Working for the CIA

Have you ever thought about getting a job with the CIA? Of course you have! Every person has thought about working for the FBI, CIA, DEA, NBC, XOXO, ROFLMAO…I'm getting side tracked. I was just saying that we have all though about working for a big government agency at some point in time. Most of us just never go through with that idea. If you are serious about learning how to become a CIA agent, you may want to get a better feel for this career. That is what this article is all about. Let's take a look at the work of a CIA agent so you can figure out if you would do well as one.

What Do CIA Agents Do?

We've all heard about the CIA, but do you know what it is actually designed for? The CIA monitors all forms of communication coming from and into the country to detect possible threats and shady business deals. It is in charge of protecting citizens by working in the background. Here are some examples of work you may do in the CIA:

• Assist government officials
• Collect evidence
• Conduct investigations
• Evaluate paper documents
• Monitor telecommunications
• Oversee foreign communications
• Speak to international agents
• Work undercover

If you think a job like that sounds like something you can handle, you may do just fine in the CIA.

What Positions Are Available at the CIA?

There are many different positions in the CIA, and some of them are more specialized than others. Before you decide to become a CIA agent, you may want to decide what kind of agent you want to be. Possibilities include:

• Arabic translator
• Criminal investigator
• Data analyst
• Database administrator
• Detective
• Intelligence analyst
• Intelligence officer
• Nuclear engineer

Where Do CIA Agents Work?

CIA agents work in a variety of government offices, even if they do the same work at the end of the day. You may be asked to work in a business undercover during your time in the CIA, or you may just work at an office like anyone else would. Here is a list of employers you may work through as a CIA agent:

• CIA agencies
• Companies
• Government offices
• Investigation firms
• Law enforcement offices
• Law offices
• The White House

What Do CIA Agents Make?

As a whole, CIA agents have the chance to make some pretty good money during their careers. They may not make as much as some other government employees, but they can definitely hold their own. Enough of my chit chat though. Here is a look at what you can make as a CIA agent:

Salary by Experience

• Less than 1 year of experience: $55,330 per year
• 1-4 years of experience: $59,413 per year
• 5-9 years of experience: $87,250 per year
• 10-19 years of experience: $89,500 per year
• 20+ years of experience: $134,846 per year

Salary by Company Size

• 200-599 staff members: $103,000 per year
• 2000-4999 staff members: $97,000 per year
• 5000-19999 staff members: $61,000 per year
• 20000-49999 staff members: $128,658 per year
• 50000+ staff members: $127,447 per year

What Does It Take to Become a CIA Agent?

In order to become a CIA agent, you have to be arrest free and physically fit. On top of that, you need to have a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited university. Some god options to consider include:

• Bachelor of Science in Sociology
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology
• Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
• Bachelor of Science in Accounting
• Bachelor of Commerce in Criminal Justice
• Bachelor of Arts in Social Work
• Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
• Bachelor of Arts in Criminology
• Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice
• Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration

You can check out the CIA's website for more information about the requirements you have to fulfill for the CIA, but one of the degrees above should give you a good foundation to work with. Think about whether or not this is the career for you, and you should be able to go through whatever you need to start your life as an agent.

Make Big Bucks with Fast Typing Skills

Are you a really fast typist? Can you process information quickly and type it with accuracy? Do you know a little bit about how the court system works? If so, you may be able to make some good money as a court reporter. For this job, all you basically have to do is type up what you hear in a court case so that other people can read the minutes later on. You don't have to have a college education to become a court reporter, and you can make a lot of money doing this. It's a win-win situation.



The information below highlights the average earnings for court reporters in the country, just to show you how great your salary could be in this profession.

Salary by Years of Experience

The more experience you have as a court reporter, the more money you can make. People will be willing to pay for your services because they will have a clear view of what you can do. The average salary for court reporters based on years of experience will fall in this range:

• Less than 1 year: $35,000 - $65,000 per year
• 1-4 years: $24,311 - $61,042 per year
• 5-9 years: $30,563 - $92,130 per year
• 10-19 years: $31,262 - $107,235 per year
• 20+ years: $24,511 - $92,279 per year

Salary by Degree

You don't need a college education to work as a court reporter, but having one may help you get a job easier in the future. The average salary for court reporters based on degree will fall in this range:

• Associate's Degree: $14,203 - $87,784 per year
• Bachelor's Degree: $41,845 - $78,611 per year

Salary by Employer Type

Some employers pay their court reporters better money because they expect more out of them. If you type quickly and accurately, you should be able to land a job with a high paying employer over time. The average salary for court reporters based on their employers will fall in this range:

• Company: $25,181 - $159,785 per year
• Federal Government: $49,910 - $65,000 per year
• Private Practice: $23,091 - $345,666 per year
• Self-Employed: $23,270 - $98,920 per year
• State and Local Government: $28,883 - $87,828 per year

Salary by Company Size

You may see a difference in your pay rate based on the size of the organization you work in. Larger companies tend to pay more money, but that is not always the case. The average salary for court reporters based on company size will fall in this range:

• 1-9: $23,901 - $97,313 per year
• 10-49: $23,270 - $83,141 per year
• 50-199: $45,201 - $85,459 per year
• 200-599: $39,996 - $90,000 per year

Salary by Location

Some areas of the country have a higher demand for court reporters than others. Those are the ones that usually have the best paying positions. The average salary for court reporters based on location will fall in this range:

• California: $23,672 - $145,437 per year
• Florida: $29,590 - $79,189 per year
• Georgia: $40,521 - $49,627 per year
• Indiana: $27,514 - $50,868 per year
• Louisiana: $34,392 - $51,275 per year
• New York: $58,000 - $112,260 per year
• Texas: $36,000 - $70,000 per year

The court reporter salaries above show that these men and women do in fact make great money without much of any education. If you know your way around a keyboard and don't mind a fairly monotonous job, this could definitely be a great career for you. Explore your options a little bit and see where they take you. You might be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Becoming a Forensic Psychologist

Forensic psychology has become a popular career pursuit over the years because it combines traditional psychology practices with criminal justice. This creates an interesting field to work in, and it opens the doors for many different career opportunities in the future. Becoming a forensic psychologist is no easy task, and some people say that they pay they get in this field is not worth the time it takes to train in it. Before you jump to that conclusion though, you may want to review the process yourself. Then you can determine if you have enough passion for it to go through 10+ years in college to obtain your forensic psychology degree. Here is an overview of what it takes to become a forensic psychologist.

