Sunday, August 5, 2012

Your Guide To Home Employment


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There is no such thing as a free lunch. Neither is there an easy way to earn money, especially from home. To make yourself employable, you need to ensure that you have the required skill sets as well as good marketing and interpersonal skills. A sound portfolio (for aspiring writers, editors, photographers, designers, etc.) is a must.

Today several private companies and MNCs are employing people who prefer working out of their homes. A host of opportunities exist for home employment in areas as diverse as telemarketing, selling insurance, data entry, typing, data conversion, copywriting, accounting , writing (academic and journalistic writing), editing and proof reading, web design, content development, Internet-based research for companies, graphic design and desktop publishing, programming, audio and video editing, translation work and etc is available.

With a fair bit of technology skills (typing and word processing skills, being PC literate), entrepreneurs can use the worldwide web to start companies and work from the convenience of their homes.

Before you get into the home employment groove, make sure you have the requisite qualifications, hardware, and time management skills to convince potential employers that you are the right person for the job.

Step 1: Make The Right Choices

Before you consider quitting your day-job or begin working from home, take a piece of paper and list out your skills, preferred areas of employment, and your comfort-level in each area. For instance, if you are a programmer, weigh the benefits of home employment versus working in a corporate environment. If you are a student, chart out your daily schedule and figure out how much time you can spare for a 'part-time' job, even if it doesn't involve stepping out of home.

Remember, you may or may not earn as much as you would in a full-time job, and freelance projects take time to source and payments are delayed, in some cases. Zeroing in on the right kind of job is important. Don't get stuck with a job you don't like.

Step 2: Set Up Your Workstation

Once you have narrowed down your choice of employment, you can set up your workstation. You need to make sure that your future work area is very comfortable - use ergonomic furniture, wherever possible.

For Writers/Editors: A fast PC is a pre-requisite, you may also have to install software such as MS Office/Open Office, QuarkXP-press or Adobe InDesign.

For Designers: Although it's not important to invest in a Mac (Apple Macintosh), make sure your PC has enough RAM (at least 1 GB), hard disk space, and install a good graphics card. You also need to install design software such as Adobe photoshop, 3D Studio Max, Quark, Corel Painter, or Adobe InDesign.

For Data Entry/Typing Assignments: A computer, MS Office/open Office, or other data-entry software.

For Medical Transcription: Medical transcription involves transcribing medical records dictated by doctors (patient history, records, notes, lab reports), usually located in clinics abroad. Basic requirements include a PC with about 40 GB hard disk space, 256 MB RAM (minimum), sound card and Internet access. You would also require headphones, word processing software, and a good dictionary.

Step 3: Prepare Your Portfolio:

Prepare a good resume, entering the right keywords under 'Objective'. Use sites like IT-people and Monster to get basic understanding of the job profile. Use Resume Builder on these sites (needs registration) and on MS Word.

Step 4: Set Up A Web Site or Blog

Create a good web site (one that's not too garish, text or image heavy).

If you are a freelance photographer or freelance programmer or freelance web designer or freelance graphic designer, put up thumbnails of your work on the site. You could also set up a web log (blog) on sites such as Blogger.com and LiveJournal.com. Don't forget to provide your e-mail address, resume, and contact details at a prominent location on the site.

Use the best search engines in the business Google, Yahoo!, MSN search, and the right keywords (freelance programming, freelance translation, freelance projects, Data entry, Freelance programmer, Freelancing, Freelancers, Freelance work, Custom web design, Outsource projects, Outsource work, and etc.) to find the jobs you want. Don't provide personal details while registering on a website unless it's absolutely essential.

Rent-a-coder.com, a freelance-sourcing site has a ranking system to rate the work of freelancer programmers, and help companies choose people best suited for a particular project. Elance.com, Guru.com, GetAFreelancer.com, Scriptlance.com, and Freelance Work Exchange are other popular freelance sites.

It's very, very important to 'connect' with the outside world. Join networking groups such as Friendster and Ryze , have your blog linked to blog rings, and enroll in forums, user groups and other specific online communities. Caveat-online communities have their own set of protocols and etiquette. Remember to follow the rules; don't forward your resume to everyone you meet.

