SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2010 PERSONAL FINANCE
Retooling your job,with help
BY LAURA COHN
KaiserPermanente inSacramento,Gagewould have to takenight classes inbiochemistry, physiology andanatomywhileworking full time during theday. She’dalsohave to finance the training,whichincludes two years ofnursing classes followedby clinicalwork.But thenshe heardabout aprogramoverseenby the Sacramento Employment andTrainingAgency thatwouldhelp herpay for school. Theprogramfundedher tuitionat a local
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community college.Plus, it coveredher books,her uniforms andher state boardexam, aswell as a prepcourse for the exam.Total assistance:$3,000. Someprogramswillpay$10,000ormore. Gage is one of a growingnumber ofAmerican
workerswho are taking advantage of government- sponsoredtraining.Promptedby concerns about job security, adesire to get into anewfieldor apush to improve skills after a layoff,demandfor such programshas soared.Gage’s training endedin2007, but the federal government’s economic stimulus packagehas givenstates anadditional$4 billionto operate these services.Withthenational unemployment ratehovering at 9.6percent, demandis likely to remainhigh.About 250,000 Americans are enrolledinsuchprograms, according to theLaborDepartment. To seewhat types of government training are
offeredinyour area, contact your local employment agency or visit theLaborDepartment’sWeb site (
www.dol.gov),whichhas a list of state-run programs.Youcouldalso call theLabor Department’sEmployment andTraining Administrationat 877-872-5627. Gage secureda job as anurse ina step-downunit
(whichcares forpatients one stepdownfrom critical care) andtripledher salary.Evenwith funding forher training, itwasn’t easy. Sheworked part time forKaiser tohelppay forher living expenses.Withthehelpofher employer andthe financial andmoral support ofherpartner, she made itwork. “For two years, itwas onehell of a roller-coaster ride,” recallsGage, 53. “I carrieda backpack aroundwithme so thatnomatterwhere I got tiedup, I couldpull something out andstudy.” Howdo youmake themost of a retraining
program? Start by finding a fieldthat’shiring.You want tomake sure yournewskillswill be in demandonce youenter the jobmarket. Gage’sdecision, for example,was influencedby
projections thatnursingwill be a growing field, giventhe aging of the baby-boomer generation.The BureauofLabor Statistics expectsnursing to be the occupationwiththehighest level of employment growththrough2018, followedclosely byhome
healthaides,nursing aides, orderlies and attendants. Other jobs thatwill be indemand, according to
theBLS, include accountants andbookkeepers, constructionworkers, computer-software engineers andanalysts inmanagement,network systems anddata communications.
Be your own boss State-runprograms aren’t limitedto training
workerswhowant a jobwithanexisting business. Someprovide specializedschooling for thosewho want to become entrepreneurs. Georgia, for example,has aprogramtohelp
female entrepreneurs get environmentally friendly companies off the ground.The 36-weekprogram, whichis taught by local small-business executives, provides instructioninhowto acquire venture- capital funding,draft a businessplanandcreate a marketing campaign.To qualify for theprogram, applicantsmust submit anidea for an environmentally friendly venture, suchas a green cleaning business. Tammie Spivey, amarketing representative for a
managed-care company,was laidoff inMay 2008. So shedecidedto try to turnher interest inorganic foods into a business.Once sheheardabout Georgia’sprogram, Spiveypitchedthe idea of an organic restaurant. Her restaurant, calledTheHealthyFork (the
opposite of a greasy spoon),will offer salmon, turkey andveggie burgers onwhole-wheat buns, withbakedsweet-potato fries. Spivey took classes threemornings aweek to
learnbusiness basics, suchashowto craft an introductory letter andwrite a biography,whichare oftennecessary inseeking funding. Spivey expected to obtainaneducation, but she also tappedinto a network ofwomenentrepreneurs fromwhomshe
henRhondaGagedecidedto switch careers andbecome anurse, she knewshe was infor a slog.Amedical assistant at
improvement until late next year.We’ll recoup the eightmillion jobs lost in the recession by late 2013 or early 2014. But new workers will be entering the labor force, so achieving a full- employment economy — an unemployment rate of about 5 to 5.5 percent — could take much longer. How it’s different this time. Even profitable
W TIM GRAJEK /ILLUSTRATION BY TIM GRAJEK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
couldgainexperience andevenformbusiness relationships.Whilepursuinghernewventure, she’smade endsmeet byworking as a contract photographer.
