HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

My cousin recently has shopped around for assistance for her mba school application.  She has found that the application process and acceptance is extremely competitive. It is hard to imagine that if your academic record is very impressive, that it would be so hard to get into a program that you will be paying into, rather than them paying you. On the other hand, I have been looking for a job lately, and I second guess myself time about my qualifications. I couldn’t comprehend until now that she was going through the same internal dialogue.

Admit Advantage is a service that she has looked at. It is group that focuses on helping you mold yourself into a stronger candidate.  Indecision really plagues many potential students. On the one hand, you want to appear to be open minded about the ultimate career path you will take, but if you are not careful, it looks like you are very unfocused and not quite so driven.  There is no way that you will be accepted into the program that is your first selection if you appear that you are willing to blow whichever way the wind takes you, rather than exhibiting the more positive trait of adaptivity.

There is complementary admissions assessment that helps you determine if you are truly ready to send in your application, and if not, how to get there. Often, when you apply to a program, there is only one chance to make a first impression.  One typically does not get to amend their application if they think that it is poor.

If you are pursuing this path in life, I wish you the best of luck, and encourage you to put your best foot forward.

There have been quite a few layoffs in my are due to the close of car dealerships and others. There are people finding they are competing for a smaller number of jobs, but there are others looking at it as an opportunity. They are going back to school, or retraining themselves with new skills. It is hard sometimes to get plugged into a course, as you may have decided that to take it while the semester was already in progress. There is Microsoft training available online at Learn.com. They don’t merely have computer training, but they have a wide range of other courses that test you on measurable skills. In fact, you can choose to have your results shared with potential employers.

I remember taking some computer based courses when I used to temp. They used it as a pre-hire exercise to assess my skills in a very concrete way. The format allows you to take an online tutorial to learn the skills, or you can dive into an assessment right off the bat. The choice is yours. The most common usage, just like I alluded to, is to assess potential hires and expand the skills of current employees.  However, it can be used to increase the amount of skills that you can bring to the table.

When I was in my early trainings, training like this helped me jump from working in a production plant to being at the customer service desk and making more money.  I think production is a lot of fun, but I needed a way to prove my skills so they would look at me for the other job rather than using subjective criteria and just thinking that I might be good.  One of the reason I wanted it was because I was going to school, or trying to, and the hours were amicable.   Of course, I had to run around town to do so, unlike having Learn.com for my employer to test me or take initiative on my own.

When anyone grumbles that the sky is falling, I always remember that there are great opportunities out there when the status quo is broken.  So, seize the day.  If that position above you opens at your company, why shouldn’t it be you?

When I was a kid, I took to the water like a fish.  My parents made sure, even though we lived in the city, that I knew how to swim just in case anything were to happen.  We went to the metro parks on occasion, and had relatives who had cottages, and it gave them peace of mind that we would be able to right ourselves if we slipped or fell in.  The other important thing is not panicking.   Even if you know a little bit about swimming, if you panic, you can sink like a stone.   Actually, I think I took it all for granted.

There were kids that lived near us that had never been swimming before outside of a small wading pool.  I just thought it was a given that other kids could swim.   MidwestSportsFans.Com and DallasSportsFans.Com, in partnership with Generational Equity, have donated money to the YMCA to bring swimming lessons to low income areas.   Each group of children is given eight weeks of basics and survival skills.   Many children drown each year, and sometimes it is due to panic, and even having parents who cannot swim themselves.  The groups involved want to make sure the children not only have a fighting chance, but they learn a new activity that is fun, and will benefit their health as well.

A woman I recently met was telling me about her children. She has a daughter in medical school and a son in college. The son is participating in a australia study abroad program this year, while the daughter is volunteering for Doctors Without Borders. Her children are very well rounded and wildly successful, which should make any mother proud. However, they are that way despite the upheaval, trials, and tribulations, that the mother has had with her husband. I know so many individuals who had a parent that constantly threw family life in a tailspin and their lives seemed to never be able to right themselves, and here were two young people who were confident.

My new friend explained that when times were rocky, she encouraged her children. She sent them on mission trips in high school, while other kids went to the beach or puttered around the house.  She send them on to semesters abroad, or just in town to their local Habitat for Humanity build.   She would scrape and save and work two jobs to do so, but at an early age, they helped others and broadened their horizons. A outfit like Carpediemeducation.org has a lot of opportunities for individuals to go on a semester abroad, even if a particular school that you are attending doesn’t offer it.  All trips include a strong basis in community service.