Step 5: Create A Work Schedule And Meet Deadlines

Create a 'work culture' for your self. Just because there is no 'boss' breathing down your neck, you can't afford to slacken or miss deadlines. In fact, you have to work twice as hard to ensure that the companies/clients hiring you have absolutely no reason to regret employing a freelancer.

Step 6: Sell Yourself

Be your own Boss, and brand manager. While it's important to have an online presence in the form of a website or blog, it's equally important to be aware of competitive pricing and different payment strategies.

Do not charge your clients less because you are working from home. Make enquires pertaining to the market rates for a particular project (say, web-design or coding), and charge them accordingly. Also, do not under-rate or overrate your skills; and do not undersell or oversell yourself. Be as honest as far as possible.

Tip: To ascertain that Google throws up your site when users enter certain keyword, make the title of your webpage very specific (Fashion Photographer or Freelance Writer or freelance programming or Outsource work or as the case may be).

Ensure that your site linked to other prominent ones, by publishing research papers online, being part of active online communities or regularly updating your web log with quality content.

Step7: Upgrade Your Skill-Sets

When you have time, enroll in training sessions, part-time diploma courses or distance education programs to upgrade your existing skill sets. With technological advancements, there will be rapid changes in the employment scenario as well.

The IT industry, for instance, is continuously evolving. You may have to invest in software courses, at least once every year, to learn new programming languages, improve your design and editing skills, and so on. Not upgrading your skills periodically would reduce your chances of employment, in any field.

Step 8: Exercise Regularly

As the maxim goes, health is wealth. Working from home may reduce your travel time but it might also bring to halt the little exercise you were getting earlier by walking to and from the train or the bus station. To ensure that you give your best to the projects you source, some physical exercise, yoga, and meditation sessions coupled with a balanced diet will help you stay mentally and physically in good shape.

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You Can Be a Cruise Ship Owner Even If You Are Not Rich


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Unlike fractional ownership of aircraft and houseboats, fractional owners of a cruise ship can all use the ship simultaneously. There is plenty of room for you and the other owners to live on the ship any time you want, or all the time. You can use it as a full-time residence, and so can the other co-owners.

The first obvious benefit of shared ownership is acquisition cost. There are many cruise ships on the market in all price ranges, sizes, ages, and conditions. There are many smaller and older cruise ships available for less than one million dollars. At the lower end, some smaller cruise ships in fair condition can be acquired for about $250,000. At the highest end, the biggest new mega cruise ships now cost about $500 million to build.

Do the math. If one hundred buyers pool resources in exchange for a percentage of ship ownership, the acquisition cost will be divided by that same number. One percent ownership of a $250,000 cruise ship would cost a mere $2500 for ship acquisition. At the other end of the scale, one percent ownership of a brand new mega cruise ship would cost five million dollars.

There are some other figures that must be tabulated into the total cost of ownership. Acquisition cost is first and foremost. The next figure is the cost to put the ship in service. On an older ship this cost may be higher than the acquisition cost. On the other hand, the cost to put a ship into service can be much lower if you were to get a good deal on a ship that already meets the international standards for ship safety, especially SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea). Maintaining compliance with Chapter II SOLAS 74 amendments is cost prohibitive for some older ships and they are typically scrapped instead of being refurbished at great expense. There is a very important SOLAS implementation date coming up on January 10, 2010. On that date all commercial international ships will be required to be in compliance with the new fire safety codes. The most important new codes deal with the use of combustible materials in the ship. It will be expensive to replace all combustible materials in ships with non-combustible or flame resistant SOLAS compliant materials that meet the new safety standards. This will result in many ships being sold for scrap metal.

The looming SOLAS 2010 implementation date offers both perils and opportunities. The biggest peril is the possibility that the expense to bring a ship into full compliance with international standards will be greater than the value of the ship. However, there is a silver lining in this cloud. This pending SOLAS implementation date has already started to show up as a primary factor in the asking and selling prices of ships on the market today.

