Are you working from home today? According to new, nationwide statistics, the number of employees working from home or telecommuting has increased by 115 percent in a decade.

The increase may be due to benefits for bot employees and employers. While telecommuting gives some employees a better work-life balance, allowing their workers to stay home saves businesses an estimated $11,000 per person annually, according to Global Workplace Analytics. The same study estimated that depending on an individual’s commute, each worker would save $2,000 - $7,000 per year in gas and vehicle upkeep.

According to Flexjobs.com, the largest online hub for employment outside of the traditional 9 to 5 box , companies are looking for certain skill sets from remote workers. According to flexjobs.com these are:

• Digital communication skills: verbal and written
• Time management, task management, the ability to self-focus
• Proactive communication: being comfortable speaking up and asking questions
• Comfort with technology and troubleshooting basic technical issues
• Growth mindset: embracing change and learning
• Familiarity with remote communication tools like IM, video conferencing, file sharing, and virtual office environments

 To learn more about telecommuting and even search available jobs, visit www.flexjobs.com

By Amy Nielsen

My profession, clinical nutrition, is one that professes to service the general population. What we do is rarely covered by insurance, so we for the most part work on a fee-for-service model. This precludes a huge swath of the public if we want to charge a living wage for our services. This is a problem for most complementary health professions.

The services we offer could, and eventually will, turn around the epidemics of disease we are currently mired in. However until we can offer those service across the board to all populations, especially those underserved and in the most dire need of help, while making a living wage, we will not even make a ripple in the high fructose corn syrup pond.

Unlike many of my classmate in my Master’s program, I live in a rural community. Most of the other students live in or around a major metropolitan east coast city: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington DC. My client base can’t afford my living wage. The living wage charged by some fellow students is more than many in my community make in a week. While I operate on a sliding scale and have offered barter for services, I can’t pay my electric bill with eggs. Of course, with all of the finger-tip information about what to eat, who needs a nutritionist anyway, right? It’s a privilege.

You might be thinking, wait, isn’t my doctor supposed to give me important information about nutrition? Maybe you have seen a registered dietitian for your diabetes management. I’ve even seen hometown pharmacies with health and wellness coaches giving nutrition advice. Guess what, they are all using the same information and it’s flat out wrong - and worse if pressed – they will admit it. There are countless studies proving they are using flawed materials.

My beef in this blog isn’t with the biomedical field who still sees us nutritionist as quacks and hacks at best and dangerous competitors at worst. Of course most of them have had less than ten hours of nutrition training in their entire 12 year medical academic careers. They are having to deal with big pharma and insurance companies daily – they don’t have time to deal with the easy stuff like eating more broccoli or drinking more water.

My beef is with my fellow nutritionist who are not freaking out on these doctors who are giving out terrible nutrition advice to patients thereby perpetuating and creating more disease.

What does terrible nutrition advice have to do with my fellow nutritionist, fee for service, and rural communities? I’ll tell you. Rural communities, like the populations in many high density urban areas, have higher rates of all of the current major health epidemics because they have less access to healthy options for food. If we as nutritionists don’t advocate – loudly – for our clients who are underserved, why the heck are we practicing? If we can’t help the folks deepest in the trenches of disease brought on by a system that keeps artificial foods cheap, delivers them a host of preventable diseases, exasperated by pharmaceutical drugs with worse side effects than the original disease, there is really no point in doing this work.

I’m not saying cut down our fees, destroy our livelihood, or only do sliding scale work. I’m saying step up to the plate and fight to get covered under insurance so we can help rise all boats on our health tide. Refuse to be limited to working only with other complementary health professionals also working on a fee for service basis. Be adversarial. Challenge the biomedical doctors to provide data and research for their protocols like they require us to do.

Until we of the complementary medical fields demand the same rigor the biomedical field does of our modalities, until we demand that they take responsibility for their patient’s lives rather than hospital or practice bottom lines, they will continue to serve the insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

This is true for any career field that lingers outside the norms accepted as mainstream. We must advocate for ourselves and each other. 

Advocacy starts with a single question. Advocacy doesn’t have to be argumentative. Advocacy must be supported with factual evidence based research. Advocacy must encompass compassion for the greater good. Sound individualized nutrition is hard and takes time. Both on the part of the practitioner and client. Until nutritionist embrace advocacy for the underserved, and start demanding services for the most needy clients, the field will remain that of the privileged.

