A COUNSELOR’S BLOG FOR OPTIMAL FUNCTIONING

Niagara Falls, click

When making a job or career change, it is critical to find a job or career with ample opportunities for growth, now and in the future.

Are you familiar with the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)?  If not, here is a brief introduction.

The OOH (http://www.bls.gov/oco/) is a publication of the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics that includes information about the world of work in the United States.  The current 2008-2009 edition includes employment projections thru 2016 for hundreds of different types of jobs-such as Marketing Representative, Nurse, Electrician, etc.  The OOH tells you:

1.      The training and education needed for the particular occupation 

2.      The expected earnings for the occupation   

3.      The expected job prospects in that occupation

4.      What duties workers perform in that occupation  

5.      The working conditions of that occupation 

In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State, and more.

Let me know what you think of it.

Ricardo Estrada

www.TumiPublishing.com

Now available, Sticks of Fire:The Turning Point, a novel of recovery and redemption

St. Petersburg Pier

People make job and career changes for many reasons.  Maybe you’re making a job or career change because you no longer find it meaningful (lack of internal reward).  Perhaps you’re making a job or career change for financial reasons (lack of external reward).  Or perhaps because you’re burned out due to that demanding job or career; although these stressors are the result of the work environmnet, it’s a well known fact that it’s easier to burn out in a job or career with limited internal rewards.  

Most of you know someone who has a low paying job (maybe working for a non-profit) which they find meaningful and are very happy; many even restructure their lives so that they can live on what they earn as long as they can continue to work in the job or career they love.  But this is not for everybody.  What you need to do is find a happy medium.  That is, find a job and career where you feel you are making a significant contibution to your company, your profession, or society.  And as long as the new job or career allows you to earn what you need to maintain the lifestyle you desire, then you’ve hit a wining combination and are ahead of the pack.

Have you evaluated the internal and external rewards of the new job or career you’re considering? 

Please let me know, I’d like to hear from you.

Ricardo Estrada

WWW.TumiPublishing.com

Tumi (Peru)

I am Ricardo Estrada, EdS, founder of Tumi Publishing.  This Blog is dedicated to individuals looking for employment or making a career change.  Areas to be covered in the Blog and open for feedback are: Vocational & Career Counseling, Interviewing Skills, Job Search Skills, and any other issues limiting or faciliating your goal.  I encourage your comments to my postings and hope you share your story of triumph with me and others who read this Blog. 

I have spent my professional life working as a Vocational, Career, and Mental Health Counselor.  During my career, I have worked with thousands of individuals from alll walks of life.  Hopefully, the experience we shared has been as benefical from them as it has been for me.  The biggest benefit of my professional life has been what I’ve learned from the individuals I was hired to help. 

The insight gained while working at an alcohol and drugs recovery halfway house, helping residents find employment, inspired my first novel Sticks of Fire: The Turning Point (WWW.TumiPublishing.com).  Please see Book Review to the right under Links. It is a novel of recovery and redemption that illustrates what can be achieved when we work for it.  It is a story of triumph of the human spirit and of overcoming all odds, and about what can be accomplished when people are given a second chance.  I hope you’ve had the opportunity to enjoy Sticks of Fire: The Turning Point .

I hope you find this Blog beneficial and of assistance.

All the best,

Ricardo Estrada, EdS

www.TumiPublishing.com