Getting an Education

In order to become a forensic psychologist, you actually need the same education as a clinical psychologist. You will take courses related to criminal justice as well, but those will mainly be supplements to your psychological training. At the core of your job, you will need to tap into the human mind. Thus that is what the core of your education will revolve around. Common courses in a forensic psychology degree may include:

• Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Behavior
• Court Processes
• Developmental Psychology
• Ethical and Legal Issues in Psychology
• Forensic Interviewing and Evaluation
• Forensic Populations
• Human Sexuality
• Intellectual and Cognitive Functioning
• Introduction to Forensic Psychology
• Psychology and Law
• Social Psychology
• Statistical Application in Forensic Psychology
• Therapeutic Interventions in Clinical Psychology

Most of these will occur at the graduate level of study, since you will have a full four to seven years there, on top of the time you spend getting a bachelor's degree. This degree is time consuming, which is why some people do not think it is worth the effort. If you have a true passion for this field though, you should have no problem justifying your reasons for going through the process. Getting Paid Once you have your degree out of the way, you may have to get certified in forensic psychology. This will depend on the laws in your state. After the certification process though, you can begin working with courts, crime labs, psychology firms, and any other venues you may use for employment. Most forensic psychologists are self-employed, and they work on an on-call basis with the criminal justice system. The rest of the time they spend working with clients just as any other psychologist would. The salary of an average forensic psychologist could be any of the following: By Experience

• <1 year: $36,000 - $70,000 per year
• 1-4 years: $31,123 - $88,569 per year
• 5-9 years: $33,840 - $102,824 per year
• 10-19 years: $29,900 - $242,395 per year
• 20+ years: $50,335 - $248,323 per year

By State

• California: $30,639 - $144,414 per year
• Florida: $33,971 - $115,888 per year
• Georgia: $36,000 - $80,108 per year
• Illinois: $45,781 - $90,000 per year
• New York: $29,590 - $100,189 per year
• Ohio: $40,545 - $101,703 per year
• Texas: $20,134 - $99,329 per year

If you like psychology and criminal justice, you may enjoy working as a forensic psychologist. Only you can determine if the pay is worth the educational effort, but this could turn into a rewarding career if you give it a chance. Think about your options and figure out if this is in fact the path you want to go down. Then you can make an effort to find a school that is right for you.

The Benefits of Becoming a Nurse Practitioner Instead of an RN

Nurse practitioners are men and women that work in the highest levels of nursing. When most people think about becoming a nurse, they think about working as a registered nurse or RN. They don't consider the career that lies beyond that as an NP. This is not a career for everyone, but it is one that comes with significant rewards in the long run. If you can make it through the extra education it takes to become a nurse practitioner, you may be much happier with your life in the end. Here is a look at some of the benefits that may come along with being a nurse practitioner instead of a register nurse.

Higher Positions

When you take on the work of a nurse practitioner, you get the opportunity to manage teams of nurses that you would otherwise be a part of. You also get the chance to act as a doctor in many ways, examining patients, prescribing medications, and even performing minor surgeries in some cases. You don't get that kind of responsibility as an RN. You just get the chance to take care of patients…nothing more. If you go all the way with your career though, you could play a much larger role in the medical community.

Higher Demand

RNs are a dime a dozen, but NPs are much rarer to find. That is why most employers will seek out good practitioners, even if they already have a job. You will have much more job opportunities as an NP than you will as an RN, mainly because there are so many more RNs in the world than there are NPs. You may still face competition when you apply for a job, but you will have a better chance of getting hired as a whole. In this kind of economy, that can make a big impact on your life in the future.

Higher Pay

In most cases, nurse practitioners make significantly more money than registered nurses. That is because they are more educated and carry higher roles within their places of work. If you are looking for a truly lucrative career for the rest of your life, the few years you spend in grad school to become an NP will be well worth the effort in the end. Here is a look at how salary rates vary between registered nurses and nurse practitioners:

Registered Nurse Salary by Years of Experience

• Less than 1 year: $29,220 - $64,297 per year
• 1-4 years: $34,330 - $68,737 per year
• 5-9 years: $39,936 - $77,749 per year
• 10-19 years: $40,373 - $84,371 per year
• 20 years or more: $41,553 - $91,733 per year

Nurse Practitioner Salary by Years of Experience

• Less than 1 year: $59,335 - $86,215 per year
• 1-4 years: $59,520 - $91,952 per year
• 5-9 years: $59,969 - $97,079 per year
• 10-19 years: $59,485 - $104,689 per year
• 20 or more years: $55,261 - $104,588 per year

Conclusion

Becoming a nurse practitioner may be a little tougher than becoming a registered nurse, but it will lead to a much better life as a whole. If you have been debating between these two career choices now, you may want to lean towards the higher paying one. With a little education and a second certification, you could be well on your way to an exciting and rewarding career. You just have to take the time to be a part of it.

The Work of an Executive Assistant

An executive assistant is a high-end administrative assistant that works with officers at the corporate level. Executive assistants are often responsible for caring after one or two professionals in an office, not a huge set of them like administrative assistants. This line of work comes with immense responsibility, and it is certainly not for everyone. Before you consider becoming an executive assistant, you may want to figure out if this job is right for you. Listed below are some common job duties and pay rates that you can use to figure out the appropriateness of this job for your life.

Job Duties of an Executive Assistant

Executive assistants are the go-to workers at the corporate level. They take on the roles that most other people do not have time for at the executive level, and they are often in charge of all the leftover duties for one specific board member in a company. The job duties that you may have to tackle as an executive assistant will vary based on the specific employer you work for. Here is an overview of some of the basics:

• Doing whatever the boss needs done (literally)
• Managing administrative assistants in an office
• Preparing the minutes at corporate board meetings
• Performing all the clerical duties for an executive's office
• Organizing paperwork for the office
• Scheduling appointments with executive officers

You may have to take on many other job duties as an executive assistant, so be prepared to learn a lot in a short period of time. If you can be flexible enough to pick up on new skills at all times, you should do quite well in executive assistance.

Salary Levels for Executive Assistants

Executive assistants make more money than administrative assistants, but that does not mean they are rolling in the dough. Most of them do not make really good money until they have been in their positions for a long time, and even then, they may be under paid for their work. There are tons of different factors that go into determining a person's executive assistant salary, like location, education, experience, industry, and employer type. You will not know how much you can make in this position until you actually get into your career. Here are some average pay rates that you can use to approximate your future salary.

