School Guide

Dear High School Parents: It’s no secret that college is expensive. The cost of tuition alone can be discouraging. However, with the right tools, you can learn to unlock more financial aid and help your child afford even that dream school that today seems out of reach. Where do you find those tools? That’s where we come in. My College Planning Team is offering FREE workshops in your area to help parents navigate the financial college planning process and reduce their student’s college costs. Our experts work with over 80 nonprofit venues in the Chicagoland area to help high school parents prepare financially and academically for college. Our one-of-a-kind workshops give parents the free tools they need to unlock greater opportunities and greater savings for their college-bound children. We are coming to your area soon. Please visit My College Planning Team and Eventbrite to find a FREE college planning workshop near you today. You may reserve your seat either via Eventbrite or by contacting the venue directly. If you have any questions about our workshops or the registration process, please let me know. In the meantime, our team looks forward to sharing their insights on cutting college costs at one of our upcoming workshops. You can afford college. We’ll show you how.Kind Regards,Samantha UribeCommunity Outreach DirectorMy College Planning Team  

There are many different fields of study in healthcare and at first it can seem almost impossible to choose where to begin. You might have questions like where do I start? What do I do? How long does it take to get certified? The good news is that by narrowing down your field of study you can find yourself working in the healthcare industry in just a few short months. During this article we will review the steps that you will need to take in order to start a career as a phlebotomy technician. First off, many people are unclear on what a phlebotomy technician even does. According to WebMD.com it phlebotomy is a procedure that removes blood from the body. We get a great deal of valuable information from blood and a small sample can tell us more about what is going on inside a person than hours of external inspection can. This is why it is important to have technicians that are training in phlebotomy. It is predicted that the career field for a phlebotomy technician will grow 25% between 2014 and 2024. Certification as a phlebotomy technician can get you a job as a lab assistant or patient service technician. This means you may work in a hospital, doctor office, medical clinic, or nursing home. If you find that you have a calming presence and people can relax around you then you are the perfect candidate for a phlebotomy degree. You will also need to be organized and properly able to track your time. If you’re now thinking, “maybe I can do this, where do I start?” then read on. There are a variety of options available to take when choosing how to get your credentials as a phlebotomy technician so it is important to look into what courses are available in your area. In most cases hospitals or healthcare universities will have a program you can take to get certified. The standard class length for a phlebotomy technician is about 80 hours long. Each program will be slightly different and some may include in-hospital training experience as well. Here are a few things that you will learn while taking your phlebotomy course. ·         Basic human anatomy along with how blood flows through the body and where major blood vessels and arteries are. ·         Best practices for drawing blood safely and efficiently. ·         Techniques to keep patients calm while taking their blood as some people may become nauseas or even faint. ·         How to properly store and transport blood to the lab. ·         Methods of testing blood and properly storing samples.   Since each program is different is important to look into what options are available in your area. By getting started today you can have a job in the field of phlebotomy before you know it.

Best Reasons to Become a Security Guard Today there are a lot of different job options out there. However, one that you might not have considered is the job of a security guard. Many businesses need security, including: local businesses, casinos, hospitals, banks, bars, airports, stores, retirement homes, and more. Hiring security guards to help protect their assets can be very important when these businesses have thousands of dollars of equipment or product at their location. Depending on what type of business you end up working with you will have a wide variety of tasks as a security guard. This is why it is important to be familiar with both local and state security regulations and laws.  Being a security guard can be a very fulfilling position to work as. Here are some of the top reasons that you might want to consider training to be a security guard.   1. Low barrier of entry: one of the best things about getting a job as a security guard is that it does not take long to complete the necessary training. Instead of years of education you will simply need to complete an 8 or 16 hour course about basic security. There are more options as you go along for training to increase your pay; but the fact that you can start right away is great.  2. Good stepping stone to future career: once you have secured your position as a security guard you can use it to advance your career. Whether you plan for a job in law enforcement or are simply using it as a quick job to get in order to pay your way through college, being a security guard is a fun and fulfilling job. 3. Responsibility with little supervision: it is your job to protect the business that you are assigned to. More than likely you will not have a supervisor around throughout your shift. So if you like to be personally accountable for the work that you do then a security guard position would be perfect for you. 4. You get to protect people and property: beyond the obvious benefits of the job as a security guard you are also responsible for protecting the people and property of your company. This means that you can take pride in your work and in the knowledge that people are depending on you. Satisfaction at work will make your career much more enjoyable. 5. Security experience is a dependable fallback option: no matter what you decide to do with your life you will always have your experience as a security guard to depend on. At any point you can easily renew your security license and get a job. It is a skill that you will keep for the rest of your life.  According to Jackie Paulson, a Chicago area security officer “It’s [security guard] a great stepping stone job to get to where you want to go in your career.” So what do you think? Is security guard the job for you? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.