Nail down your finances Inaperfectworld, you’dkeepyour finances in
order all along andhave a cashcushion.DavidMills alreadyhada solidfinancial basewhenhe started his business.Acomputer-aided-designspecialist, Mills losthis job atFisher-Price inNovember 2008 after 37 years—andjust four years beforehe’d hopedto retire.Fortunately,hehadpaidoffhis mortgage andgraduallyuppedhis 401(k) contributions to 15percent ofhis salary becausehe wasnearing retirement. Thenheheardabout aNewYork State
employment-assistance trainingprogram,which helpedhimlauncha computer-aided-design business.Mills says the 26-weekprogram,which offeredinstructionincrafting a businessplanas well as advice onhandling taxes, insurance and other financials,was as time-consuming as a job. He learnedhowto tapinto the business
networking siteLinkedInandhas sinceusedits onlinedesigngroups to findclients forhis company,BKJDigitalDesignandDevelopment. The company,whichMillsdescribes as “art topart,” converts two-dimensionaldrawings into three- dimensionalCADmodels.The firm’s clients include everything frommanufacturers ofplasticproducts todesignconsultants. The company isprofitable, andMills says that
being out of the rat race anddoingwhathe really wants todohas givenhimmore creative energy. “NowI’mnotworrying about corporate life,” says Mills,who turned60 inJune. “I’mlike anathlete— the less Iworry, the better Iplay.” —Kiplinger’sPersonal Finance
companies with plenty of cash aren’t hiring until confidence in the economy improves. Nevertheless, job openings have risen 26 percent since July 2009. Why not a bigger dent in unemployment? It’s
partly because of amismatch between what employers are looking for and what workers have to offer. Success now depends less on years of experience in a particular industry or finely honed expertise, andmore on flexibility and a knack for adapting a set of transferable skills. How you can profit. New grads will find the
highest demand for degrees in accounting, business administration, computer science, engineering andmath. An occupational certificate or associate’s degreemight help snag a lucrative job. But consider the number of job openings in the field. Employment in biomedical engineering is projected to grow 72 percent from2008 through 2018 — but that works out to just 1,400 openings per year. The fastest-growing occupations with a lot of
openings have a familiar ring, says occupational expert Laurence Shatkin. Over 10 years (beginning in 2008), the number of computer network systems and database administrator openings could grow, on average, by 46,000 a year. Registered nurses could see 104,000 job openings per year. There will be a huge need for accountants and auditors, with about 50,000 openings per year. Have a job already? Look for a raise of 3
percent or less, on average, but superstars might see 4.5 percent. Cover four bases to show you’ve added value: quantity (more output); quality (reduced errors); cost (on budget or below); and timeliness (deadlines beaten). Ask for a raise immediately after a big success. — Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
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More from Kiplinger Go to
www.kiplinger.com for more analysis.
Be in right place with right skills
BY ANNE KATES SMITH
hat it’s all about. Jobs will trickle into the labormarket over the next several months, but don’t expect significant
KLMNO
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In Fox-Cablevision battle, both sides lose — and so do the viewers
ROB PEGORARO Fast Forward
A
s theFox-Cablevisionhostagedrama groundinto its secondweek, therewasnosignof a resolution
asofFridaynight—butplentyofhints thatwe’dsee a sequel onotherTVproviders. StartingjustaftermidnightOct. 16,about3million
Cablevision subscribers in parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut lost access to Fox program- ming—includingcoverageof lastSunday’sNewYork Giants game against the Detroit Lions and National League Championship Series games between the Philadelphia Phillies and the SanFranciscoGiants. News Corp. subsidiary Fox says it wants Cablevi-
sion to pay its fair share for retransmitting its programming, the same as other providers. Cablevi- sion says Fox asks for more than it pays any other network. Local viewers are understandably fed up with both sides. Cablevisionisnomorelovedthan,well,othercable
companies—andhasahistoryofcuttingoffchannels becauseofcarriagedisputes.Becausethewholepoint of paying ever-increasing sums for cable TV is not to have to worry about having something to watch, that’snoway towinfriends. Nor is failing topromise refunds to subscribers for
their inconvenience during this impasse. (The Beth- page, N.Y., firm’s responsibility for the horrific Isiah Thomas era at the New York Knicks didn’t help, either.) Fox, meanwhile, burned whatever goodwill it
might have had with viewers by briefly preventing Cablevision Internet subscribers—even if they paid anothercompanyforTVservice—fromwatchingFox programs atHulu or its
