Dad of Divas

One Dad's Quest to Regain Control of his Kingdom

Tips For Finding The Right Critical Care Job

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Finding that perfect job as a critical care doctor after finishing your training can be overwhelming and time-consuming. You want to make sure that you find a job that falls in line not only with the line of practice but also your lifestyle. You want to avoid becoming a statistic that says new physicals switch out of their jobs within the first five years in the field. It is important to know the important factors to think about when using a critical care medicine job search tool to find your next critical care job.

Salary And Benefits Matter

Do not feel bad for this being a factor in deciding if a job is a right fit for you or not. Just keep in mind that your salary varies depending on the type of market you are applying in. Big cities like San Francisco or New York, you can expect your salaries to not be that big. Make sure that whatever you do, compare the salaries across different regions along with the cost of living. Those two things in mind will help you decide if you can sustainably live a happy life in that job.

Location, Location, Location

A lot of people base their job options based off of where they want to live. You could base it off of where your family lives or where your partner lives. If you are someone who does not have any family ties, you can pick wherever you want to go. For that reason, paying special attention to the location of a job may not be as important. Make sure that you take into account all things, including the location as some places are just boring to live in no matter how much money you could be making.

Work Environment

This is another thing that is commonly overlooked. Company culture is imperative to make sure you are a great fit. You do not want to find out after two weeks on the job that the company culture does not match your personality. You also do not want to just clock in somewhere to collect a check. That is why a positive work environment is crucial. Know what kind of work environment you want to work in. Is that a hospital, clinic or urgent care? All of these things are good to keep in mind while searching for your first job out of your training.

Intangibles

There are some things about a company that you just cannot explain, but you know it when you see it. What are those intangible things that make you get out of bed in the morning? What are those things that get you excited or motivated to push through when things get difficult? Getting the answers to those questions are crucial so you know what you are looking for. As a great rule of thumb, start looking for a job at least 12 to 18 months out of completing your training. This ensures that you are taking all the time you need to find the perfect fit.

What Is a Pharmacy Technician? A Complete Career Information Guide

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Do pharmacy technicians make a lot of money? Is it a tough job? What certifications are needed? Here’s your complete guide to what is a pharmacy technician.

pharmacy tech

You have an interest in medicine. You know you want a career that helps others, and you know you want a job with good employment availability.

Could a career in pharmacy be for you?

It sure could be. If you’ve ever caught yourself wondering, “What is a pharmacy technician?” you’ll want to know some key factors. If a career in pharmacy interests you, check out the information guide below.

What is a Pharmacy Technician?

A pharmacy technician assists a licensed pharmacist in filling prescription medications. They measure out the prescriptions and provide correct packaging and labeling.

What Makes Pharmacy Tech a Good Career Choice?

There are several reasons to consider becoming a pharmacy technician.

Stable Career

There are ample opportunities and increasing demand in the job market. The aging population and increase in certain diseases ensure there will always be a need for pharmacy technicians. New medications and treatment programs are always developing. With every advancement, there is more need for technicians.

Most occupations have a growth rate of about 7% every ten years. When it comes to pharmacy technicians, the growth rate doubles. Over the next ten years, there will be more than 14% more opportunities as a pharmacy technician.

There is also an abundance of openings across the nation. Therefore, if you are thinking of relocating, chances are you’ll be able to find a job no matter where you move.

Minimal Education

If you’re going through a career change later in life, you can get your education in as quickly as four months. It’s also a quick road to a job if you’re an ambitious college student.

Typically, you only need a high school diploma with on-the-job training. But, most places look to hire someone with formal education. You can get that education through a vocational school or community college.

Well-Paid Job

As a pharmacy technician, you can get paid up to $25 an hour. Though, how much you’ll make exactly depends on your expertise, experience, and education. Where you live and any certifications also come into play.

Job Responsibilities:

Pharmacy technicians fall directly under a pharmacist. They assist the pharmacist in dispensing medications to both individuals and professionals.

However, they also have a list of other duties they may need to follow:

  • Measure the amount of medication
  • Mix or compound some medicines
  • Call doctors for refill authorization
  • Prepare intravenous medication
  • Package and label prescriptions
  • Collect patient information and payment
  • Process insurance claims
  • Take inventory and note supply shortages

Depending on where you may work as a pharmacy technician, you may also need to:

  • Run registers
  • Provide customer service
  • Field customer calls
  • Locate over-the-counter medicine

Skills And Competencies

As with any good career, you’ll need to refine certain work skills in pharmaceutical work. Pharmacy tech school can help craft many of these skills to better prepare you.

