living.

According to Purdue University research, nature- or agricultural-based tourism is the fastest growing sector of the U.S. tourism industry, averaging a 30 percent increase since 1997.

From farmhouse bed-and-breakfast operations to winery tours, specialized product sales and Halloween attractions, farmers are taking a chance on tourism.

At nine years of age, Jerry Howell, living on a pig and chicken farm, decided to sell a few pumpkins from a wheelbarrow. Decades later, he’s running the Howell Family Pumpkin Farm, relying completely on revenue from visitors.

“I realized, heck at nine I’d made 28 bucks. So, the next year I asked my dad to plant more pumpkins and that year I sold a wagon load,” says Howell. “It just kept getting bigger.”

A jack-o-lantern display in the 1980s was so successful that the family started school tours and wagon rides. They also added a 3,000-square-foot haunted barn and a 25-foot robotic pumpkin dinosaur called Pumkinosaurous Rex.

There are pony rides, hay romps, a pumpkin catapult, animal petting areas, pumpkin carving demonstrations, scarecrow displays, puppet shows and a corn maze adventure.

“This [agritourism] is now our only source of income. There are no more chickens or pigs and we make all of our money in one month [October],” he says.

While the Howells rely entirely on agritourism, Mike Bose has successfully added a corn maze component to his existing turkey and vegetable farm operation.

“My family has been farming for over 100 years and been fighting for market share. This is a way for us to ensure viability of the farm and to bring people back out to the farm — to connect between urban and rural communities.”

Picking unique themes for the corn maze has garnered media attention, which Bose considers the best marketing tool.

“Ending up on the news does more good than anything and giving to charity is another way to get attention,” says Bose. His corn maze logos have included golf, football and hockey themes, as well as a bucking bronco.

Visitors come from around the world. The maze also attracts youth and church groups, birthday parties and other special events. “We do really big numbers in September and October. It’s big business,” says Bose.

Steve and Dorothy Enger open their 1,600-acre North Dakota farm to the public annually through the fall months. The couple expanded into agritourism as a means of additional income.

Known as Fall Family Fun on the Farm, attractions include a haunted house, indoor games, face painting, miniature golf and cow milking — all to supplement the growing of carrots and pumpkins. “It is treated as any other enterprise on the farm,” says Dorothy Enger.

And it began quite by accident.

“We were working with our church youth group and decided to have a Halloween party at our farm to raise money for [a charity]. It seemed like a lot of work to do for just our church for one night, so we opened it up to the public. People came and said they liked it and asked us to do it again. It has grown each year since,” says Enger.

Adding “agri-entertainment” makes for a very busy fall at the Enger farm. “It gets very hectic at times because the crops we raise and the fall activities in our yard are all taking place at the same time as harvest. It makes for very short nights of sleep and sometimes not even going to bed,” she says.

Each year, something new is added and is always home-made and self-financed.

“We find it virtually impossible to get finances for this. Lenders frown on it and so do insurance companies. One better be prepared to have the means to start themselves,” says Enger.

The U.S. government may provide funding through agencies such as USDA Rural Development, the Rural Community Empowerment Program, and the National Council of State Agriculture Finance Programs.

And while branching into agritourism has proven successful, Howell says he sees the need to further diversify. “We’ve been realizing that all our eggs are in one basket and we’ve had a couple of rainy Octobers, so we’re developing singing chickens as a side business.”

Howell is building animatronic chickens that pop out of crates. Chick-n-motion products will be marketed to other entrepreneurial farmers who have expressed interest in this type of attraction.

However, he says agritourism isn’t for everyone.

“It’s for people who like people…because at times the large crowds can be very stressful. It’s not for all farms.”

Enger agrees. “People who get into agritourism are a different thinking kind of people than the norm. They are energetic, creative, jack-of-all-trades kind of people. One can’t afford to hire all that is to be done.

“They need to work with and understand marketing, construction, be people-oriented and be willing to start from the ground up and build the business just like they did with their traditional farm,” she says.

