plus 3, Pewaukee / Free job counseling offered to veterans - Pioneer Press

Pewaukee / Free job counseling offered to veterans - Pioneer Press
Traditional jobs support careers in the arts - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Career makeovers: Don't settle for just a 'job' - Walletpop.com
Labor: online job warning - msnbc.com

Pewaukee / Free job counseling offered to veterans - Pioneer Press

Posted: 11 Sep 2010 09:57 PM PDT

A career-assessment firm is providing free online employment counseling to all veterans.

BestWork DATA made the announcement Saturday at the Vietnam Veterans of America Wisconsin Statewide Convention in Pewaukee.

The Atlanta-based company is offering veterans online access to JobThoughts, a program that helps workers determine their job strengths. It also advises them on how to be more effective in their job search.

The services are normally sold through professional career counselors for $100 or more.

— Associated Press

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Traditional jobs support careers in the arts - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Posted: 04 Sep 2010 04:57 PM PDT

Being a full-time actor, musician, comedian, filmmaker or playwright in Western Pennsylvania often doesn't pay the bills. To support their creative pursuits, many artists need to hold down "real" jobs. Here's a look at how some of these two-career performers make ends meet.

Mark Southers

At night, Mark Southers works as a playwright and the founder and producing artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, Downtown.

Daytime finds the Schenley Heights resident driving big rigs at the Irvin plant of US Steel's Mon Valley Works in Dravosburg. Some days, he's 30 feet above the ground operating an excavator; other days he's running a front-loader, a high lift, a backhoe or driving a truck.

Southers began working for US Steel 18 years ago when he was laid off from his job as a photographer for the Pittsburgh Courier. He has been there ever since.

"The benefits were the key," Southers says. "I have a daughter (Ashley) who required a lot of hospitalization 16 years ago, and it's difficult to get a high-paying job without a college education."

During breaks, he uses his Blackberry to keep up with theater-related e-mails and return phone calls.

Most evenings find Southers at the theater on Penn Avenue, helping to build scenery, directing a play or keeping an eye on a production that's on stage. Most of his playwrighting is done at home, after midnight.

"The biggest loser is home time," Southers says. His fiance, Lorill "Neicy" Readie, and their son, Marcus, often spend their evenings at the theater, as well.

"I spend so much time at the theater that my son (who will be 3 in September) does lines from 'Jitney'," Southers says.

Southers is grateful for the financial support his mill job provides.

But, given the choice, he says: "I would really just do theater, because that's what gives me joy."

— Alice T. Carter

Sara Botkin

McKeesport native Sara Botkin saw a life in music ahead of her from an early age. She won local competitions as a young pianist, and graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan with a double major in voice and piano and from the University of Virginia with a bachelor of arts in music.

Botkin moved to New York City in 1999 to pursue musical opportunities. Although she enjoyed some real successes on major concert stages and on recordings, it was hard-going, financially. She found herself thinking about working in financial services, which had always been an interest because it's her dad's field.

On the morning of 9/11, she was waiting for an elevator at World Trade Center II, where she worked a day job, when the other tower was hit by the first plane. "I was lucky enough to go out. I often shiver to think what would have happened if I'd been up in my office on the 105th floor," she says. "Instantly, a switch in my brain clicked, and I realized I just wanted to be home around family. I'll still do music somehow."

Botkin moved back to Western Pennsylvania with her husband. She is now vice president of wealth management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Upper St. Clair, where she works daily with her father.

"Ironically, Pittsburgh has provided much more opportunity for solo (singing) work than New York," Botkin says. And her day job has financed a studio in her home and some of her musical activities, such as hiring world-class musicians in Pittsburgh for her CDs.

— Mark Kanny

Christopher Josephs

Selling shoes fits well with Christopher Josephs' acting career.

Josephs, who lives in Forest Hills, augments his income from acting and teaching with a part-time job as a salesman for Gordon's Shoes at the Waterfront in Homestead.

He appears on stage frequently in roles with companies such as Pittsburgh Public Theater, Quantum Theatre, Unseam'd Shakespeare Company and Bricolage.

In February, he performed in "Buried Child" for Point Park University's professional company, The Rep. He also teaches acting part-time at Point Park and the CLO Academy.

His job at Gordon's, where he has worked for 10 years, is part of the crucial juggling act that allows him to support himself and his family while pursuing his artistic career.

"Flexibility is near the top of the list for doing anything outside theater education or plays," he says. "I like interacting with people. The big plus is, I can come and go as I need with a week's notice."

— Alice T. Carter

Max Leake

Max Leake, a jazz pianist, deals with other sorts of keys and electronic instruments in his day job. He does graphic design at the Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation, Education and Research, a facility of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Oakland.

The institute develops health care programs and techniques, often using computer-linked mannequins to help teach the lessons.

Leake has been a professional musician for more than 30 years. He drove taxis for a time to help pay the bills, but about 11 years ago decided he could use a better line of work. Using interests and talents away from music, he started doing some work on computer-system consulting, then worked for a company designing websites and moved to the institute about 4 1/2 years ago.

The job gives him some things he would not have in a free-lance career in music or business: paid vacation, benefits and retirement income.

