DO GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN…
OR RULE THE WORLD?
By Candice Reed, Author,
Thank You for Firing Me!
How to Catch the Wave of Success After You Lose Your Job
“Girls just wanna have fu-uun!” Cindy Lauper sang it back in the ‘80s and we thought it was a blast. But, is it still fun now? Sure, it is! But girls also want influence, recognition, wealth, families and the chance to create real change in the world by being key players in the work force. In today’s economy, leadership + contribution = big-ass rewards.
Before you evaluate what type of job or business suits your lifestyle, look at your situation like it’s a pilot’s control panel. It has a button for every life stage you’re in. In fact, you’re probably in one of these life stages right now (and we’re not talking menopause, OK?). One thing may lead to another, but if you answer “yes” to any of the following, we have some solutions to your unique set of challenges:
· I need a solid job with good pay and benefits
· I want to be an entrepreneur
· I want to be a high-ranking executive or political leader
· I am pregnant, what now?
· I’m a working mother
· I want to work at home
· I am a parent re-entering the work force
· I am military personal returning to civilian work
· I am broke and struggling -- how do I survive?
In a shrinking job market, you will want to explore fields that are considered “nontraditional,” or populated mostly by men. In time, our society may reach a point where work is just work that any qualified person — male or female — can perform without any social stigma. Listen, it took us time to get where we are today! The first wave of women’s push for equality took 72 years to win the right to vote. The battle started in 1848 when women pulled together to fight the male powers that be just to have an equal say in democracy. It’s hard to imagine that women were arrested, ridiculed and jailed in the process. Finally in 1920, women were granted their voting rights. In the scheme of things, that wasn’t too long ago. Fast forward to today.
“80 million cracks were made in the glass ceiling,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a letter to her supporters, summing up her bold race for president, her political career and what it means for women to move into ranks of power. Maybe — just maybe — the tipping point is here, when conditions are perfect for the snowball effect.
Let’s start here: Hot Jobs in the Skilled Trade Industry
You’re up for a solid vocation with good pay and benefits. Even if giant corporations are going bankrupt, the
stuff our world is made of — cars, machines, buildings and computers — still needs to be built, maintained and fixed when they break down. Skilled trade work is a wide open field. It’s not sexy. It’s physical and dirty (which is kind of sexy now that I think of it!). The pay ranges from $10-$40 or more per hour, which is nothing to sneeze at. If it was good enough for Roseanne, it’s good enough for us.
During the last recession that hit the U.S. —from 2002 to 2003 — many industries were unable to find enough skilled laborers to fill job openings, so here’s your chance:
-Training and skill-building programs that prepare you to enter these trades are plentiful and a worthwhile investment.
-Programs designed for training women in construction-related fields like the National Association of Women in Construction, and the Washington, D.C.-based Wider Opportunities for Women, can be found online, so let’s get started and show the boys who the boss really is!
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For book reviews, information, and to order a copy of Thank You for Firing Me! go to:
http://www.thankyouforfiringme.org/
For job tips with a dash of humor, see author Candice Reed’s anti-career blog:
http://jobs4yourfiredass.blogspot.com/
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