While diversification is important for added income, farmers feel strongly that there should also be an educational component to agritourism operations.

“Seventy percent of the population used to have ties to the farm, which was huge, but now it’s just two percent,” says Howell.

“We are teaching what farms are all about, how plants grow, and that we need bees for pollination, etc. A lot of people don’t get exposed to it all.”

Loans for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
Find out about an assistance program for beginning farmers
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/beg
loan01.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture
Get extensive information on a range of government programs
http://www.usda.gov/

The Maize
The world’s largest cornfield maze company
http://www.cornfieldmaze.com/site_list.html

Source: Career Pro News
When Larry Ponemon first got into the field of business ethics more than 20 years ago, many corporations didn’t understand the importance of ethical behavior.

“Most companies didn’t see the connection between good business and good ethics,” says Ponemon. He is the founder of a couple business consulting practices.

Today, in the wake of scandals at companies like Enron and Tyco, more businesses appreciate the importance of having someone on hand to make executives more accountable.

The Ethics Officer Association had 19 members when it was incorporated in 1992. Today, it has almost 1,000 members.

“The career is growing with the exponential growth of concern with ethical issues in every part of our society,” says Cornelius Von Baeyer. He is an independent consultant on workplace ethics.

“It used to be that there was a story or two per week on ethics that appeared in the media. Now such stories are daily, and, in fact, many stories have an explicit ethics issue embedded in them.”

Von Baeyer says an ethics officer usually provides advice to employees faced with ethical dilemmas. Officers also accept complaints or allegations about misbehavior and attempt to resolve them.

He says many of those charged with handling a company’s ethics also have other responsibilities. “Often, managers responsible for human resources, legal services or even operations are asked to take on ethics-related duties as part of their normal work.”

But some companies employ full-time ethics officers. And many experts expect that the demand for these professionals will grow.

Ponemon says the career can be rewarding.

“A career in the business ethics field has a major advantage over other jobs,” he says.

“Not to sound too smug, but helping people and companies out of a serious jam or helping senior management solve complex problems can be very rewarding.”

Von Baeyer and Ponemon say that public and stock market sensitivity to scandals at Enron and the like play a big role in the increased recognition of corporate ethics officers.

But there are a number of other factors, including stricter laws. Plus, a number of business schools have included ethics education as part of their programs.

Still, only about a third of accredited business schools require business ethics coursework, says Diane Swanson. She is the founding chair of the Ethics Education Initiative at Kansas State University’s College of Business Administration.

She first got interested in the field while completing a PhD in business administration. At that time, she realized that ethics education was a major part of many business programs.

“When I realized that I got more ethics education while taking my MA in economics than most MBAs get, I began to be concerned about the lack of ethics education in most business schools,” she says.

“The eruption of corporate scandals is no surprise to me, given the amoral philosophy of business promoted in a lot of business degree programs.”

She says ethics officers can help fill that gap by providing training and advice that some business schools don’t offer. For instance, ethics officers at many corporations have created help lines that employees can call to report and clarify ethical concerns.

However, the role of the ethics officer in a company also depends greatly on how much a corporate CEO or board of directors values ethical integrity.

“Ethics officers can only make a difference if CEOs want them to make a difference,” Von Baeyer says.

“The support of the CEO is crucial. No doubt, in some organizations, the ethics program is primarily window dress. That’s a pity, given the real benefits that can be drawn from it, including increased customer loyalty, product reputation, investor confidence, employee productivity and risk reduction.”

Ponemon agrees that some companies hire ethics officers just to reassure the public, and then bury them in the chain of command.

“Unfortunately, many ethics officers are too low in the corporate hierarchy,” he says. “They don’t have the visibility or power to resolve serious problems.”

The experts agree that, to be effective, the ethics officer should answer directly to the CEO or board of directors.

“The signals sent from the top are those that really matter,” says Swanson. “If the CEO is committed to improving ethics, he or she can elevate the role of ethics officer meaningfully.”

