Understanding Career Clusters for a Better Future

Most of the states in the United States have a provision and set guidelines for all students. It is mandatory for all children to be educated; this is because education is highly necessary for empowerment. That is why for children living in the states, the federal government has provided some guidelines to help all students. By setting definable strategies, these clusters help under-graduates to find a suitable career path, and make the right choice. It is paramount to understand the intricacies of career clusters.

These guidelines are known as career clusters and are very important to each and every student in the lower and upper level of the education system; that is from first grade to the twelfth grade. However, the importance of clusters is mostly set for the upper level students, since they have a better understanding as young adults on what they would wish to do in future, as grown up adults. That is why the clusters are enforced and put into place; to guide and direct these young adults as to the main areas and scopes of career and how one can achieve that.

A career cluster helps and informs these young adults as to the main and different types of career paths, what these careers require and what they must take as a study path in college, so as to attain their goals in life. A career cluster consists of 16 clusters that are categorized and set forth by the US government and several other educations and career related bodies.It was created to make sure that students transit smoothly from high school to tertiary education with a set mind and goal as to the studies they would follow. This way, they get empowerment in the career fields they choose in the clusters.

There are different career paths set in them and has incorporated many different career jobs in the different sub categorized clusters. This is to mean that nearly all career options are set in a certain cluster, meaning the jobs in a cluster are more related to each other and have their own differences in execution and working. That is why with the clusters, once a student chooses a certain career cluster; he / she will have to make sure to choose a fitting career path, which he / she would love to go for, so that he / she can get to know the right study path to attend, in order to get to that career field.

The integration of the career clusters in the US education system back in the mid 90s, provided for students a chance to set a goal and an objective as to the career they would love to go for. Offering them the paths and spheres to attend and go for to get to that profession. This way, the system has ensured to nurture and build a higher probability of accomplishment in school and work by most of the students who have already gone through the system. The end product of this is a competent and able working force once done with school.

A pathway level, in the career clusters, sets forth the standard and needs required to get through to a certain career field, setting the detailed proficiency and knowledge, academic and technical needs required, to pursue the field one wants to go for as a career. This way, the student can gauge whether they are fit or able to go to the specific career field and if so, what requirements they have to attain to find a space in the career field.

career clusters
A great tool for teachers, counselors, and parents in helping students identify their interests and goals for the future. Use in guidance offices, career labs, libraries, and as a great enhancement to any state career information system.
Click here for 16 career clusters

Rational Career Planning - Understanding 6 Career Vs Job Differences

To undertake a rational career planning approach, we need ask ourselves and acknowledge the answer to the following two similar questions.


Are words career and job synonyms of each other?
Does looking for a job mean the same as charting your career path?
The answer to both the above questions is a big 'No'. The terms career and job cannot be used interchangeably. Searching for a job and charting ones career does not mean the same thing. Let us try and appreciate the differences.

The Differences Between Career and Job


Career and job are two different concepts. Career is an all encompassing, broader concept whereas job is a narrower approach.
The search of a job begins when you complete your education or when you need one, whereas a career needs to be managed. It needs to be planned right from the stage of high school.
It is not necessary that a job or for that matter a good job may be a stepping stone towards achieving your career goal. Extending it further, it is not necessary that the promotions in your job may take you closer to your career goal.
Both career management and job search require a network. Practically, these days' networking is very essential. In the case of a job the network is very superficial. Your interest in the network and the networks interest do not have a depth. On the other hand, in case of a career, your network comprises of strong relationships. In a career you and your network add value to each other.
In the case of a career, you would time and again do a SWOT analysis (analysis with effort or determination) of skill set. You aspire to enhance your skill set and continuously work on yourself. Working on your skill set takes you closer to your career goal. On the other hand in the case of a job, you try to acquire skills which help you perform your job better, or help you to seek a promotion.
In a job your success is governed by what other people think and perceive but in the case of a career, you measure your success in your own terms. You measure your success against the time line that you decided for yourself.

Rational career planning goes hand in hand with understanding, but most of all acknowledging, these differences. People who have a job and are hired to accomplish a task set to accomplish someone else his goal. when the task is done, the job is done. People who have a career, work on it ever day. It is an ongoing process.

Just look up the descriptions of both terms in a dictionary.

Career

"an occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training, followed as one's lifework"

Job

"a piece of work, especially a specific task done as part of the routine of one's occupation or for an agreed price"

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Career Development Plan - Understanding Your Career Anchors

In the 1970's some very interesting work was begun in the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Professor Schein. Schein aimed to identify the major groups of motives that influence people in their careers. These motives were called career anchors. It is a critical part of any career development planning to understand your motivations and focus your activities on the right career search areas.

A career anchor can be thought of as a combination of self perceived talents, values and motivators that organize and give some context to our career oriented decisions. It is also very likely that career anchors provide us all with an important contribution to our own sense of identity. The early work by Schein has been enhanced by Dave Francis in his book "Managing Your Own Career".