SOLAS 2010 also offers a tremendous opportunity for those who may prefer to have a very large houseboat instead of a commercial ship. Ships that are not in compliance with SOLAS 2010 are now selling for a song (inexpensively). A cruise ship can easily be converted into a megayacht with the stroke of a pen. Privately owned yachts, not in commercial service, and not carrying passengers or cargo for hire are exempt from many of the SOLAS requirements. Operating costs are also lower for a private yacht. It cost less to register, flag, and insure a private yacht. Megayachts can be flagged and classified for unlimited service. That means that a megayacht can go practically anywhere you want it to go. There is one major drawback to registering a cruise ship as a private yacht. You cannot use the yacht commercially. This cuts off a potential revenue source.

There are many decent cruise ships for sale at prices of less than one million dollars that would make good private megayachts. For example, take the 'VERGINA SKY' is a ship that I have personally inspected and so I can talk first hand about it. The asking price was $750,000. Here are the specifics of the ship in a nutshell:

Current Name: Vergina Sky

Ship Details: Built: 1971 in Japan - totally rebuilt 1992 in Greece

Dimensions: LOA 97.8m x LBP 82m x beam 14.6m x draft 4.49m Dwt: 500 on 4,49 GT/NT: 4,668 / 1,717

Description: Pielstick 2 x 8400bhp, twin screw, bow thruster, 3 x 500kw generators, 16 knots, 2 saloons, restaurant, 3 bars, casino, duty free shop, disco, swimming pool, 120 cabins for 318 guests. Lying Greece

My Comments after inspecting the ship

This is a well built little 'Pocket Cruiser.' At just over 320' in length overall, it is a small cruise ship. Many experienced cruise passengers prefer smaller more intimate cruise ships for a variety of reasons. This ship can go places where the big cruise ships cannot reach, such as shallow draft ports and even many rivers. It has an omni-directional bow thruster and can turn on a dime (relatively speaking of course). I have carefully examined this ship from the engine log to the ultrasound hull report. This is a sound and safe little cruise ship. It is also a very fuel efficient and economical ship. My first time on this ship was in the middle of the summer in Greece when it was very hot outside. The ship is fully air conditioned and it was cool and comfortable inside the ship. I checked the engine room to see how many generators were running. I am happy to report that all the electric and air-conditioning requirements can be met by running just one of the three Daihatsu generators. These generators are very economical to operate in terms of fuel consumption and maintenance.

I was able to negotiate with the owner, John Kosmas and get some concessions. I got the price down to $500,000. And at that price, he agreed to bring the ship into compliance with SOLAS 2005 and also to include new paint topside. The ship was fairly well furnished even including bed linen, but the ship had been laid up for years. Its most recent service was in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Cruise ships that trade exclusively in the Mediterranean and Black Seas tend to have smaller cabins and fewer amenities than the typical cruise ships that frequent the Caribbean. The bottom line is that this ship was an economy model, not a luxury model. When I was inspecting the engine room, I asked for the engine log. When I opened it I noticed all the entries were in Greek. I was able to discern some dates and other data that told me when the ship was last in service, but I could not read the Greek entries so I handed the engine log back to the ship owner, and told him "It's all Greek to me." Being Greek, Mr. Kosmas failed to find the humor in that.

Let's look at the numbers on this ship. 100% of the acquisition cost would have been $500,000. 1% thus = $5000. One hundred buyers could own one percent each. There are 120 cabins so each co-owner could have a private cabin with 20 cabins left over. However, these cabins are a bit on the small side. Every cabin does have a bath and shower, but the size is just too small to be comfortable for most people, especially if the owners intend to live onboard full time. On a ship this size I would recommend that there be no more than 60 joint owners so each can have two cabins and will have the option of converting those two cabins into a two room suite. To keep the numbers simple lets say that this ship has 50 buyers who each buy 2% of the ship. Buy in cost per owner would then be $10,000. If there were only ten buyers, then the acquisition cost per buyer would be $50,000. $50,000 will not buy much of a house on land, but on this ship it would buy 10% of a ship like the Vergina Sky and twelve cabins that could be converted into a fairly large home.

At the economy end of the scale, a co owner could buy 1% of an economical cruise ship for about $5000. However it is not necessary for all co owners to have equal shares in the ship. Ownership can easily be divided up into 1% increments. If one buyer wanted 5%, then his cost of acquisition would be $25,000. He would be entitled to 5% of the ship's cabins, and would have five votes on operations and management of the ship, such as itinerary planning.