You’ll need training in a number of areas. That includes not just business ethics, but also business law, human resource management and business and society.

Von Baeyer also recommends getting involved in professional activities as soon as possible.

“There are numerous round tables and workshops and conferences on various aspects of ethics in cities across Canada,” he says.

“Such events and the organizations sponsoring them are generally happy to accepts students and beginners and those who simply have an interest in the field.”

Ponemon says a good ethics officer also must have a number of personal qualities that can’t be learned. Obviously, that includes a strong personal moral code. “You must be principled, with the backbone to stand up for what is right, true and fair,” he says.

However, other qualities also are important, including good people skills and a strong commitment to your work. “This is a tough field,” Ponemon says. “To survive, you must be dedicated.”

But even in ideal situations, Von Baeyer stresses that the ethics officer isn’t a cure-all. “It’s obviously impossible for all decisions with an ethical component to be sent off to an ethics officer for resolution,” he says.

“The ethics official can only help employees to think through the ethical issues, remind them of basic corporate values and help defend them if their careful ethical decisions come under fire.”

Ethics Officer Association
A professional association that also provides training
http://www.eoa.org

Ethics Resource Center
Lots of resources here
http://www.ethics.org

Business Ethics
Read the latest articles
http://www.business-ethics.com/

Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983. Since that time, the number of women in the scientific workforce has improved, but it hasn’t exactly skyrocketed. Aerospace engineering students are hoping to change that.

Aerospace engineering can be very exciting — it is rocket science! And women’s careers are taking off fast with opportunities that can be out of this world.

Women at Work in Aerospace Engineering

The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show women accounted for just 13.3 percent of the aerospace workforce in the U.S.. There is no question that engineering is a male-dominated field. But women interested in math and science should take a look at the rewards offered by this field of study.

“There are wonderful opportunities for women in engineering, and it can be a rewarding and interesting field of study,” says Amy Lang. She is an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama.

“I myself have found at times both challenging and supportive environments as a female engineer, but by far usually supportive rather than inhibitive throughout my career. The biggest challenge has been in balancing family life with work, but that is the case, I think, in any high-paying career,” says Lang. She has two children.

Women do face unique problems which can be difficult to share with male co-workers.

“You do feel lonely sometimes. It is important to keep contact with other female engineers, both from aerospace engineering and other engineering disciplines,” says Bo Tan. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Ryerson University.

Being a Woman Can Pay Off

The lack of women in engineering can work to women’s advantage in many cases.

“Federal agencies offering scholarship and job opportunities recognize the lack of women representation in engineering, and aerospace engineering has some of the lowest percentages of female participation,” says Lang. She notes that this lack of female participation becomes more significant at graduate levels and beyond.

Female Students Outnumbered But Not Outperformed

Classrooms are also dominated by male students. Tan says that female students account for five to 10 percent of undergraduates and even fewer post-graduates at her university.

“Although they are outnumbered by their male peers, they usually do pretty well academically and are usually ranked high the class,” says Tan. “Young women who are interested in aerospace engineering should not be discouraged by the male-dominated work environment.”

Female participation numbers are a bit higher at the University of Cincinnati. “Of our aerospace engineering graduating class, 25 percent were women in 2005 and 2007,” says Professor Awatef Hamed. She is the head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at University of Cincinnati.

“I am sure they would agree with me that being female did not present a challenge.”

Professor Keiko Nomura works at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Although she is seeing more women in her mechanical and aerospace engineering classes, she recognizes that women may have difficulties.

“I do know and understand that it is very challenging for women students to be in a male-dominated environment,” says Nomura. She adds that is especially true when it involves dealing with subjects like airplanes and cars. There is a generalization that boys are more familiar and knowledgeable in these areas. “However, there are in fact many male students who are just as unfamiliar and inexperienced with these things,” she points out.

