It may well be. Let’s take a look at the facts.

What exactly is medical transcription? In the course of their work, doctors and other healthcare professionals make dictated recordings of various things including physical examination observations, patient history, operative reports, referral letters, discharge summaries, observations regarding imaging data and so on.

A medical transcriptionist listens to these recordings and transcribes them into medical reports, correspondence, etc. She listens to a segment of recording, pauses the playback and keys in what is said before moving on to the next segment. She may do some editing for better grammar and clarity.

The transcribed document is sent back to the health care provider who then reviews it for accuracy and gets it signed. These documents become part of the patient’s medical history records and perhaps insurance records.

To be effective at this job, you should understand medical terminology well. That includes anatomy, pharmacology, diagnostic procedures, treatment assessments and more.

Many distance education programs, colleges and vocational schools offer post-secondary training in medical transcription. Having a degree is not essential. With a home-study course, you can usually pick up the necessary knowledge within a year, often in less than nine months.

You can find work in hospitals, laboratories, physician’s offices, firms offering transcription services, government medical facilities and so on. Working from home is also a possibility and many employers offer work-at-home options for transcriptionists. Apart from that, many individuals work as independent contractors.

With experience, it is possible to move into supervisory positions, which include editing work, teaching, consulting, etc.

What equipment would you need, if you wanted to do medical transcription at home? Not very much — a computer with a medical spellchecker, printer, a transcriber and reference books are about all you need. To help you save on the actual typing, a word expander utility might help. If you are on a tight budget, buy second hand equipment will do just as well.

Medical transcription work does call for certain skills and mindset. Apart from basic computer skills, you must be detail oriented. If detail work bores you to tears, this might not be the career for you.

You must know typing, although speed will come with practice. You should also have excellent listening skills and grammar skills.

If you’re planning to work from home, it is essential to be comfortable with working alone and meeting deadlines. You must be a self-starter who can work consistently without being driven by a boss.

Given the growth in health practices and hospitals and the need for standardization of records, the demand for medical transcription services is likely to keep growing. You should carefully analyze the pros and cons of this field before venturing into it. Medical transcription provides a rewarding and fulfilling career for many people and it can do the same for you too.

Business cannot function without people who monitor, evaluate, and synthesize productivity, financial, and resource data. Accounting, or accountancy, is the practice of collecting and measuring data in order to allocate resources. Most often accounting is specific to a business’s finances. Auditing is a related field whereby records are reviewed and a conclusion reached; resulting in a recommendation for action; geared to ensure efficiency and to improve performance and ensure adherence to standards and principles. A simple example of the workplace relationship follows: An accountant would enter and keep track of payroll and company expenses. An auditor would review the records kept by the accountant to determine if money and time are being well spent.

When people think of auditors, the first thought is probably one of an IRS man in a suit with a stern expression coming to make sure you paid your taxes. While this type of auditor exists (not to be feared if you have been a good record keeper) auditors are usually individuals who are hired to evaluate the accuracy of accounts kept by a company. Their analyses help management determine effectiveness and efficiency.

Accounting professionals often deal with time to money ratios. In order to keep track of all these numbers, professionals must be well able to use computers; specifically spreadsheet applications (such as Microsoft Excel).

Accountants often specialize in one field. Jobs include bookkeeping, tax accounting, cost accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, time keeping and payroll.

• Accounts receivable refers to incoming payments.

• Accounts payable refers to debits and outgoing payments.

• Bookkeeping refers to recording transactions and calculations.

• Tax accounting in its simplest form refers to the specialty of preparing tax returns.

• Cost accounting refers to the specialty of accounting that deals with analyzing, tracking, and recording business costs. Cost may be measured not only in money, but in time.

• Time keeping and payroll clerks do just what it sounds like; they keep track of workers’ time sheets and payroll.

