California Culinary Schools for Career Opportunities in Catering & Hospitality

There are many good career opportunities in catering and hospitality. Candidates have an excellent choice of California Culinary Schools to choose from. They offer knowledge and practical training, financial assistance for those eligible, and a gateway to the world of work. Courses give the opportunity to take up careers in kitchens and front of house or in management.

The California Culinary Academy in San Francisco offers Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Art programs, taught by professional chefs and managers. The facilities are of the highest quality with equipment up to industry standard. This culinary school in California has been welcoming students since 1977, delivering Degree and Certificate Programs in small classes. Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking courses are also available. Subjects covered include Business Management, Wine Appreciation, and Hotel Operations. Students enjoy trips to the wine growing area of Napa Valley. The Careers Service provides advice on preparing for job interviews and writing a resume. The college expanded in 2004 with a new campus, located in Portrero Hill in San Francisco.

Degree courses in Le Cordon Bleu in Culinary Arts is also available at the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena with a 12-month study program and three month’s externship. There are other short-term programs and Associate of Occupational Studies. Patisserie and Baking, Hospitality, and Restaurant Management are on offer. Students can receive advice on finding a job in various fields, including restaurants, hotels, spas, country clubs, casinos, cruise ships and vacation resorts. There is also a campus in Hollywood.

The Kitchen Academy in Sacramento operates accelerated training programs, put together by the finest chefs. Lessons are entirely conducted in a kitchen environment with customized work stations and there are no classrooms. Some programs can be completed in thirty weeks and courses can be taken on mornings, afternoons, or evenings. This California culinary school also has a campus in Hollywood.

The International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California at Santa Monica offers Associate Degree courses in Culinary Arts and Bachelors Degrees in Culinary Management. Diplomas are also awarded for The Art of Cooking and Baking and Pastry. This culinary school in California has further campuses in Santa Ana and San Diego.

The City College of San Francisco is a two-year college and offers a wide variety of subjects. These include Baking, Confectionary Show Pieces, French Culinary Arts, Food Purchasing, Kitchen Management, Nutrition and Food Service, and Sanitation.

The National Culinary School in Le Mesa, San Diego is a vocational school in operation since 1976. Practical training is offered in small class sizes and with state of the art equipment. Training is tailored to the individual in Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry. Students at this friendly California culinary school go on field trips to the meat market and the fish market.

Why stress at a job you don’t like? If you’d to find culinary art schools in your area and would like info on financial ad options, visit:

http://siliconvalleyresources.com/culinaryartscareer

Writing Sample For Finding Writing Work Online

How to prepare and submit a writing sample for online work

You’re an aspiring or novice writer, looking for writing work online. You’ve covered the job boards and finally spotted a job you’d like to get. There’s just one catch. The publisher wants to see a writing sample. “Please send at least three writing samples …” is a typical request. It only makes sense that your prospective client wants to get a sense of the type of work you can provide. You’ve kept a journal for years, have a few school papers or that feature article you wrote for the school newsletter. Now this request has thrown you for a loop. Every publisher’s needs are fairly specific. Your writing sample must reflect your ability to produce work that matches their needs as closely as possible. Unless you already have an appropriate piece on hand, you’ll need to prepare a new piece. Here’s how to go about that task. While not difficult, you do need to adhere strictly to the format and submission instructions.

Let’s say that the publisher runs a website focusing on coffee and coffee-related products. He needs content articles on coffee and coffee products, about 500 words in length and which are informative and engaging. You’re a big coffee fan and are conversant with the coffee industry. So, how should you structure your submission?

If this prospective client wants three writing samples, he’s opening the door for you to demonstrate your all-around talents that make a perfect match for his objectives. You have three chances to show your versatile writing skills, a consistent style, knowledge of coffee and ability to conduct research. Make the most of the opportunity.

Your first sample might be an article on the history of coffee. This type of article is more of an academic piece, with lots of little-known facts. However, you must also write in layman’s language. Visitors to the site aren’t interested in having a dictionary at hand to wade through a dry, boring diatribe. So, when you prepare this article, inject some liveliness that makes the reader want to keep on reading, right to the last sentence.