UCSD Girls Get their Motors Running

Building a formula race car may not be a stereotypical hobby for girls, but it revved up some young women engineering students in San Diego. A group of female mechanical and aerospace engineering students at UCSD entered the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) competition. They were the first SAE all-women’s team in the nation.

The competition involves designing, building and racing an open-wheeled, formula-style race car. “The UCSD student team has in the past been active but consisted of all-male students,” says Nomura. “This group of women decided to form their own team and together, learn how to design and build a race car. … They organized a workshop where they had a community advisor come in and give tutorials on automotive engineering.”

It took a lot of time and hard work to learn about race car design and how to work and use equipment in the machine shop. The team succeded in designing and building a car which then competed against over a hundred other colleges and universities in the annual FSAE event.

Female Students Speak Out

Don’t be intimidated by the guys, says Marina Selezneva. She is a fourth-year student of aerospace engineering. “All the girls that I know in engineering are doing great and get better grades than guys in general,” she says. “Plus it wouldn’t be too long until they get full respect from the guys; all it takes is a couple of good marks on midterms or projects.”

Irene Chan is a senior aerospace engineering student at UCSD. She is also president of the UCSD student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

“As a female engineering student, it is difficult to be taken seriously by your male peers. Some may refuse to work in a group with you because you are female, some may not want to study with you,” warns Chan.

Although there are some challenges to overcome, Chan is confident that she’ll be able to make a difference when she gets to work. “Female engineers bring a different perspective and skill sets that are beneficial to a male-dominated field: females are better multitaskers and can provide effective organization; their different, nurturing outlooks of the world provides insight on topics males may not think about regarding safety in their designs or facilitating communication in a group,” she says.

Net Sites

Women in Aerospace
A great support network
http://www.womeninaerospace.org

Society of Women Engineers
A great place to look for scholarships, support, career guidance and more
http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/

Women in Engineering Organization
This is a special page just for girls
http://www.engineering.tufts.edu/wieo/girls.htm

Sally Ride Science
The first American woman in space has a special page with resources for students
http://www.sallyridescience.com/for_girls

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Check out their Kid’s Place page for some fun
http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=473

Here is a nice list from www.greencollarhirhing.com on the top 10 emerging “Green Jobs”. I am not a big fan of using our corn for Ethanol (hello: no GMO/worldwide food shortage/hasn’t worked yet etc…) but anyway I digress..

Here is the list:

10. Land Use Planner: One of the biggest changes necessary to bring our communities up to a level of environmental sustainability, is in urban development. Our cities need to be designed with their ecological impacts taken into consideration, if we are to attain any level of energy efficiency. Visionary planners dedicated to reconfiguring our communities around resource efficiency and decreased waste, will be essential.

 
9. Ecotour Operators: Ecotourism is growing at a rate 3 times that of the overall tourism sector. Knowledgeable workers committed to sustainability and education, will find a wide variety of opportunities within this space. Employees will get to travel while simultaneously helping to spread awareness about the issues facing our environment and society.

 
8. LEED Accredited Builder: The “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” initiative has given rise to a whole new set of rules and implementation standards for construction companies. Knowledgeable green builders will be in high demand as communities push to bring their properties up to these new standards and seek out accredited builders. Additionally, these new green builders will be able to command higher pay rates per square foot of developmen, due to their specialization.

 
7. Environmental Lawyers: When a corporation refuses to comply with its green initiatives and falls behind on its standards compliance responsibilities, an environmental law group steps in. Law professionals representing these cases, serve state and federal government agencies, nonprofit groups, and individuals, as they uphold justice and further the cause of sustainable living.

 
6. Green Building Manager: As buildings make the shift to cleaner energy sources such as sola, wind, and greywater recycling, a new batch of building managers familiar with high-tech energy systems, recycling measures, and energy efficiency standards will be necessary.

 
5. Environmental Engineer: Now that sustainability and energy efficiency have become key words in construction and urban planning, a new breed of engineers have come into favor. These eco-savvy engineers conduct environmental site assessments, create environmental impact statements, and use their knowledge of emissions calculations and soil testing, to coordinate building projects that have sustainability and minimized carbon waste in mind.

