Want fries with your job? The good news: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics's latest job growth prediction, the US economy will add millions of jobs for Americans with only a high school diploma.

According to the BLS, there will be 20.4 million more jobs in 2020 than there were in 2010. About 12.8 million of those jobs will require a high school degree or less. Many of those will be clustered in services. The country will need more healthcare aides to look after a rapidly aging population. There will be more work in food preparation, retail, and office administration. The graph below depicts the occupations requiring a high school degree or less that are expected to add the most jobs (from left to right).

The bad news? They don't pay well.

There are a few solidly middle-class jobs tucked in here -- a good salesperson for a wholesaler averages $62,000 a year. An administrative support supervisor takes home more than $50,000 a year. A carpenter makes $43,000. But most of these jobs offer between $18,000 and $30,000 a year. The pay for the jobs at the far left, which will generate the most employment growth, is particularly abysmal.

Jordan Weissmann of The Atlantic has more: Link

Maizey aims to please as she works in the front office of the veterinarian. That’s a good dog!  -via reddit

An informal job ad posted to the famed physicist’s website said the assistant should be computer literate, ready to travel, and able to repair electronic devices “with no instruction manual or technical support.”

Hawking has long struggled against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease which left him almost completely paralyzed.

He lost his real voice in a tracheotomy in 1985, but a wheelchair-mounted computer helps synthesize speech by interpreting the twitches of his face. The synthesizer’s robotic monotone has become nearly as famous as Hawking himself, but the computer — powered by batteries fastened to the back of Hawking’s wheelchair — isn’t just for speaking.

It can connect to the Internet over cell phone networks and a universal infrared remote enables the physicist to switch on the lights, watch television, or open doors either at home or at the office.

The updated job description also says the assistant will help with travel arrangements, lecture preparations, and dealing with the press. Travel is required. The position is funded by the University of Cambridge. Link to story. Link to job description. -Thanks, Shaun!

NASA, the world’s leader in space and aeronautics is always seeking outstanding scientists, engineers, and other talented professionals to carry forward the great discovery process that its mission demands. Creativity. Ambition. Teamwork. A sense of daring. And a probing mind. That’s what it takes to join NASA, one of the best places to work in the Federal Government.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a need for Astronaut Candidates to support the International Space Station (ISS) Program and future deep space exploration activities.

Applications will be taken until January 27th. Link -via Metafilter

Psst! Wanna job? There's a place in the United States that actually can't get enough people to hire.

The catch? You have to live in North Dakota ... kidding! Actually its a bit worse: you have to live in camps in North Dakota ;)

Perhaps the state didn't get the memo that we're in the middle of the Great Recession, or that the country is neck-deep in unemployment, but thanks to its oil fields, North Dakota is flush with cash and booming with jobs.

School-bus driver Barb Russell heard good money could be made in the oil fields of North Dakota, so she packed a bag, locked her Farmington, Minn., home and headed west last month. She tripled her income.

She rose every morning at 3 o'clock in September to bus Halliburton workers to drilling rigs in a place where trucks roar nonstop and everybody who wants a job has one.

Finding somewhere to lay your head is another matter. Russell, 60, lives in one of many dormitory-style "man camps" that help house an influx of an estimated 35,000 workers.

"I wish 'em the best on getting housing for everybody, especially with winter coming," said Russell, who in her pink cap stands out among the men. "I'd hate to see people sleeping in their cars."

There's no other place like it in America.

Link

Business Cat is an image meme in which a cat holds a desk job. Most of what you see around the ‘net are pithy statements mixing business and cat culture. But here’s a post that takes you through the entire day of a house cat that holds down a nine-to-five job, although he often works late. After all, he is the Executive Vice Purrsident in Charge of Sales and Quality Control for New Yarn-Based Products. Link

After reading these notes to anonymous troublemakers -and every office has one or two of those types- I realize how glad I am to work from home, despite the relatively minor annoyances. At least now when someone steals my lunch, its someone I have to feed anyway. See 39 more of these notes that you will probably relate to. Link -Thanks, Jane/Sierra!

Update 10/30/11 – These are from Passive Aggressive Notes – Thanks Kerry!

As someone who works from home, I can vouch for the accuracy of these nuggets of wisdom posted at Buzzfeed. This one in particular, which is a concept I struggle with. You might laugh, but when you work on your own schedule, there is a constant tug-of-war between better quality and getting anything finished at all. Amirite? Link

2. “How many ridges [are there] around a quarter?”

6. “How many basketball[s] can you fit in this room”

12. “An apple costs 20 cents, an orange costs 40 cents, and a grapefruit costs 60 cents, how much is a pear?”