Salary by Years of Experience

• Less than 1 year: $25,145 - $48,693 a year
• 1-4 years: $28,219 - $54,890 a year
• 5-9 years: $31,588 - $64,390 a year
• 10-19 years: $36,261 - $70,030 a year
• 20 years or more: $37,128 - $73,352 a year

Salary by Company Size

• 1-9: $27,599 - $59,233 a year
• 10-49: $29,348 - $65,872 a year
• 50-199: $32,018 - $65,722 a year
• 200-599: $34,937 - $66,901 a year
• 600-1999: $35,785 - $69,815 a year
• 2000-4999: $36,925 - $71,868 a year
• 5000-19999: $38,240 - $72,353 a year
• 20000-49999: $40,144 - $74,584 a year
• 50000+: $41,818 - $71,872 a year

How to Become an Executive Assistant

To become an executive assistant, you must first learn how to become an administrative assistant. You can get a business administration degree of some sort, or you could just start working as an administrative assistant and move up from there. The college degree will give you the best possible chance at finding a job quickly, especially if you have a master's degree. With the right education, all you will have to do is apply for work and hope you are selected for the position. Think hard about whether or not this is the right career for you, and then do whatever it takes to get the job done in the end.

Making Money as an Article Spinner

Article spinning is a unique sector of article marketing that takes regular articles and "spins" them so they can generate different versions of the same content time and time again. An article spinner is a person that can manipulate articles to produce these different versions in a natural-sounding way. This is not an easy task to do, but it is something that can lead to a decent paycheck if you know what you are doing. If you have a firm grasp on the English language and a desire to earn some extra cash, article spinning may be a great career opportunity for you. Here is a look at how the process works so you can determine if it is a good path for you.

The Basics of Article Spinning

Article spinning all happens through the use of spintax and article generators. A writer takes and article and converts it to spintax, and then his or her spintaxed article is put into a generator to produce hundreds or even thousands of articles for the web. Here is an example of spintax:

Original sentence – "Article spinning is great."
Spun sentence – "Article spinning is {great|awesome|terrific}."

The spun version could go into an article generator to produce "Article spinning is great," "Article spinning is awesome," and "Article spinning is terrific." The changes can grow exponentially based on the number of words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs you spin . Nevertheless, that gives you a brief idea of how the job works.

The Pay of Article Spinning

The amount of money that you can make as an article spinner will depend on what someone is willing to pay you. If you decide to work by the hour, you can probably expect to make $10 to $20 an hour, depending on how experienced you are. If you work in a fixed price situation, then it is really hard to say what you can make as a spinner. I usually figure out how many extra words I'm going to be adding to a piece, and then I charge 25% higher than my normal per word rate to accommodate for the time I spend actually spinning the article. You can try to figure out how much time it would take for you to spin an article to your client's specifications, and then you can determine how much your time is worth.

The Craziness of Article Spinning

Some clients expect their work to be more spun than others, so you have to expect to come across some complicated projects if you make this a career. Here is a short sample of an article I had to do for a client once, just to show you the complexity you could run into:

{On the other side of the {fragrance|aroma|scent} spectrum is the powerful aroma of vanilla.|Vanilla{, on the other hand,|} is {desired|wanted|preferred} for its {high potency|potency|strong smell}.|Vanilla is {quite|} the {opposite|contrast}, {desired|wanted|preferred} for its {high level of aroma|potency|powerful aroma}.} {Vanilla has a lot more {kick|power |strength} to it than lavender, and its {fragrance|aroma|scent} is more associated with cooking than serenity. |Vanilla is much {stronger|more powerful|more potent} than lavendar and far less calming.|Vanilla is the {powerful big {brother|sibling}|big {brother|sibling}|older {brother|sibling}} to lavender, much {stronger|more powerful|more potent} and demanding than the little purple flower.} {Vanilla candles are just as {desired|wanted|preferred} as lavender candles, but for {different|other|differing} reasons.|Vanilla candles are {desired|wanted|preferred} {just|} as much as lavender ones, but for different reasons.} {The {scent|oder|aroma|fragrance} of vanilla is {universally|widely|internationally} accepted and is used in lotions and perfumes as well.|Vanilla has not only been used in candles, but {its|it is|it's} also employed in {lotion and perfumes|perfumes and body wash|bath products and body spray} as well.} Vanilla candles though seem to {turn|come|show} up in every {household|home|house}, and {they have a timelessness about their {scent|oder|aroma|fragrance} that is pure {intoxication|utopia|perfection}.|they {are seemingly|seem to be|are almost} everlasting.|they are more {recognized|recognizable|accepted} than a lot of other candles.}

Is your head spinning yet? Yes that was a pun. Now you can laugh and contemplate if you are fit for this job. Sound like a plan? Good. See you later!

Can You Make a Lot of Money on eBay?

eBay used to be a site where people could put up their old junk and hope other people would bid on it. Nowadays though, it is actually a venue for money making online. If you have been looking for a new career at home, you may think about selling products on eBay. There are pros and cons that come along with this, so you need to be really careful about jumping into that kind of work. It may not be as profitable as you think it is. Here is an overview of the money you could logically make on eBay, courtesy of someone who has gone through this process herself.

The Fees on eBay

There are tons of fees on eBay any time you make a post, more so than most people realize. Here are just some of the many fees that you could come across with your eBay business:

• Posting fees: you have to pay a certain amount of money for posting an item on eBay, regardless of whether or not it sells. The more you do with the posting, the more money you will have to pay. Little things like adding a purple border to it or adding a Buy It Now option will boost the cost of your posting. If you consistently struggle to make a sale, you will be forced to pay out without making any money in return.
• Selling fees: If you happen to sell an item on eBay, you will be charged with a percentage of the sale price. This is a sum of money on top of your posting fee. The value of your selling fee will depend on the cost of your item, but it will quickly eat away at your profits.
• PayPal fees: If you manage your money through PayPal, you may have to pay a fee for the money you transfer. This will depend on the type of PayPal account you have and the amount of money that you are transferring from place to place. For instance, you may have to pay a fee to send your money to your bank account if you need it sent instantly. You can look into PayPal's terms of use for more information on that regard.
• Shipping fees: You will obviously have to pay money to ship out whatever item you sell. This will probably cost more than you think it should. My husband and I once sold a single trading card, and it cost more to ship the damn thing than it did for someone else to buy it from us. All of this adds up over time.
• Taxes: On top of all of the fees above, you will have to pay taxes on the amount of money you make from eBay, assuming you turn this into a career. Self-employed taxes are 15.3%, so kiss 1/6 of your money goodbye from the start.

As you can see, there are a ton of costs that come along with selling items on eBay. You have to factor in all of those fees in order to make anything close to an executive assistant salary in the future.

Can You Make Money on eBay?

Yes, you can make money on eBay. You just have to buy items at a really low price so you can sell them high enough to still make a profit. If you overprice the items, you will lose the customers. If you underprice them, you will lose your revenue. Keep all of this in mind, and you can determine if you want to venture into eBay sales or not.

Is the Risk of Being a Corrections Officer Worth the Reward?

