You've probably heard about UPS and Fedex jobs while you've been searching for trucking employment. They're two of the best companies to work for in the freight and parcel transportation industry. There's a lot more involved with transporting a person's parcel than simply having them drop it off at a depot and walking away - though that's exactly what many of them do. The reason for this is because the process of transporting a parcel is so automated and dependable now that the customer can simply turn the whole matter over to delivery professionals knowing that the job will get done properly and dependably. United Parcel Service (UPS) has over 400,000 employees working for them in 200 countries around the world ensuring that all the millions of parcels shipped every single day get to their destinations without fail.

Many people begin their careers with UPS by working as part-time Package Handlers within the package operations divisions in their local area. This allows them to see how important it is that everyone in the company understands and is a part of the process of getting packages to their destinations. Everyone in the organization has a part to play in transporting parcels around the country or around the globe. Whether you start out as a package handler, seasonal or full-time driver or work within the management areas of the company, it's up to every employee at UPS to make sure the job gets done. Voted 'One of the best places to start a career' UPS has something for everyone with wages ranging from $9.75 an hour for part-time Package Handlers and Delivery Driver salaries that can range from $27,750 to $32,250 depending on many variables including the level of driving experience. Because the transportation of parcels and freight depends on the efficient and dependable use of trucks and other vehicles, mechanics that can ensure that all the delivery vehicles stay in top shape are also in high demand at many UPS fleet depots. Salaries for Fleet Mechanics start at $13.00 an hour and can go up to $21.75 per hour for Fleet Mechanic Supervisor positions within a depot shop.

Federal Express (now Fedex) was one of the first major international package handlers and targeted the fast-paced business community with its promise of overnight deliveries anywhere in the country. Fedex is consistently recognized for its progressive and innovative personnel policies, programs and benefit packages which help to stimulate the working environment within the organization. With over 230,000 employees working around the globe, the organization is proud of its culturally-diverse workforce. The company also has several internship programs that allow employees to start out working for the company in some of the ground-level departments to get a real feel for the way things are done in the organization. The company proudly invites employees from all cultures to become a part of its organization, enabling it to expand and grow in many diverse cultural areas around the world. Many employees for Fedex start out working in the shipping depots set up in many larger metro areas that act as central shipping facilities that parcels pass through on their way to their delivery zones. This entry-level position provides a good overview of what the whole shipping process entails and wages start at $9.25 an hour.

Unlike its other main competitors, Fedex Ground maintains a large fleet of independent trucking contractors who own and maintain their own vehicles and work hard to grow their business endeavors within the Fedex group of companies. If you have your own delivery truck, this position within the organization will allow you to enjoy a dependable source of income and earn more than enough to easily keep yourself in business with the company. Independent Trucking Contractors working for Fedex can expect to earn anywhere from $14.00 to $17.50 an hour with a per mile percentage bonus being given to help offset delivery costs as well.

Have you a number of online profiles that demonstrate what an interesting, capable, sterling, hardworking, ethical person you are, not to mention your stellar writing skills? Do you think that a prospective employer would perhaps like you better if he or she could easily see a sample of who you really are "in the wild?" The key word is "easily." No one is going to visit six or eight sites and track down your profile on each site. But you can use Yahoo Pipes to create a convenient mashup of who you are, what you do, and what you like, etc., and put it all in a single URL.

You provide the pipe with feeds from your best social networking sites, blogs, or any other sites that publish feeds. You can then mash them all up altogether, filter out anything you don't want in the pipe, sort by recency or otherwise. This is just simple use of pipes. There are many other things you can do but I expect that most pipes users just use it as an RSS feed aggregator in the manner described below.

To use pipes you must have a yahoo account. Once have one you can log in to pipes.yahoo.com

1. Click the CREATE PIPE button which takes you to a graphical drag 'n' drop edit screen.
2. Open the 'Sources' on the left if it is not already.
3. Drag the "Fetch Feed" bar onto the editing grid.
4. Type the RSS feed address you wish to use.
5. Hit the plus icon to add more feeds. Repeat these steps to add as many feeds as you want.
6. Connect the feeds directly to the pipe output bar at the bottom by dragging the mouse from the circle at the bottom of the feed panel to the circle at the top of the output bar.
7. Save the feed as some name, then click the RUN PIPE link at the top of the page.
8. Save the URL that appears in the address bar when your pipe runs. This is the URL that will invoke and bring up your Mega-Me pipe in any web browser.
9. Please note that Twitter feeds are notoriously flaky so my pipe does not include any.
10. If you see duplicate titles cropping up you may wish to insert a filter on uniqueness of titles bar between the feeds and the output bar.

The euphoria of graduation day has worn off. You have done it - finished up that degree, made your family proud, and now it is time to strike out on your own. Your love of the field led you to seek and earn a degree in biotechnology, but how do you go about finding a job in such a field? It isn't as hard as you might think. You can find a job in biotechnology, or any field, with a little bit of dedication and prep work.

Biotechnology - or the use of technology to modify organic (living) material - is a vast field that has been around for years. While there are several subcategories of the field, the main ones are agriculture, industry, medicine, and bioinformatics. The vastness of the field works in your favor, as there are many options for employment. You could end up working in a brewery or winery to make that perfect drink, or working in the field to minimize the damage an oil spill or other chemical spill might have on wildlife, or even working in a lab on pest control, genetics, or pharmaceuticals. All of it is biotechnology.