Consider your own personal qualities. Do they fit into this list?

  • Active Listening: Technicians need to understand doctors’ orders as well as customers’ requests.
  • Speaking: They need to convey information to pharmacists. They also need to communicate effectively with doctors and customers
  • Attention to detail: Pharmacy technicians need to pay careful attention to details. Mistakes when filling prescriptions or preparing labels can be deadly.
  • Highly organized: Great organization skills help avoid costly and dangerous mistakes.
  • Reading comprehension: Technicians need to understand a large amount of written documentation.

Where Can I Work As a Pharmacy Technician?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 52% of pharmacy technicians work in pharmacies or drug stores. This means most technicians are in retail or grocery stores.

However, there are also opportunities in a variety of other places. Hospitals and other health care facilities employ pharmacy technicians. With the proper education, you could also work within pharmaceutical production or sales.

A few other places technicians can work are:

  • Prisons
  • Primary care organizations
  • Education and training
  • Military
  • Veterinary pharmacy
  • Pharmacy organizations
  • Nursing homes
  • Assisted living centers
  • Mental health institutions
  • Mail-order pharmacies

What Other Jobs Can a Technician Do?

As a pharmacy technician, you can choose to work on a career path that suits you. You can climb the ladder internally, becoming a full-blown technician. Or, you could pursue something a little different.

You could find yourself working at a pharmaceutical company, research lab, the sales force, or more.

How Do I Get a Job as a Pharmacy Technician?

Before you apply to a job opening, clean up your resume and highlight the skills mentioned above. Look for openings online on the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board’s career center. You might also find some listings on general job-search boards.

Volunteer

You might find a volunteer opportunity that will give you experience an employer wants. Look for these opportunities with local pharmacies. If you’re earning a certification, ask around within your program or school.

Internship

Another way to break into your new career is to shadow an experienced technician. This is another great way to get those skills polished for a new full-time career.

Here are some tips to land an internship:

  • Talk with someone you know in the industry for professional insight.
  • Ask your technician program or school about any open opportunities
  • Research internships early on.
  • Update your resume.
  • Make a list of places you’d like to work at. Apply to these places. Remember, there are a variety of places you could work. An internship at a hospital will give you a different outlook than one at a retail shop.

Now What?

Now you know what is a pharmacy technician, it’s time to take your first steps. Take a look at your own resume and find what’s missing. Do some research on local pharmacy programs or online certifications.

Before you know it, you’ll find yourself landing your new, fulfilling career. Check out our blog for more advice on careers and everything else that makes you tick.

 

 

10 Reasons Why Becoming a Nurse is an Ideal Career Path for Dads

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Traditionally, the nursing sector has been overwhelmingly populated by females, as even in today’s world of equal opportunity employment, more than 90% of nurses are women. Although only about 9% of nurses are males, that doesn’t mean that there’s anything that disqualifies a dad from becoming a nurse. In fact, any man who is willing to go against the societal stereotype could easily become a highly favorable candidate because hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities are always looking to hire male nurses in an industry-wide effort to level the undeniable gender inequality that clearly still exists within the profession by any statistical measure. With that said, here are ten reasons why becoming a nurse is actually a great career path for dads:

1. The Ability to Study Online in Your Spare Time

The very phrase “spare time” brings joy to dads who have their hands full between their family and work lives. The idea of working on your education amidst all of that can seem impossible, but online nursing degree programs can be completed from anywhere and at your own pace. You can take the slow approach and work on it 1-3 hours per day, or put in long hours on the weekend to accelerate towards graduation. Plus, once you’ve earned a degree, you can continue to advance your career into other areas of expertise to make yourself eligible for higher-paying nursing jobs. For example, you could work towards becoming a family nurse practitioner to earn a salary of $100k-$150k+ by completing RN to NP programs online.

2. Additional Parenting Skills

Some of the skills and techniques that you’ll learn on your way to becoming a nurse could also come in handy in your role as a dad, as many of the same methodologies that apply to patient care also applying to parenting. All kids face mishaps and injuries from time to time, so having a nurse in the home can always be a benefit for the wellbeing of the family. There aren’t that many jobs that directly improve your parenting skills, but nursing is one of them.

