How to choose a career

I've been thinking lately about how to choose the optimal career (yes, I'd like to go back into the workforce someday). I'd like to live in a specific area of the country and find fulfillment and success in whatever career I choose.

When I was choosing my college major, I only thought about my aptitude and desired income. However, I have come to realize that there is so much more to this. Here are some factors I've considered as I've pondered my options:

1. Location. Some jobs are only found in the city,  others in the country; some are more plentiful in specific parts of the country or world, and others have demand almost universally.

2. Social interaction. Do you enjoy talking to others, or would you be happier being left alone for the majority of the day with periodic interaction with co-workers that you see every day? How comfortable are you with interacting with strangers, and on how personal a level?

3. Future demand. How much demand will there be for your profession in 10 years or more?

4. Current demand. Is the job market saturated with people in the job you're considering, or is there a high demand for it with few suitable candidates?

5. What standard of living are you willing to accept?

6. Is the subject matter you have to learn to work in the profession appealing to you? Is this something you'd like to think about for a large portion of your life?

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Since I'm interested in a smaller city than the one I'm currently in and have considered the town I grew up in, I had to think about which jobs are available there. The town I grew up in is very small (less than 10,000 people). I realized that in order to work there in a profession that would be mentally stimulating and provide the income I wanted, my choices were limited. The professions I came up with were: Something related to the school system, the government, health care, the law, or business ownership. There are almost no mechanical engineering positions there, and almost certainly very few tech positions, which is a profession I think I would be well suited for. So I'll probably have to choose a location that is close to but not in the town I grew up in.

I have to learn more about the opportunities in tech to know which specific position would most appeal to me, but I would love to have something with a reliable amount of social interaction and something with a lot of demand so that I can have a lot of choices as to which company I would work for.

Summer work for teenagers

As a teenager, I understood the value of work and getting some working experience before going out into the world on my own. However, when I was finally old enough to have a summer job, I had a lot of difficulty finding one. I applied to many different places, but no one wanted to hire me. Actually, one fast food restaurant did hire me, but after giving me the baptism of fire working the drive thru (where I was terrible, of course), they never put me on the work schedule again.

Ultimately, I had four different summer jobs through six summers while going to school: babysitting, working as a secretary at the computer repair shop my brother worked at, an internship, and as a painter. The work as a painter and as a babysitter was erratic and unreliable. There were only two summers where I had meaningful employment.

I wanted better employment, but I didn't know how to find it. I've talked to a lot of people my age who've had a difficult time finding a job or figuring out what they want to do for a living.

Obviously, I want  my children to have a better experience than I had. I've pondered on what I can do for them to help them get the exposure they need to find a job, get experience working, and to find a job that they'll enjoy. This is with the knowledge that summer jobs for teenagers are limited, it can be discouraging to keep looking and looking without finding something, and parents shouldn't take the responsibility to find a job for their children.

My plan is that my teenagers will be required to spend 20-30 hours/week (or more, if they want) in the summertime working. If they can't find a job, I will help them find a place to volunteer. Right now I assume that it's pretty easy to find volunteer work. They can volunteer at a pet shelter, the hospital, at their school, at a food bank, at the library, or many other places. Not only will volunteer work keep them busy, it will also help them to learn more about the world and society around them. They will also get fulfillment from doing something valuable with their summer hours. However, I will also teach them to self-advocate, so that once they have more skills that they will not settle for volunteer work with no pay but receive some sort of compensation.

I am also hoping to encourage them to shadow people who work in the profession(s) that they are interested in pursuing, and maybe even some that they don't have interest in (yet) to broaden their horizons and help them understand what it may be like to work in that particular profession.

Is there anything that you would add to my plan or concerns that you have about it? Let me know!

I did something Pinterest-worthy!

Usually cutesy crafts and Pinterest things aren't really my forte. However, I think this little project turned out really well!

My entryway closet had been a jumble of shoes, and it was bugging me a LOT. The mess was the main thing bothering me, but it was also annoying to have to hunt for shoes when we needed them. I wanted something in the closet to help organize the shoes, but didn't want to have to look for (or spend the money on) a shoe organizer.

Enter the myriad of diaper boxes we've accumulated over the last two years or so. We've used them in all of our moves, and since we're planning on moving again in the near future (in less than a year, to a house - no solid plans yet), we've saved all of the boxes that are in good condition. They're so ubiquitous that one of my sisters teases me about them on a fairly regular basis.

Anyway, I have a lot of diaper boxes.

Boxes can be used for a lot of things. They're very useful! So far, we've used them for organizing without really trying to make them look nice, but this time I wanted something that would look good in our closet, especially since the front closet is so public.

I decided that some small shelves made out of a couple of the diaper boxes would fill the bill for organizing the closet. Cover those with some tasteful contact paper, and it should look pretty good, right? The next time I went shopping, I purchased some contact paper with a cute pattern, and got to work the next day.

