Your Ad Here

Can Your Online Earnings Replace Your Day Job Salary?

Posted on 1:43 AM Labels: , , ,
"Can my online earnings replace my day job income?" This is a pinching question to many part-time freelancers. While we have seen a growing number of online marketers who are achieving success in their niche, to a greater number of people, diving into the world of freelancing is too risky.


How do we assess if we are ready to go become a full-time online freelancer? I think it all boils down to the lifestyle that each individual wants to achieve. We as individuals have different needs. By knowing these needs we can at least figure out our long term goals about our online business. We can ask ourselves questions such as these:

Do I see myself working for someone in the next 10 to 20 years?

Is it my passion? Can I adjust my lifestyle so that I can launch my freelance career? What am I willing to sacrifice?

Can my online income pay my bills and can it sustain my chosen lifestyle?

Do I have enough reserve savings in case the cash flow becomes unstable?

Do I already have multiple streams of income to cover for all my expenses and leisure needs?

Another important question is "Do I see myself as a worker or as a business entity?"

There are so many factors and all are risky. But come to think of it, all our decisions in life has its own risks. While a lot of us have dived into the world of online freelancing, we've also been in the situation when we have feared the uncertain.






image credit: 123rf.com
Free Image RF License  Read More......

In the Business of Enhancing Kids' Intelligence

Posted on 2:47 AM Labels: , , , , ,
It is not an easy task to think of ways to market a business service especially if or service the product you're offering something that's outside the basic necessities of people. Here's what I did.

Building a business greatly anchors on creating and impressing a need. If your target customers don't see a need, they won't buy the product or service. It's that simple.

It was the start of the summer in 2005 and I was trying to recover from my teaching hiatus after giving birth to my second child. Expenses were catching up on us and I had to think fast. I badly needed to relaunch the studio.

I thought to myself, "How in the world will I convince parents that their children need piano lessons?"
In a country where the development of musical skill is the least of the parents' priorities, let alone classical music, private music studio teachers like myself have to either be really good at marketing the need or have to be well-known to get a sustainable number of students. I am not famous; so that leaves me with the other option.

That Eureka moment came when it finally dawned upon me that all parents wanted to have intelligent children. They will buy anything that will make their kids more intelligent and perform better than their classmates.

I made a back-to-back advertorial with articles about how music stimulates brain activity. The articles were supported by research findings and all those needed auxiliary data. I inserted a small text block in the middle of the page that contains my contact number and piano tutorial service offered. No hard selling, just information and a contact number. These were printed by Risograph and distributed by a guy I hired for the day to insert each folded paper onto the gates and mailboxes of each village residence. On some days, I had to do the inserting myself (talk about old fashioned junk mail and spamming!) thinking that soon enough the bills will be paid and there will be more food on the table.

After the Holy Week, my phone and our doorbell kept ringing. My small music studio schedule was full for the whole summer … and beyond. Most of them did not stop taking lessons until they entered college; some even stayed until just before they completed a bachelor's degree.

While I did not fully believe back then that music can truly stimulate the brain for better academic results, most of the students who took lessons for more than 5 years became scholars and graduated with flying colors. It was only years later that I have seen the results with my own eyes. Read More......

Food and Beverage Servers Online Certification and Training

Posted on 8:46 PM Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
400081_Learn2Serve
Hospitality jobs are always in demand.  Learn how you can get your Food and Beverage Certification online.

www.learn2serve.com is a company that provides online training and certification for Food Safety, Alcohol Safety and TABC Certification. 

image credit

Learn2Serve is in partnership with 360training a top provider of regulated online certification training courses accredited by the US government. Learn2Serve courses are designed for the hospitality industry such as hotel, restaurant, bar, convenience store and grocery employees and managers. Presently, being USA's leading provider of online alcohol seller/server and food safety manager certification training courses, Learn2Serve offers a convenient option to on-campus and classroom based instruction without compromising the quality of training expected. The two main elements of the Learn2Serve training solution include interactive, self-paced alcohol seller and server (certifications, as well as) food safety manager (FSM) training.

