Military Spouse Careers
Editor: RosemarySend your career questions/comments to Rosemary at:
careers@4militaryfamilies.com
Work-at-Home Scams: Don’t be a Victim
By Lara C. Chapman
Enticing websites full of promises, convincing e-mail campaigns, and
colorful, flashy pop-ups are just a few weapons used by work-at-home scam
artists. They prey on the optimistic and vulnerable such as stay-at-home
spouses, senior citizens and the disabled. Sadly, many of these scams are
completely legitimate and not going away anytime soon. Fortunately, most of
them have the same ridiculous M.O. and are easily avoidable. Below are some
basic warning signs to watch out for during a work-at-home job search:
Outlandish claims of high income potential and no experience necessary.
If making money were this simple, what would be the purpose of higher
education or climbing the corporate ladder? Yet, somehow, countless people
believe they can make tons of cash quick and easy while other poor schleps
give years of their lives doing it the old fashioned way. Quite simply, it’s
not that easy. Beware of buying into the easy money concept; it can chew up
more than just your wallet.
Require money for instructions or for more information. It’s a
miracle! If you just pay $49.95, you’ll get the virtual key to a treasure
chest full of easy money- thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of
dollars! Work-at-home scammers will make lots of big promises but won’t give
any more information until after they get your money. Red flags should
immediately go up if you are asked to purchase something before starting a
program.
The same old scams. One of the most obvious signs of work-at-home
scams is the work itself. The most recognizable scams are envelope stuffing,
processing medical insurance claims, online business, multi-level marketing,
chain letters, and assembly work-at-home. The chance of turning any one of
these tasks into income is slim to none. And be careful of seductive
testimonials where people claim to have made tons of cash. These people
probably don’t even exist.
If you do become a victim of work-at-home scam artists, try to ask for a
full refund. If they refuse, contact the Better Business Bureau, the U.S.
Postal Inspection Service, and the police. It may take a while but you may
eventually get your money back- if you’re lucky.
Lara C. Chapman is a freelance writer based near Norfolk, Virginia
where she lives with her husband and son. When she's not changing diapers of
cooking meals, Lara writes for a variety of local and national publications.
SPOUSES TO TEACHERS PROGRAM IN PACIFIC
The Spouses to Teachers program, designed to assist spouses in becoming
public school teachers, has been operational in the U.S. since 2004. Managed
by the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support, this program
has recently branched out to the Pacific after a successful launch in Europe
last October. Spouses searching for employment in Alaska, Hawaii, Japan,
Korea, the Philippines, Guam and Okinawa, can now take advantage of the
program.
Spouses to Teachers allows the spouse to move his/her career to the next
duty station without sacrificing time becoming re-certified if they teach in a
DoD school. A voucher of up to $600 is also available to reimburse the fees
associated with teacher certification and licensure if a spouse would like to
teach out in the community instead. According to an article in Military.com,
the DoD program also provides counseling and guidance on state-specific
certification requirements, certification options, scholarships available and
state-employment resources.
Over 70% of the military spouses registered with STT have a bachelor’s
degree or higher. Eligible participants include spouses of active-duty
personnel, Selected Reserve and National Guard, and Individual Ready Reserve
recalled to active duty.
If you would like more information about becoming a teacher through the
Spouses to Teachers program, contact Spouses to Teachers at (800) 231-6282 or
DSN 922-6282, or visit
www.SpousestoTeachers.com.
~ Rosemary O’Brien
AAFES Recruits Military Family Members The Army and Air Force Exchange System (AAFES) offers employment preference to military spouses and family members. AAFES is currently recruiting for entry-level management positions worldwide in Retail, Information Systems, Finance & Accounting, Logistics, Food Service/Restaurant Management, Contracting & Procurement, and other career fields. Military family members can find more information about the AAFES "Spouse Employment Preference" program and a list of current job openings at: http://odin.aafes.com/employment/default.asp. Army Spouse Employment Partnership (ASEP) Often called the unseen heroes of our nation's defense, Army spouses are dynamic, educated, hard working, creative, flexible and versatile. They "hold down the fort," take care of households, raise families, and hold jobs while supporting their Soldier-spouses' careers. Too often, that means sacrificing their own careers. The Army Spouse Employment Partnership is designed to bring Army spouses and corporate America together in a relationship that is a long-term partnership benefiting both parties: partner companies gain highly skilled, talented, loyal, diverse employees, and Army spouses gain enhanced employment and career opportunities. ASEP partners work strategically to make corporate America aware of Army spouses' professional attributes and to expand spouse training and employment opportunities. The partnership includes both Fortune 500 corporations and military partners who represent retail, healthcare, high tech, telecommunications and defense industries. ASEP partner companies were selected because they offer a wide spectrum of career opportunities for spouses with different employment needs, educational qualifications and skill levels. Access them through the Family Program homepage, www.MyArmyLifeToo.com/WorkandCareers or visit the jobs and resume database hosted by ASEP: www.MilitarySpouseJobSearch.org (or msjs.org). Home-Based OpportunitiesThe Portable Career & Virtual Assistant Training Program™ is steadily becoming more available at bases around the world. To see if it is available at your base, please check the list provided at http://www.msvas.com/MSVATraining.htm. If the training is not yet available at your location, please be sure to tell your on-site Spouse Employment Professional about our T3 (Train-the-Trainer) Program for Spouse Employment Pros. It is through this program that we are able to certify trainers at bases around the world so that our MSVA program becomes available to more military spouses. The URL where they can find more information about becoming certified is http://www.msvas.com/SEPTraining.htm. Thanks for helping us spread the word and the program! They need to know that YOU want the program made available. -- Christine C. Durst, Co-Founder & CEO
Staffcentrix, LLC
http://www.msvas.com Word Processing Business from Home - Start your business today!To show my support for the many military families who helping our country and who might need additional income now, if you'd like to have a free copy of my book on starting a home-based word processing business, Words From Home: How to Start a Home-Based Word Processing Business just e-mail me and I'll be glad to e-mail it to you.. You can get details on the book at my website at www.virtualwordpublishing.com. I'd also be glad to answer any questions too. In the subject line, just state Military. I hope this can help! Thanks for all you do! ~ Diana Ennen
Diana@virtualwordpublishing.com
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