A corrections officer is a law enforcement official that works within the prison system. He or she is in charge of protecting workers from inmates and inmates from one another. This can be a highly dangerous job, especially in maximum security prisons. Very few people are willing to go through the training and the risk to become a corrections officer, mainly because they don't think the money will be worth it in the end. Before you rule out this career entirely, you may want to figure out if the money you could be paid within it would be worth the risk you have to go through for it. Here are some corrections officer salary statistics to keep in mind.

Salary by Years of Experience

• Less than 1 year: $20,401 - $48,479 per year
• 1-4 years: $23,030 - $49,090 per year
• 5-9 years: $26,094 - $58,065 per year
• 10-19 years: $27,894 - $62,167 per year
• 20 years or more: $33,739 - $85,791 per year

Salary by Industry

• Armed Forces: $25,000 - $41,584 per year
• Government: $27,807 - $63,679 per year
• Law Enforcement: $23,299 - $57,709 per year
• Public Law Offices: $20,635 - $32,556 per year
• Secure Correctional Facility: $23,764 - $58,424 per year
• Security Guard Services: $32,526 - $43,281 per year
• Security: $29,385 - $59,764 per year

Salary by Degree

• Associate's Degree: $27,139 - $60,300 per year
• Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice: $24,483 - $72,744 per year
• Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice: $20,426 - $48,936 per year

Salary by Employer Type

• Company: $25,838 - $51,177 per year
• Contract: $25,549 - $40,695 per year
• Federal Government: $23,535 - $59,549 per year
• State and Local Government: $24,209 - $58,726 per year
• Other Organization: $24,000 - $30,723 per year

Salary by Gender

• Male: $29,881 - $49,025 per year
• Female: $27,452 - $36,001 per year

Salary by Company Size

• 10-49: $19,200 - $50,000 per year
• 50-199: $24,893 - $55,985 per year
• 200-599: $25,438 - $59,154 per year
• 600-1999: $26,833 - $61,480 per year
• 2000-4999: $22,429 - $86,088 per year
• 5000-19999: $28,626 - $80,497 per year
• 20000-49999: $29,457 - $73,456 per year
• 50000+ $28,500 - $53,112 per year

Salary by Location

• California : $31,540 - $75,961 per year
• Florida: $28,666 - $59,628 per year
• Georgia: $23,504 - $42,188 per year
• New York: $36,503 - $64,635 per year
• North Carolina: $21,297 - $36,746 per year
• Texas: $23,368 - $40,264 per year
• Virginia: $27,957 - $52,357 per year

Salary by the Hour

• Less than 1 year: $8.31 - $17.00 per hour
• 1-4 years: $9.77 - $19.48 per hour
• 5-9 years: $11.92 - $25.06 per hour
• 10-19 years: $12.83 - $28.61 per hour
• 20 years or more: $14.77 - $37.87 per hour

As you can see, corrections officers make pretty good money as a whole. They definitely make more money than police officers, but they don't earn as much as some other members of the criminal justice system. The main reward that may come from this profession is knowing that you are protecting other people in a time of need. If you enjoy that idea, this could be a great career for you. It is taxing, stressful, and dangerous, but it does have its perks in the long run. Think long and hard about your situation, and determine if you may make a good corrections officer in the future.

Forensic Science: The Money behind the Lucrative Career

Forensic science is a branch of criminal justice that involves the scientific evidence that go into committing crimes. There are many different kinds of forensic science jobs out there, and each of them has a different set of responsibilities that go along with it. If you decide to become a forensic scientist in the future, you should be pleased to learn that your salary levels will be high on an annual basis. You just have to go through a little bit of training to get to those salary levels. Here are a few charts to show you just how much money you could earn in this profession. You can use them to determine if the education is worth the effort for you.

Salary by Employer Type

• State and Local Government: $30,670 - $85,402 per year
• Federal Government: $29,087 - $128,763 per year
• Company: $34,179 - $109,262 per year

Salary by Company Size

• 10-49: $40,724 - $81,716 per year
• 50-199: $37,000 - $83,500 per year
• 200-599: $37,340 - $81,389 per year
• 600-1999: $54,000 - $123,992 per year
• 50000+: $22,500 - $146,000 per year

Salary by Experience

• Less than 1 year: $27,404 - $76,596 per year
• 1-4 years: $29,905 - $79,678 per year
• 5-9 years: $32,787 - $123,138 per year
• 10-19 years: $39,149 - $124,757 per year
• 20 years or more: $75,000 - $112,000 per year

Salary by Gender

• Male: $40,525 - $93,598 per year
• Female: $37,151 - $62,713 per year

Salary by Location

• Washington, D.C.: $48,980 - $213,500 per year
• Chicago, Illinois: $54,045 - $63,879 per year
• Seattle, Washington: $41,437 - $56,810 per year
• Lost Angeles, California: $39,305 - $68,163 per year
• Atlanta, Georgia: $30,167 - $110,055 per year
• New York City, New York: $30,000 - $140,000 per year

Salary by Degree

• Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry: $39,500 - $180,000 per year
• Bachelor of Science in Biology: $29,669 - $79,713 per year
• Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science: $34,000 - $97,000 per year
• Master of Science in Forensic Science: $30,201 - $74,710 per year

Salary by Industry

• Government: $33,072 - $98,436 per year
• Law Enforcement: $32,288 - $99,091 per year
• Professional, Analytical and Laboratory Services: $30,139 - $88,951 per year
• Public Law Offices: $28,993 - $84,327 per year
• Science and Engineering Services: $29,694 - $93,196 per year

Forensic scientists may not make as much as some other people, but they certainly hold their own when it comes to criminal justice careers. They provide the foundation for many criminal trials in the modern world. That is why they make the money that they do. If you have been looking for a profitable and exciting field to pursue a life in, this could certainly be an option for you. You just have to put the time and effort to get the degree you need for forensic science. With the way this career is growing, you should have no trouble finding a job within it in the future. Research the education it may take to get involved with this lucrative career, and you could be well on your way to a successful profession in the future.

Fixed Price vs. Hourly Jobs – Which Ones Pay the Most?

In the world of freelance writing, you have the option of getting paid by the hour or by the article. There are pros and cons to both options, so you have to figure out what the best one is for you specifically. I tend to make more money working by the article than I do by the hour, but that is because I can work quickly. Some other people would lose a ton of money in the day if they got paid by the article. Let's take a look at both of these options more closely so you can determine how you want to get paid in the future.

The Pros and Cons of Hourly Pay

The best part about getting paid by the hour is that you will earn the same money no matter how long it takes you to write an article. If you have to research one article extensively, you will be paid for your research time. With fixed price work, you don't have that opportunity. You just have to eat up the time and hope you can make up for it with other work.

