| CAREERS NOW 03-05-08 |
| New College Scholarship Help For Working Moms |
DEAR JOYCE: My husband was just laid off, I'm working two part-time jobs and
we have two children. I have nearly one year of college credits and had hoped to start seriously working on my
bachelor's degree this year. But with things the way they are, I don't see how that can happen. Do you? - S. L.T.
A new financial window may have opened for you if you want to study online at home at the times you choose. Apply
for help from a new $2 million fund in full-ride scholarships to working mothers across the country at Project
Working Mom - Putting Education to Work (projectWorkingMom.com).
The funding comes from eLearners.com (eLearners.com) in collaboration
with online colleges American Intercontinental University, DeVry University and Walden University.
Most mothers who work full time need financial aid to go to school part time. But the financial aid eligibility
and awards tend to follow guidelines of traditional campus-based full-time study, which shorts people like you.
You'll be amazed at the depth and variety of resources and support you can find at the two Web sites mentioned
above. Competition for the scholarships will be stiff. Hustle your bustle!
DEAR JOYCE: I am a 35-year-old in the technology sales field. My last venture-capital-funded company didn't
weather the economic anxiety well and I don't want to leap into another "permanent" situation that may
turn out to be short-term regardless of my sterling performance. Until the economy is on an upward keel, I'm thinking
of seeking contract work. How's business in the staffing industry for contract employment? Up or down? - W.R.
So far, so good, say the numbers. Contract and temporary employment at U.S. staffing firms remained flat over the
last year, averaging 2.96 million workers per day in both 2006 and 2007. That's according to the American Staffing
Association. Look it up for yourself by viewing the data on americastaffing.net. Click on Staffing Statistics,
then Staffing Employment and Sales Survey or Staffing Index, respectively.
As for what's happening in 2008, anecdotal reports continue to rate the overall picture as favorable for high-end
technical contract workers. You may remember that the staffing industry took a dive in 2002, but, at this writing,
a replay of that downturn isn't on the radar.
DEAR JOYCE: After an arduous job search and several recent job changes, I finally got a good job four months
ago. Then my employer lost a contract and it was déjà vu all over again. Back on the bricks! How
do I get a permanent, secure, long-term job so that I can go back to normal weekend activities like golf and fishing
instead of doing job-search tasks? - L.J.C.
You may be able to find long-term security in the public sector, but here's a thought that increasing numbers of
workers are finding to be true today: All jobs are temporary.
Here are a few related points from one of my favorite work philosophers, Matt Bud, chairman of The Financial Executives
Networking Group, a 27,000 member national organization:
-- After a long search, "landing a job" has such a reassuring ring. If only the "landing" was
all that it was cracked up to be.
-- The job market has changed and we have changed as well. As senior executives, we are no longer working our way
up the career ladder at a large corporation as many of us have in the past. We are typically moving from a large
corporation to a small one where our skills are very much needed.
-- Small companies fall into two broad categories: good ones and bad ones. The good ones get acquired and the bad
ones go out of business. Either way, we can easily be back in the market.
-- There is no actual finish line. If only there were. There are really only stops along the way. Think of each
job you find from now on as a pit stop in the race of life. Keep your engine finely tuned and always running at
a fast idle. You never know when you will be out there racing again.
Email Joyce
Sorry, the volume of mail makes personal replies impossible.