 
4. Green Brand Manager: As traditional manufacturing companies are pushed to offer more and more green products, they will have to develop new departments within their corporate structure to handle these projects. One position expected to see a sizeable increase in hiring due to this shift, is brand managers. These jobs will be rooted in communications, and contribute to the marketing of these new green products and services.

 
3. Solar Panel Installer: Solar energy production is one of the most mature businesses with the clean energy market, and its product will be increasingly integrated into both residential and commercial properties in the coming years. Installers for thin film PV modules are projected to be one of the most demanded service professionals as this technology spreads.

 
2. Corn Farmer: As ethanol and other biodiesels continue their ascendancy toward the mainstream, corn farmers will see their harvests increasingly demanded and used in a wider variety of applications. Corn prices have more than tripled in the last 4 years due to this increased demand, and there is no sign of this trend changing in the near future.

 
1. Green Venture Capitalist: As the cleantech sector grows, investors will begin shifting over from more traditional markets in search of increased returns. Renewable energy and other markets aimed at sustainability will see massive capital inflows. The venture capitalists spearheading this shift stand to reap the greatest rewards.

Source: CareerProNews

The medical devices industry has seen much growth in recent years. It offers many job opportunities to those hoping to venture into this field.

The aging of our society appears to have an impact on this field. As people get older, they generally need more medical care.

In the U.S., there are 76 million baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964). And the number of Americans age 65 and older will double over the next 30 years. That’s according to figures released by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

“The aging baby boomer population should be a big bonanza for the health device and supply industry,” says a report by U.S. Business Reporter. “Medical devices have a tendency to be used more by the elderly in disproportionate amounts.”

The report also points out that longer life expectancies are having an impact. “Women have an average life expectancy of 78 years, while men have a life expectancy of approximately 69 years. This bodes well for medical device [and] equipment companies because they can generate more usage for their products with the longer life expectancy.”

Frost and Sullivan is an international market consulting and training company. One of its reports links the recent growth of the industry with an aging society.

“Demand in the medical device industry continues to increase due to the aging baby boom population and the ailments associated with getting older,” says the report.

“In addition to the population getting older, people are becoming more aware of the importance of remaining physically fit. As an increasing number of people are participating in sports and fitness programs, the number of injuries resulting from this has risen as well. This will sustain the growth of the market for medical devices.”

Kevin Murray is the vice-president of regulatory affairs for a medical devices trade association. He agrees. “As people age, they obviously become more susceptible to disease, injury and that type of thing,” he says.

“So there is a demand for medical treatments. And with that comes the demand for more use of medical equipment and devices. So it certainly has provided an opportunity for the industry. And it has also provided an opportunity in the development of new types of devices to treat disease and other types of medical problems that we are seeing an increase in because of our aging society.”

Roy Wallen is the marketing director for a medical device manufacturer. He says the aging boomers will impact the medical device industry in several ways.

“The bulk of experience in the field is with people that are starting to work their way out of the workplace, so having qualified workers is a challenge,” he says. “In addition, as people are aging, it provides more opportunity, a bigger market, for health care related systems.”

Wallen stresses that the number of older people in our society is increasing and there are more medical device systems available. But there are fewer workers. That means a greater reliance on technology. “There are more patients with fewer people to take care of them,” he says.

“In the medical device area, technology is evolving pretty rapidly now,” Murray says.

“We are seeing tremendous developments in products that we hadn’t seen before. And we are seeing some really interesting treatments being developed. I think it potentially could be a pretty exciting area to be involved in. And certainly on a global level, there is a growth opportunity.”

He says growth is limited by cost constraints in Canada, the United States and Europe. “[But] there are also emerging countries that are expanding the market, like China, a lot of the Asian Pacific countries, South America and Latin America,” Murray says.