3. Knowledge of First Aid Application

Of course, one of the reasons why nurses are such great parents is because they know how to apply all of the components of a first aid kit. Obviously, such a skill could come in handy during an emergency and in rare scenarios could even mean the difference between life or death; all healthcare professionals are required to learn CPR – a resuscitative technique that can save lives in the event of a near-drowning incident, car accident, or other form of trauma. Likewise, you’ll know the Heimlich maneuver well enough to reliably prevent children from choking, and the list goes on.

4. Stable and Steady Employment

Being able to provide a financially stable and comfortable lifestyle for your children is always going to be one of your top duties as a dad. Becoming a nurse puts you in an ideal position to do that because you’ll never have to worry about finding a job due to the incredibly low unemployment rate in the industry – approximately 98% of qualified nurses are employed.

5. Appealing Salaries

Nursing salaries are typically quite desirable when you consider the relative lack of challenging physical labor involved. As a standard registered nurse (RN), you could start out making anywhere from $47k-$90k, and as you gain experience or advance into other specialties like FNP, that figure can increase to $150k+.

6. The Option to Relocate

The ability to travel and move to other parts of the country or world is always a great advantage for a dad to have because it lets you give your kids a cultured and interesting upbringing. Even if you don’t opt for the nomad-friendly field of travel nursing, you can almost always relocate as any kind of nurse and have a very good chance of finding gainful employment in your new home town.

7. Plenty of Room for Income Improvement

Many careers have very straightforward salary limits and a small amount of job positions that can be pursued after graduation. Nursing, on the other hand, does not have such rigid limitations because there are so many fields that you can expand your skill set into, each with increasingly higher salaries. At the top of the ladder, you’ll find high-paying nursing jobs like Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) which pays up to $240k+ per year.

8. Helping to Alleviate the Nursing Shortage

The healthcare industry not only has a shortage of male nurses, it’s facing a widespread shortage of nurses in general. Thus, dads who become nurses have the chance to help correct the profession’s gender inequality and fill the overall gap that is being left by waves of retiring baby boomers who are leaving thousands of nursing positions open every year.

9. Optimal Job Benefits

Of course, whenever you work for a healthcare facility, you’re going to have access to top-notch benefits like various forms of insurance, vacation days, rewards card programs, and desirable overtime pay rates. Nurses who work for hospitals and clinics often report having better benefits than the perks offered by their previous jobs in other industries.

10. Building Experience in the Medical Field

Finally, pursuing any kind of training or certification in the medical profession is always a wise career path to take because it qualifies you as an eligible job candidate wherever healthcare services are provided. In general, the industry as a whole has one of the lowest industry-wide unemployment rates, so whether you decide to stay a nurse or eventually become a physician, you should always have a great job waiting on you.

A Relatively Quick Educational Path

As an extra consideration in closing, when you compare the 2-year path to graduation that an entry level nursing degree program provides, it becomes a much more appealing option than many other fields that can require anywhere form 4-8 years of education before you can get your first real pay check.

Guiding Your Child onto the Right Career Path

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Guiding Your Child onto the Right Career Path

As a parent, you invest a considerable amount of time into your children’s education in the hopes that they’ll enter a rewarding and financially secure career. Unfortunately, kids have to choose what they want to do with their lives at a time when they’re going through some seismic personal changes that can make even the most stable child irrational.

If you’re lucky, your son or daughter will have known since they could walk that they wanted to be a doctor, paleontologist, or submariner, and they have a clear career path ahead of them. Not all parents are so fortunate, though, so how do you help your child find the right career path when it’s not all clear cut? You have two main options:

Watchful waiting

You could adopt a kind of laissez-faire attitude and just let them work it out on their own. That doesn’t mean abdicating responsibility, but for some families avoiding constant conflict or nagging is the option that works best. You’re still there when your kids need you, offering advice and providing information, counseling them and giving them your thoughts; however, you don’t try and push them into making decisions before they’re ready or force them to follow the path you think is best for them.

Taking the lead

Alternatively, you could adopt a more proactive stance by making suggestions and recommendations, organizing attendance at college open days, and supporting any positive activities that could help your child make a decision about their future. You probably have a good grasp of the kinds of things that interest them and what they’re good at, and you may have some great ideas about how they can turn their talents and interests into a career. With this knowledge, you may be able to direct them towards opportunities they were unaware of or hadn’t considered.

