My Blog

Blog

  • Planning for your future employment

    There are many things to consider beyond “what do I want to be when I grow up?” I was one of those people who didnt know where I wanted to go after graduating high school, and I didn’t want to waste money trying to figure it out in college or university. What if I didn’t like what I ended up studying, or I just couldn’t grasp it and failed? The thought of paying for failure was not worth it in my young adult mind.

    I was also someone who didnt have a lot of encouragement or guidance to help me figure it out. The whole process of applying to schools and applying for student loans scared me and my biggest mistake was not asking for help. To be fair, the internet was still new by the time I would’ve applied, so everything was still being done by paper and snail mail. It is so much easier now.

    Now, I look back and realise that I should’ve done something sooner. Perhaps not straight out of high school, goodness knows I was not mentally prepared for that. But if I could tell my younger self anything aout planning for my future empoyment, it would be this: pick two potential careers, one which requires physical effort and one that doesn’t.

    Wouldn’t that cost a fortune to go to school for two careers? Not if you teach yourself one of them, through books (a Library can be your best friend!), family or friends mentoring you, volunteering, online tutorials and/or YouTube. You can get plenty of practice if you use the self taught skills with a hobby. Some examples: Gardening at home could lead to a Landscaping position. Learning to code and build little projects on your computer could lead to a variety of postitions locally or remote. The sky is the limit.

    If you do find yourself needing to switch careers and it requires a degree, you will already have some experience to bring with you to school.

    Shouldn’t you focus on one career and become an expert in that field? Here’s the thing. The future is uncertain and can change drastically in a single moment. Perhaps the company you work for shuts down or downsizes and now everyone is scrambling for a new job with a similar company. Of course, you’ll be applying for those positions, but if you have a second potential career, you can apply to those as well and increase your odds for employment.

    So, why would I suggest to chose one physical career and one that isn’t? Because health complications (Many of which occur naturally as we age) can impede your ability to continue with a physical career. It is frightening and disheartening to reach that point, and stare down the reality that you cannot continue with your line of work anymore.

    It’s best to plan for the worst and hope for the best.

  • Text Scams

    Are you receiving strange text messages? There are a variety of scams out there and the best way to prevent financial loss and identity theft is to identify them and block them. Don’t tap on any text message links.

    Perhaps they are telling you that your bank card starting with #### has been compromised and to follow the link to resolve the issue. Sometimes there is a bank logo attached, to attempt to make it look legit. How do you know it is a scam? All the bank cards issued by that bank begin with the same set of numbers, they are not using information tied specifically to you. If you are in doubt, check your bank through your banking app or website – Never through the link sent in that text message.

    How about the text messages warning you that you were caught by a speed camera and need to pay that ticket through the link. How do you know it’s a scam? Traffic tickets are mailed to you, it will state when the traffic violation occurred, along with the photo taken of your vehicle and license plate. They will never reach out by phone.

    I recommend watching this video. These are three of many scambaiters out there, who are doing what they can to interrupt scammers and save victims from losing money.