Your second writing sample needs to shift focus, showing off your talents in copy writing. If the publisher has provided a link to his website, so much the better. Write a sample on a coffee product he sells. If not, pick out a coffee product and write a review. This will serve to highlight your research skills and sales skills. Your objective is to target the audience interested in the product and sell it to them. A persuasive style, engaging rhetoric and product knowledge works well here.

OK, two down, one to go. Remember, you want to convey your versatility as a writer who will drive traffic to the website. Your third writing sample might be of the op-ed sort, with a ‘human interest’ slant. For example, the customs of serving coffee in a Turkish coffee house are relatively obscure in American society. Not many readers will be familiar with this topic, but their curiosity will get the better of them. The information you provide should be an ‘aha’ moment for the reader, something they’ll want to share with friends and neighbors.

Used judiciously, the publisher’s request for three writing samples is a gift for you. Well written and researched articles keep the publisher’s visitors browsing his website, which translates into sales. That’s what he’s paying for with your services.

As for your submission, follow instructions to the letter. If you’re asked to paste your samples into the email, do it. If you send it as an attachment, your submission will be deleted. You might have the best articles, but they’ll never be read!

If you follow the submission guidelines to the letter, yet never receive a response, don’t feel your hard work has gone to waste. There are thousands of other good writers competing for the same job. While it’s hard to be rejected without so much as a rejection letter, think of it this way: your writing samples will, sooner or later, come in handy. File them in a directory for future use. This is a good way to have a ready portfolio, for the next job. Don’t give up! Happy writing to you!

Working Mothers and Equal Pay

Equal pay for equal work: a frustration for many working mothers

Most families are not financially able to enjoy the luxury of a stay at home Mom. It’s too hard for most of us to make ends meet without a second income. However, when Mom goes to work, she finds, more often than not, that the working mother, doing the same job and possessing an equal skill set, is paid less than a man. This is a source of great and legitimate frustration.

Working mothers are already penalized, in that she has far less time to spend raising her children. The insult to injury shows up in her paycheck. She may be seated right next to Joe, doing the exact same work. Joe’s paycheck is, sometimes, substantially larger, while they both work 40 hours. Doesn’t seem right, does it? Let’s take a look at why this situation is so common and what the working mother can do to attain equal pay for equal work.

The genesis of unequal pay began more than fifty years ago. During World War II, with most working age men away at war, the family structure got turned on its head. It became necessary for women to do their part to support the war effort, going to work in factories to make the necessary supplies (remember Rosie the Riveter?), as there weren’t enough men to fill the jobs. The traditional stay at home Mom became a working mother, mostly due to a rally to patriotism. When the war ended, most women were relieved to be out of a job and back home tending the family fires.

This period of the working mother in war time did break the traditional mode of men as the breadwinners. By the mid-1950s, it became common for women to hold part time jobs to augment the family income. These jobs tended to be menial and women did not expect to be paid a man’s wage. Such part-time and short term jobs did not pay enough to support the family and were not intended to be so. More complex occupations were generally reserved for men. Men wanted to be the breadwinners, while women did not. This was the socially acceptable arrangement of the day.

During the 1960s, it became far more common for women to go to college and develop careers previously held only by men. The unspoken agreement was that women were only hired for ‘men’s jobs’ at a lesser rate of pay. After all, a woman was taking a job away from the traditional breadwinner. It would be unthinkable to give equal pay and women had to accept this if they wanted to work.

As time passed, these young women college grads married and had families. By the 1970s, economic conditions and increasing family debt brought women back into the mainstream work force, as working mothers. The prevailing notion of men being the breadwinners was still in effect. Employers still, perhaps almost unconsciously, regarded women as taking a job away from a man. The only rationale to hiring working mothers was that the company didn’t need to pay them an equal wage.

Although plenty of women are still on a slow burn over the issue, old ideas die slowly. Today, we talk about the ‘glass ceiling’. Equal pay is still an issue. Few women have overcome and broken through that ceiling, and now enjoy equal pay.

So what prevents most women from receiving equal pay? According to one female business consultant, the major reason is that women state a lower dollar amount as their desired rate of pay when they apply for that equal work job!