"It's become very difficult to have a living on music alone, especially when you have a family to support," Leake says. "I could play seven night a week and still not make enough to pay the bills."

He says the schedule of his day job does not get in the way of his performance career, but the brass at the institute seem to be aware of his needs.

"My boss said recently, 'Max is a pianist who happens to moonlight with us.' "

— Bob Karlovits

Ken Russo

Ken Russo has discovered the benefits of having two separate careers.

"It has been a nice mix," he says. "It has been demanding, but also rewarding."

Russo plays French horn for the River City Brass Band, and is vice president of operations for CTR Systems in the Thorn Hill Industrial Park in Warrendale. The firm designs parking systems along with those that handle employee time, payroll and human-resource issues.

After graduating the conservatory program at Carnegie Mellon University, Russo says he tried for about eight years to have a musical career. That meant performing at every opportunity, as well as teaching. But he came to realize he needed something else.

He got the job with CTR about 20 years ago and has grown to appreciate the challenges his management position offers. It is a completely different job, but one he accepts and enjoys. He is quick to point out it is not just a "day job." His two jobs are two complete careers that have required "a full-time commitment to each one."

That means there are times he practices for the River City job at his industrial park office. That generally is after hours and the cleaning people have become used to the brass sounds emanating from his office.

Touring with the band and performance dates sometimes can get in the way of CTR work, but the management there seems to be open to him shifting his schedule around.

— Bob Karlovits

Meeting of Important People

Aaron Bubenheim thought he could eke out a living by working in restaurants, doing construction work and other odd jobs. He also dropped out of the University of Pittsburgh, where he was studying journalism, to pursue a career in music.

But now he's works a 9-to-5 job, one that requires a collared shirt, slacks and a tie every day. And the occasional hair cut.

"I never had any intention of working in an office," says Bubenheim, 29, who plays in the band Meeting of Important People and works in the title department for Federated Mortgages on Mt. Washington. "I thought I'd do the band stuff and work manual labor."

His bandmates -- Matt Miller, 30, and Josh Verbanets, 27, also have full-time jobs. Miller works in the Carnegie Cafe at the Carnegie Museums in Oakland, and Verbanets is a financial analyst at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. They would love careers as full-time musicians, but they realize it's not practical when revenue streams for all but the most elite of performers are down.

Having a source of income other than music allows the band to be, paradoxically, more creative. Miller says when he was living at home and focusing on music he tended to relax too much.

"For me, the most creative times are when I'm doing a job and something just pops into my head," he says. "I had nothing to write about when I was home. What am I going to write about when I'm sitting around eating food from my mom's fridge?"

When the band performs out of town, the performers are able to schedule long weekends, either through vacation time or alternative scheduling.

"There's been flexibility," Bubenheim says. "The communication between me and my boss has been wide open."

Another unexpected benefit: Most of the trio's co-workers think it's pretty cool to have a musician on staff, and some even attend shows.

"Everyone is very supportive," Verbanets says. "It's a very good situation to be in."

— Rege Behe

Gavin Rapp

Gavin Rapp's day and night jobs don't end when he goes from one to the other.

"I never really turn either one of them off completely," says Rapp, of Aspinwall. "I found out that when you own your own business and have a passion for it, I don't really have to turn it off. I kind of work on everything all the time."

By day, he works as a multimedia specialist at FedEx Ground in Robinson, where he produces videos of independent contractors who deliver packages for FedEx around the country.

He's also an independent filmmaker for Winter Morning Pictures, the company he co-founded in 2005. Rapp co-wrote and co-directed its first full-length feature, "Trapped." In keeping with their mission, the noir murder thriller was shot in Pittsburgh and used local actors, with the exception of Hollywood import Corbin Bernsen. "Trapped" won best Crime Feature at the New York International Independent Film Festival in 2009.

Rapp figures he works about 40 hours a week at his day job and 30 hours as a filmmaker. In addition to shooting and editing, he writes scripts and works with his partners to raise money for projects.

Rapp, a husband and father of two boys, says he makes sure to find time for his own family.

He lauds FedEx for being supportive of his other career.

"It's been nice to be able to have this environment to work in," he says. "When we're doing the editing or the interview or even the filming, I might come up with ideas that I want to incorporate into my own Winter Morning pictures."

Rapp's current project, "Since I Don't Have You," is a drama about a son who confronts his father over his mother's suicide. Rapp's mother, Hall of Fame soprano Janet Vogel Rapp, sang with doo-wop legends Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners. The film, which is budgeted at $500,000, takes its name from their biggest hit. She took her life when Rapp was 13.

— William Loeffler

Matt Wolhfarth

It takes creativity, nerve and hard work to get laughs as a stand-up comedian. It also takes money -- for gas, groceries and the rent.

To support his career as a stand-up comedian, Matt Wohlfarth works as a sales representative in the Verizon Call Center in Cranberry. He handles from 60 to 100 phone calls a day, mostly from customers who want to add another line to their cell phone or otherwise update their account. He works 40 to 50 hours a week.