The reason I don't like hourly pay rates is because I get a lot more done in an hour than most other writers do. Thus I am working my buns off without getting compensated for it. It takes me 15 to 20 minutes to write a 600 word article, including research time. It takes some people an hour or more to do the same thing. Thus I am actually losing money by getting paid hourly, and I have no motivation to get through my work quickly. Because of all of that, I just prefer to work by the article.

The Pros and Cons of Fixed Price Jobs

The best part about fixed price work is knowing what you will be paid from the start. You have a certain word count to abide by and a certain pay rate per word. If you get paid $.02/word and you have to write a 600 word article, you know you will be paid roughly $12 for your article – no matter how quickly you get it done. If you get three or four of those articles done an hour like I do, you can quickly see where the profits come from.

The problem with fixed price work is that it doesn't take into account the time you spend outside of writing. Some articles only take a couple of minutes to research, but others may take a half hour or more. In those situations, I usually charge a higher rate per word or ask the client if I can get paid some form of compensation for my efforts. Most people are willing to work around that to make sure I get paid for my time.

Choosing the Right Jobs for You

Only you know what sort of pay you should be getting for your work. If you are a quick writer who has a firm grasp on writing for the web, you may want to look into fixed price work. If you are more of a slow and steady kind of writer, you might fare better with an hourly paying job. As long as you find good clients to work with, you should be able to secure the pay you need no matter what. Do a little calculating to find out where you are going to make the most money, and then you can adjust your work plans to make the most money possible in freelance writing.

Do You Need a College Degree to Make Money as a Freelancer?

Whenever I tell people that I make money writing online, most of them ask if I have a degree in English, journalism, or something along those lines. I actually don't have a college degree at all, even though I make more money a year than most people that have college degrees. That is just because I'm dedicated to my job, and quite frankly, I'm good at what I do. Nevertheless, it seems that most people assume that you have to have a degree in order to work in this kind of profession. That couldn't be further from the truth.

You don't need to have a college degree to make money as a freelancer. In fact, freelance writing is a great way to supplement your scholarships and grants so that you can get through school without having to worry about finding a job. Let's take a look at how that balance works so you can figure out how to potentially use this career path to make money without a college degree.

Most Job Postings Ask for College Degrees

If you like to look for jobs on Craigslist, you have probably seen a ton of employers asking for at least a bachelor's degree in a certain subject for applicants to be considered for a job. While it is nice to have a degree to apply for those positions, you should not be discouraged by the fact that you don't have one. I usually write something at the very beginning of my cover letter that says…

"I realize that I do not meet the degree requirements that you outlined in your job posting, but I have been writing online for three years now. I have a significant amount of experience to back my application, and I would like to be considered for this position."

It doesn't always sound just like that, but you get the idea. I let employers know that I have read the posting and that I am aware of the requirements they have set forth. Then I explain what makes me a worthy candidate despite the fact that I do not meet all the requirements. If you do the same, you may be able to woo someone to see past your lack of a degree.

You Can Make a Lot of Money without a Degree

When you work online, you aren't limited to the employers in a certain area. I have had clients from literally all parts of the world – Australia, Germany, South Africa, India, Bangladesh, Canada, Mexico, and the good old USA. Because of this trait about freelance writing online, you can make more money than you may be able to make in your home town. I live in the Midwest, which is known for having low standards of living. My clients in California pay twice as much for my services as other clients do, just because that is what they expect to pay in their area. You don't have to have a degree to get connected with this kind of money. You just have to have access to the internet.

You Can Pay for Your Degree While You Freelance

You can make a ton of money as a freelance writer just in your spare time, and then you can use that money to pay for your college degree. I actually started this career because I was going to school for an architecture degree. I was in studio for roughly 40 hours a week, and I was still able to make a couple grand a month working part time. If you go to school online, you may be able to schedule your work and your education to all come from your computer. That will give you the most flexible schedule possible, and it could lead to quite an exciting life if you develop the right plan. Check out your career and college options and you should be able to find a good balance of the two.

Using Autocorrect to Speed Up Your Work

The term "autocorrect" is most often associated with the iPhone, and it is known for producing funny messages like these…

Those are courtesy of DamnYouAutocorrect.com, which is one of my favorite sites to go to when I need a good laugh. For this post though, I'm not going to be talking about autocorrect on an iPhone. I'm going to refer to the autocorrect on Microsoft Word, which I encourage every freelance writer to get familiar with. It can greatly speed up your writing time, which will improve your freelance writing pay rates and reduce the amount of work you have to do in a day. Here are some tips to help you use autocorrect effectively in your work.

What Is Autocorrect?

Autocorrect is a program in Microsoft Word that will automatically correct a word that you type incorrectly into a document. When I type the word "dificult" into a Word document, it is autocorrected to say "difficult" when I put a space after it. A lot of words are already built into the autocorrect system, but you will have to input others as you go. In time, you can customize your autocorrect to fix most of your typos for you.

How to Add Words to Autocorrect

Every person has a different set of typos that he or she makes on a regular basis. I tend to type the word "the" as "teh" or "hte," so I have my autocorrects set to fix those mistakes as I type. You are going to have to add words to your autocorrect database so your MS Word will correct your specific typos. Here are two ways to add words to autocorrect:

• Right-click mistyped words: One of the easiest ways to add words to autocorrect is to click on them as you type. If you see a word underlined in red, you can right click on it and go to "Autocorrect." Then you can click on the word that you want to replace it with in the future. I do this all the time, and I rarely have mistyped words now.
• Manually add words: The right click option doesn't always work if MS Word doesn't have a word suggested for your typo. In that case, you will have to manually add the word to the database. Click the "File" tab and go down to "Options." Then go to the "Proofing" section and select "Autocorrect Options." That will display a bar that you can enter the typo and correction into. Save your changes, and you won't have to worry about that specific typo in the future. You can also find this in the right click option at the bottom of the list of suggested words, if a list comes up.

Try to add as many words to your autocorrect system as possible, even if you think you will never come across them again. You never know when you may get a new client that needs you to write about the same information in the future.

Be Careful about What You Add

Think about an autocorrect word before you set it up because there may be two different autocorrect options that you would use on a regular basis. For instance, the autocorrect suggestions for "situatin" are "situation" and "situating." If you use both options on a regular basis, you need to make sure you avoid autocorrecting a word incorrectly. Just watch what you type and you should be able to get a custom autocorrect dictionary that is perfect to your style of typing.