Military spouses know employers are getting their money’s worth when they hire a spouse, but now the federal government may actually give employers a tax credit for giving spouses a job.

Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jon Tester (D-MT) and John Boozman (R-AR), are expected to introduce the Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act of 2018 next week. A key component of the bill would give businesses a tax credit for hiring military spouses, reports Military.com.

Currently employers can receive up to a $9,600 tax credit for hiring veterans. The amount is calculated based on the number of hours the veteran worked and the veteran’s disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Military.com reports that the spouse credit would work in a similar fashion.

“The Jobs and Childcare for Military Families Act encourages businesses to step up and play a bigger role in hiring military spouses who already sacrifice so much,” Kaine said in a press release. “And it further addresses a real obstacle to professional success for many military families: access to quality, affordable child care. Addressing these issues will help military spouses advance in their careers despite frequent moves.”

Another component of the bill would give a pre-tax savings account to military families for child care expenses. The system is already used by many employers to help workers save pre-tax pay for child care costs by deducting money from the employee’s paycheck and placing it in a special account. Employees are reimbursed when they submit receipts for child care.

Fire up your resumes. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is hosting more spouse only job fairs in March.

If you live in Europe, there will also be a transition summit near the end of the month to help spouses and military families tackle the task of leaving the military.

Don’t forget to dress for success and bring several copies of your resume. For a full list of job fairs the foundation hosts throughout 2018 visit, www.uschamberfoundation.org

March 7

Dover, DE

Military Spouse Employment Forum at Dover Air Force Base

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/military-spouse-employment-forum-dover-air-force-base

March 10

Detroit, Mich.

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/detroit-military-hiring-fair

March 13

Tampa, Fla.

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/tampa-hiring-expo-tampa-bay-lightning

March 21

Fort Bliss, Texas

Transition Summit

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/fort-bliss-transition-summit-2

March 26

Europe

European Theater Transition Summit

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/germany-transition-summit

McLean, VA.

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/mclean-military-spouse-networking-event-0

March 27

Washington D.C.

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/washington-dc-hiring-expo-washington-wizards-0

March 28

March 29

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/amplify-military-spouse-career-intensive-joint-base-lewis-mcchord

In case you haven’t heard the buzz, the minimum wage is going up in 2018 – maybe. It depends on where you live.

Advocates for minimum wage increase have pushed local and state governments to bring the minimum wages closer to $15 an hour, what advocates consider a “living wage.”

Some states are jumping salaries by just a few quarters, others by a mere dime. Some states also have set a schedule that will raise the minimum wage slightly each year until it hits the $15 mark. Congress hasn’t voted on a minimum wage raise in more than 10 years.

While some raises were issued at the state level, others were granted by city or county governments. Check the list below for the locations and the minimum wage that took affect on Jan. 1.

Alaska: $9.84 an hour

Albuquerque, New Mexico: $8.95 an hour

Arizona: $10.50 an hour

Bernalillo County, New Mexico: $8.85 an hour

California: $11 an hour for businesses with 26 or more employees; $10.50 an hour for businesses with 25 or fewer employees

Colorado: $10.20 an hour

Cupertino, California: $13.50 an hour

El Cerrito, California: $13.60 an hour

Flagstaff, Arizona: $11 an hour

Florida: $8.25 an hour

Hawaii: $10.10 an hour

Los Altos, California: $13.50 an hour

Maine: $10 an hour

Michigan: $9.25 an hour

Milpitas, California: $12 an hour

Minneapolis, Minnesota: $10 an hour for businesses with more than 100 employees

Minnesota: $9.65 an hour for businesses with annual gross revenue of $500,000 or more; $7.87 an hour for businesses with annual gross revenue of less than $500,000

Missouri: $7.85 an hour

Montana: $8.30 an hour

Mountain View, California: $15 an hour

New Jersey: $8.60 an hour

New York: $13 an hour for standard New York City businesses with 11 for more employees; $12 an hour for standard New York City businesses with 10 or fewer employees; $11 an hour for standard workers in Long Island and Westchester; $10.40 for standard workers in the rest of New York state; $13.50 for fast food workers in New York City; $11.75 for fast food workers in the rest of the state

Oakland, California: $13.23 an hour

Ohio: $8.30 an hour

Palo Alto, California: $13.50 an hour

Rhode Island: $10.10 an hour

Richmond, California: $13.41 an hour

San Jose, California: $13.50 an hour

San Mateo, California: $13.50 an hour for standard businesses; $12 an hour for nonprofits