“Those countries will probably outpace Canada, the United States and Europe in terms of growth and market opportunities. The future is going to be in a lot of these emerging countries, like China, whose population is over one billion.”

There are a number of job opportunities within the medical device industry field. Bob Stiefel is a director of clinical engineering services. He oversees the technicians and engineers who work with the medical devices in that facility.

“The technicians inspect, calibrate and repair medical equipment in the hospital and help users in the safe and proper use of some of the more sophisticated equipment,” he says.

“Engineers evaluate equipment, design changes or new equipment and help in planning for new types of technology to be introduced in the hospital.”

Stiefel says these two fields of work exist within the whole medical device industry. “The same types of folks [technicians and engineers] find jobs in teaching, in manufacturing and in regulatory agencies, all dealing with medical equipment. So there are many aspects to how technical people are employed in the medical device field.”

Those looking to enter this field should major in some form of engineering. “Electrical engineering is very popular, although biomedical is probably the most appropriate…. Mechanical engineering is also very important,” Stiefel says. He adds that pre-med is also an option.

There are also opportunities in marketing. In that case, business classes would be needed, along with a scientific background, according to Murray. “Also, more devices will depend on computer technology. So there may be more positions in software design or writing original code,” he says.

For high school students, strong mathematics skills, the ability to work with computer systems and strength in the life sciences areas are all important, Wallen says.

There are other things high school students can do now to begin to prepare for a job in this field. “The thing that immediately comes to mind is to volunteer for a few weeks or a couple of months in a hospital and, in particular, in an area of the hospital where medical technology is being used or serviced,” says Stiefel.

For those who do decide to pursue this field of study, Stiefel says, there will be jobs waiting for them. “The field is wide open. There is a demand for all types of people in technical fields,” he says.

“These days, we are almost constantly looking for more people for the department. The same is true in other departments, literally around the world.”

The higher-level jobs in this field require extensive education. “But there are a lot of opportunities in laboratory medicine or in entry-level positions that don’t require a high level of education,” Wallen says. “So there really is a range of opportunity for people, depending on what their skills or desires are.”

The rewards of working in the field are an added bonus. “I think that applying one’s interest in technology to medical technology provides a double reward,” Stiefel says.

“For me, it satisfies my interest in technology and it satisfies my desire to contribute to society. It is hard to find an area where you can contribute to society better than in health care.”

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation
A resource for those in the industry
http://www.aami.org/

Medical Device Manufacturers Association
Encourages the development of new medical technology
http://www.medicaldevices.org

Medical Equipment & Technology Association
A wealth of useful resources and information
http://www.activemedia-guide.com/medical_equipment.htm

Cost estimators pay close attention to the bottom line. And they’re in demand as construction companies increasingly rely on them to correctly predict project success.
Construction cost estimators carefully predict architectural, structural and services costs.

George C. Evans is the vice-president of an organization for cost estimators. He says the need for construction estimators is growing as the construction market expands.

“We have a shortage now and it is getting worse,” he says.

“Many of the large construction companies are struggling to acquire and retain their senior people. The junior positions are subject to even more migration as employees try to take advantage of the ‘hot’ market and move up in the industry.”

Construction estimator Brad Nikkel says the construction boom in his area is keeping him busy. “As long as the economy stays healthy, there will be jobs in this field,” he says.

Estimator Richard Ullrich agrees that job prospects are good. “Good estimators are always hard to find.”

As with any business, estimating costs accurately in this field is crucial. Construction cost estimators research the information required by the company in order to decide how to bid profitably on a project.

“The construction industry is more profit-oriented than most industries,” says Evans. “When cost is the primary issue, the people monitoring the cost are the most important people.”

Estimators must take into account the amount and price of labor, location challenges, materials and equipment, taxes, insurance and inflation. They also look at weather and other factors that may affect cost. Technology costs, including computer programming and software, must also be considered.

Estimators gather this information and prepare a cost analysis.