20. “You are in charge of 20 people, organize them to figure out how many bicycles were sold in your area last year.”

The list at Glassdoor has links to possible answers from readers. I think the correct answer to many of these might be, “I don’t know, but I know how to find the answer.” Link -via Austin Business Journal

(Image credit: Flickr user Tiffany Trewin)

This Friday’s Museum of Possibilities addresses the many kinds of burdens felt by office workers, and offers to “solve” or ameliorate some of them. Though office workers have more freedom to move about in their cubicles than, say, debeaked and declawed chickens can move inside their tiny coops, they do experience a variety of underlying stresses. For one, they are required to appear artificially perky and cheerful on the job, which author Barbara Ehrenreich says wastes energy that could be devoted to actual work – see Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream, and Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America.

Further, they need to keep up with the latest information, work late hours, take work home, and at the same time learn how to keep fit, look presentable and multitask. A good multitasker might be on the phone while answering email and doing “research” online, which might include checking out interesting facts on Neatorama. All in all, there is more to being an office worker than just showing up for work.

While today’s workers do not always need to carry a heavy briefcase to accomplish work at home – a USB stick loaded with PowerPoint files fits easily in the suit jacket pocket – there is nonetheless the need to continue to worry about the job as well as to work after hours or at home. I believe that the available types of office apparel fail to take into account real needs! I have come to the aid of workers of the office world with suits and dresses, jackets and hats designed especially for office professionals!

Visit Steven M. Johnson at his website.

There are a number of real-life occupations out there with titles equally (if not more) crazy. You might tell someone you are a bikini inspector or a mattress tester, but these people can tell about their occupation with a straight face. Can you imagine making a living by watching paint dry?

One such person is Keith Jackson from the UK, who for the last 30 years, has been assessing the time it takes for his company’s paint to dry. By gently touching test area on his work station wall, Mr. Jackson times how long it takes for a paint to stop being wet. It might seem horribly unnecessary, but keep in mind that there are places out there which have to occasionally be painted in record fast time (like subway stations or freeways), and it’s up to Mr. Jackson to see just how his company’s formula is holding up.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by milos87.

Current Guinness World Record title holder Annette Edwards, 57, a real-life version of Jessica Rabbit, is looking for a handler to show big bunny Alice over the next year. Whoever gets the role can expect a life-changing year, travelling with Annette to far-flung corners of the globe.Already booked are personal appearances in Paris at the end of April on a television show and the heart of fashion, Milan, in May.

The two-and-a-half year old bunny also weights a whopping three-and-a-half stone so some

strength will be needed. The ideal candidates needs to be someone who can handle the rabbit and loves pets, with a big personality and not be shy in front of the camera.

Link -via Bigredkev

Groups at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and at Florida International University hope to isolate the compounds that give us each a unique aroma. The problem is that our diet, medications, toiletries and other factors make it difficult to discern natural scent from manufactured odorants. And so, since 1973, George Preti of Monell has collected human odors, recently focusing on the underarm, the mouth and urine.

You won’t want to read this while eating. However, as a bonus you’ll see what the best job in science is! Link -via Digg

The Salary Theorem proves mathematically that those who know more make less money. Therefore, if you know nothing, you should be fabulously wealthy! Link -via Digg

Jeremy Caplan of TIME Magazine has a handy dandy guide to "job-crafting" that will (hopefully) turn the job you hate into a better one. For example:

Step 2: Diagram Your Day
To lay the groundwork for change, job-crafting participants assemble diagrams detailing their workday activities. The first objective is to develop new insights about what you actually do at work. Then you can dream up fresh ways to integrate what the job-crafting exercise calls your "strengths, motives and passions" into your daily routine. You convert task lists into flexible building blocks. The end result is an "after" diagram that can serve as a map for specific changes.

Ina Lockau-Vogel, a management consultant who participated in a recent job-crafting workshop, says the exercise helped her adjust her priorities. "Before, I would spend so much time reacting to requests and focusing on urgent tasks that I never had time to address the real important issues." As part of the job-crafting process, she decided on a strategy for delegating and outsourcing more of her administrative responsibilities.

In contrast to business tomes that counsel managers to influence workers through incentives, job-crafting focuses on what employees themselves can do to re-envision and adjust what they do every day. Given that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it now takes the average job seeker more than six months to find a new position, it’s crucial to make the most of the job you’ve got.