Learn2Serve Online Alcohol Seller & Server Certification Training offers the following courses:

TABC Certifications
-TABC Seller Server Training
-Texas Food Handler Certification
-TABC Seller Server + Food Handler

Food Manager Certification     
Alcohol Seller Certification
Food Handler Training
Alcohol Seller Server Courses
Food Safety Training Courses

The website of Learn2Serve also features Hospitality Jobs, Training Programs, Affiliate Program, Blog and News, Certification Reminder, and others.

Learn2Serve's online certification training courses are recognized or approved in over 30 US states including the most popular accreditations such as:

    The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC)
    Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC)
    Wisconsin Department of Revenue
    California Coordinating Council on Responsible Beverage Service (CCCRB)
    Comptroller of Maryland, Colorado - Eagle County Liquor Control
    South Carolina Department of Revenue

Visit Learn2Serve website and get your hospitality online certification now.
www.learn2serve.com

400081_Learn2Serve

© 2012 Athena Goodlight
Read More......

IT Jobs: Computer Help Desk Technician

Posted on 7:18 PM Labels: , , , , , , , ,

image via Wikipedia

The coming of computers in the workplace has permitted employees to complete daily tasks with more efficiency than ever before. Nevertheless, when a computer goes on the fritz, no one saves time. Most big companies fight this problem by maintaining a staff of technicians in the office who would be able to respond to computer troubles at a moment's notice so that the least amount of time will be wasted on computer glitches.
It is not strange for a computer help desk technician to come on at a job and find an employee frantic or on the verge of tears. This is usually the case when the employee has spent hours working on a project that seems to no longer exist in the computer files. Computer help desk technicians must be knowledgeable both in computer software and hardware. These technicians would also need to be able to come up with solutions rapidly, as employees are often in a rush to get back to their work, but can't do so till the computer problem has been sorted out.

The salary in this field will vary immensely depending on the area in which you live and the type of company in which you are employed. Someone starting out in this type of work could expect to earn a salary in the $35,000s, but within five years you could expect to make somewhere in the range of $53,000. The job market for computer technicians is still quite healthy, although some companies have turned to hiring consultants to do this type of work.

A bachelor's degree in a computer-related subject—most preferably computer science—is what nearly all employers are looking for in a prospective employee. Employers would also want someone who already has experience working in the field, whether you got this from a part-time job or from an internship.

 If you believe you have the characteristics needed for this field, it's good to know that for the most part, people who do this type of work are quite interested in and knowledgeable about computers. But perhaps more importantly, they should be able to work comfortably with people.

© 2012 Tip Writer
Read More......

What is a Data Retrieval Specialist?

Posted on 7:09 AM Labels: , , , , , , ,


A lot of company officials use accountants' and auditors' reports to judge the financial health of their companies, and they create earnings and sales projections based on those numbers. Many of the figures are pulled out from extensive computer databases that call for a high level of expertise to operate. Enter the data retrieval specialist. This job involves working with the auditing or finance department of a company to pick information from databases and electronic archives. Though the common perception of a database is a highly ordered system that offers information with the stroke of a computer key, a lot of database systems are merely a free- form collection of information from which pulling up financial data is like pulling teeth.

Data retrieval experts spend hours and occasionally days searching for a certain piece of information—be it sales figures for a particular day around five years ago or storewide layaway plan balances. Usually, retrieval specialists write software programs intended specifically to extract the data.   

The pay depends on the size of the company, the part of the country where in you're working, and your experience. The average yearly salary for a data retrieval specialist with a few years of experience is $55,000 to $61,000.

Your prospects include companies that have become much more reliant on their computer systems through the years, and this field has expanded consequently. A lot of companies are realizing that to use their systems with efficiency, they need experts who understand its inner workings. That made this a fast-growing job category.