People in this field could work for architects or construction owners. If the company is big enough, estimators might specialize in a certain area, such as framing or excavation work.

According to Occupational Outlook Handbook, more than half of the cost estimators in the U.S. work in the construction industry. The field is expected to grow faster than average through 2016.

You’ll need solid technical skills to get into the field. “Finding candidates with a variety of computer cost estimating experience is difficult,” says estimator Connie Gowder.

“Knowledge of these programs affects hireability,” she says.

According to Nikkel, many estimators draw from a national database for information such as how long it should take a tradesperson to complete a certain task. “This used to be drawn from books and calculations done on sheets.”

Evans notes that computers have increased productivity but haven’t adversely affected job prospects.

“In our office, we have been able to double the volume of work produced as far as measurement goes. However, the real expertise of the profession is pricing. Several of the software systems available have pricing databases included that ‘automatically’ price.

“This is fine for checks and balances, but unless you have people dedicated to nothing but data management, the systems are not current enough to be truly accurate,” he says.

Ullrich agrees. “Keep in mind [that] computers are only a tool and can never price productivity correctly.”

Prospective estimators will likely need a college education.

“Training means going to college — at least four years in a construction management or like program,” says Gowder. “It’s rare to find an estimator without college experience.”

In the U.S., the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering offers certification for estimators. You need four years of industry experience before you can take the exams to become a Certified Cost Consultant (CCC). It takes another four years of experience to become a Certified Cost Engineer (CCE).

Overall, those in the industry see plenty of opportunities for construction cost estimators.

“The prospects are good. If you have a good attitude and some common sense, you can get far in your career as a construction estimator,” says Ullrich.

American Society of Professional Estimators
Read what it has to say about estimating careers
http://www.aspenational.com/

Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering
Offers information on certification for cost estimators around the globe
http://www.aacei.org/

Society of Cost Estimating and Analysis
Dedicated to promoting the industry
http://www.sceaonline.net/

Source: CareerProNews

Simply put, environmental educators are people who teach others about the environment. And since the environment is front page news these days, their career is experiencing renewed interest and big changes.
Who exactly are environmental educators?

 
The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) has about 20,000 members. The breakdown of NAAEE’s membership is a good indication of what environmental educators are doing and where.

 
Brian Day, executive director of NAAEE, says: “Probably about 15 to 20 percent are in the formal education system, with most of them teachers, some of them curriculum developers, some of them science or social studies educators who are overseeing parts of school systems.

 
“Another 15 percent are in higher education.” Day says that they could be teaching in places like the education or forestry departments of colleges and universities.

 
“Then, about [another] half of our members are what I could call non-formal educators,” Day continues. “They work in nature centers, parks, aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens and a myriad of other places.
“And then the last segment works for government, and they can work at the national level — like for the Department of the Environment — or the [state], county or local level.”

 
Moving to a holistic approach
“What people often mistake about environmental education is they think it’s advocacy in the classroom, and that’s just dead wrong,” says Day. “Environmental education is helping students learn at any age — learn how things work so they can make their own individual lifestyle choices and participate in public policy debate.”

 
He explains that environmental education is a lot more than just science. “It’s how natural systems and living systems and human systems all interact, including the social dimension, the political perspective, the economic situation… to why is there global warming, and where should our next energy come from. But if you don’t bring the human dimension to it, then you’re a scientist, not an environmental educator.”
Kristin Poppo is the head of graduate and professional studies at IslandWood, an innovation environmental facility on Bainbridge Island, Washington. She agrees that a holistic approach is important.

 
“There definitely is a growing recognition that we really need to teach our children to care more about the world around them,” she says. “Our programs look at both community and environmental stewardship, and we try to connect those. So we want people who have that broad sense of caring about the world around them.”

 
Poppo herself doesn’t have a science background. Among her many degrees, she has a BA in philosophy and religion, a Master of Divinity, and a PhD in educational foundations.

 
A career path with a few challenges?