Link

Judy Mandell of the Los Angeles Times writes about the more unusual behind-the-scenes hotel jobs. Take for instance, Jason Sensat’s job. He’s the Duckmaster at the Peabody hotel:

At the Peabody hotel in Memphis, Tenn., five mallard ducks live in a penthouse on the roof. At 11 a.m. each day, they march to the lobby, where they splash in the fountain until 5 p.m., when the ceremony reverses. Duckmaster Jason Sensat feeds, cares for and trains the ducks.

"Many think this is a fun and glamorous job, and quite often it is with media interviews, travel and celebrity honorary Duckmasters — but it’s also a dirty job, as cleaning up after the flock is part of the job too," Sensat says.

Read the rest: Link | Jason’s official page at The Peabody

That’s right. Charley Cooper is a busy kid. He’s got classes, homework, and even a part-time job at a financial services company. So he’s looking for a personal assistant to handle the mundane part of everyday living like doing laundry, organizing his closet, and so on:

Cooper, 19, logged on to the university’s student employment Web site last week and posted an ad for someone to tackle "some of my everyday tasks," such as organizing his closet, dropping him off and picking him up from work, scheduling haircuts, putting gas in the car and taking it in for service, managing his electronic accounts and doing laundry (although the assistant will be paid only for the time spent loading, unloading and folding clothes, not the entire laundry cycle).

The successful applicant can expect to work three to seven hours a week and make $10 to $12 an hour, although "on occasion it will be possible to work additional hours and/or receive bonuses at my discretion." Preference will be given to Georgetown undergraduates, Cooper says in the listing, and the assistant can spread his or her tasks throughout the day.

"As my PA you will receive an email once a day by 9:00 am with a task list for that day and a time estimate for each task," Cooper wrote in the job listing, which was first reported by the student newsmagazine, Georgetown Voice. "Important tasks will be bolded on the list and must be done that day (even though everything on the list should theoretically be finished on a daily basis). At the end of the day you will send me an email telling me what tasks are incomplete or that all tasks have been completed."

Link

More at Gawker and Georgetown’s Blog Vox Populi.

Oldest cop: Manuel Curry, 84
Sadly, Sergeant Major Manuel Curry died earlier this summer. But he did so as America’s oldest active duty police officer, having spent 63 years patrolling New Orleans — no picnic. In fact, Curry gained acclaim for holding his post during Katrina, even as many of his much younger colleagues either abandoned the city or joined in the looting.

Oldest plumber: Pierre John "Buster" Martin, 102
The London centenarian has garnered praise for his work ethic — he refused to take a day off for his 100th birthday and, at 101, attempted to go to work the day after being attacked by a group of thugs. Although rumors have circulated that Buster is really only 96.

Oldest world leader: Robert Mugabe, 85
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe may be the number one argument for a mandatory retirement age: The former-revolutionary hero, and current oldest member of the heads-of-state club, is considered by many to be the world’s worst despot.

Good ol’ Mugabe! It’s good that he’s keepin’ active with all the dictator stuff: Link – Thanks Alex!

Distraction is a film by Mike Stern, who probably didn’t have to listen to the boss’ favorite music while creating this. Still, you know he’s been through it at one time or another! Link -via YesButNoButYes

1. Fishers
2. Loggers
3. Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers
4. Structural Iron and Steel Workers
5. Farmers and Ranchers

Yahoo Finance has the statistics on each job. There is also a linked slide show from Forbes looking at the top ten deadliest jobs. Link -via the Presurfer

(image credit: Flickr user Sam Beebe / Ecotrust)

“The current recession stands apart from prior downturns for both the depth and breadth of destruction in the job market,” the report says. “California has lost more jobs at a faster rate in the past two years than during any prior recession for which data are available, and employment has fallen in nearly every major sector of the economy.”

Because of the decline in the number of jobs coupled with growth in the labor force, the report finds that the percentage of working-age Californians who hold jobs has fallen to its lowest level in 32 years. Citing U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the report says just 57.5 percent of California adults are working.

The last time the percentage was that low was in 1977, a time when many women voluntarily chose not to work outside their homes. The percentage of employed adults peaked in 1989 at 64.9 percent.

Timm Herdt of Ventura County Star has the grim news: Link | California Budget Project Press Release [PDF]

The economy is tough out there for artists but we have good news for you: we are hiring freelance graphic designers to design nifty T-shirts for the Neatorama Online Store as well as a couple of models (male and female, a couple preferred) to showcase the T-shirts.

Both of these positions are part-time/freelance – you can work from your home (though we prefer that you be in the USA and 18-years-of age or older). Oh, and models get to keep the shirts after they’re done modeling ‘em

Please email Alex for more details – be sure to include this as the subject line "Neatorama T-Shirt Designer Application" or "Neatorama T-Shirt Model Application."

