Some people overlook the non-profit sector for jobs because they think salaries are lower. And sometimes that is true, but there are a lot of other benefits that make working for a non-profit a great choice.
Fun and Meaningful Workplace
Because non-profits are dedicated to a cause, most of the employees are at least mildly passionate about it, which makes for a meaningful workplace. Nonprofit careers mean working toward making a difference in the world and that is something you can feel good about. Your coworkers tend to care about the bigger picture more than frivolous details and workplace politics (although that isn’t always true), making it easier to get along with everyone.
Benefits
There are other perks employers offer besides salary – vacation time, flextime, tuition reimbursement, and many more. Non-profits tend to make up for a lower salary with other benefits, like a gym membership or fitness room, or even telecommuting.
Promotions
Non-profits tend to promote internally instead of hiring outside workers because they know the quality of work and value you as a person instead of just as a faceless employee. In smaller non-profits, you often work directly with the Board of Directors and executives, so they have a full understanding of what you bring to the table.
Networking
Attending networking events like fundraisers or benefits, you will often see the same faces, making it easier to make meaningful networking contacts. You can use these relationships to move organizations when the time is right.
The Search
If you are interested in non profit jobs, there are many ways to get your foot in the door. Organizations still post nonprofit jobs on career websites and there are many careers nonprofit search engines out there.
If you’re looking to do any post-graduate education, the odds are good that you’ll need to take the GRE, a standardized test that can best be approximated as the SATs for grad school. Everybody will have their own way of studying for the exam, but whether you’re looking for a Master degree in healthcare administration or a Master of Arts, there are a few pointers that can help anybody looking to do well and improve their chances of getting into the graduate program they want.
Start Early
The earlier you start the more time you have to study. Also, the earlier you start the more time you have to ease into it. As soon as you know that you want to get into a graduate program make sure that the GRE is the exam that they’ll require and then start gathering study materials and begin working on your studying.
Know the Exam
Knowing the parts of the exam will allow you to study in a more effective way. There’s no use in studying biology when it’s not on the test. Math, vocabulary, and analytical writing skills are at a premium to focus your work on those areas of study to maximize your time.
Create a Study Program
There’s no standardized study program you should have, but having some sort of regimented program will definitely help keep you focused on the task at hand. Whether you study in the morning, after dinner, or just on the weekends, create a program that not only works with your study habits, but with your life.
Take Practice Tests
There are numerous practice tests available to those that want them, and it’s best to start taking them as soon as possible. Not only will this get you familiar with the layout of the exam, but you can time yourself to make sure that you’re completing all parts of the exam within the allotted time. Leaving a section blank because you didn’t have time means you don’t even have a chance of being right and getting credit for the question.
Don’t Forget to Rest
Our brains don’t process information as well when we’re tired to be sure to get some rest. Not only will this help you retain the information better, but if you’re well rested you’re more likely to want to study in the first place.
Balance Your Time
This goes hand in hand with starting early and having a study program. Both of those things will allow you to balance your studying with your life and will prevent you from cramming at the very end as you lead up to the exam. We don’t learn as well when we cram so giving yourself enough time to do the studying you want is crucial to learning the material.
Know Your Weaknesses
If your vocabulary is strong you might not need to spend as much time on it as you do your math and analytical writing skills. Be honest with yourself when assessing your weaknesses and adjust your study program accordingly to maximize the time you have to study.
Guest post written by Olivia R Solis, a teacher with a masters in education.
With the increase in global business ventures, knowing other languages is becoming a requirement for some careers. If you happen to know more than one language, there is a career opportunity you might not have considered: translation and interpretation.
First, what’s the difference? Translation deals with the written word, while interpretation deals with the spoken word. Both are similar in that you are taking ideas and concepts from one language to another, opening up barriers between cultures. You can do one or both.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job prospects are much better than average because of the increase in global commerce. Earnings depend on experience, language skills and other factors like most careers. There are many different places you can work from large international companies to schools, hospitals and courtrooms.
There are many translation agencies around the world, from Washington D.C. to London to Beijing so you have different opportunities for where to live. A career in interpretation or translation will offer many incredible opportunities for travel and exploration of the world.
One of the best things about this career path is that the flexibility: you can be full-time with a translation company or you can freelance and be self-employed. Flexibility in an industry allows you to make your own choices and find what works best for you and your future.
Psychology majors and sociology majors often go into social work, which is a lucrative field even though pay is moderate. The outlook for a career in social work is expected to increase 16 percent through 2018, which is higher than average. If you are interested in helping others, this might be the career for you. Social workers help many different types of people from all lifestyles and stages of life.
You need a bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology or sociology generally and a graduate degree will improve your job outlook and salary possibilities. There are social work positions available in both the public sector and private sector. The majority of job openings are in the health and social services, but you can also find work as a family or marriage counselor.
As with most career choices, you will also need continuing education to ensure you stay abreast of industry trends and changes. There are many opportunities online for social work continuing education courses to help further your career. This field is always growing and is very promising for graduates that want to help others and improve society.
In the world of the internet and ebooks, another avenue to earn extra money is to self-publish books. If you are a decent or good writer, this can be an easy way to supplement your income.
Write Your Book
The first step to self publishing is to write your book. Figure out what kind of book you want to write. Start with an outline and then fill in the gaps. Niche books do a lot better because you will have less competitors. Once you’ve finished writing, review and revise. Then send it to some friends to get their opinions.
Publish Your Book
Once you’ve finished writing your book, it’s time to publish it. There are many book publishers online that offer self publishing for ebooks, including Amazon and Lulu. Do some research and decide which book publisher is the right one for you.
Promote Your Book
To get the most out of your self published ebook, you need to promote it. There are ways to promote your ebook for free, on message boards and blogs, and ways that cost money, like search engine ads. If you don’t want to spend money promoting your book, you will need to spend some time. Look for blogs and websites that are relevant to your ebook and post comments with links to your book.
If you want to take it a step further, create a niche blog and link to your book. If you are good with websites and search engine optimization, you can get traffic funneled to your self published ebook with some up-front effort and little maintenance down the road.
For those of you going into the education field, there are many opportunities available to help you become a better educator. There are online resources and products that can help you teach your students better critical thinking skills, math skills and much more.
Some products include card sets, flip charts and flash cards to help students improve their academic success. You want to make sure that you are setting your students up for success by using the right teaching strategies. By using a critical thinking strategy guide, you will help your students learn through different styles, leading to an increased chance of success.
Flash cards and flip charts can also help your students improve their learning skills and allow you to learn better strategies for teaching. Vocabulary is one of the most important areas of learning for students and by using the right teaching tools, more students will do better in school.
Information Technology, also known as IT, is one of the most promising technical fields because computers are becoming more prominent in all aspects of life. IT is an industry that is constantly growing and also doesn’t require a specific type of education. You can get a career in information technology with a bachelor’s degree from a traditional university, you can get a master’s degree or phD, or you can get an associate’s degree from a community college or technical school.
You also aren’t limited to any one specific area of information technology because it’s such a broad field. There are many different avenues to pursue for IT training; there are also online and traditional training courses available to you.
The first step to decide if IT is a good career path for you is to learn more about the field and about possible careers. You can work on many different kinds of systems, from Windows to Linux to Mac, to Java programming and VM Ware. There are many websites decided to information technology and you can begin your research there or talk to a career counselor. You can also call and speak to specialists in the field and ask them what their day-to-day operations are like.
Information technology is a very promising field with many different options and career paths.