Santa Clara, California: $13 an hour

SeaTac, Washington: $15.64 an hour for hospitality and transportation employees

Seattle, Washington: $15.45 an hour for businesses with 501 or more employees that don't offer medical benefits; $15 an hour for businesses with 501 or more employees that do offer medical benefits; $14 an hour for businesses with 500 or fewer employees that don't offer medical benefits; $11.50 an hour for businesses with 500 or fewer employees that do offer medical benefits

South Dakota: $8.85 an hour

Sunnyvale, California: $15 an hour

Tacoma, Washington: $12 an hour

Vermont: $10.50 an hour

Washington state: $11.50 an hour

Can’t decide on a field of study? How about studying a field with plentiful jobs?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks careers, salaries and trends in the workforce. The bureau can also track what fields are hiring more employees and which are cutting manpower numbers.

For students earning associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees there, surprisingly, is not one overwhelming, clear leader in employment for 2018.

Every degree field runs the gamut of health services, teachers, tech work, teachers and even clery.

Check out the lists below for where the most jobs are expected to be in 2018:

Occupations with the Most Jobs Openings: Associate's Degree or Postsecondary Vocational Award

Registered nurses

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

Computer support specialists

Hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists

Automotive service technicians and mechanics

Preschool teachers, except special education

Insurance sales agents

Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration technicians

Real estate sales agents

Occupations with the Most Job Openings: Bachelor's Degree

Elementary school teachers, except special education

Accountants and auditors

Secondary school teachers, except special needs and vocational

Middle school teachers, except special needs and vocational

Computer systems analysts

Computer software engineers, applications

Network systems and data communications analysts

Computer software engineers, systems software

Construction managers

Market research analysts

Occupations with the Most Job Openings: Graduate Degree

Post-secondary teachers

Doctors and surgeons

Lawyers

Clery

Pharmacists

Educational, vocational and school counselors

Physical therapists

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Mental health and substance abuse social workers

Instructional coordinators

 Want to learn more about these individual careers, how many jobs the bureau projects will be available across the U.S. and where? Visit www.bls.gov

By Jenna Moede

Have you ever tried to do something on your own and totally failed or bragged about what you'd do in the future without any real plans? I have.  

I have failed all on my own and worse yet, I have failed after being so sure of an outcome that I went on and on about it to people close to me only to look flaky later when that outcome never happened.  

I've come to two conclusions. First, I have the freedom to change my mind wherever, whenever and however I want (without apology), no matter what. Second, in order to be successful, I need a support network.  

This year my classes won't start for a few more months since the school is online, but I am busy building my support network now. I don't want to tackle college on my own again. For my undergraduate degree I told everyone that I had everything under control even when I struggled, and I flat out failed on my first attempt at a master's degree.  

This time, I want to let those close to me help me succeed. I know that people have wisdom to share, and I've realized in this military life that gleaning wisdom from those that harbor it benefits me greatly.  

So I've thought long and hard about what types of people I want supporting me. While I want all of the support from anyone that wants to, I know that if I build a network of reliable people, I'll feel prepared to handle whatever comes my way. I want to have people that not only support me, but that I can express my thoughts and reliance on them and have them understand.  

It's a big request for those people.  

I have chosen a few people that I have had close relationships with for a long time like my spouse, my parents and my best friend.  

These people, in my life, know me better than anyone else. They know what makes me tick and why I want to achieve the goals I have set.  

I wanted to choose people that not only know me but know how to push me in the right direction. I wanted people who I respect and admire and whose opinion is not only valuable but wise. They might not always tell me what I want to hear, but they can help me achieve my dream of earning a master's degree.   

Lastly, I realized that my university has people meant to support me already built in. My academic advisor not only gives me advice but can also direct me to helpful resources when I feel overwhelmed, I earn a poor grade or I just feel confused in my program. They can offer clarity, and it turns out, they want to help.  

I also understand now that my professors can help me not only learn course material, but they want me to have success in their class. They can offer unique support to students if only we reach out to them.  

You might have personal support that looks different from mine. Maybe you don't want to include family or don't have friends you feel comfortable adding, but you can always find people to support you at work, in clubs or classmates you form relationships with.  

Whoever you choose, make sure you can get ahold of them when you need to and that you can rely on them for support.  