20 Keyboard Shortcuts Every Freelancer Needs

Freelance writing is one of those jobs that usually pays by the amount of work you can get done, not the amount of hours you work. Thus you have to be able to do as much as you can to cut down your work time if you want to do really well in this business. That is where keyboard shortcuts come into play. These simply little devices can shave a ton of time off your typing, and they can help you work as effectively as possible. You will inevitably use some of the same commands over and over while you write. These just give you an easier way to go about executing them. Every second you save is just more money in your pocket. Here are 20 keyboard shortcuts every freelancer should know about:

• Ctrl+C: Copy
• Ctrl+V: Paste
• Ctrl+S: Save (works for documents, emails, and more)
• Ctrl+A: Select all (highlights everything on a page)
• Ctrl+F: Find (works on MS Word, Notepad, and most web browsers)
• Ctrl+H: Replace (works on MS Word and Notepad)
• Ctrl+B: Bold (turns to "bookmark" in web browsers)
• Ctrl+I: Italicize
• Ctrl+U: Underline
• Ctrl+T: New tab in web browser
• Ctrl+N: New page (works in text editors and web browsers)
• Ctrl+Z: Undo (probably my favorite command)
• Ctrl+X: Cut
• Ctrl+Enter: Page break
• Shift+Enter: Single line break
• Shift+F7: Thesaurus (only in MS Word)
• Tab: Next section of a form on a web browser
• Backspace: "Go back" on web browsers
• Ctrl+Alt+Delete: Shuts down computer or pulls up task bar
• F5: Refresh a page on a web browser

There are tons of other keyboard shortcuts you may find use out of. Those are just the ones that I us on a fairly regular basis. Here are a few links to give you an idea of the sheer magnitude of shortcuts out there: Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts, Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts, and Firefox keyboard shortcuts.

How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Using keyboard shortcuts is fairly simple, depending on what you are doing at the time. If you are trying to copy, paste, or do something along those lines, you will need to first highlight whatever it is you want to use the command on. Then you can just hit your shortcut to execute the command. Example:

If I want to copy the word "awesome" in this sentence, I would first highlight awesome and then hit Ctrl+C. Then if I want to paste it, I would hit Ctrl+V to produce: awesome. Try it yourself and see what you think.

For keyboard shortcuts related to web browsers, you need to make sure you have clicked somewhere on the page to be able to execute the command. If your mouse is stationed in your address bar, hitting backspace will only cause you to get rid of a letter in the bar. If you hit backspace after clicking somewhere generic on a page, you will be taken back to the page you were at right before.

Play around with keyboard shortcuts in your online college courses so you get used to them. Once you make them a habit, you will be able to write much faster. I probably save two minutes an article or more just in using shortcuts. That may not sound like much, but it is when I'm writing 30+ articles a day. I literally get an extra hour of work in a day just by using shortcuts. Believe me when I say they are truly beneficial for this kind of work.

How to Format an Article for the Web

Writing for the web is a lot different than writing for a college course or an essay scholarship. With internet writing, you have to keep the search engines and the readers in mind at the same time. While there is no set formula you have to abide by, there are some things you can do to structure an effective article online. I have developed a rhythm to my writing over the years that makes constructing articles incredibly easy. If you develop a similar rhythm, you may find yourself pumping out articles much quicker than you used to. Here is a guide to help you properly format an article for the web.

Introduction

Every good article has some sort of introduction. It allows the reader to get prepared for the information that is about to come, rather than getting slammed with it right away. A lot of writers try to throw facts, steps, or other information like that in the intro of their articles, but that doesn't allow for a good flow in their writing. Try to come up with a way to lead into the body of your article without spending a ton of time introducing it. Define a term, ask a question, or do something else to bring up the topics you are about to discuss. Then you can bring on the facts in the body of the article.

I usually make my introductions about 100 words, depending on the size of the article itself. If there is a keyword that my clients want me to use in my article, I try to put it in the first sentence or the thesis sentence of my introduction. That is something I've learned from just about every internet marketer I've worked with, so there's obviously a positive SEO effect from that.

Finally, I conclude my intro with some sort of summary of what is to come in an article. "Here is a look at…" "Listed below are…" "The guide below will…" All of those little sentences make my articles easier to read. Check out my previous posts and you'll see that I do this almost every time. You probably didn't even notice it.

Body

I'm a huge fan of subheadings, so I try to use them in everything I write. I had one client long ago that actually wouldn't allow me to use subheadings, and it drove me nuts. If you have the chance to use subheadings in the body of your articles, do so. This makes the articles easier to read. If you have a keyword for the article, use it in at least one of the subheadings. If you're writing a how to guide, make sure you write "Step 1 - Bla Bla…" or something along those lines. Just break down the article in a way that it will be easiest to glance through on the reading end.

I typically make my body paragraphs 75 to 125 words a piece, depending on the content I need to cover in them. If you see yourself getting to that 160-ish word count, you may want to consider breaking the paragraph in two. Try to incorporate your keyword at least once in the body of the article, preferably toward the middle. Then you will be able to move on to the conclusion.

Conclusion

Not every web article needs a conclusion, but it is nice to throw one at the end to sum everything up. Insert your keyword one more time, and leave the reader with a farewell message to keep in mind. This will probably only take about 50 words, but you can make it up to 100. Then read over your writing to make sure everything flows well. If you structured your article correctly, you should have a reader- and internet-friendly piece of work that your clients can immediately post on the web.

How to Use oDesk to Find Work

oDesk is a great site to use if you plan to pursue a career in freelance writing. It is a place where contractors and clients can come together to conduct work and process payments. I got my start on oDesk, and I have used it to find many of my best paying clients. It wasn't until recently though that I learned how to truly use it to my advantage. I you are going to try finding work through oDesk, you need to maximize your efforts on there. Here is a look at some of the many things you can do to gain clients through oDesk.

Create an Account

Before you can do much of anything, you are going to need to create an account. This doesn't take long to do, but you will be asked a lot of personal information along the way. That is because the money that you make on oDesk is going to have to be reported on your taxes at the end of the year. oDesk needs a lot of information, like your social security number, to make that happen. You just have to trust that this is a secure site and do what it takes to create an account.

Take Some Tests

Before you can actually apply for a job, you will need to take the oDesk Readiness Test. This is a simple test that just makes sure you know how to use oDesk correctly. If you don't pass the first time, you will have a chance to take it again. All of the answers are given to you on the test though, so you should have no trouble passing it the first time.

Once you get through that test, you will have a chance to take other tests as well. You should take a few tests related to writing so you can show employers your skills. This is something I actually need to do more of because I only took one or two tests when I started this three years ago. The spelling tests and vocabulary tests are fairly easy, but you can look for others that you may do well with. The more tests you take and pass, the more applications you will be able to fill out. Doing this will also enhance your chances of getting hired for work later on.

