There are many atypical Milwaukee healthcare jobs (Click here) available, several of which offer promising career futures, pay very well, and don't require as much training as doctors and nurses. If you're looking for a job like this, check out the opportunities for massage therapists.

Massage therapists work to massage customers for hygienic or remedial purposes. Most employers require candidates to have post-secondary vocational training, related on-the-job experience or an associates degree.

If you want to further your career opportunities, or simply have an edge on the competition, you can become a licensed aesthetician or massage therapist or bodyworker by passing an examination from the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing.

According to Wisconsin's WORKnet, employment opportunities for massage therapists in Wisconsin are expected to be good during the near future. Employment throughout the state is expected to increase from 2,400 workers during 2006 to 2,770 by 2016, accounting for 70 available jobs each year and a growth rate of 15.18 percent.

Employees also can expect to be paid well. The average wage for massage therapists in Milwaukee during 2008 was $13.77 per hour or $28,651 per year, while the entry-level wage was $7.49 per hour or $15,575 per year, and the experienced-level wage was $16.92 per hour or $35,190 per year.

Throughout Wisconsin as a whole, the average wage for massage therapists during 2008 was $17.14 per hour or $35,660 per hour, while the entry-level wage was $8.54 per hour or $17,770 per year, and the experienced-level wage was $21.44 per hour or $44,600 per year.

Labels: Milwaukee healthcare jobs

Up-and-coming emergency services workers now have a new way to prepare for future EMT jobs.

This August, Omaha Public Schools plan to begin offering a course during the school day that would prepare students to become EMTs. So far, 36 students are signed up for the course, and there is already a waiting list beyond that. The course is currently open to juniors and seniors.

The course is being offered through a partnership with the Creighton University Medical Center. For the first three years Creighton staff will teach the course and organize students' on-the-job training, and then an OPS teacher will be provided with instruction and receive the specialty certification required to teach the course.

According to an article by the Omaha World-Herald, the course will teach the students the required skills needed to embark on an EMT career and provide 10 hours of on-the-job training with first responder crews. Students also will be trained in CPR and blood-borne pathogen safety.

Students will have the option of earning credit from both OPS and Creighton University, and those who choose to receive university credit will pay reduced tuition and be eligible for income-based scholarships. Students who turn 18 by the time they finish the course will be eligible to take the national licensing exam.

"These are sustainable, living wage jobs we're talking about," School Board Member Freddie Gray said. "This is a wonderful expansion of what we have in the health sciences."

OPS is the first local school district to offer an EMT course, which is being funded for the first three years by a $45,000 federal grant for career education.

Labels: EMT jobs

Even though the industry lost some workers on a monthly basis during March, Dallas medical jobs and education jobs saw the biggest yearly increase that same month.

Although the Dallas area's March unemployment rate has not yet been released, the rate throughout Texas remained at 8.2 percent for the fifth month in a row, which is lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.7 percent. Dallas had an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent during February.

The Dallas-Plano-Irving area had a total non-farm employment of 1,995,600 workers during March, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 1,991,400 workers during February, but a 1.4 percent decrease from last year.

Six industries managed to see a monthly increase in employment during March, including: manufacturing by 400 jobs; trade, transportation and utilities by 900 jobs; information by 400 jobs; leisure and hospitality by 2,200 jobs; other services by 1,300 jobs; and government by 200 jobs.

Employment in the mining, logging and construction industry remained even over the month with 98,900 jobs.

Only three industries managed to see a yearly increase in employment, with the education and health services industry adding the most workers. The industry employed 248,700 workers during March, down from 249,000 workers during February, but a 6.1 percent increase from March 2009.

The government industry added the second-highest number of jobs during the year, employing 275,600 workers during March, a 1.8 percent increase from last year. The professional and business services industry employed 324,600 workers during March, down from 325,300 workers during February, but a .4 percent increase from March 2009.

The mining, logging and construction industry took the biggest hit over the year, losing 14.3 percent of its workforce between March 2009 and March of this year.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in employment include:

• Manufacturing by 3.8 percent
• Trade, transportation and utilities by 2.8 percent
• Information by 6.7 percent
• Financial activities by 1.6 percent
• Leisure and hospitality by 1.6 percent
• Other services by 5 percent

Labels: Dallas medical jobs

Returning soldiers seeking veterans jobs are getting some help finding jobs in Oregon from local officials.

Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Kurt Schrader are doing their part to make sure that the 2,700 Oregon soldiers scheduled to return soon from Iraq will have jobs waiting for them at home.

Wyden recently spoke to some veterans via video from the Anderson Readiness Center in Salem, noting that job-finding assistance is part of a bigger package that will include medical care and mental counseling at centers closer to home, as well as education opportunities.

"Everything else flows from the ability to get a good job and be able to support your family," he said. "Congressman Schrader and I feel strongly this is what each of you is owed."

Oregon has one of the oldest programs that helps soldiers make the transition back to civilian life. The program, which began in February 2005, has received limited federal assistance. However, Schrader and Wyden have secured $960,000 in the military appropriations bill for it.

Under the extended effort to help veterans, the program will be re-dubbed "Fort Oregon."

"It's a program that's working very well," Schrader said. "We want to make sure we stay the top state in the country for reintegration, especially with this large a group coming back."

Wyden also is pushing for "soft landing" legislation, which would allow veterans to take more transition time between departure from a war zone and re-entry into civilian life. The legislation would increase the transition time from 10 or 14 days to 90 days.

Wyden's effort to help veterans find jobs began after he visited Iraq in March 2006 and December 2009 with Sen. Jeff Merkley.

"The most important piece of what you and your families have said to us is finding good jobs when you come home," Wyden said. "The percentage of people right now who don't have jobs coming back is just too high."

Check out this video from KATU-TV:

Labels: Jobs in Oregon, Veterans jobs

Positions for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses are among the most popular Austin nurse jobs.

LPNs and LVNs are responsible for caring for ill, injured, convalescent or disabled persons in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes and similar institutions. They may work under the supervision of a registered nurse.

You must obtain the proper training and licensing before becoming an LPN or LVN. Most employees undergo vocational school training, with some programs lasting a few weeks and others lasting more than a year.

In order to obtain a license, you must be in good physical and mental health, have completed specialized education and training, and pass the National Council Licensure Examination using computer adaptive testing.

During 2008, the average wage for LPNs and LVNs in Central Texas was $18.01 per hour, while the average wage throughout Texas was $18.79 per hour, and the average wage across the nation was $19.28 per hour.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, employment of LPNs and LVNs in Central Texas is expected to increase from 1,200 workers during 2006 to 1,400 workers by 2016, accounting for 200 additional jobs and a growth rate of 16.7 percent.

Employment throughout Texas is expected to increase from 65,450 workers during 2006 to 81,400 workers by 2016, accounting for 15,950 additional jobs and a growth rate of 24.4 percent.

The top industries that employ LPNs and LVNs throughout the nation are:

• General medical and surgical hospitals - 28.07 percent
• Nursing care facilities - 21.12 percent
• Offices of physicians - 13.46 percent
• Home healthcare services - 8.67 percent
• Employment services - 5.12 percent
• Community care facilities for the elderly - 4.45 percent
• Colleges, universities and professional schools - 3.85 percent

Labels: Austin nurse jobs

One plant's expansion will help clean up the environment and create more job openings in Tampa Florida.



Envirofocus Technologies recently announced its plans to expand the company's plant during the next two years. That expansion will allow for the company to hire 125 new employees and increase its output of recycled lead acid batteries from about 10,000 per day to 50,000 per day.



"I see nothing but good today ... when we provide manufacturing jobs in our community," Mayor Pam Iorio told Tampa Bay Online, adding that this expansion is the largest addition to Tampa's manufacturing industry since her administration began in 2003.



The expansion project is expected to cost more than $100 million and take about 26 months to complete. Work at the current plant, which employs about 80 workers, will continue throughout the construction period.



Envirofocus Technologies was acquired by Minnesota-based Gopher Resource Corporation, a national automotive and industrial battery recycling company, in 2006. Prior to that, the company, then known as Gulf Coast Recycling, had a history of environmental violations for high levels of lead found in soil.



Envirofocus invested about $3 million to clean up the area. Jerry Campbell, the county air management director, said the company has plenty of funding and industry experience to build a modern, clean-running plant.



"East Tampa will be cleaner," he said, adding that the expansion will save about 10 million batteries a year from going into dumps or being burned in incinerators. "The entire state will benefit."



In addition to the expansion, Gopher Coast Recycling also has announced a $3,500 donation to Tampa Bay Technical High School for the purchase of equipment for the school's alternative energy program, as well as hands-on learning experiences, guest lecturers and internships for students.

Labels: Job openings in Tampa Florida