ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING careers today is livestock breeding. Breeders assist with reproduction for such animals as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. They strive to improve favorable characteristics of these animals (such as higher milk production) by selectively breeding livestock to produce offspring with more desirable traits. Breeders may work on a family-owned ranch, at a large agribusiness facility, or as a self-employed consultant helping farms of all sizes with their breeding programs. Livestock breeders work in all 50 states, in rural areas, and in or near cities of all sizes. Since...

YOU LIVE IN AN AGE IN WHICH OLD careers disappear and are replaced by new ones on a constant basis. Have you used a printed paper map lately? They are rarely used today, because the paper-and-ink cartography of the past has given way to the geographic information systems of today. Often referred to simply as GIS, GIS applications, or GIS platforms, geographic information systems enable us to find our way around the modern world. From the Google maps in our smartphones to the sophisticated targeting systems used by the military, GIS platforms have become a common part of everyday life. That...

JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY CAN AGREE that a career with the Central Intelligence Agency sounds pretty exciting. The agency, more commonly known simply as the CIA, is the principal intelligence-gathering agency of the United States government. It is the largest and most diverse of the 17 agencies that make up the Intelligence Community, or IC, the cluster of organizations that gather and analyze classified intelligence for the federal government. The CIA is widely known for its human intelligence mission. Human intelligence, called HUMINT, is the process of gathering and analyzing intelligence from...

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT HAS BEEN identified as one of the very best jobs in America. The reasons for the career's appeal are striking: Jobs available everywhere Relatively fast entry - the post-graduate education averages just 27 months Excellent pay starting at around $90,000 with the potential to go much higher Flexibility to practice in different specialty areas without additional education Job growth that is nearly twice as fast as most other occupations Exceptional work/life balance Physician assistants, commonly called PAs, practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Their...

CHOOSING A CAREER SHOULD BE inspiring and fun. What do you like to do? What do you want to get out of your career? Money? Fame? Responsibility? How about deep satisfaction at doing your duty? Serving others? Being a part of something larger than yourself? Those are good goals, too. Nobody ever said that being a police officer is an easy way to earn a living. The hours can be long and inconvenient, some people will never appreciate what you do, and sometimes the work is dangerous. But policing is also a noble and necessary profession, and the rewards are numerous. Big-city police departments...

WITH FINGERS DASHING ACROSS THE keyboard, editors can transform mediocre writing into epic prose. They can take a forgettable jumble of words and turn them into literary jewels. Wherever there is good writing - books, magazines, newspapers, websites - there are editors working in the background. For their efforts, editors get no byline at the beginning of the story or credit on the title page. They are never asked to autograph a written piece of work they have helped create. Only rarely will an editor's name appear in the masthead of a newspaper or magazine. Occasionally an editor's name may...

PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS ARE image makers. They painstakingly craft the way the public views businesses, organizations, celebrities - anyone or anything of note. If people know about it, chances are the credit goes to a public relations professional working hard behind the scenes. PR specialists crave the spotlight for someone else. They mark success by seeing their client's name in lights. Publicists never hesitate to sing the praises about anyone or anything they represent. A PR pro cannot wait to get asked the question: So what's new? When you are in the public relations field, if...