Training for accounting careers varies. For many jobs a bachelor’s degree in accounting is not necessary, though some education or experience is generally required. Accounting training programs often involve computer classes to familiarize students with the applications used in the workplace. Those in the accounting field must be comfortable using spreadsheets and other financial and accounting software (QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel) as well as word processing software such as Microsoft Word. Close attention to detail is essential, as is an aptitude for numbers and order. A high level of trustworthiness and discretion is also essential as much of the information processed is confidential. Office experience and communication skills are also essential in the workplace. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) must undergo a four-part, two-day exam administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and are required to complete a minimum of 150 college credit hours (this is 30 hours more than the usual needed to graduate with a bachelor’s degree.) The exam is considered to be quite difficult, and many do not pass all four sections at one time. Partial credit is usually awarded as long as the candidate passes at least two sections.

As with any career, an interest in the subject matter is helpful. Someone who hates math should probably not consider an accounting career just as someone who hates English should steer clear of copywriting.

Remember, it never hurts to do a little research and ask questions about programs. School representatives are always happy to help prospective students find out more about their offerings. Accounting careers are diverse and abundant; why not change your future with an accounting education?

If you are facing a situation where you are looking for a non-recourse loan, you can contact these companies and provide them the details of your case. The companies will then consult a lawyer to get feedback on the merits of the case, and an idea about the anticipated settlement amount. On winning the settlement, you would then have to give a certain percentage of the settlement to the financing company. The usual rate charged by these companies varies from ten to fifteen percent of the settlement amount.

Another advantage is that your attorney will have the benefit of the advanced cash. It would enable him or her to prepare your case more effectively, as shortage of funds will no longer be an issue. The attorney will get the necessary time to collect the depositions and find the necessary witnesses. This will, in turn, improve your chances of winning your case and getting a suitable compensation packet.

These Cash Advances offer you the opportunity to take your case to the courts. Otherwise you might have to opt for an out-of-court settlement, which could mean that you compromise on the amount.

Yet, as a word of caution, it is necessary to add that taking such loans should be your last recourse. This is because, given the risk involved, the companies can ask you to shell out a hefty fee for their services. So before accepting Cash Advances for fighting your lawsuits, you must consider other options to raise the funds.

* Audio Modification

Many companies produce software packages that enable you to transform your voice (or someone else’s). You can make your voice feminine, masculine, or robotic. It can be raised to a high pitch or lowered to bass tones.

So how does this help you learn a new language?

Many foreign languages (French and German, for example) assign gender to nouns. When learning new vocabulary, why not record feminine nouns in a female voice, masculine nouns in a male voice, and neuter nouns in a robotic voice? This approach can also be used with other types of vocabulary learning. Perhaps you could record a list of German dative verbs in a woman’s voice and a list of German accusative verbs in a male voice. You can even take audio files that have been recorded by other people and make them more interesting by morphing voices or adding sound effects.

An internet search for ‘voice cloaking’ or ‘voice modification software’ will provide numerous resources to choose from.

* Don’t Just Print

If you own a color printer you can spice up your vocabulary lists with bursts of color – perhaps feminine nouns in red, masculine nouns in blue, and neuter in dark grey. You might want to highlight irregular verbs in another color – or perhaps apply bold or italics to make them stand out on the page. Experiment with various fonts and weights.

* Websites and Online Sources

Every language student should have at least one online dictionary bookmarked (preferably several). Each dictionary will work a little differently. Some provide audio clips. Others will allow users to submit new words and expressions. (Be aware that not all user submissions will be 100% accurate.) The best dictionaries will clearly indicate ‘verified’ user submissions and will mark colloquial and dialect expressions appropriately.

Are you a poet? Help is as close as your computer. Online language resources include helpful rhyming dictionaries. An internet search for ‘rhyming dictionary French’, ‘rhyming dictionary German’, ‘rhyming dictionary Spanish’ etc. will give you good results.

Try to rely on accredited educational sites (domains ending in .edu) when doing grammar research. For instance, if you are looking for Hungarian verb conjugations, try a search like ‘Hungarian verb conjugations site:.edu’. Although at the time of writing the previous search doesn’t work at MSN, it does work at Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, and many others. The ‘site:edu’ portion of the search restricts results to domains ending in ‘.edu’ – which are usually universities and other similar educational institutions.

* Online Chatting and Video Conferencing

Video-cams, VOIP, microphones . . . put them all together and talk with foreign friends from all over the world. Using a language in conversation is probably the quickest way to learn.