In both of the above scenarios, you as the parent are supporting your child without putting them under undue pressure on the one hand, or leaving them entirely to their own devices on the other. If they’re stuck because they can’t find a course that fits with what they want to do, help them look for other opportunities such as completing a degree online or studying abroad.

You can also suggest alternative routes to a rewarding career, for example, if your child is interested in architecture and design, they might be considering taking a higher qualification in the subject. Courses such as the IPAL (Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure) combine everything your child needs to qualify for professional architectural licensure into a single, accredited program, including the Master of Architecture degree, Architectural Experience Program (AXP) hours, and the Architect Registration Examination (ARE). This might sound like a much better way of achieving their goals and will give them a real confidence boost.

Kids are like snowflakes – every one of them is different, and they respond to different forms of motivation. Some are better left alone, some need a bit of pushing, but there are many different approaches to achieving career success, and with the right kind of help from you, your child will find theirs.

Prepping for a career in medicine + supporting your kids

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Prepping for a career in medicine + supporting your kids

Preparing for a career in medicine is always worthwhile, if this is something that you are particularly interested in and if it intrigues you. The question is, what steps do you need to take in order to enter the healthcare industry, to begin with?

 

Alternatively, does your career allow you to properly support yourself and your kids? If you have a family, or if you want to start one down the line, these questions are critical to consider. Therefore, here are a few tips to keep in mind that will both prepare you and put your mind at ease that you will be financially well off throughout your life.

 

Deciding if it’s right for you

Is a career in medicine right for you? Take some time to imagine yourself in the role of a nurse, a physiotherapist, a pharmacist, or some other healthcare job. You could even opt to speak to a professional that works in one of these fields, and better determine whether or not this is something that you can also imagine yourself doing and would want to do.

 

Knowing that you will have enough money

There are plenty of medical jobs that are incredibly high paying, and by knowing this, you can also rest easier at night knowing that you will be able to support your loved ones, whether that is your kids, your significant others, or any other family member.

 

In other words, you are picking a career path that you know will result in you being financially stable. Who doesn’t want that, after all? Being unable to make ends meet only causes you and everyone else a lot of stress.

 

Completing an undergraduate degree

To go into healthcare, you always need to choose an undergraduate degree, and sometimes this will require additional certifications and specializations after you are done. In the meantime, it’s best to choose a degree that you know will set the groundwork for the type of work that you want to do, so a science-related degree is often advised.

 

Preparing for the MCAT

If you want to become a doctor, you should take the MCAT class to help you get into medical school. In order to pass it and be eligible to attend medical school, however, it’s important that you put in as much practice beforehand and take advantage of any resources provided for you.

 

Work and life balance

Another consideration to keep in mind is what you can do to maintain your work and life balance. After all, you will want to spend time with your family and work at the same time. Make sure that you always choose a job that will let you live the life that you want and imagine for yourself.

 

The most important thing to keep in mind when you want to embark on any new career path is whether or not this is something that suits you. Even if obtaining a job in healthcare is known to provide you with a good salary, that shouldn’t be enough to tempt you to work at a job that you do not like. If you feel that this perfectly aligns with your personality, then this is exactly what you should do.

Dad, I Want To Catch The Bad Guys…

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Dad, I Want To Catch The Bad Guys…

As a parent, one of the important jobs we need to do is help our children figure out what they want to do with their lives and help them plot the route to be successful. With that being said, in this blog post, we are going to take a look at becoming a detective. If your child has the ambition to catch the bad guys in life, here is what you both need to know…

 

Basic details

A detective is an accredited police officer who will work on specialist investigations and complex crime investigations. They are responsible for handling the most serious of crimes, including counter-terrorism, homicide, cyber crime, company fraud, child and public protection, domestic violence, drugs, and robbery. Such a role is suitable for someone who has a strong desire to keep people safe, is effective at solving problems, and thrives on challenges. While any dad may be worried about their child going down this career path, you are bound to be proud too!

 

Work options

There are a number of different types of detective work, and most people will specialize in a certain area. This includes the likes of…

 

 

  • Special Branch – Investigates incidents with regards to international terrorism and national security.
  • Child Protection Department – Deals with offences against children.
  • Firm Arms Squad – Investigates any offences in relation to firearms, for example, potential hostage situations.
  • Drugs Squad – Deals with investigations regarding drug trafficking.
  • Fraud Squad – Deals with financial and company fraud.
  • Criminal Investigations Department (CID) – Handles incidents including racist abuse, domestic abuse, thefts, robbery, serious assaults, and suspicious deaths.