 
The largest number of environment educators work in informal settings, as Day indicates. Jobs in these places are often part time, often seasonal, and tend to pay less than jobs in formal education and with the government.

 
Environmental educators often start out in nonprofit organizations to build up experience for their resumes. It can take a little legwork to find these jobs. You have to look for organizations that employ environmental educators and find out if they’ll be hiring in the near future. A diploma or degree from a college or university is usually the minimum requirement for an entry-level job, but this is where things get a little hazy because there really are no hard and fast rules about qualifications.

 
Although nonprofit organizations generally look for people with environment or science backgrounds, Kerri Lanaway says that they’ll also consider individuals with arts, education or even communication backgrounds. Lanaway is the school programs coordinator for a Sierra Club chapter.

 
Chad Stevens is a city park ranger. His job has both environmental and enforcement components. Therefore, “the minimum requirement is generally a two-year diploma in environmental science or a two-year diploma in policing and security,” he says, adding that, “a forestry or other related diploma or degree would also be considered.”

 
In Stevens’ job, educating the public about the environment is just one of many responsibilities, and it’s a very informal one.

 
“We do present programs to the public…” he explains, “but more so, the education component involves brochure development and information dissemination.”

 
The city where Stevens lives and works employs 10 park rangers and offers them a pretty good salary. So competition is fierce when a job is advertised. Stevens says that about 250 people may apply. And while some of the rangers use the job as a stepping stone to something else, Stevens says that some people do stay.

 
For most formal education and government jobs, a bachelor’s degree is typically the minimum requirement. But a master’s degree or a PhD will move you up the ladder faster and earn you more money. Day says that about seven percent of NAAEE’s members earn $90,000 per year or more, so it’s possible to earn a great salary if you get on that track.

 
But even in education and government, the nature of your degree is pretty much open. And this actually reflects an important trend in the whole environmental educator career scene.

 
A changing climate

 
Climate change is a reality, and the climate for environmental educators is changing along with it.
IslandWood, the innovation environmental facility where Kristin Poppo works, is very much at the forefront of new trends. While offering innovative programs for children, adults, families, teachers and graduate students, IslandWood also takes pride in the fact that it pays its educators quite well.

 
“We’ve pretty much set a model for educating that is pretty exemplary, and so people are excited about being a part of our organization,” says Poppo. “But there are a lot of jobs out there in a lot of different areas. And we find that those of our students who are going into teaching, either in public or private schools, are in very high demand.”

 
“There are a few things that are happening right now that are very much changing the nature of environmental education and will cause quite a surge in the number of employers looking for environmental educators,” adds Day. He explains that the NAAEE has just recently become the newest member of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the organization i

n charge of the professional accreditation process for schools, colleges and departments of education.
“We firmly believe that NCATE will formally adopt, based on guidelines we’ve already developed, standards for environmental education and how it’s to be taught at the university level,” says Day. This means that individuals graduating from these institutions will be better qualified to work as environmental educators.
“At the same time,” he continues, “we have legislation introduced in Congress that will provide more money for training teachers in environmental education. And then we have real environmental problems that are getting global attention.”

 
Day also mentions the fact that parents and teachers are becoming more aware that today’s children, for many reasons, are disconnected from the natural world.

 
“It’s a wonderful time to be in this organization,” he adds. “We’re at a place in human history where in the next generation we have to change everything that humans have done on the planet: economics, transportation, energy, the way we build buildings. We need to reconceive everything.”

 
So, do you have a passion to get in on the action? Whatever type of environmental educator you want to be, there’s a job somewhere for you. And since the requirements for this career are still developing, you can probably make your own unique career path to this line of work

North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
Lots of information about standards, guidelines, initiatives, research and more
http://www.naaee.org

 
Career: Environmental Educators
Career profile of an environmental educator provided by CollegeBoard.com
http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers
/profiles/careers/106513.html

 
IslandWood
An innovative facility offering environmental programs
http://www.islandwood.org