Finally, personally, I know that I can add to my support network whenever I want. I will not go through college alone this time. I will let the people close to me help and guide me when I feel lost or unsure. I'll allow them to help keep me motivated when I feel like giving up, and, as always, I will reserve the right to change my mind at any point in time.  

Only I can know what I really want to do, but I can let others in on my goals and dreams so that I don't have to find the path by myself. It's a refreshing thought to know that I am backed by the people I have in my life.  

Looking for extra money but not necessarily a commitment to a long-term job?

Fall is the season of everything pumpkin spice but it also marks the start of interviews for seasonal jobs. Even large, national retailers who need extra help stocking shelves for Christmas and managing long Black Friday shopping lines begin their employee search now.

First up, is Halloween. Haunted house industry experts, yes, they exist, estimate there are more than 2,000 haunted venues around the nation that all need employees willing to wear weird makeup, scream and run after folks with a chainsaw.

Acting is the number one requirement for haunted house employees. Both that and being willing to work late nights.

Experts say many of the seasonal haunting jobs are filled by white-collar professionals who sit in an office by day and use the late night gigs as boosts to their acting resume or an outlet for their creativity.

The bigger venues also hire makeup artists to help outfit the temporary ghouls. A search on most national job search websites, such as Indeed and Monster bring up not just locally owned houses but also national attractions such as Six Flags.

The median hourly wage for haunted amusement workers is roughly $9, though the bigger the city, the bigger the haunted venue, the bigger the pay. Experts expect the field to grow every year.

By Amy Nielsen

Lately I have been struggling with deciding what to charge for my services. I have a unique set of certifications and degrees and am in the process of starting my Master’s degree. I teach several different programs all of which have suggested retail prices associated with them.

The program designers have determined what they think is a fair price for a teacher to charge for the materials, time, and effort put into presenting their classes. However, I live in an economically depressed, hard-working, rural community and those prices are not going to fly when measured against something like purchasing oil to heat the house.

Why am I struggling when I have clear guidelines to follow? Because I want my clients to be able to afford my services. However I have recently discovered this can be a two-edged sword. Let me explain.

I ask a lower price for my services in an effort to be affordable, but the perceptions is that either I am still a student and therefore not fully trained, or perhaps that my services are not worthy of more. How much is my attention worth to me and to them? How does one value time?

I am running a bit of an experiment tomorrow night when I offer my first workshop at my new space. I only advertised it by posting flyers on the front window and in the waiting room of the office I share. I posted that the class is free, but I also posted a suggested donation of ten dollars. So far I haven’t gotten any firm registrations but I am going to run the class as an Open House of sorts to show there is new activity in the building and hopefully build interest.

Many of the folks who teach similar kinds of classes and coaching do so on a specific rate scale that seems to be similar across the board in this area. There is a low and high cap of what people choose to charge. It differs by region and season a bit, but I think I have figured out the system. If I want to be on par with those folks who have it going on, I need to up my prices, but the population I want to work with may not be able to come up with that amount as easily.

The community is changing in a way it has not seen in a few years. I can see the new up and coming grass roots farmers and merchants digging in and pulling together in some very interesting coalitions that I want to be part of.  It’s going to take the next couple of years while we all bump through the next two winters before the big projects get fully operational. But if we can hang on and not disintegrate into our own hill town factions, we will survive to a bigger and better place.

I, of course, have to figure out how to not only make it through my Master’s academically, emotionally, and physically – it’s a partial residency course in Maryland and I live in New York – I also have to figure out how to come up with the remaining $1,500 not covered by loans each semester.

There in comes the need for financial abundance from my burgeoning business. Alas, it takes money to make money. And I don’t have enough time or money to make it happen immediately. So back to what to charge that is fair to my clientele, will pay honor to the level of education and learning I have already achieved, and help me meet my financial goals to further my education.

The hardest part of this whole discussion for me is learning to understand that asking for financial payment for my services isn’t dirty, underhanded, or somehow improper. I was raised to be a good girl and good girls don’t ask to be paid, we take what we are given. Hence the problem in the gender pay gap. Only bad girls ask for money. There I said it.

I have a distinct financial goal in mind now and I have to really think about the financial “gobdigookyness” that I have internalized as not something good girls do. Except that my mother was the ultimate in opposites for this, she was the CFO and the President of a multinational business for almost 20 years. She did one helluvah job at it too. I am absolutely conflicted as to how to go about solving this one for myself.

