WHO DOESN'T LOVE A BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers? It is hard to think of any occasion when flowers do not add a special touch. Even in the heart of winter, in the coldest regions of the world, the zesty crisp smell, stunning array of bright colors, and eclectic shapes and sizes of freshly cut flowers grouped in an imaginative arrangement perk up everyone's day and seem to warm the frosty air and melt the snow away. Florists and flower growers spend their days amid nature's wonders and have the good fortune of being able to pass these horticultural treasures on to others. Flowers have a...

The Few. The Proud. The Marines. CHOOSING A CAREER IS NOT A decision to be made casually. You could spend the rest of your life pursuing the goals you choose today. You owe it to yourself to gather as much information as you can about the career choices that interest you. Reading this report will get you off to a good start. A career is more than a succession of jobs. A career should come with a paycheck, but it should also come with deep personal satisfaction and the knowledge that your efforts are leading somewhere worth going. Feeling that you are contributing to something larger than...

MANY PEOPLE WHO WORK IN AND around the book publishing industry readily explain that they became involved in the industry because of their love of books. This is often not just a love of reading, but of the books themselves as physical objects. If you are one of those who take physical pleasure from handling books and get a kick out of how they look and feel, then aiming for a career in book publishing is a great choice. Of course, if an appreciation of printed books is part of your motivation, you should also be aware that you are entering this industry as it is making a huge shift toward...

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN NURSING as a career and have been learning about this wonderful profession, you may have come across the term "Nurse Practitioner." This is an advanced level of nursing that has been around for a relatively short period of time, since 1965. It requires additional education, training and certification beyond what you need in order to become a registered nurse (RN). In fact, the usual education track toward becoming a nurse practitioner is to first become an RN. Although there are many tasks that both NPs and RNs perform, there are significant differences. When you...

DO YOU ENJOY HELPING PEOPLE? Would you like to work with state-of-the-art technology? Are you interested in a profession in a skyrocketing segment of the allied healthcare field? These attractive features and many more, characterize the burgeoning specialty of Cardiovascular Technology. Employment of CVTs is expected to increase by a whopping 25 percent within the next decade. A trio of factors account for this career's upward trajectory, two of which are related to the aging population: the Baby Boom generation, 76 million strong, started turning 60 in 2007. People are living longer, thanks...

CHOOSING A CAREER IS TOO IMPORTANT to put off until the last minute. Even while you are still in high school, you should be thinking seriously about what you want to do with the rest of your life. Your school years will prepare you for a productive career. You owe it to yourself to give this process the serious thought it deserves. A career is about more than dollars and cents. There is a "big picture" to keep in mind when homing in on what you would like to do when you get out of school. Everybody wants to do something they enjoy. Most people also want to do something that they find...

Radiation therapy is critical in the fight against cancer. More than one million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year. It is estimated that about half of them receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment. Radiation may be used alone or in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy or other forms of cancer therapy. Radiation therapy is also known as radiotherapy, x-ray therapy, electron beam therapy, cobalt therapy, or irradiation. Whatever term you use, it is a treatment that uses high-energy x-rays, targeted at a tumor, to help shrink or eliminate cancerous tissue. Sometimes...

GRAPHIC DESIGN IS ONE OF THE MOST flexible careers imaginable. From the types of places where you can work to the different jobs that you can do, the combinations are nearly infinite. You can join the ranks of established Fortune 500 companies, or march to your own tune as a self-employed freelancer. You can work from your home office in your pajamas, or put on a suit and tie and direct an advertising agency. You can even make movies for Disney Graphic designers are the renaissance artists of the 21st century. The graphic designer is a true artist, drawing inspiration from everywhere -...

CHOOSING A CAREER SHOULD BE AN interesting, eye-opening experience. You are entering a time when you will have to make big decisions about the future direction of your life. You owe it to yourself to get them right. The fact that you have chosen to read this report is a good sign that you are headed in the right direction. It is also an indication that you want a career defined by challenge, service and adventure. You will definitely find it with the United States Coast Guard, America's "fifth armed service" and the lead agency in the Department of Homeland Security. The Coast Guard is one of...