"I get a lot of material from my job," says Wohlfarth, who has appeared at the Pittsburgh Improv and on the Morning Show on WDVE-FM. "I think it's a good balance right now. When I was on the road full time, it took me away from my family."

He works three weekends a month doing stand-up comedy in clubs and colleges in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. By day, he wears a headset and thanks callers for the opportunity to be of service to them. He generally avoids lapsing into his comedian persona.

A writer and comic for more than 20 years, Wohlfarth organized the Midlife Crisis Comedy Tour, a quartet of middle-aged comics, as well as Comedy Relief, an annual benefit for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. He also served as a creative consultant on Yakov Smirnoff's Broadway show, "As Long As We Both Shall Laugh."

"The challenge is, 'Do you really want to do stand-up but you want the security of the job,' " says Wohlfarth, who has four children and one grandchild. "It's a good career. Verizon treats you real nice."

Some of his paycheck also goes to organize and promote his own shows. His next project is the Snow Funny Comedy Tour, where he'll headline ski resorts like Seven Springs and Snowshoe.

"There are very few full-time comedy clubs in the country," Wohlfarth says. "Most of them are Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It makes sense to have a job. It gives you the economic security to be able to invest in yourself."

— William Loeffler

Career makeovers: Don't settle for just a 'job' - Walletpop.com

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 06:04 AM PDT

Pam Susman thought she had her career figured out. After graduating from Fordham University in 2006 with a master's degree in counseling and personnel services, she took a job as a vocational and mental health counselor at a community center in New York City. She liked the career counseling aspect of it so decided to try her hand at recruiting two years later. But with the economic slowdown, her job became more administrative than she would have liked, so she jumped at the chance to volunteer in Israel.

Six months later, she's back in the Big Apple pounding the pavement once again for a job in college counseling. But it's been a frustrating process for the 29-year-old.

"I've looked for school jobs online, e-mailed private schools directly, contacted people I didn't know," Susman told WalletPop in a telephone interview. "Some of my fellow graduates have also had no luck."

Susman says she's now not only in need of a job to pay the bills, she's gotten so discouraged that she's wonders if she should pursue a different career.

WalletPop asked Dr. Susan Bernstein, Ph.D., founder of Work From Within, to help. In a telephone conversation that lasted a little over an hour, Bernstein had Susman list what about her old jobs were drains, gains and desires.

"My philosophy is don't look for a job," said Bernstein. "It's to maximize your R.O.L.E., your Return On Life Energy. So what are the activities, tasks, and situations, that drain your life energy, the things you dislike about the job? List those. You might feel heavy or nauseous as you read your drains. Drains tell you what feels off course for you; it's your body giving you information. Then list your gains, the things that give you energy, that you wish you had more of, the ones that make your body feel good."

After Susman listed drains like working with a difficult boss and working in a typical office environment, and gains like working with interesting people and being challenged, she was urged to think about how to change her negative drains into positive "desires." So instead of working for a difficult boss, Susman wants to work with a manager who motivates her and is willing to teach.

"A job is collection of activities," Bernstein counseled. "Who can you talk to about things that you really love? If you find your interest is piqued, then keep going. Make an exploration list and start multiple explorations at the same time. Some of them may turn into ways to make money. If you need money, get a sustenance job so you have time to think about yourself."

Bottom-line: Susman says she feels better about her decision to get a paying job in retail while she explores passions like interior design, travel and counseling.

"After speaking with Susan I was given a lot to think about," she said. "It was a very positive experience to be told that career exploration is very important. Despite my training being in psychology and the helping profession, I am going to continue searching for other ways to use my experience and education that will be more rewarding."

She continued, "However, I'm also going explore my interest in interior design and take an intro course that starts in November. I am [also] going to do some research on ways to include my passion for traveling into my career. I am a big fan of work/life balance, but I truly believe that if I find something that I love to do, there won't have to be such a drastic difference in the two."

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Labor: online job warning - msnbc.com

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 06:47 AM PDT

The NYS Labor Department is warning about Online Employment Scams. In a release, State Labor Commissioner Colleen C. Gardner alerted job-seekers on the growing number of online employment scams that promise high salaries for very little work.

These solicitations are appearing on social media pages like Facebook and e-mail in boxes designed to lure desperate job seekers. The Labor Department was notified of this scam by several job seekers who use the Department's Facebook page.

"In these difficult times, with so many New Yorkers desperately seeking employment, the idea of these predators targeting our vulnerable citizens is appalling," Gardner said. "These 'jobs' are not endorsed by the Department of Labor. If you want real jobs, we have them for you. I encourage all unemployed New Yorkers to use our new Job Bank and visit a local One-Stop Career Center.

Some suggestions for avoided these rip-off artists:

* In your e-mails, don't open any unsolicited e-mails or any unscanned attachments, even if the attachments are from people you usually communicate with.

* In your Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, don't "friend" recklessly and be especially wary of any unsolicited invitations.

* Never provide personal information, except to a completely trusted and secure site.

* Remember the old saying - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

And finally, if you feel you've been a victim of one of the scams, contact your local law enforcement agency. For more information on the Labor Department and its services, please visit www.labor.ny.gov.