Complete Your Profile

Try to fill out as much of your profile as possible so employers will be able to find you easier. Upload some of your past work if you have any, and fill out your resume based on your experiences. If you have a degree from Ashworth University or a similar college, put that in your resume. Try to input your skills as much as possible as that will be a way for employers to come find you. The last several jobs I received on oDesk all came from employers who found me in the system. I didn't have to apply for anything. If you have a complete enough profile, you may have a similar experience in the future.

Apply for Jobs

When you have everything in place for work, you can actually go about finding jobs on oDesk. Go to the "Find Work" tab and see which options show up on your home page. If you want to look for more, select one of the categories on the left of the page. Then you can look over jobs that were recently posted and apply for ones you like. Look at the expected pay for the job so you don't bid on something that pays too low for you. You can narrow your options based on the kinds of work you want to do, and then you will have a small list of jobs to apply to. If you look around enough, you should have no issue finding work on this site.

5 Sites Every Freelancer Should Know about

As a freelancer, there are certain sites you are going to come across many many times throughout your career. I actually didn't start making money until I came across a few of these sites, so I thought I would save you the trial and error by revealing them here. The five websites listed below may help you jump start your career in freelance writing. At the very least, they may prove to be vital bookmarks in your web browser. Here are five sites that every freelancer should know about.

1 - oDesk

oDesk is a free website that allows you to bid on freelance work and potentially pick up new clients for steady employment. My very first writing job came from oDesk, and that led to literally thousands of others from my past and present. While I don't exclusively use Desk to find work anymore, I do still use it as a starting ground for finding new employers. My three main clients right now actually came from oDesk at one point in time. I didn't even have to apply for work with them. They came to me asking for my services. If you build up a good reputation on there, you can easily find enough work to pay the bills.

Note that you can find more than just writing jobs on there. There are tons of customer service and administrative assistant jobs that you may like as well. You just have to look around at the job postings and see what you may qualify for.

2 - Copyscape

Copyscape is a site that you can go to when you need to check an article for plagiarism. This may seem silly to use if you know you don't plagiarize your work, but it is still nice to know about. Most likely all of your clients are going to use Copyscape on your work, so you may as well be familiar with how it works. I actually use Copyscape to check my own work if I am asked to rewire an article because it helps me see if I have accidentally used the same wording that someone else has. If something comes back copied, I can fix it before my clients see it.

You will have to pay $.05 per run on Copyscape, but that is money you can write off your taxes at the end of the year. It is a business expense after all. You will have to buy 100 runs to start, so just plan to have $5.00 if you want to use the site.

3 - PayPal

PayPal is the safest way to manage money on the web, and it is a place you will definitely need to know about if you work online. If you work on oDesk, you can use PayPal to transfer your oDesk money from your account to your bank. You could also get paid directly through PayPal if you wanted to. That is what I do with all of my clients because it's fast, convenient, and even free in some cases. It just depends on the way a client sends me money. It won't cost you anything to setup a PayPal account, and you won't regret it the second you do so. I guarantee it.

4 - Dropbox

Dropbox is a file transfer program that you can use to send large files to your clients. I use to have a client that I made a ton of YouTube videos for, and they were simply too large for me to send to him in an email. We just passed everything through Dropbox, and it saved everyone a lot of stress in the end. All you have to do is download the Dropbox on your computer, and then you can drop and drag files to it whenever you need to transfer them. You can share different folders with different people, but you can manage it all from one giant folder. There are free and paid versions of this, so just look at your different options to see what works for you.

5 - Skype

Skype is a free internet communication platform that allows you to call people directly on the web as opposed to using the phone. Skype also has instant messaging and video chat built in, so you can speak to people however you need to. Every client I have ever had used Skype to speak with people in one way or another. In fact, one of my primary clients at the moment manages all of his writers on there. Since it is free to use, you might as well have it on your computer.

I actually don't like using Skype, just because it distracts me from work. Nevertheless, I can't deny the convenience of it. Check this out, along with the other sites above, and you should be on your way to a successful career as a freelance writer.

Would You Be a Good Freelance Writer?

Freelance writing is not a career for everyone, but you may be surprised by just how easy of a career it can be for some people. Most people assume you have to have an English degree or a "way with words" in order to make money in this industry, when really all you need is an understanding of the English language. This may or may not be a career for you, but you won't know until you understand it a little better. Seeing that I am a freelance writer and have been for nearly three years now, I thought I would make a list of some of the qualities you may want to have to work in this industry. Read on to see if freelance writing is a good career for you.

Constant Communication

I probably go through 10 chats a day with web developers, internet marketers, and other clients that I work with for my writing. In this industry, you have to have a good sense of communication. This may involve anything from checking your emails regularly to being available to instant message when the time comes. Clients want to know the status of their work, and most of them have been burned by bad communication in the past. It is your job to keep them informed about your progress so they feel like their work is getting done.

Honesty

Clients don't like to hear false promises on the web. If you can't get to an assignment for three days, let your client know that ahead of time. That way he or she doesn't feel like you just threw his or her work on the backburner. If you were a CIA agent, you wouldn't tell dispatch that you caught someone that you really had no idea about. The same principle applies to internet writing. You need to be honest with your clients at all times if you want to get repeat work from them in the future.

Efficiency

Freelance writing is very much a volume-based career. You get paid more if you can do more. It is as simple as that. If you can handle a large volume of work in a short amount of time, people are more likely to give you work in the future. This is only true if you do quality work of course, so you cannot sacrifice quality for speed. Doing so will only anger your employers and make them assume that you are rushing through your work. Even if you work on hourly jobs, you need to try to get as much done as you can within an hour. That will make your employers happy, which will ultimately keep you in business.

Time Management

In freelance writing, you have to manage your time well. This will keep you on schedule and ensure that your bills get paid every month. It is easy to forget about your schedule when you work on the web because you assume you can work at any time. That is not always the case though. You need to manage your work just like anyone else would if you want to go a long way in this business. Staying on schedule sucks at times, but it is something you just have to do in this industry.

Marketing

In many ways, you have to market yourself in this business. The only way you will make more money as a freelance writer is by continuing to look for job opportunities that may come up. If you can do that and keep your current customers happy, you will have a better shot at making this a long term career for you. You are the one that determines how lucrative of a career freelance writing can be for you. If you market yourself well, you are almost guaranteed to make good money this way.

How Much Money Do Freelance Writers Make?

Freelance writers are people who write for a living without being employed by one specific company. These people may work on the web or in their home towns, depending on where they decide to have a career. I'm a freelance writer, and I've been doing this for almost three years now. This job has the potential to be one of the most lucrative careers you will ever come across, but only if you know how to become a success with it.