 

 

If you are to work in any of these specialist units, your standard police course is needed as a basis and the you will need to do further professional training too, so this is something your child needs to keep in mind when plotting their career path.

 

Responsibilities

There are a number of different responsibilities your child will have if they become a detective. This includes…

 

  • Managing and leading police staff teams.
  • Keeping up to date with the latest laws and legislation.
  • Working as part of a team.
  • Liasing with external and internal agencies that are relevant to your area of specialism, for example, schools or courts.
  • Assessing and reporting the potential for recruiting informants
  • Identifying witnesses that are appropriate and getting their statements
  • Conducting and participating in arrests, searches, and raids
  • Conducting interrogations and interviews
  • Dealing with forensic material
  • Handling and documenting exhibits
  • Preparing, completing and submitting accurate case papers
  • Analysing and interpreting data, examining records and documents
  • Using cutting-edge technology to aid investigations
  • Developing and evaluating strategies for investigation management
  • Gathering, verifying, and assessing all information
  • Managing and conducting a range of complicated investigations in your specialism

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding regarding the steps that need to be taken in order for your child to become a detective. Hopefully, the information that has been provided above will help to solidify that this is the perfect job role for your child.

How to Help Your Child Navigate a Route to Their Future Career

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How to Help Your Child Navigate a Route to Their Future Career

Children should be allowed to be children; there’s no denying that. They should be allowed to enjoy their youth, and they should be afforded the chance to make mistakes and veer off track at times as they grow through life. This doesn’t, however, mean that you can’t guide your children at certain points in regards to what they’re going to do and how they’re going to act when they have a career in their future as an adult.

No matter how young they may be, you can help your children navigate a route to their future career by pushing them in certain directions and planting different seeds for them. Here’s how to do go about doing this without being an overbearing parent:

 

Keep yourself abreast of the changing world

If you want to offer the most suitable information to your children in regards to what their best career options are and what they can expect from the world of work when they step into it, then you need to keep yourself abreast of the changing world. You need to do so, quite simply, as dealing with starting a career will be different now compared to what it was like when you were just starting out on yours. Specifically, what employers are looking for out of first-time jobbers is now completely different to what they were looking for in your era, and you knowing exactly what they are looking for will help you to prepare your children for it.

What would be even more beneficial to your child is you having some knowledge about the specific industry that they wish to forge a career in. Once your child has an idea about their future goal, even if it is only a rough one, you should be doing all you can to be kept abreast about the changes that have occurred and are containing to occur in it. To do this, simply do a bit go Googling!

 

Teach them skills outside of the classroom

If you want your children to stand any chance of hitting the ground running when they first step into their career, then you have to ensure that they have good grades behind them — this, of course, means pushing them towards academic success by ensuring that they go to school and do the work that they are set. If you want them to stand out from the crowd when they start their career, however, then you need to be teaching them skills outside of the classroom, too. You need to do so because an extra skill on their resume could put your child in a better position than his or her competitors when they start looking for jobs.

One such skill that you could teach your child or have them taught by a professional is how to play an instrument. By doing so, after you’ve used MusiciansFriend.com discount codes to buy the chosen instrument for a lower price than you would have otherwise paid, your little one will have the chance to be a pro at it by the time they reach adulthood. Even if they do not follow a career in music specifically, having the fact that they can play an instrument on their resume will show them to be someone that is willing to dedicate their time to learning new things, and that’ll make them a more appealing employee than somebody without such a stamp of approval.

 

Remain impartial

The most important thing that you can do when seeking to help your child navigate a route to their future career is to remain impartial throughout your task — importantly, this means refraining from pushing them towards following the exact path you took. Whether or not you have unfilled desires in regards to what you didn’t do in your career, it’s not fair for you to fill that void by asking your children to fill it for you. If they want to follow in your footsteps, then, great. If they don’t, make sure not to show your disappointment, ensure that you remain impartial, and remember to encourage individuality at all times.

Taking the advice above doesn’t mean impacting your child’s right to enjoy themselves and make the mistakes of youth. It just means pointing them in the right direction to ensure that they navigate that awkward period of being thrust into the world of work in as healthy and as worthwhile a fashion as possible. Seriously, when you do, they’ll thank you for doing so at some point down the road.