Fox.comsite. This clueless, quickly reversed shoot-the-hostage
move did little beyondmaking the powerlessness of Hulu’s management obvious — and showing a pro- found lack of imagination by whoever in Fox’s Los Angeles headquarters signed off onit. Amore forward-thinking companywould go after
viewers wherever it could find them, instead of continuing to bind its fortunes to the existing gate- keepers in its industry. Just compare Fox’s actions with the aggressive efforts of the PandoraWeb-radio service to reach listeners in as many places as possible. Or compare Fox’s actions with Fox’s actions: This
company,alongwithABC,brokewithothernetworks in signing up for Apple’s 99-cent TV-episode rentals. It also has resisted the temptation to block users of Google’sGoogleTVsoftware fromwatching episodes at its site, unlikeABC,CBS and, sometimes,NBC. And yet Fox won’t pledge to refrain from pulling
this kind of stunt again. Although local politicians have lined up to de-
nouncebothcompaniesanddemandthey settle their differenceslikegrown-ups,governmentactionseems unlikely. The Federal Communications Commission has
posteda helpful explanation of the dispute and used its Twitter account to broadcast updates about Tues- day’s Phillies-Giants game without the express writ- ten consent of Major League Baseball. But the FCC has otherwise been content to let these two work things out ontheir own. The most annoying thing about these carriage disputesis the notion that we viewers should regard
any of these companies as being onour side. Cable andsatellite operators cantalk all theywant
AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES
Three million Cablevision subscribers have missed sports coverage includingNational Football League games with theN.Y. Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. The networks further insult the intelligence of
about “holding the line” on TV-network demands, but their bluster never seems to lead to lower rates. TVnetworks,meanwhile, seeaneasywaytopadtheir profits by getting TV providers to spend subscribers’ money and addmore of their channels to ever-bulki- er programming bundles.
HELP FILE
Q: Iwant toreplacemyoldPalmTungstenhandheld organizerbutdon’tneedaphone. I’mnotkeenonan iPodtouch,either.
A: Sorry, but thededicatedhandheldorganizer is deadas aproduct category. That’snot for anabsence ofdemand, as thisnot-
uncommone-mail suggests.There just isn’t enough demandto coaxmanufacturers intodevelopingnew models. Youcan,however, buy otherdevices that include
organizer functions.Apple’s iPodtouchis the best- known—andtome, the best overall option. If yourule that out,however, youhave few
choices.Othermakes ofMP3players andsomeGPS receiversmay offer options to store your schedule andaddress book butusuallydon’t let youedit them. Apple’s iPodnanousedto be inthat category, but
thenew, less-than-improvedmodel it just shipped no longer syncs contacts andcalendars.
Youmayhave to look oneBay for ausedPalm. (I’d
offermine, but I already soldit.)Note thatPalm Desktopcan’tdoUSB-cable syncing in64-bit versions ofWindows,making ituseless onmostnew computers.
Q:WhereamI supposedtoputabookmarklet in Chrome?
A:The stark simplicity ofGoogle’sWeb browser can set it back sometimes. Inthis case, itdoesn’t offer aplace topark a
bookmarklet—a small applet thatdoes one task, suchas count thewords ina block of text or convert a long address into a shorter one easily sharedon Twitter. To fix that, youneedtomake itshidden
bookmarks bar visible full time.Click itswrench icon, select itsTools itemto opena sub-menu, then select “Always showbookmarks bar.”
viewers by suggesting that they should protest by switching to other TV services. Even if you have a choice (remember, many people can’t subscribe to satellite service because of trees or buildings that obstruct incoming signals) and don’t have to eat an early-termination fee, going to a different provider just postpones the day you will get stuck in one of these standoffs. Up next: Dish Network and its more than 14 mil-
lion subscribers. The Englewood, Colo., firmwill see some Fox carriage contracts expire Nov. 1, a month after it lostaccess toFoxregional sportsnetworks ina different dispute. Fox has already set up a site, Get What I Paid For, that pretends to speak for Fox viewers’ interests. Onemarket-based solution to this would be to let
viewers choose topay for individual channels.But it’s a rare day when a cable or satellite operator tells its customerswhat evenone channel inabundleadds to their total bill,much less gives customers anyway to act onthat information. Because the pay-TV industry is so militantly op-
posed to a la carte pricing, one other option is to vote against the entiremalfunctioningmarket. That’s the remedy I chose last year — not to pay for TV at all, relying instead on over-the-air broadcasts and Inter- net streams. Yes, that’saradical step. It’salmostas radicalas the
prospect of shutting 17million paying customers out ofwatching the end of theWorld Series.
robp@washpost.com
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