Perhaps the biggest question I get asked about what I do is, "How much money do freelance writers make?" As tough of a question as that is to answer, I'll do my best to give it a shot. Here is a look at what you might make if you decide to work as a freelance writer.

Hourly Rates and Fixed Prices

One of the biggest factors in determining how much money freelance writers make is the way in which they get paid. Some writers get paid by the hour, logging their times online and getting paid based on that amount of time. Other writers get paid per article that they write. For slower writers, hourly rates tend to work out better because they are not penalized for working slower than other people. For efficient writers though, fixed price jobs tend to pay more for them in the end.

Let me break down that concept a little more for you. As a starting writer, I was probably able to get through two 500 word articles an hour. I got paid $.01/word when I first started freelancing, which means that I made roughly $10 an hour. If I had found a job that paid $12 an hour to do the same work, it would make more sense for me to take the hourly rate. Nowadays, when I can write four to five 500 word articles an hour, it would make more sense for me to take the fixed price pay. Then I'm making $20-$25 an hour, rather than $10. Get the idea?

Hourly Pay Expectancies

Unfortunately, a lot of clients want to pay really low hourly rates for online writers because they know they can get people in other countries to write for $1 to $5 an hour. You can usually find places that will pay at least minimum wage online, but it may take you a bit. If you have some experience to show people, you may make significantly more than that. Just don't expect to get paid a lot for an hourly job if you're new to the game. You won't be earning a software engineer salary right off the bat.

Fixed Price Pay Expectancies

It is hard to say what the average pay rate for freelance writers is because that all depends on the client and the type of writing involved with a project. Technical articles (like drug descriptions and scientific tutorials) typically pay more money than "fluff" articles (articles used just to get a keyword on the web). You may get paid $10 for a 300 word technical article, where you only make $3 for a fluff article of the same length. You won't truly find out what you can make until you get involved with the job.

On overage, I would say that starting pay for freelance writers is about $.005 to $.01 per word in an article, meaning that a 400 word article will pay between $2 and $4, depending on the client. Once you have a little experience under your belt, you'll make more money. Most writers will bump up from $.01/word to $.015/word. Then they move up to $.02/word. That is roughly the industry standard for most work online, but there are clients that pay higher. I have seen a few jobs that pay $.03/word to $.05/word, but most of those were for technical jobs. If you work with a company long enough, you can earn more money based on raises - just like you would with any other line of work.

That Still Doesn't Answer the Question…

As I said before, there is no definitive answer as to how much money you will make as a freelance writer. There are too many variables in play to pin that out. If you're good at your job and you actively seek out clients, you should be able to make very good money in this profession. You just have to dedicate yourself to the career. Otherwise, you may want to make this a side job until you get enough work to sustain your living habits.

Is Your Handyman Pulling In More than You Are?

It's no surprise that this economy blows chunks! That's right, I said it and it looks like there is no relief in the horizon. Everybody I know got a bailout except for me! The job market is awful and the price of everything has skyrocketed. Real estate on the other hand has taken a nosedive. Do you see where I'm going with this? Who comes out on top in this economy? You guessed it - the multi talented handyman.

Both my husband and I are recent graduates of Kaplan University, he with a degree in corporate paralegal training and mine in software developing and are both well-employed.  But in spite of graduating with online accredited courses, the economy still has us tightening our purse strings. But guess who is walking away with a big chunk of change - the handyman.

With people hanging on to their appliances longer through repairs and staying on in smaller houses for fear that they may sell at a loss, people are looking more and more towards the handyman to make this possible. Fixing that old microwave works out much cheaper than replacing it with a new one. It was unheard of for Americans to fix anything that cost more than $50 in repairs; it is so much smarter to buy a new one with all the bells and whistles that the latest model offers. Not anymore! This economy has most Americans going back to our grandparents’ ways where frugality was the order of the day.


Today, handymen are in great demand considering that they can fix the dishwasher, change out the lighting fixture, swap out the heating element in your rusty hot tub and even change the oil in your jalopy. With this wide skill set, it is no wonder then that the handyman is making a killing in this economy.

Even five years ago, nobody held onto a starter home for more than 3 years, but today the starter home has been reconfigured with the help of the handyman to meet the needs of a larger family. New additions are being put on to starter homes, when just a few years ago the hassle of obtaining an expansion license and not to mention the dust and other inconveniences of construction would have not even been considered too much. But today a good handyman can mean the difference between taking a big hit with appliances and real estate and financial independence. So don't resent your handyman, take him along for the ride and everybody wins!

Lucrative Careers in a Bad Economy

In this fast waning economy, jobs are few and far between. Few job industries have shown no growth whatsoever in the last decade. This is in spite of people getting transferred, retiring or quitting. This makes choosing the right career vital to employability in the future along with getting paid handsomely. So which jobs pay the most money in America today? This is not the easiest question to answer. Instead of looking at specific jobs, this list will focus on specific fields that feature the best jobs.

Medicine: This field is never going to go out of style, that's for sure. Nurses are always high in demand and make upwards of $85,000 a year. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a projected 27% increase is anticipated in the future. Especially with the baby boomers retiring, the need for good health care professionals can only increase. The changing demographics are always indicative of the fields with the most job growth. This sent me on a path to seeking online colleges for nursing to join one of several accredited online nursing programs

Technology: Information technology has had a meteoric rise in the last two decades. This makes software architects and systems engineers, a highly employable group. Median salaries of this sector range in the $90,000 bracket. Their job growth potential is projected to be over 34%. Even an entry-level software engineer will make upwards of $60,000.

Money management services: If you're good with numbers there is no other place to be. Certified public accountants or CPAs are increasing in demand with companies getting rid of pension plans. Accountants are able to help employees with planning for retirement. The median salary for a financial advisor is over $100,000.

Teaching profession: A side effect of a poor economy is people heading back to school. This drift is accompanied by an increase in the demand of college professors. On an average, professors make about $70,000 a year with a projected increase over the next decade of 23%. However, this profession requires at least a graduate degree in a field of study.

Sales jobs: If you have the gift of the gab and can make your employer money by selling his brand, then you can be rest assured that your job is secure. It does come with a high stress level but the money is well worth it. And average salary of a sales supervisor is close to $130,000 a year.

Engineers: Civil and structural engineers will see a tremendous job growth in the next decade of over 24%. Due to poor enrollment in engineering programs across the country, there is most definitely a high demand for good engineers. Engineers easily make over $75,000 a year and for more senior associates the number is exponentially higher.

With companies continuing to cut funding and jobs, it is important to gear your career towards a more sustainable field. But in order to remain truly relevant, one must constantly be working towards keeping abreast of the newest technologies. Even a degree in the coolest field can't rescue you from ignorance of what is considered cutting-edge!