A career as a Dental Assistant will open many doors of opportunity. Dental Assistants will be among the highest growing occupations from now until 2012. This is because people are starting to take a better interest in their oral health. Technological advances have led many individuals to the dentist office for cosmetic dental procedures rather than just cleanings and major dental work. Also, people are living longer, so their teeth need more care to stay healthy throughout their life.

The most common place of employment to find Dental Assistants is in the dental office. Here they provide a variety of services. They often help to comfort scared patients prior to procedures as well as give them follow up care at the end of the appointment. Dental Assistants clean the tools used as well as make sure each work unit has the necessary tools and equipment ready for the next patient’s procedures.

Dental Assistants in the dental office work very closely with Dentists and Hygienists. They often sit in on all procedures, handing staff the necessary tools. Dentist offices are generally small so Dental Assistants often help with lab work. This includes making molds of teeth for caps, bridges, and other dental work. They may also be required to assist with the taking of X-rays.

A common place for Dental Assistants to be employed is in prisons. With more and more prisons being built all over the Nation, Dental Assistants are in great demand for Federal, State, and privately owned prisons. Working as a dental assistant in a prison setting requires more caution that in a regular dental office.

All Nursing Assistants need to be aware of the risk of communicable diseases that are transmitted via saliva and blood. However, the rate of these diseases, especially HIV, is much higher with a prison population than the general public. Also, some inmates might try to attack by biting.

Nursing Assistants in a prison setting need to be alert, and never let down their guard. Inmates often look for any opportunity to escape or obtain weapons. They can use a dental tool as a weapon against you, other staff, or other inmates. It is very important that you keep very close track of all dental tools in a prison setting. Never leave a tool in the reach of an inmate for even a moment. If you discover a tool is missing, immediately notify your supervisor and follow the procedures outlined in the prison policy.

For those Dental Assistants wanting to help the lower income populations, securing employment in a Child Development Center, Head Start, or Migrant program is an excellent way of giving back to the community. Often, these populations can’t afford dental care and would go without it if the services weren’t offered as part of a government program. Employment in these types of agencies as a Dental Assistant often pays less than other employment opportunities in the field. However, many Dental Assistants make the choice to help those in need rather than earn more money.

There are many opportunities to work as a Dental Assistant for agencies who serve the disabled. Often, Dental Assistants are afraid to work with such a population. However, once you feel comfortable with disabled people and their disabilities, you will be able to provide proper care to those who are in need, regardless of their mental capacity or physical appearance.

A career as a Dental Assistant offers you many areas of employment including dental offices, prisons, low income programs, and for facilities who serve the disabled. The ability to choose the type of environment you want to use your Dental Assistant skills in makes the field even more inviting. If you are not sure if a particular type of agency is a good fit for you, talk to them. Ask if you can shadow another Dental Assistant who works there for a few days. This should give you plenty of exposure to the activities that take place in that agency.

Security clearances allow US citizens to work in companies that require trustworthy individuals to access sensitive or even classified material. So how do we get a security clearance? Read on through this article to find out about the basics and some extra tips.

First of all, you need a good understanding of US security clearances. You can’t just ask for one anytime and for random reasons. You’re more likely to need a security clearance if you’re applying for a job at any organization where access to restricted material is required. US citizens who plan to work or are working for the military are also most likely required to get a security clearance. Other fields that may require a clearance include telecommunications, medical, financial and education.

Now you can quite see why some US citizens will need to be cleared. A clearance has a lot of advantages. For instance, it’s going to be almost impossible to get a job at an organization that needs someone to access and handle sensitive information on a daily basis. If you’re aiming for these types of organizations you’ll have much better chances of getting the job with a clearance.

Now let’s talk about where to find information on getting a security clearance. One of the most excellent ways to get a clearance is calling Human Resources at the organization you wish to work with. From thereon you’ll be informed if you’re required by the organization, state or government to get a clearance. You may need to fill out an application form and then attend an interview.

Typically, you have a sponsor for your clearance. This sponsor is oftentimes your prospective employer. Once you’re done filling out forms and going to interviews your prospective employer will hand in papers to the Defense Security Service. The Defense Security Service then performs an investigative check on you. If you’re applying for a top-secret clearance, completing a polygraph test is very important.

Once you’re in a face-to-face interview, answer honestly. You’ll be asked various questions like where you used to work, if you’ve ever been arrested before and so on. Getting a security clearance really starts with your prospective employer and ends with an investigation on you.