Career anchors do not appear to be something we sit down and choose at a particular moment in time. Rather, they appear to evolve slowly depending on our own personality, values, self image, and, of course, upon the experience that we have in life. Career anchors are particularly important in determining job satisfaction and, without a clear understanding of these, it is unlikely we will be able to maximize our enjoyment of work.

Below are the nine career anchors as developed by David Francis:

1. My recommendation is that you carefully read through them a couple of times and then award 50 points amongst the 9 anchors.

2. The better fit it seems to you the higher the points, if the anchor isn't much like you then award it a smaller number of points.

3. You must award points to all 9 anchors but you choose how many points.

4. Add up your points and choose your top 3 career anchors. Then have a goat answering this question:

5. How does this career anchor impact on my current and future career choices?

After extensive research Francis developed the following career anchors:

1. Material Rewards (MR)

These are defined as the physical assets such as money, possessions, housing and so forth that a person may acquire over a lifetime.

People who are highly motivated by a desire to have high levels of material rewards very often make decisions about their future career based upon their ability to acquire these. For example, a person who has a very high material rewards need will very often accept a position that offers lower long term prospects or less creativity in order to satisfy this need. A good example of this is people who spend some years in middle eastern countries undertaking work that may not necessarily be very satisfying and in an environment that is very strange. However, for many of these people the compensation is the very low taxes paid in middle eastern countries and the very high income.

2. Power and Influence (PI)

Francis has defined power and influence as a strong desire by the person to be in a dominant position and to have others in subordinate roles. A person with this career anchor has a strong desire to want to make decisions about policy and to have control over resources. People who have a strong power and influence anchor often seek out jobs that enable them to exercise considerable personal control over other people and situations. They can be involved in jobs that do not necessarily pay particularly well, but have power. People with this anchor very often move into managerial or political roles. They usually have a great deal of confidence and clear ideas on how things should be done.

It is important to see that this, like other anchors, is not intrinsically positive or negative. Clearly there are many very caring and able managers as well as tyrannical managers, who are highly motivated by the power and influence anchor.

3. The Search for Meaning (ME)

Francis says that search for meaning is defined as being motivated to do things considered to be a contribution to something bigger, finer or greater than the individual, according to a religious, emotional, moral, social or intellectual criteria.

Individuals who have the search for meaning anchor are often very concerned to be doing things that are in accord with their fundamental beliefs. They are very often disinterested in money or influencing others, but are highly motivated to help other people or to work towards a spiritual goal. It is very important for these people to make what they see as a significant contribution to the world throughout their careers.

4. Expertise (EX)

People with this career anchor often want to become a specialist in a particular field. They derive great satisfaction from being able to solve mechanical, intellectual, scientific or practical problems that fool others. These are the types of people who are happy to spend much of their own leisure time reading work related material. Conflicts can arise for these individuals if they are pushed into a management position where they are expected to have control and influence over other people. This very often creates difficulties because these people are much more interested in mechanical procedures or academic knowledge than in getting on with others.

5. Creativity (CR)

People with this career anchor are very concerned to be able to create original objects, theories or experiences. They can work in many occupations, including the sciences, arts, literature and research, as well as in entertainment or in entrepreneurial activities. These people are driven to create new objects such as games or puzzles. They often have a good ability to tolerate frustration and difficulties, provided their creative energies can eventually be satisfied. Very often they are much less concerned about money or about power and influence even though they might actually have both of these things.

6. Affiliation (AF)

People who have this particular career anchor have a strong desire to seek nourishing relationships with other people. They are very often involved in social work of psychology or some other profession that makes use of their skills in this area.

When these people go looking for a job their most important criterion is whether they like the other people on the job. They are much less concerned with the money, or with their ability to get promotion, provided the people they are working with are friendly and caring.

7. Autonomy (AU)

People who have this particular career anchor very often want to take charge of their own lives. They are very uncomfortable when they are in organizations and have to work by defined job descriptions. They very often prefer to work for themselves or to be in Universities or other places that offer them considerable freedom. The most important concept to this sort of person is the freedom of choice.

8. Security (SE)

Individuals who have this as their primary career anchor want to ensure that the future is predictable and that they can avoid unnecessary risks. This type of person is prepared to take lower income, to have less freedom of choice, and to have future prospects for advancement in their career provided they are in a position where the risks are very small. These people are often quite concerned about material wealth, not from the point of earning a lot, but from the perspective of investing wisely and ensuring that they always have a secure financial base.

9. Status (ST)

People who have this as their primary career anchor very often want to undertake work that provides them with high esteem. They are concerned about symbols and formal recognition by prestigious groups. It is important to see that this is not necessarily something that is directly related to social class. For example, there is a very clear status hierarchy even in prisons, and sometimes people are highly motivated to commit crimes simply because of the prestige that it will result in.

Now that you have some understanding of career anchors, you can assess which anchors motivate you and incorporate that into you career development plan.