The vast array of options aside, how exactly do you go about securing that all-important job? In addition to a biology or biotech degree, you will need a strong resume. Post it to every online job bank you can. Really good ones for biotech jobs are Biospace.com, CleanroomJobs.net and Biotechnologyjobs.com Posting your resume allows employers to find you. When they call, the initial screening is already complete, and you'll know you passed.

Search the online job bank databases as well. Don't just stick to popular sites like Monster, CareerBuilder, and HotJobs. Try looking at databases dedicated to the biotech job scene. In addition to the above two, check out ihirebiotechnology.com and sciencejobs.com. Many universities offer free job placement services and career counseling - take advantage of that while you can. They may have connections or knowledge of listings for entry level jobs that are not posted elsewhere.

Another approach to landing that job is to attend job fairs hosted by companies in the biotechnology industry. You can find out about these by reading newspaper classifieds, visiting the human resources pages of the companies you are interested in, and by checking announcements posted in job forums. Make your social networking time pay off!

Lastly, don't be afraid to use word of mouth when it comes to successful job searching. Sometimes, the adage, "It's not what you know, its who you know" proves true. Ask friends, family, or someone "in the know" if they are aware of any jobs that would be right for you. Sometimes, your best tools for job searching are your mouth and ears. Use them wisely.

As vast as the field of biotechnology is, you are bound to find at least an entry level position in a reasonable amount of time. With patience and persistence, the perfect biotechnology job will come your way. Use the resources that are available to you, and watch your career take off.

In the current economic uncertainty, you may be concerned about the security of your job and may be reluctant to make changes even if you are dissatisfied at work. But even if you are happy with the status quo now, what could you do to improve your opportunities in the future?

To future-proof your career, follow my top tips and take one simple action today.

1. Keep up to date with changing technology. What skills do you need for your job and what will help you in the future? Keep your technical skills current, even if it doesn't directly relate to your job right now. If you are proactive, it will put you in a good position for future changes.

2. Develop your competencies, skills and experience. Keeping up to date with your professional development is important in any industry and will help you to develop skills that can be transferred to other positions. Competencies include areas such as leadership, communication, innovation and interpersonal skills. What competencies are important for you or your career? Take some time to design a plan to help you to develop these skills.

3. Create a record of your achievements. When many people develop their CV's, they can remember the most recent achievements but forget those that happened a while ago. However, these may also be important to the requirements of a new job. If you keep a record of your achievements and successes, you will be able to list and describe these situations in an application or interview situation.

4. Build and maintain a professional network. When you are seeking a new job or are making contacts as part of your business, building a network plays a key part. Develop relationships with people both inside and outside your organisation. Make contacts with people who can encourage or mentor you, support your development and offer new opportunities.

5. Be aware of changes to your industry or environment. By reading trade journals, the business press and keeping an eye on the news, you can become aware of any emerging trends or challenges that may affect you. This will help you to take advantage of new opportunities or change jobs if the future looks tough.

6. Develop a plan for your career. There are few people who work in an organisation where they have a clear career path laid out ahead of them. As the adage says, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". To achieve your potential, consider where you want to be in one, five or ten year's time. Then decide what you need to do to get there - set yourself some goals and most importantly, remember to take action!

Many people dream of working for a magazine in a glamorous position that gets to travel, attend exclusive events and get wonderful free gifts. Unfortunately, magazine publishing isn't just about glamorous events and freebies; it is about writing articles that the readers will appreciate and relate to. This can be very challenging, especially if the events you are covering are not interesting to you.

Every page you read in a magazine is the result of staff writers who work very hard to write articles and news items that you want to read. They are not attending events to have fun. They must take notes while they are there, follow up with interviews, write out a good article and be prepared for rewrites and editing.

Before you begin applying for that glamorous magazine job, there are some things you should know. Read the following tips. They may save you the time and trouble if you find out magazine publishing really isn't for you.

1. Hard work

You may think magazine publishing is glamorous, and the cool freebies are enticing. Are you prepared, however, for staying up all hours to meet deadlines? Do you handle stress well? It can be very stressful when the article on which you worked so hard is suddenly sent back to you for rewrites with only a couple of hours to go before it is sent for printing. Stress may not be worth the little freebies and other perks that trickle your way.

2. Additional expenses

It may seem like fun to be arranging the clothing for a fashion shoot. It's just like shopping, right? Before you imagine all the fun you'll have, think about the hard work in carrying entire wardrobes of clothing, shoes and accessories all day long from one place to another. Or perhaps your job will be to find that perfect unique accessory and it eludes you until you are exhausted. You need to be careful that none of the clothing is damaged in any way, or they may come out of your paycheck. Magazine writers don't usually get paid enough to afford high fashion. One item may cost more than you make in a year.

3. Socializing with people you don't know

If you are lucky, you'll get to attend some events and parties. If you love the party scene, good for you! This will not be a fun time, though. You're working, remember? You need to take notes and do interviews. If you are not a party person, it may in fact become very stressful. Even if you are partying with the stars, if this really isn't your idea of a good time, it will come across. This can only harm your career and the reputation of the magazine that sent you.

4. Overlapping deadlines

Deadlines will be easy... you just work on your assignment until it is done and then go on to the next, right? Think again. Most writers work on multiple projects at a time. You'll be running all over doing research, interviews and attending events and still need to write about each one individually.

5. Boring events

Not every event you need to attend will be interesting. You are sure to attend more than your share of events that don't interest you in the least. Regardless, you still need to pay attention, take notes and do your job so you can write about it. If you can't do this, magazine publishing is not for you. You need to be able to make even the most boring event interesting to the reader.