Thank you!

Update 3/18/09: Thank you to everybody who applied! We’re sifting through hundreds of qualified applicants now and will make our decision shortly.

At the lowest point in his life, Michael walked into a Starbucks store while it was holding a jobs fair. On a whim he applied for a position.

Starbucks may be $4 cup of coffee to you and me, but to Michael, it was a lifesaver:

After 26 years at J. Walter Thompson, a leading advertising agency, the then 63-year-old Gill was invited to an early breakfast and was told that he was getting the boot. He made too much money. Someone younger would work for less, he was told.

"Never go out to breakfast," he warns before bursting into laughter. "It’s like the Mafia. You will never return."

He can joke about it now, but Gill says he was devastated by his firing. "I remember walking outside and bursting into tears," he says over a steaming cup of coffee at his current place of employment, a Starbucks in Bronxville, New York. "I was stunned. I knew that that part of my life was over."

That was just the start of a terrible reversal of fortune. In a few short years, Gill, the Yale-educated son of the famed New Yorker writer Brendan Gill, closed the consulting business he started after he was laid off, got divorced and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had hit both the rock and the bottom and was continuing to fall.

A trip to Starbucks would irrevocably change his life, he says. Unbeknownst to him, the coffee shop was holding a hiring fair the morning he walked in for his daily dose of caffeine. A manager approached him and asked if he would like to apply for a job. Without thinking, he said yes.

Link

Mrs Petrie, 45, is a community nurse employed by North Somerset Primary Care Trust to carry out home visits to sick and elderly patients.

The incident which led to her suspension took place at the home of a woman patient in Winscombe, North Somerset. "It was around lunchtime and I had spent about 20 to 25 minutes with her. I had applied dressings to her legs and shortly before I left I said to her: ‘Would you like me to pray for you?’.

"She said ‘No, thank you.’ And I said: ‘OK.’ I only offered to pray for her because I was concerned about her welfare and wanted her to get better."

However, after the incident on December 15, she was contacted by the trust and asked to explain her actions.

Andrew Alderson of The Daily Telegraph has the story: Link

There’s so much to see and do, so you’ll have plenty to write about in your weekly blog. And with so much life above and below the water, you’re sure to capture some entertaining moments for your video diary and photo gallery. To keep you busy, Tourism Queensland will organise a schedule of travel and events on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Your schedule could include sampling a new luxury spa treatment at qualia on Hamilton Island, trying out new snorkelling gear on Heron Island, or bushwalking on Hinchinbrook Island.

The job includes use of a three-bedroom home near the beach with a pool, and pays $150,000 Australian. You must send a video to apply for the position. Watch videos of other applicants at the website. Link -via Metafilter

Sarah Needleman of The Wall Street Journal wrote an interesting article about a new CareerCast.com study from Les Krantz, author of Jobs Rated Almanac, about the best and worst jobs in the U.S.

The study evaluated 200 jobs according to environment, income, employment outlook, physical demand and stress. The data are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, amongst others:

According to the study, mathematicians fared best in part because they typically work in favorable conditions — indoors and in places free of toxic fumes or noise — unlike those toward the bottom of the list like sewage-plant operator, painter and bricklayer. They also aren’t expected to do any heavy lifting, crawling or crouching — attributes associated with occupations such as firefighter, auto mechanic and plumber.

The study also considers pay, which was determined by measuring each job’s median income and growth potential. Mathematicians’ annual income was pegged at $94,160, but Ms. Courter, 38, says her salary exceeds that amount.

Link

Neatorama, of course, already know that Math rocks. Check out our I Love Math T-shirt.

Strickland was told by his doctors not to have the bullet removed unless it was pressing on any arteries or causing health problems. He does plan to see a neurosurgeon though because he wants it taken out if possible.

Strickland says it hurts, but not enough to keep him from going to work. Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!

A Manhattan doorman, Jonah Seeman, who has been ushering tenants into a four-building complex for 40 years, was told not to come to work recently because of halitosis.

The Brooklyn resident, who supports his 81-year-old mother, has been suspended twice before for bad breath. Apartment dwellers at the Gracie Gardens complex expressed surprise over Seeman’s suspension and came to his defense.

“His job, which he does well, is opening the door — not to be opening his mouth,” said Adam Reingold.

Officials with Cooper Square Realty, the management company that oversees the property, did
not return calls seeking comments. But the company sent the doorman a letter dated Nov. 21, stating: “We can no longer tolerate the fact that you have severe breath odor while on duty.”

Video: LiveLeak
Source: Yahoo News