The steps are simple but you’ll be waiting a lot. A tip is to gather all necessary information beforehand. You may need to collect your friends’ and family’s contact numbers. This is so you’re ready to provide personal references. Fixing your bad credit could also mean showing something good about you.

Secondly, prepare a list of your overseas travels within the previous 10 years, since investigators will eventually need this information. You may also want to list down your domestic travels. Any question may pop out and you’d want to be ready to answer it.

Finally, prepare for the costs. Know that the more sensitive your job is the more expensive and complex your investigation is going to be. This doesn’t mean you can pay for faster results though, because that simply won’t be allowed. All you can do is wait.

At any case, prepare your interview with your investigator. Preparing to lie isn’t going to help, but simply presenting yourself well can. US citizens awaiting their security clearance may have to wait 3 to 24 months. If you find out about a clearance denial you have the right to appeal. You’ll typically be asked to make a statement and an opportunity to make corrections on the decision made.

Do you know that US Air Force has many jobs for Civilians and it has excellent pay and benefit?

• Health insurance, Life Insurance, Thrift savings plan, Dental vision care, long term care
• Excellent retirement benefits

Here is the link to more explanation of benefits

Many readers are asking about open source software; here is a good article on this

Open Source Software

If you’ve spent any lengthy amount of time on the Internet, you’ve probably heard of open source software but might not have fully understood what it is and why it even exists.  This article will describe this recent phenomenon and describe some of its benefits for the software using community.

In a nutshell, open source software is software made by everyone - for everyone. The hopes behind its development is that through its open access, it will evolve into something that represents the true desires of computer users. Through a wide network of user involvement, the software in question is enhanced and debugged without costs or administrative politics.

Traditionally, software is developed behind closed doors. A team of professional coders build it but the community at large isn’t part of its conception. It’s costly to produce and as you can probably guess, that cost is passed on to the end user: the consumer. Open source software on the other hand is free. Free to download, free to install, free to use, free to modify, and free to share.

Started over twenty years ago, it’s a phenomenon that is gaining in both popularity and exposure. In its first conception, open source gave birth to the World Wide Web as we know it today. The Internet as a whole is the result of free permission to access the web, use the web, contribute to the web, and share the web with others. But it certainly hasn’t stopped there. In the not too distant past, Netscape converted its once commercial version of its Navigator web browser to open source. And today, open source is venturing into the commercial realm as well.

At first thought, the idea of open source may sound just plain crazy to those who earn a living from software development. But the facts point to a different prediction. Open source software puts companies in a terrific position to re-brand and re-position themselves in a market that they may have not been able to reach before. In the business world, open source is all about image and when consumers witness corporations contributing (instead of selling) to the buying public, they gain big favor in the eyes of their users (plus tremendous opportunities to sell other items).

Inviting the public inside a product’s development builds community and trust. It also sets the platform for increased reliability. Fans of open source programs are adamant about reliable software and highly criticize commercialized versions for being buggy and error-prone. Avid fans even proclaim commercialism is the cause of shoddy software.

Another benefit that open source brings to light is the speed at which its products are developed, enhanced, supported and distributed. This is because the people who regularly contribute to an open source product do so for unmotivated reasons (other than perhaps to feed the ego.) They’re highly talented, they’re available, and they care. Bringing money into any project can almost mean instant death. It can kill motivation, desire, and a true willingness to create a good product. In a commercial setting, participants work for a paycheck rather than for the product. And this is what puts open source projects far ahead of its monetized competition.

As a software user, this means you can contribute to an open source project as well, and help to develop it into a product that reflects your direct preferences. You aren’t "stuck" using open source software the way you would be stuck using an expensive word processor or database. You have the same access to open source software as its programmers have and in essence, you are your own customer!

Perhaps at this point you’re wondering where you can get in on this wonderful opportunity. There are plenty of open source opportunities sprinkled across the Internet and they can be easily found though any search engine. Google "open source project" and you’ll be sure to find more resources than you can shake a stick at!

The Student’s Federal Career Guide: 10 Steps to Find and Win Top Government Jobs and Internships (Paperback)
by Kathryn K. Troutman, Emily K. Troutman, David, Ph.D. Raikow (Contributor), Susan Custard (Contributor), Harry C., III Redd (Contributor)

We get many emails from students asking us how they can get jobs in Federal government. We think this book is a good one as a starting point.  It has the following :-

• How to identify and locate the relevant federal agency
• writing a federal job oriented resume, cover letters
• the federal job application process
• Enhanced with an accompanying CD-ROM offering case studies and samples
• one easy-to-find place information about internships and work-study opportunities available through many federal agencies