The standard college background for this job is a bachelor's degree in computer science or information systems. Some people begin in auditing or finance and move into this field. Irrespective of a person's major, computer programming skills are really important. You also must know database programming languages and be knowledgeable about database systems.

It would help if you are the type of person who can't take no for an answer. As you search across files for information, you'll run into blocks and dead ends. Loads of determination and self-motivation are needed to thrive in this job.

© 2012 Tip Writer 
Read More......

Careers in Electronics: Electronics Technician

Posted on 4:14 AM Labels: , , , , ,

While electrical engineers design circuitry, electronics technicians make certain that it works. If something goes wrong with a circuit, technicians act like investigators, isolating the problem and coming up with solutions. That usually calls for working with the engineer who made it to make changes and testing it over again to make sure it's operating properly.  Technicians likewise design circuit prototypes- using either actual materials or a computer model-to test, out the design. They meet with customers to talk about their needs, and if the design does not include all the customer's product demands, the technicians will either make alterations themselves or instruct the engineers on what's necessary. Helping a product move from a computer design to the real stuff is one of the rewards of being an electronics technician. Since technology is always changing, so is the work, making no two projects the same.


The expected annual salaries start in the low- to mid-$49,000 range. With a few years of experience, electronics technicians can earn $68,000 or more a year.
Good prospects for this job include the government, which has traditionally employed a huge number of electronics technicians, but has been cutting down demands for this expertise in recent years due to a decrease in weapons contracts. Demand in the private sector, nevertheless, is increasing. The ever-growing semiconductor industry, for instance, employs a large number of technicians.

The minimum qualification is a two-year associate's degree in an area like electrical engineering technology. Computer programming and troubleshooting skills are also essential. Some companies prefer these with a few years of experience, while others hire employees right out of school.

You have to posses some characteristics like being organized and able to meet tight deadlines. You will also need to have a heavy interest in electronics and in making things work.

© 2012 Tip Writer
Read More......

What Do Environmental Engineers Do?

Posted on 5:49 AM Labels: , , , , ,


Being an environmental engineer involves cleaning up past mistakes and plans new facilities designed to prevent mistakes in the future. Private environmental consulting firms are usually hired by state and federal government to determine the ideal way to clean up contaminated industrial sites. An environmental engineer may be invited in, if, for instance, a manufacturing plant has buried toxic waste that has started seeping into the water supply. The engineer will evaluate the site, introduce a plan for cleaning it up, and assist in overseeing the cleanup process.

Environmental engineers are also employed to design and oversee construction of facilities like water and sewage treatment pipe lines, plants and pump stations,. This job calls for a lot of fieldwork. Instead of just sitting in front of a computer all day, environmental engineers spend a lot of time in doing biological and chemical analysis, research and working with regulators, clients, contractors, and the public, which in several cases is determining the bill for cleanups and new facilities.

When it comes to salary, Environmental Engineers can expect to start at  $43,000 to $53,300 a year (as of 2010). The average mid-level salary is about $46,800 to $59,000, while salaries for those in the top management can surpass $200,000. The pay is basically dependent on experience and, in a few cases, on the quantity of work an individual brings in.

Not too long ago, somewhere in the late 80s and early 90s, growth was explosive and demand for engineers was quite high. Then it was a steady decline from 10 to 15 percent a year to about 5 percent. The industry is more crowded, and breaking in isn't as easy as it used to be. Recently, though, there has been an increasing demand for environmental engineers with companies needing assistance in complying with environmental regulations.

A minimum of a bachelor's degree in engineering or geology is required, and a master's degree is occasionally preferred. Some companies hire engineers right out of college, while others opt to hire those having a few years of field experience.

You can expect to meet with clients and producing presentations, so you have to be comfortable speaking in public and working closely with other people.

© 2012 Tip Writer

Read More......
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)