Working mothers often buy into this self-defeating concept, feeling that the only way into a profession is a lower pay rate. Some feel that it’s necessary to make that trade-off, because they need a job. Others think that they must be ‘mannish’ in their demeanor to get equal pay.

So what’s the solution? Realize that your educational qualifications are every bit as valuable as a man with the same credentials. Women can be just as professional in the performance of their job as a man. Being a woman can be an asset in certain professions, where a woman’s style of professionalism may be better suited to the occupation than a man’s. Go online and find out what the market rate is for your skill set. When you interview, or are going for a pay raise, ask for that rate of pay. Today’s working mother needs to buff up her professional self esteem! You may well get what you’re worth. Good luck!

Programmer Jobs, Outsourcing, and Our Current Economy

How programmer jobs and outsourcing affected the current economy

In 2000, the American economy was booming. The IT field, including research and development, analyst, marketing and programmer jobs accounted for fully 51% of America’s GDP! We’re talking big money. In January of 2001, job boards like DICE boasted well over 100,000 engineering, analyst and programmer jobs, waiting to be filled. In past years, the period between October and March was traditionally the slow period. In 2000 and into 2001, this mold was broken, with more positions to be filled than there were qualified candidates. IT was booming.

Let me share a true story with you, to demonstrate how outsourcing IT jobs to foreign cheap labor sources, was the beginning of what we now are experiencing in the labor market and the current state of the economy. Be warned, it’s not a pretty picture, but should give you some insight into how we got to be where we are now.

In 2000, a good friend was contracted to IBM as an enterprise architect. IBM’s end user was another big name IT company. The project involved developing a licensing system. IBM’s end user had a staff of 40 foreign programmers, who had been working on the project for a year without progress or results. My friend’s job was to coordinate the activities of all these programmer jobs and get the job done. In the end, the end user company dismissed the staff of 40, for sheer incompetence, and replaced them with this top notch engineer, truly a one man show. The licensing system moved like greased lightning and was estimated to have saved the company a million dollars in previously lost revenue. To make it all happen, he was putting in some very long days. When the project was completed, he was ready for a vacation! He took a couple of months off. In March of 2001, he checked out the job boards, only to find that the 100,000 programmer jobs had dwindled to 23,000! Hey! What happened?

The IT companies had discovered that the government had decided to give them big tax breaks for using foreign cheap labor. Suddenly, the American engineer or programmer was shut out of the market. Corporations had gone for outsourcing with gusto! Why should they pay Americans the market rate, when they could have the job done in India for a tiny fraction of the American programmers rate? As it turned out, approximately three million American programmer jobs disappeared overseas.

This continued for several years. In the end, the outsourcing strategy did not work. The corporations discovered that, due to language and other communication problems, combined with a lack of availability during normal business hours, projects were not only failing, but cost 20% more, even with the tax breaks. Meanwhile, American technology was being handed out like candy overseas. What was formerly proprietary American technology was, and still is, in the hands of foreign countries, most notably India and China. American programmer jobs were like hen’s teeth – not to be found.

At the time, three million programmer jobs, spread all over America in a period of several months, didn’t even make a blip on the public consciousness or unemployment statistics.

Taking a page from the IT industry, other manufacturing companies soon followed suit. The American textile and auto industries were virtually wiped out. Entire regions suffered massive layoffs, plunging these workers into instant unemployment. This practice has continued to today. Anyone with a basic understanding of economics can see that if too large a percentage of the population is unemployed, they will not be able to afford to purchase the products produced overseas by American companies.

We’ve now effectively lost the technology that helped sustain that booming economy. In addition, the foreign workers are now in a position to demand higher rates. No free lunch anymore. From where I sit, it looks like greed overcame the corporations.

As a result, the corporations virtually shot themselves in the foot. It’s not known if American programmer jobs will begin to rise again. Our new President-elect has vowed to come down hard with a heavy tax burden on companies that use foreign labor. We’ll see. One thing is certain. It’s going to be a long hard road back to American prosperity. Ha. There really ought to be a law! Let’s see it.