First I found two boxes that were the same size.:

Next, I lined them with contact paper:

Levi actually took this and the next picture. He did a good job!

Voila!

The finished product!

What Modern Apostles Say About the Economy

In the Utah Valley regional stake conference that I attended a few months back, Elder Dallin H. Oaks quoted from this commencement address by Elder M. Russell Ballard. I have just gotten around to looking it up, and it's spectacular! This talk is just what I needed to buoy my faith in the future. Here are some highlights, and it's worth the read. My favorite part is where he says that we'll see a period of great prosperity soon:

Face the future with optimism. I believe we are standing on the threshold of a new era of growth, prosperity, and abundance... I think the next few years will bring a resurgence in the economy as new discoveries are made in communication, medicine, energy, transportation, physics, computer technology, and other fields of endeavor.

Many of these discoveries, as in the past, will be the result of the Spirit whispering insights into and enlightening the minds of truth-seeking individuals. Many of these discoveries will be made for the purpose of helping to bring to pass the purposes and work of God and the quickening of the building of His kingdom on earth today. With these discoveries and advances will come new employment opportunities and prosperity for those who work hard and especially to those who strive to keep the commandments of God. This has been the case in other significant periods of national and international economic growth....

So, for yet a season, possibly a short season, it will seem as though the windows of heaven will have truly opened so that “there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). I believe you graduates sitting here today will be active participants in temporal blessings if you keep the commandments of the Lord. With prosperity will come a unique challenge—a test that will try many of you to your spiritual core. As you step into this new world of prosperity and engage in converting your education into financial success, you will always have to control wants vs. needs.

You will have two choices. Will your motivation to build and acquire the blessings of the Lord be for personal gratification, the recognition of men, for power, influence and self-aggrandizement? Or will your motive be to glorify God, working to help usher in the growth and expansion of His Church?

Those who seek riches to build up their own egos will find their treasure to be slippery and easily lost in unwise ways. The welfare of their souls will be in great jeopardy....

The Lord is not telling us that we should not be prosperous or that prosperity is a sin or is evil. On the contrary, He has always blessed the obedience of His people with prosperity. He is telling us that we should seek prosperity only after we seek, find, and serve Him. Then, because our hearts are right, because we love Him first and foremost, we will choose to invest the riches we obtain in building His kingdom.

If you choose to seek riches for the sake of riches, you will fall short. You will never be satisfied. You will be empty, never finding true happiness and lasting joy. The trial of your faith, my dear brothers and sisters, in the next few years to come will likely not be that you lack the material things of this world. Rather it will be in choosing what to do with the temporal blessings you may receive....

So, I urge you to make a commitment to yourself and to Heavenly Father to dedicate your life and consecrate your time and talents to the building up of the Church of Jesus Christ in anticipation of the Savior’s second coming. Let the motive of your thoughts and actions be to glorify God and to bless your fellowman. Let this desire inspire you to greet each new morning with enthusiasm, let it fuel your thoughts and actions throughout each day. If you do this, you will be blessed in the midst of a world that is fast losing its way, and you and your loved ones will be secure and happy. This does not mean that you will not face trials and tests, but it does mean you will have the spiritual power to handle them with faith and trust in the Lord.

You can find the complete text of the talk here.

Contributing to family finances

Before Levi was born, I worked full-time to help support the family. When Levi was born, I stopped working and have stayed at home with him. He is a great blessing to our family, and I love watching him. This is the best job I've ever had, even though the hours are irregular and the work can be taxing. Sometimes, however, I wish I could contribute financially to the family a little bit more.

I had considered working from home, but it isn't really a viable option. Austin always reassures me that we don't need the extra money and that it's much more important for me to work at home than for me to be able to work from home.

After some thought, I realized that I am saving, now and in the future, hundreds and thousands of dollars for my family.

"How?" you might ask. I'll tell you.

I love to read. Recently (since Levi was born), I've had a big interest in non-fiction. I've read a lot of biographies, some books about finances, some about science, and some about child-rearing. The two books about finance that I've read so far are about how to purchase a home and how to set up a good retirement fund.

These two issues may seem to be in the distant future for my family (at least 3 years), but since I am educating myself now instead of later when there are a myriad of other things to think about, I am streamlining the process. Also, starting a retirement fund now is actually in our best interest, due to an incentive from one of my family members. Starting this fund years earlier rather than later does amazing things for how it turns out in the long run. The buying a house thing is much further off, but since I know more about it now, I can keep my eyes open and learn more from others' experiences. I will also be keeping a closer eye on the housing situation in places that I may settle for long periods of time.

Another way I'm saving money for my family now is by living frugally and increasing my abilities as a home maker. I am learning new things to cook and hope to learn more about fixing things around the house. If anyone knows of a good book about car repair/maintenance, I'd love to hear about it! (Maintaining Your Car for Dummies, anyone?)