Whatever you do, remember that the more senses you stimulate during the learning process, the more firmly imprinted the learning becomes. Turn your language education into a fun-filled sensory experience and you will probably stick with it. If it becomes monotonous, you may lose interest.

Actors have found various mediums over the centuries, from voice acting on radio, theatre acting and cinema. From the Latin word agĕre meaning “to do” (see Wikipedia), actors literally play a role, speaking written dialogue and physically performing in a way that the character would. In most acting, a director is present, whose job is to tell the other actors what to do and make sure that the whole act is going smoothly and as the writer of the scenario wanted.

Actors are required to possess many skills such as physical strength and dexterity, vocal imitation and charisma. The modern cinema industry employs thousands of actors to play the roles of characters in movie scripts, recording them for show on the silver screen. Acting in cinema is rarely done before an audience, but has the added pressure of being seen by millions on the later screen release.

Acting is a traditional art form and many actors learn by going to established academic institutions. Famous institutions include the London Academy of Film, Radio and TV and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Some actors train at a variety of different places, learning classical acting techniques and modern ones such as Method Acting. This is a style of acting in which the actor strives to be as realistic as possible, drawing on personal experience of emotional situations rather than dramatising.

The tradition of acting goes back to ancient times, with ancient Egyptians and Greeks performing either for religious purposes or more so in the case of the Greeks, for entertainment. A man named Thespis is acclaimed as being the first recognised actor way back in 560 BC, and his name inspired the term thespian as another word for actor (see New York Film Academy website). He is claimed by some to be among the first to personify a character for the purpose of story telling, using masks to discern between identities.

For some their career options are something they have been considering for the better part of high school. They may have taken several high school level courses that will work well towards their goal of achieving admission in a certain school. Many young people don’t consider many career options because they have a very clear idea of their lives’ path before they even enter high school.

For others career options are something they are still struggling with even as they begin the college experience. They have an idea of what interests them but trying to decide on a specific major is a daunting task. Many of these young people will explore several different career options before deciding on something that really has grabbed their interest.

Before entering college many schools have services available to the students that help them with career options. This can be in the form of a career fair where different career paths are detailed. Adults may come in to talk about their chosen career options and where those have led them. This can be a wonderful way for younger people to become familiar with the education requirements and commitment necessary to pursue a particular career choice.

It’s very important for young people to be aware of all of the potential career options available to them. Many schools have guidance counselors on staff who can discuss with the child their particular aspirations. The counselor also has knowledge of the admission requirements for different studies and can advise the child on what they will need to study in high school to better their chances while in college.

Considering career options is not just for the younger set. Many established workers consider a career change at some point in their life.

Their occupation might be slowing becoming obsolete of they are losing interest in the thing they were once very passionate about. Reaching a point where you begin to think about other career options can be the turning point in one’s life.

Many universities and colleges offer evening courses for students who are employed during the day. If you are considering other career options it’s good to know that if you do require schooling that you’ll have the chance to pursue that while still earning a living.

Life is remarkably less stressful if you have a job that you enjoy. Carefully considering the career options that are most appealing to you is the first step to ensuring you’ll go to work each day enjoying the experience.

It’s never too late to consider a new career path. There are career counselors available who work with adults to develop a goal that is attainable for them. It’s rewarding when you discover a new life passion and work hard to achieve that goal. Many people in their 40s, 50s and even older are heading back to school because they’ve decided the career options they’ve already achieved just aren’t enough.

Basically a resume should contain your full name, permanent address, telephone numbers and email addresses. Apart from that an accountant resume should include the following information:

- A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.
- Your resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles.
- Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.
- Include your career goals and express your interest in a specific job that you are applying for.
- Mention a minimum of two and preferably not more than ten points, each describing an accomplishment in terms of results as an accountant.
- Mention all your accounting related skills which make your resume outstanding.
- In reverse chronological order include required information that includes your degree(s) and major, date of graduation, universities you attended, location of universities and any certifications of licenses related to your degree.
- Emphasize your accounting related accomplishments and contributions.
- Optimize your sentences for effectiveness and use management oriented words in your resume.
- Use as many accounts related key words, skill headings and use of action verbs. For example Management of A/R Accounts, Billing and Collections, Supervision of Accounting and Administrative Staff, Balance Sheet and Management Status Reports etc.
- Mention how you have reduced costs and saved money in your department or the organization in general by any means.
- Mention how you improved the efficiency and productivity within your department.
- Highlight any other achievements that have benefited your department and obviously your organization in general.