Another new concept that is popular in Europe, but relatively new here is “gap year.”  It is common for students to transition from high school to college by taking a year off and traveling, volunteering, or exploring themselves in other ways.   I have known people who have taken a year off, and it actually made it harder to go to college because they were mired in a full time job and other commitments had also cropped up.  However, I would imagine if you had a structured environment, such as these programs allow, you would have greater success.  You may just find yourself, when the time comes, being a bit more narrowed down on a major versus spending your first year at college figuring out just what you would like to pursue.

The only thing that left me a bit quizzical was an answer to a question on the site, where they are asked if the program has any religious affiliation, like other “helping” programs do.   It is not, which is perfectly fine, but they go on to state, “If anything we try and expose our students to as many different perspectives as the program can provide and make every effort to be welcoming of every perspective. We believe that no amount of dogma can truly capture an individual’s relationship with the world that surrounds them.”

I was a little disappointed by their elaboration, as how can it be stated that they are “welcoming of every perspective,” make it a point of exposing students to other cultures, yet the language implies a judgment that traditional faith is automatically dogma by proxy.  It would seem to me that this statement goes directly contrary of being welcoming to every perspective, unless I somehow misread.  As for myself, I find that my faith actually enhances a relationship with my surroundings.  There is no way to compartmentalize my wonder, and for some that wonder is their inner drive to reach out and help others, or to just sit in wonder at nature.

No matter, I encourage you to allow your teenagers and college students the opportunity to reach out beyond their four walls and touch the world, and how to travel independently.  If you had a gap year between high school and college, please let me know how that worked out, and if you have ever been on a semester abroad, I would be interested to hear about it too.   Did it propel you into a lifelong love of volunteering, was it a one shot experience, or did you already have the drive before you went?

AmeriGlide is a company that makes stair lifts and residential elevators to aid individuals in mobility. Not only are they a company that makes products that help people, but they also give back by having a scholarship competition two semesters a year. Pictured, at left, is Kristen Jackson, who received the previous award.  She is from Anchorage, Alaska, and is currently enrolled in the St Louis University Clinical Psychology Doctorate program.

The scholarship is open to any college student that uses a manual or electric wheelchair. They must be enrolled in college full time, be a United States resident or have a legal visa, and maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or better. Deadline for entry is July 31st.  You must submit the application online, or have it postmarked by July 31st.   Although the award is merit based, there is an essay question that will also be weighed.

For this entry period, the choice of essay questions are as follows:

1) What area of your school do you think would benefit from improved accessibility and how would you improve it?
2) What area of your school do you feel has excellent accessibility and why?

Students must write an essay of at least 500 words.  It can be submitted in hard copy or online, but must be turned in attached to the application, rather than under separate cover.  For more information, visit http://www.ameriglide.com/scholarship

A recent article in the paper stated that success is created by education, not by someone’s initial financial situation, ethnic group, or even IQ.   That is why it is so important to make sure children are exposed to a foundation in the basics.

While public schools do receive funding from property taxes, there are often projects that are not funded that teachers and parents feel would make a certain difference in the education of children. Donorschoose.org handles and solicits School Donations in a very novel way. Teachers write a proposal of what they would like to accomplish, and donors can choose to fund whichever teacher’s project catches their interest, rather than blindly donating and not knowing if the money is going to an actual project or not.

One teacher pleads:

“The “book room” in my school hasn’t changed too much since they first opened their doors in 1939….

If I were to get a class set of these books (35 copies of each book), I could share them with the rest of the classes and teachers. The outdated books we do have are falling apart and barely scratch the surface of what students are interested in today. There usually isn’t even enough copies of any one novel for one or more classes. I cannot even begin to describe how important materials are to my ability to reach my students. The biggest obstacle facing my department and school are resources and the money to buy them.

Stephen Colbert is the celebrity spokesperson for Donorschoose.org, encouraging donations to projects for military base schools. These schools are not always on bases, but may serve children of military families as well as children at the poverty level. Some children have the additional challenge of having a parent who is deployed. One such school has a teacher asking for sterile slides and the like for biology class. It is harder for her students to learn with contaminated material.

If you have been wanting to directly donate to a cause that supports the education of students rather than give to a large organization, where you can’t be sure where your money goes, consider checking out DonorsChoose.

Many folks that I have volunteered with mentioned that they might like to start a career as a Vet Assistant. This way, they can make a bigger difference in helping animals at their organization. There is often some confusion on what the difference between a Veterinary Technician and a Vet Assistant is.