 

Careers For Your Daughters To Consider

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Careers For Your Daughters To Consider

As your daughter starts to consider their future education and the careers they are interested in while in high school they have to look at many different choices as there are many education programs available at colleges and universities. Depending on your daughters’ passions, she can easily find many career areas that will fit into these interest areas. Actually, there a huge number of careers that are new and were not even available five years ago. Since the use of technology continues to increase and is now dominating the daily lives of people around the world, careers in STEM fields continue to expand exponentially. To be clear, high paid jobs often require time and effort to be able to get credentialed or to be qualified for the field. For instance, a surgical technologist or what is sometimes called a scrub is a great career area, but one that not everyone is completely aware. Below you will find a list of careers that girls today should definitely consider as they are contemplating their future.

Coding

One highly recommended career I encourage my own daughters to examine is the field of coding. Our world is controlled by computers and the world will only continue to need highly trained individuals that will allow our computers and the infrastructures of the web and data interface to continue to grow and expand. Front-end developers and web designers are among some of the top wanted careers nowadays and as you look at future career trends, companies are showing that this need will continue to grow into the future.

Scrubs and Surgical Tech

The surgical technologist (or scrub) is a professional health ally that assists with all aspects of surgical care. Scrubs are often critical members of the surgical teams. The surgical techs have a deep acknowledge about the sterile and aseptic techniques and are also responsible for medical equipment such as C-arm fluoroscope and any other kind of orthopedics and angioplasty tools. The surgical technologist often works with other technicians in another field since their discipline can be found in any medical area.

Surgical Technologist careers are estimated to grow in the next few years. As the medical field is also highly affected by technology, the surgical technologists are going to be tasked to perform any assistance for laser and robotics too. The person that chooses to be a surgical technologist will surely have a bright future. As a matter of fact, the surgical tech salary San Diego and other cities is very competitive. Surgical techs in San Diego are making on average $44,330 per year or $21.31 per hour, and this is after finishing a two year program at a community college.

Data Analysts

Being a data analyst is in high demand. If you look online today you will find many jobs posted and in talking to professionals in this field, they have a very difficult time finding people that are qualified or that have an interest in this career area. Since the world is run by data the need for data analysts will continue to grow and expand. The analysis of data assists companies to making better decisions and to allow companies to achieve the outcomes that they set for their overall companies’ success. Companies like Google and Apple, among many others, need many data analysts in order to track their customers, analyze internal and external metrics, report to outside accrediting bodies and more. Data Analysts bring the best quality of services to their clients and this allows the company to achieve higher profits. Data analysts are well paid and the future of these kinds of jobs is astonishing.

Math Careers

Math Careers

Being an expert in math opens many doors for both scientific and non-scientific fields. So many of the systems that are required in businesses today require a degree of understanding when it comes to utilizing algorithms and mathematical formulas. Mastering mathematics will bring more opportunities to any person who wants to get involved in any technical field. Math can also assist greatly when talking about the future of businesses and companies.

 

No one can deny that young people do not have passions when it comes to looking at their future. This is the main reason why I encourage parents all of the time to have their daughters and sons start exploring career areas in middle school if possible. The more informed that kids can be the better decisions that they can make as they move along their own educational journey.

 

Book Review – You Don’t Have to Learn the Hard Way: Making It in the Real World: A Guide for Graduates