Changing Your Career for Nursing

How many people actually stick with the career they started in after they graduated from college? A study shows that not many people do because they have found something later on in life that interests them. It is like shifting to another course in your sophomore or third year so if you are not happy with your job, perhaps you may find a more rewarding career as a nurse.

Nurses are high in demand in the market, even during this recession. This is because hospitals need more staff to help patients and also to fill the gap of nurses who have and will be reaching retirement age very soon. To become a nurse, all you have to do is go back to school and get the proper training.

For those who have forgotten or have never taken up subject’s biology or chemistry in their previous course, they are required to take them because these are prerequisites and these are also things you have to know when you are helping a patient.

You are sure to find a school that offers a nursing program regardless of where you live as there are more than 1,500 programs offered in universities and colleges. You just have to find the right one that can meet your goals and objectives. Don’t forget to find out how much it will cost and also if their program is accredited by the nursing board.

Money should not be an issue when you are thinking of a career change because the school may have a grant in aid program or offer scholarship to deserving students. If you do not qualify, see if you can get a loan or do this part time so at least you are able to pay your way through college.

The most sought after position in the healthcare system is that of the resident nurse and although it will take longer to finish, you can expect to get a return on your investment later on as the starting salary for fresh graduate’s starts at around $45,000. This amount is still much higher than what other professionals make in other occupations.

But before you can start working, one more hurdle you need to pass is the state license exam. This varies from state to state so if you plan to work elsewhere, you will have to take another exam.

Once you gain years of experience as a nurse, you can set your sights on higher goals that will truly bring your career to another level. After getting a masters or a doctorate degree, you can find work as a consultant for the hospital, an instructor in a school or as a researcher for a private company. This is because your expertise will help train students and do a lot of good in helping researchers find cures for certain illnesses.

If you are no longer with your present job, why should you push yourself to wake up in the morning? Instead of being miserable, don’t you think you should do something about it? A change in your career for nursing or any other is a gamble because you are stepping into new territory.

You should be ready to face the challenges ahead and be open-minded to the things you will learn as this could save the life of the patient.

If you would like more information and access to:

• “How to” and Benefits Guide for the public service community
• 1-on-1 consultation with an enrollment advisor
• Access to millions of scholarships to help you finance your future
• Search thousands of jobs

Send an email to:

publicservice@siliconvalleyresources.com

AT&T Layoffs And Too Many Others To Count

Lots of chatter on the Internet around AT&T laying off between 10,000 and 15,000 employees or about 4 percent of its workforce. Of course, this is not surprising as everybody is laying off people right now. Unlike previous times, this is a real layoff, not a voluntary buyout.

I’d imagine, though, that with 160,000 plus workers, AT&T is bloated just like many government and other private companies. It’s always sad to hear when someone / anyone loses their job. It’s especially discouraging when it happens during the Christmas holiday season.

Now, AT&T is not the only company announcing major layoffs this year. Swiss Bank announced 5,300 job cuts, Dupont says 2,500 to go, and Viacom will shed 7 percent of their workforce or 850 jobs. I’m sure many of you who are reading this post are in turmoil with your company, as well.

But, of course, it’s not all doom and gloom! The banking industry got a $700 BILLION DOLLAR bailout, AIG got $150 BILLION and the auto industry is lobbying Washington for $60 BILLION? How ridiculous is this? The big three automakers – you know who they are – are collectively only worth $5 Billion in market value. What’s wrong with this picture? We, the taxpayers, will loan $60 Billion to companies only worth $5B? By comparison, Toyota is worth $130 Billion … all by its lonesome self.

Remember the good old days when you went to work for “replace name with company?” They shook your hand, welcomed you to the family and really cared about your well-being. Unfortunately, those days went out with the Model T Ford … pun intended.

One good friend of mine remarked the other day. She said that “at least we can comfort ourselves in the thought that many of us are in the same boat together.” Misery loves company?

So, I have a plan to solve all of our collective financial and career issues. There are approximately 330 million people (man, woman, child) in the United States. Give each person (except the top 1% of rich people – they don’t need it) $1 Million Dollars. For my family, that would be $4 Million Dollars. This would still leave $1.8 Trillion Dollars left over to bail out these sad, poor companies. I guarantee that will solve all of our problems, with plenty of money left over to boot.