I am out here working for myself for a living, for the first time ever really. Even as an independent contractor in a previous career, I still was working for organizations with specific structures in place to deal with contractors. Now it’s just me and my client in a relationship. I have to figure out a fair wage for myself and a fair value for my time and the time of my client as well.

So I am back to thinking about how the value of my client equals the value of my time and somehow that equals the value I place in our relationship added to the time and effort I have spent educating myself to walk beside that client on a journey to a better self. The last piece of the equation has to be the financial restrictions people in this area currently live under.

Ugh, I hate math. Philosophical ethical math stinks even worse.

I have the gift of the next two years of my Master’s program to charge a lower yet still reasonable rate while I am in fact still a student, again. As the community grows and we see the benefits of the new opportunities in the area, I can raise my rates to be commensurate with the rising disposable income.

By Amy Nielsen

In my recent reentry into the world of work after an absence for motherhood, I have been casting about for a specific purpose. I am starting a new career in a different field than I had BM – Before Motherhood. I chose the career I did because I can’t help doing it every day. I fall into the service of health and healing with each conversation I hold. I am proud that I have been able to build a structure around something as amorphous as “wellness”.

However, translating that concept into a solid paying job has been a bit tougher. I finally figured out why. I have up to this point not had a specific job that I knew would fit what I am capable of doing. My pre-mom careers had nothing to do with my current profession. So while I have decades of experience, it’s not exactly the right experience. Then there’s that 10 year gap in my portfolio to deal with.

While I say I have gaps in my timeline, those gaps are only of a professional nature. I spent that time very actively volunteering for several organizations. That experience is valid and worthy of mention. I was still engaged in community and working with large non-profit organizations. So while the topics may not have been specifically tied to the work I am doing now, it can be used to support my current desire to work with a non-profit.

I have been networking over the last year in our local community in an effort to discover where the needs are and where I might be able to fit to fill them. What I have found is a good base for growth, but a deeply entrenched apathy for change. The will is there to jog but the butt can’t get off the couch, as it were.

I volunteer with a community activism non-profit organization which has begun the process of creating a spin off sister non-profit working to farther the exact campaigns I want to spearhead. It was announced late last year that they are in the active search for an executive director for the spin off. BINGO!

Now, I am nowhere near ready for prime time or executive directorship. I have read the requirements and description put out by the head hunting agency. With the gaps in my timeline and my previous unrelated career experience, there is no way I would even be considered as a candidate. Applying would be shear folly and probably make more than a few people question my sanity.

However, what I can do is make sure to stay close to those folks who are the movers and shakers creating the structure of the organization. By continually putting myself in the path of this group, I hope to be tapped to join the supporting team, eventually moving up once my degree is conferred.

I know it will take at least another year before the organization is ready to launch public programs, things typically move slowly in the non-profit world as grant funding is a long process.  To that end I will continue to volunteer and perhaps work in a supporting capacity in another like-minded organization until I am better positioned to apply for a position with more organizational responsibility. I know that I have time to work through the beginning semesters of graduate school without being worried that I will compromise my focus on my studies or my career.

My plan of study is two years long. By the time I finish the Master’s, the new spin off organization should be just about ready to jump into high gear, putting me in a good place to move up the food chain into a more senior position.

Two years from now seems like a hugely long time, but as I have kids, I know that two years is the blink of an eye and I had better be ready to hit the ground running if I want to keep up and be in the best place possible to launch into a full time position upon completion.

So while I work through school, and continue to volunteer, I have my sights set on a very specific job. It gives me purpose and drive to make sure I am the best positioned candidate when it comes time to apply. By joining the organization in its infancy, I can follow it through the early growing pains and be in a better place to help it move forward to greater heights.

So what if it happens that when I am ready for the job, the job isn’t ready for me? Well, I will have spent two years developing a career path and reputation within the community that will allow me to apply to other similar organizations. I will have watched this one grow and evolve and I can use that experience to build upon for other organizations. Heck, I might even feel ready at that point to start my own, filling a specific niche that the others don’t.

For now, I have clarity of purpose and a goal to drive towards which is more than I had a week ago. I can begin my Master’s program with a direct intention for its use. I know what I shape if not what color this is going to take and I can now formulate a plan to gather the best set of personal resources I can to make it happen. Today, I will hang the job description post on my bathroom mirror so I can keep it in my focus.