The people who influenced me most in my career were those who gave me the hardest critiques. Stricken with a bruised-ego for days, or on occasion for months, inevitably their feedback helped me make the right life choices to improve, change direction, or stay the course with intensity. In fact, the boss who was the hardest on me is the one I thank the most. Good was not good enough if I was capable of better, and she was quick to point out when that was. No sugar coating from her. And the funny thing? When I was honest with myself, I knew she was right.

Being honest with yourself is one of the challenges to winning at working. We all have talents and abilities, but they’re not always in the areas we pursue at work. Too many people I’ve run across in my career have American Idol Syndrome (AIS). Like Idol contestants auditioning with little or no singing ability, these people believe they are good at what they do. They can’t understand why they don’t get the promotion, the outstanding review, or the highest increases. They view themselves as varsity team material, but they play with junior varsity skills.

When I was a freshman at Stanford, I got a D in biology. Stanford graded on a bell-curve, so an 84% that might traditionally put me in a B category, was near the class bottom. Accustomed to A’s, first quarter grades woke me up. At first, I rationalized a D at Stanford was an A or a B at most any other school. But, reality prevailed. I wasn’t at another school. If I was going to compete at the school I was at, it was time to use more than high school skills to bring results.

Are you applying yourself? Are you as good as you could be to get the raise, the promotion, or the more interesting work? If these are things you want, don’t suffer from AIS. Give yourself some Simon-esk feedback. Ego aside. A Simon-esk answer to the questions, “how good are you?” and “are you in the right field?” offers you a chance at becoming happier and more successful at working. The answers give you choices: you can stay the course; find a playing field at your skill level; improve your skills to compete where you are; or change directions.

HAVING AN AGENT

An agent can get your face seen in places that you alone could not. This increases the likelihood of you getting work. The more swings you make the more balls you hit! But there are many acting opportunities to be found without an agent. Though nearly all Film, TV, Broadway and Off Broadway productions will exclusively use agent submissions, you can still find work without an agent. Community and Dinner Theatre, student and some Indie films will take unrepresented actors.
The more experience and skills you have the more likely it is that an agent will take you on. An agent makes money when you work, so they will be keen to sign you up if you can show what an asset you will be to them. There is nothing wrong with sending a Resume and Headshot (more on those later), but it’s essential that you send follow-up cards letting the agent know where and when you will be working, so they can see for themselves what a good actor you are.

RESUMES

Resumes help, they help in getting an agent but once you have one, your agent will use it to get you auditions. There are some rules for resumes, here are are the major ones.

Keep it to one page (8.5 x 11), if its more than one page the pages might get separated and details lost.

Make it neat. People have been known to get around the above restriction by using a small font size, its a judgement call but if the type is too small it will be hard to read.

The Headshot should be recent, but use a photograph that shows you at your absolute best.

Make sure that all your contact information is correct, its also an idea to set up an email address specifically for your acting correspondence, this may stop you deleting essential emails.

The big tip for resumes is DON’T LIE! We have all exaggerated something on an application form at some time, but you should be very careful about what you say you can do on your resume. Future opportunities could be endangered if you lie and you will look foolish if you’ve put motorcycle riding down as a skill and on your first day on set you have to admit you just to get the part.

LOCAL COMMERCIALS

The majority of acting opportunities are focused around the major cities like New York and L.A. But other opportunities crop up all over the country, some of which I mentioned in the opening paragraph. The most lucrative can be commercials for local car dealerships, restaurants and large local stores. These are usually produced by local agencies who will normally use local talent because it’s easier and cheaper than flying in someone from L.A. The director will still only hire actors with the relevant skill and look, but you can improve your opportunities if you have a diverse or “ethnically ambiguous” look, i.e. if you can pass for more than one type of race.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article, I hope that it’s given you a few ideas on maximizing your acting opportunities.I hope it helped and gave you a few ideas.