Of course, another good friend of mine remarked about my idea. “Yeah, but we’ll still do stupid things with this money and blow it”. I say, “Let me have that chance!”

True change will only happen if there is revolutionary thinking. Washington needs to stop wasting tax payers dollars on bailouts of these crony-esque industries. Bailout the more than 10 Million unemployed people who lost their jobs due to lousy management and mis-use of corporate funds.

Write your congress person today

Better yet, Link In to Barack Obama, http://www.linkedin.com/in/barackobama, and send him a note directly!

As always, I stay committed to help in any way I can during these troubling times. Leave me your comments or Link In with me and let’s see if we can make real change from the ground up!

About The Job Background Check

Finding work is something that everyone has to do. You can’t pay your bills or enjoy your life if you do not have money. Everyone is different, and we all have a different story to tell. When you are applying for a job, you are going to have to go through the job background check in most cases, though some do not bother. It depends on the job in question. We all make mistakes, but some of them can cost us jobs if we are not careful. If you know what you are going to have to talk about, you are going to be more likely to be honest.

When it comes to the job background check you are going to have to go through, you should know that honesty is the very best policy. That holds true throughout life, but you should always divulge everything that someone asks when you are being interviewed and/or when you are filling out your application. If you do not mention something that was asked, and then it comes up in your job background check, you are going to be instantly disqualified in many cases.

There are a variety of things that can be included when you go through a job background check. One of the first things that someone may check is that your information listed about education and job positions are correct. Some like to inflate their resume in these matters, but you should  know that this is never a good idea. If you are caught telling half truths or lying out right, they are not going to feel that they can trust you on the job. This type of job background check is one that you can count on happening each time.

There are laws that prevent some of the other types of job background check, but that varies from state to state in many cases. There are some that are going to ask to see your credit report. You may not understand why that is important, but some want to see how responsible you are – or if you are working around money they want to know if you have a lot of debt. You have to sign something to allow someone to do this job background check, so it won’t come as a surprise.

Other types of job background checks include your criminal history. If you have a conviction, you should always be honest about it, as it is going to come up. You should also have to sign something to allow them to do this check. All companies are exempt from doing a job background check in a way that would indicate discrimination. That would include your ethnicity and age, among other things. Be sure to ask about these if you are not sure, and know what is going to come up about your background so you know you are being totally honest.

Business Writing Classes and Your Career

Do You Need Business Writing Classes?

College, high school, and even workshops are all learning experiences that most try to make the most of, no matter how old they are or why they are going through them. There are some classes that are going to mean nothing to your life, but there are some that you may want to take even if you think they are never going to be needed. You may not think that you should take business writing classes, but you may need these no matter what type of career you are going to pursue. These are better taken than ignored.

Some people can write, and others think that they are better off having someone else writing out important things for them. Even some that are highly intelligent have problems with clear written communications. One should not feel stupid if they are having problems with this. Most need to have business writing classes because getting things out in a professional and concrete fashion does take some training. A few can do it on their own, and do it well, but most need at least some guidance in this particular matter.

Business writing courses are offered in almost any college, and many high schools have this as part of their English curriculum. It can be required in some cases, but students that do not have this may want to see what they can do to get business writing classes into their schedule. You learn things that you need, even if you think that being a chef or fixing cars has nothing to do with writing. There are always going to be times when you have to write something in a business sense, and you should know what you are doing when you do.

What you are going to learn through business writing classes is how to properly prepare many types of business communications. Some people in business have executive or administrative assistants that can take care of this for them, but not everyone starts out a career with this type of help. Those that have their own businesses are probably going to have to do this on their own while they are getting things going and in the early years when they can not afford to have a lot of help. Some community colleges have business writing courses that you can take when you need them if you missed this in college.

Business writing classes are going to prepare you to send out sales communications as well as letters when you have to collect on a debt. Not all of these are pleasant, but you should know how to properly word and format these in a professional manner. If you don’t have the time to go back to school, or feel that your schedule will not permit you to take the business writing classes that you need, look for some easy classes online that allow you to do the work when you can. Those can be the best when you are already out of school and want the extra help.