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About the Book

When J. R. Parrish went from being a milkman to becoming a self-made millionaire, he learned what it takes to survive and thrive in the real world the hard way. The single most important thing that helped him along the way was finding a mentor who told him he would help him grow twenty years in just one year, and he did.
The education and insights he received were in two areas in which he was never offered a single course in high school or in college—Thoughts and Human Relations.
Now 35 years later, he shares all the vital knowledge he developed over the years so that others may avoid the pitfalls.
His new book, You Don’t Have To Learn The Hard Way, is a crisp, hard-hitting book written and published with a single goal: to convey what J.R. wishes someone would have given him when he was starting out—a no-nonsense blueprint for personal and professional success.
J. R. Parrish offers up a wealth of heartfelt and experience-based wisdom covering six key areas of life: human relations; habits; making your dreams come true; dating, marriage, and parenting; career and finance; and love and truth. He carefully explains and offers guidance that’s easy-to-understand and use, and will be of immense help to each and every high school and college graduate. His ideas will be particularly valuable to those just getting out of the military, or who find themselves unemployed and are looking for a new job or career. Here is a sample of the ideas he offers:
Opportunity
“You never know when your opportunities will come or what form they will take. A fundamental secret of success is to be ready for your opportunities when they appear. Opportunity does you no good if you’re not in a position to take advantage of it.”
Thoughts
“Your thoughts are your preview of your life’s coming attractions. We are not taught how to think, yet everything is a thought before it is a thing or action. Once you learn to control your thoughts you begin to control your life.”
Human Relations
“Practicing good human relations skills means giving another person what he or she wants in order to get what you want. It means keeping the other person’s ego intact at all times. Learning human relations skills is the fastest way to improve every aspect of your life.”
Mentors
“Life is not always neat and clean. Mentors are human and subject to the same temptations as others, but their wisdom is priceless. Don’t expect that your mentor will be perfect. None of us are. I have made many mistakes. Learn the lessons mentors can teach you, always remembering that they are also human.”
Everyone’s Greatest Need
“Everyone’s greatest need after food, clothing and shelter is the need to feel important. You will win or lose with people in direct proportion to your ability to satisfy their need to feel important.”
Self-Discipline
“Self-discipline means doing what you should when you don’t feel like doing it. The habit of self-discipline is the underpinning of making your life turn out the way you want.”
Decisiveness
“It’s a sign of confidence to be decisive and displaying confidence breeds confidence. If you’re indecisive, someone else will grab the gold ring while you’re mulling things over. To learn decisiveness, you must practice it.”
Being in the Present
“Learn to accept whatever the present moment contains and work with it, not against it. If you find yourself complaining, you are not accepting what is. Stress is not caused by being here but by wanting to be somewhere else. Learn to stay present and watch your life transform.”
Saving Money
“Money in the bank gives you courage and allows you to make rational decisions. The sooner you get the savings habit and your money working for you, the better you future will become.”
A Healthy Relationship
“To obtain the most gratifying and fulfilling relationship you can have, don’t be a doormat, keep your relationship fresh and respectful, make sure to have a life of your own, and encourage your partner to do the same.”
Career
“If you choose a profession you’re passionate about, you’ll never have to work a day in your life, because you’ll be doing what you love to do.”
Finances
“If you want financial peace of mind, make it a practice to live below your means.”
Realizing Your Dreams
“Within a dream is the seed of a new reality. To make your dreams come true, they must be specific and backed by absolute commitment.” The exact six steps to follow to make dreams come true is outlined for you.
Parrish says that your success or failure will be determined first and foremost by your thoughts. The greatest secret to success and happiness is to learn what to think and then think it. You will become what you think about and how you think is a habit. Next your future will depend on how effectively you deal with people. Whether you get what you want from people or not will depend on your human relations skills. Every facet of life requires the support of others. Finally nothing you read or learn matters if you do not get into ACTION. Knowing and not doing is still not to know. Nothing happens until you ACT.
About the Author
J. R. Parrish went from being a milkman to a multimillionaire. In 1974, he founded J. R. Parrish Inc., a commercial real estate company in Silicon Valley. He ran the company based on the premise that to succeed in life, you must treat people with fairness and respect, a premise that not only won him friends, but made him a fortune. J.R. spent the next 25 years studying and teaching his employees and brokers about human relations. The company grew to be a huge success and one of the premier real estate brokerage firms in Silicon Valley. J.R. retired in 1999. Today, he and his wife, Lisa, live on their own coffee plantation in one of the most idyllic spots in the Hawaiian Islands. He continues to support the ideals he believes in through his foundation. He is also the author of If I’d Known Then What I Know Now: Why Not Learn from the Mistakes of Others?—You Can’t Afford to Make Them All Yourself.

My Take on the Book
This book is both a handbook/workbook that is geared primarily for high school and college students and focuses on the steps that anyone can take to set themselves up for success as they move forward with their lives.Saying this though, there are many key nuggets held within that anyone would be able to learn from.

The book itself was an easy read, with chapters being broken down into topics that young adults can relate to such as: Human Relations, Making you dreams come true, and dating, marriage and parenting.

I liked the fact that the book was interactive, providing quizzes for the reader to take as well as the fact that each chapter was set up with objectives that the reader could reflect on as they went through the chapter itself. The book was true to life and held many examples that were personal to the author, but made the book even easier to relate to.

This book covers a large amount of information in a short amount of space, and is truly a guide that any graduate will gain insights from. So if you know of someone who will soon be graduating, whether it be from high school or college, share this book, as it is definitely one that will start them down a road toward success.

If this book sounds like something that you would like to have as a part of your own library you can find it on Amazon!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.



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