I just found a site that lists all the requirements for various career paths at MyPursuit.com. There are not only job duties listed but skill sets, requirements, and ways to train for over 350+ jobs and schools. It did, in fact, outline the differences between the two roles.

Veterinary Technician:

If you are thinking about becoming a veterinary technician be prepared to attend a minimum of 2 years of college, pass a 4 hour exam, and work in a clinic before you are eligible to apply for license and/or certification.

Certification is offered for 3 levels of technician competence: Animal Laboratory Assistant Technician (ALAT), Laboratory Animal Technician (LAT), and Laboratory Animal Technologist (LATG).

Veterinary Assistant:

Most veterinary assistants gain experience from on-the-job training, volunteer opportunities, or via veterinary assistant internet courses. Distant learning courses over the internet can lead to certifications, which provide an overview of the career, including: animal handling procedures, medical procedures, treatment techniques, business transactions and pharmacology. Training usually takes 6 months or less.

While a Veterinary Technician can perform all the duties a Vet Assistant can, the key difference is that a Vet Tech is able to provide clinical care, and assist during surgery under the supervision of a Vet. A Vet Tech can also administer vaccinations as well.  While the Veterinarian may perform your dog’s spay surgery, the Vet Tech would assist, and later give your dog their necessary vaccinations.  In this scenario, the Vet Assistant would have handled your intake forms, and could have given your dog a soft blanket and something to drink during recovery.  In a small practice, the Vet Tech may have handled that role as well.

Income for a Vet Tech ranges from the approximately $18,000 to $40,000, depending upon geographical location and time on the job.   A Vet Assistant averages about $22,000. This may be a differential as many Vet Assistants may be part time, but also has to do with not having the additional formal schooling, ability to stand in for a vet, and experience to command a larger salary.

Good luck in whatever career path you should decide.  The role of Vet Assistant is something you can more easily break in to, but income directly depends on schooling.

A friend of mine is taking the social work exam very shortly. Social workers are often on the front line when it comes to various neglect cases, though there are social workers that perform a variety of other roles as well.   Although the forecast for health care workers of all sorts, such as nurses, and pharmacists, seem to be more and more solid, I was surprised to see that social workers were not always the same. I

n a recent report on Michigan Jobs, it was stated that while there is a high and growing demand for nurses, such that would influence people to go back to school for a career change, social workers were sometimes being cut. I am not sure why there seems to be such a surplus. If you are interested in social work, do not let that discourage you.  It just means that you need to be more competitive with the training you receive and the willingness to work.  Socialworkguide.com has study materials to give you a leg up, just like there are books and sites for medical and bar exams.  You may want to check out a variety of resources to see what may boost your study skills so that you can get the highest leg up that you can.

Many of my readers are feeling the crunch these days of automotive layoffs. The single biggest industry that is continuing to hire and grow by leaps and bounds is the health care industry. Arizona School of Health Sciences Programs have a variety of curriculums that help people transition to a new industry. While someone may not go back to school for years, and make a career change as a doctor, being a physician assistant or an occupational therapist is a more obtainable goal.  You will be able to work in your field sooner, and will experience more face time with patients.  Some potential students may not choose health care, believing that they will be stuck in a lab.  In truth, many of these positions involve talking with people all day long.

There is distance learning for masters of science degrees that can fit around your work schedule.  Sometimes people get advanced warning that they will be downsized, and start school while still at their jobs.  Others who are laid off don’t have the luxury of attending full time initially as well. In other words, Health Sciences Online Programs may be just the perfect fit to transition into a new life, and stability for your family.

I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that there was actually a calling to be a hacker. I mean, you can get a paying job with your existing computer hacking skills, or you can learn them for an exciting new career. Did I read that correctly? In fact, I did. An important part of IT Security is finding out if software or a computer system can stand up to the abuse and meddling of hackers and viruses. What better way to do it than to let your in house and contract hackers to have a go at it before it reaches the market place?

This kind of work is called “Ethical Hacking.”  There are actually all sorts of classes that you can take in the effort to make your websites more secure.

Did you also know that there are items that should be restricted from Google so that an attacker does not use your site as a “drive by attack.” or worse, use Google as a roadmap to your site which most likely contains sensitive information that you have not secured? Join us for the Secure Coding course and we will show you how to “programmatically” keep your sensitive information out of the prying eyes of Google’s spiders.

Just about anyone can benefit with that type of training. If you want to get more involved, there are also Ethical Hacker certification tracks at the EC-Council. I think this is something I am going to look farther into. The more skills I have, the more employable I will be for a “day job.”

What do you think?  Is this something that can channel the energies of people who would otherwise be up to mischief?