Getting Back In The Game. . . .

What game is that?? The game known by most as the 'WORKFORCE' Or if you've read 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki, he calls it the rat race. Being stuck in a what he calls a 'RUT' Crazy thing is, he makes a lot of sense. Working for someone else can be very much like being in bondage. Like the Jews were for a very long time before Moses parted the Red Sea & the Lord delivered them to safety. Before that, they were in bondage to Pharaoh. Slaves who worked & worked & worked for very menial wages. They were told when they could take a break, when they could eat, when they could use the bathroom & so forth. Sound familiar?? Now don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking JOBS. We need them. It's how the world works. There are an array of occupations out there that I wouldn't be able to do & I'll be the first to admit it. The number one thing a job has been said to provide is SECURITY. That was easily perceived by the majority of society until the recession HIT. And boy did it HIT. We are still in it. And it's been a couple of year as of yet. Some say we'll be here for a while. Others predict an expeditious recovery. With studies & figures aside, it all boils down to us. How we choose to react to circumstances we have no control over.

It's funny how the Lord works. In 'mysterious ways.' I find that to be especially fitting for the 'CURRENT EVENTS' of my life at this time. I continue to be astonished at the workings of the Lord in my life. How I can pray for specific things & how His answers are absolutely unforeseen, unanticipated, unpredictable. But when I'm able to take a step back & examine the course of my life. . . . .I become unquestionably grateful for the experiences I am put through so that I may learn & develop distinct characteristics in order to forge ahead & continue to make progress.

Continuous prayers have I poured out of my heart in my plea for specific things in my life. And I am now seeing the Lord's hand in them & I honestly can't help, but smile. One of them being me getting back into the workforce. It's been about three years since my last place of employment. While it's a little scary, it's not as scary as not being able to work. So I find a lot of comfort in that. :D Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a career fair at Weber. I was quite impressed when I walked in. Male students were dressed in shirt & ties. Female students in business casual attire. Mind you, it's been a couple of years for me & I was at the school for something else. So I was dressed in skinny's, casual shirt & UGGS. Lol. I almost convinced myself to walk back out & go home, but I'm not that kinda person. So I took a deep breath & walked into the ballroom & grabbed a flyer with a listing of all the employers in attendance. And I sure am glad I did. I was able to meet with reps from the Dept of Workforce Services who informed me of funds the state has for mothers who are going back to school. I also learned of a company that has a tuition reimbursement program for my field of study. And finally, I met a couple of reps whose company offers summer internships where you are assigned a mentor & together you work on several different projects where you are trained in management & training skills that you can take with you in any occupation. This is at the top of my list for summer employments & I will be putting my app in this weekend. :D It blows me away, the world of information available to us who with just a little work, manifests itself.

That spark that we all have as innocent children who believe they can conquer the world has been re-ignited in me. I am cognizantly appreciative for the obstacles & trials that are put before me so that I may continue to overcome them & move forward. It's a magnificent thing to be constantly thinking of the future. With the Lord on my side & I on His, I can be confident in being on that straight & narrow path. :D

Before I left, I picked up a FREE magazine called 'Utah Careers Supplement For Women.' It is filled with a wealth of information. A lot of time saving tips as well as ways to balance family life & work life. There's an article in it that I read & was simple enough for my girls to understand so I didn't hesitate to share with them. :D It's exactly why I feel that WAGES aren't everything, but nonetheless they are IMPORTANT.

'The Fable Of Jane & Susan'

Jane grew up knowing she wanted to be a mother. She thought she would marry a rich man and stay home to take care of her children. She didn't think she'd need an education or a career. She got married right out of high school to the man of her dreams and had a charming baby girl.
Time for a reality check. Like most married women with children in Utah, Jane needed to work to make ends meet. She got a job at the local discount store as a cashier and after a while, earned the Utah average wage for that occupation - $8.50/hr. She had few benefits and no retirement plan. To make enough money, Jane had to work 40 hrs a week - mostly when her husband was off work so he could take care of the baby. They couldn't afford childcare. Even though she didn't see much of her husband, she grossed $340/wk - before taxes and other deductions.
Susan went to high school with Jane. Susan grew up knowing that she wanted to have a family. But, she also realized that she would probably be working outside the home - like most mothers in Utah. She chose a high-paying career, finished college and went to work as a computer hardware engineer. She got great pay, had good benefits, and could count on a retirement income - when that day finally came. THEN she got married and had a bouncing baby boy.
Susan's employer valued her work skills and was willing to let Susan cut back her hours. She ended up working only 20 hours a week at the Utah average wage for computer hardware engineers - $30/hr. So, while Jane was making $320 working a grueling 40 hrs/wk on her feet all day, Susan worked only 20 hrs/wk and at the same grossed $1200/wk - two and a half times more than Jane for half the work. Who would you like to be?