Graham Hart has been a HR Manager, Management Consultant, Business owner and Executive Coach. He is currently a Director with the Human Resources Institute Of New Zealand. Having trouble deciding on your next career move? Catch his career blog at http://www.bestcareer-4you.com/

To help professional people get the information and resources to help them plan their next career move. Free career advice at http://www.bestcareer-4you.com/

How to Use QuickBooks For Job Costing - Understanding Job Cost Reports

QuickBooks offers a plethora of standard job costing reports designed to give you the information you need to manage your customer and jobs.  Some of these reports are only found in the Contractors and Accountants editions, but many are available in other versions of QuickBooks as well.

Jobs & Profitability Reports:

These reports can be found in Pro, Premier and Enterprise in Reports > Jobs, Time & Mileage.  

Job Profitability Summary - This report summarizes how much profit your company has made from each customer.

Job Profitability Detail - This report drills down to the detailed costs and revenues for each job phase you billed to the selected customer or job, so you can see which parts of the job were profitable and which parts were not.

Item Profitability - This report summarizes how much profit you have made from each item or job phase you sell.

Profit & Loss by Job - This report shows how much profit you are making or losing on each job.

Unbilled Costs by Job - This report lists the costs you assigned to a specific customer or job but have not yet billed as reimbursable expenses.

Job Estimates Reports:

These reports can be found in Pro, Premier and Enterprise in Reports > Jobs, Time & Mileage. 

Job Estimates vs. Actuals Summary - This report summarizes how accurately your company estimated job-related costs and revenues. The report summarizes estimated to actual costs and estimated to actual revenue for all customers.

Job Estimates vs. Actuals Detail - This report drills down to the detailed costs and revenues for the selected customer or job. It compares estimated to actual costs and estimated to actual revenue for each job phase you billed.  That way, you can see which parts of the job you estimated accurately and which parts you did not.

Job Progress Invoices vs. Estimates - This report compares each estimate with progress invoices based on the estimate. For each customer or job, this report shows whether or not the estimate is active, the estimate total, the total invoiced from the estimate on progress invoices, and the percentage of the estimate already invoiced on progress invoices.

Item Estimates vs. Actuals - This report summarizes how accurately your company estimated costs and revenues for the items and job phases you sell. The report summarizes estimated to actual cost and estimated to actual revenue for all your items.

Estimates by Job - This report lists all active estimates assigned to a customer or job.

Open Purchase Orders by Job - This report shows the remaining purchase order line items that have not been received and their expected delivery date for each customer or job.

Job Costs & Bills Reports:

These reports can only be found in the Contractors and Accountants editions of QuickBooks.  Some of them are also available in the Professional Services edition.  

Costs to Complete by Job Summary - Once you enter how far along each of your jobs are, this report summarizes the cost to complete each of your jobs that have active estimates. It also shows how far you are over or under your estimate.

Costs to Complete by Job Detail - This report drills down to the detailed estimated cost by phase to complete the selected customer or job, and how far you are over or under your estimate.

Job Costs by Vendor and Job Summary - This report lists the job-related expenses you have incurred for each job, subtotaled by vendor.

Job Costs by Vendor and Detail - This report shows a detailed list of all the job-related expenses you have incurred for each vendor, subtotaled by job.

Job Costs Job and Vendor Summary - This report lists the job-related expenses you have incurred for each vendor, subtotaled by job.

Job Costs Job and Vendor Detail - This report shows a detailed list of all the job-related expenses you have incurred for each vendor, subtotaled by job.

Job Costs Detail - This report lists the expenses you have incurred for each job. This report is useful if you need to break out all material supplier purchases, all subcontractors bills, and all the labor costs for each job.

Unpaid Bills by Job - This report lists the bills you have not yet paid, sorted by customers and jobs. It lists only bills with an associated customer or job. This report is useful if you wait to pay vendor bills for a specific job when you receive a payment from the customer.

Unpaid Job Bills by Vendor - This report shows all bills you have not yet paid, sorted by vendor or subcontractor, and lists any customer or job associated with each item on the bill.

Expenses Not Assigned to Jobs - This report lists expenses that you have not assigned to a customer or job, totaled by vendor. Use this report to help identify costs that you may have forgotten to pass along to your customers.

Job Status - This report lists information for each active customer and job.

Customizing Reports:

One of the wonderful things about QuickBooks is how easy it is to customize reports and then memorize them for future use.  At the top of each report is a Modify Report button.  Here, you can change the way it looks as well as move, sort and subtotal the data in it.  

An even more powerful feature is report filtering.  Each filter represents a specific way you can restrict the scope of the report. When you select a filter, QuickBooks displays fields for you to fill in. The fields ask for information that QuickBooks needs to know to apply the filter to the report.

Once you have a particular report customized just the way you want, you can easily memorize it for future use by clicking the Memorize button.

If you need additional assistance, please call our QuickBooks technical support line at 888-351-5285.  We are here to help you get the most out of QuickBooks!

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Ruth Perryman, MBA, CMA, CFE, CFM is a Certified Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor and an Intuit Solutions Provider. She specializes in customizing QuickBooks Enterprise and POS. She can be reached at 800-707-0940 x101 or ruth@theQBspecialists.com.

You can also follower her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ruthperryman.
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