Before becoming a joint owner, it would be imperative to find other people who have similar goals. I would suggest composing a preliminary DCCR (DECLARATION OF

COVENANTS, CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS). You can do this before you even shop for a ship. Write your version of how you envision the shared ownership of a cruise ship as it should be. Then see if you can find some people who agree with your goals and your DCCR, subject to some revisions and concessions to accommodate other joint owners.

Step One: Determine if you and your family have the desire and financial capability to become joint cruise ship (or megayacht) owners.

Step Two: Find others who agree with your concept for shared ownership of a ship.

Step Three: Shop for a ship. This is the fun part.

Step Four: Buy a ship.

Step Five: Put the ship into service.

Even if you are not rich, you can afford to jointly own a cruise ship. But then comes the next logical question: Why would you or anyone want to live on a cruise ship? Who would this be suitable for?

If you are retired or otherwise have a stable income from a dependable source you probably can afford to be a cruise ship co-owner and live full-time onboard a cruise ship. If you work in a field where you can work from home online, then you too can probably afford to become a co-owner of a cruise ship. Most modern ships have satellite Internet service available 24-7.

Operating a cruise ship is expensive. The expenses include the cost of fuel, labor, maintenance, repairs, spares, food, port charges, insurance, technical management, shore management, registration, and the other costs of operating the ship. At first glance these costs may seem expensive, but in reality the cost of living at sea is actually a bargain considering what you get based upon what you pay. The best value does not always translate to the cheapest price. If the ship is well managed, the management will seek the highest quality goods, services, and labor at the very best global value. If the owners are dissatisfied with either technical or shore management, they replace them.

If there are many other co-owners of the ship to split the operating expenses of the ship, it can be affordable for those with a moderate level of income, such as a retirement check. I do have specific operating cost figures but I won't bore you with that data. The bottom line is that it would not be prohibitively expensive for a middle-class average person to be able to afford to own a fraction of a cruise ship and be able to afford to live on the cruise ship full-time if they elect to do so.

For comparison purposes it is noteworthy that you have expenses in land based housing too. Those expenses include property taxes, homeowners insurance, maintenance and repairs, yard care, and utilities. Additionally you have transportation costs and of course food costs. Most people also spend money on entertainment too. When these expenses are added up the maintenance fees for living aboard a ship are comparable.

There are actually some savings resulting from living aboard a ship. The ship's executive chef buys food and kitchen supplies in bulk for the ship and can get better prices than the average shopper. Other savings result from the large freezers and the mobility of the ship giving the food service management the ability to stock up on supplies in countries where prices are low. Some crew and owners may choose to fish for leisure. This can supply some fresh food at even lower costs to the owners. Labor savings are realized when the crew is hired based upon the best global labor rates. The laws of supply and demand drive prices down in some places in the world. Proper ship management can capitalize on these disparities. All the savings would be passed on to the cabin owners resulting in an economical cost of living similar to what you could expect to spend with a conventional home. Ship management should have accounting transparency will all books (financial records) open and available for any owner to inspect. Also ship management should submit all financial records quarterly to an outside auditor for the peace of mind of the owners. Anybody in the chain who spends any of the ship's operational funds should also be periodically audited. For example, a good way to audit the executive chef would be for one or more of the live-aboard co-owners of the ship to go to the food market district of each port of call and they should try to haggle and get a better price for the same food than the price the executive chef was able to acquire. If the executive chef cannot find better deals than the ship's co-owners, then the executive chef should be given his walking papers. The executive chef position is a vital position on a cruise ship. This is a position of trust because he will bill the food he buys to the ship. He must never be tempted to accept bribes from vendors or suppliers. Therefore, he should know that he will be routinely audited and any substandard performance will result in termination of his employment.

The biggest value of all onboard cruise ship is in labor costs. The better cruise ships tend to be labor intensive, providing passengers with unrelenting attention and extravagant pampering. The hotel staff on all cruise ships provides the basic services including food preparation and serving, laundry, cabin stewarding, entertainment, casino operation, beauty shop operations, This is one area where I would prefer to not scrimp because of the very good value in these services due to the low cost of international labor. I would prefer to go beyond the level that most cruise ships go in the area of spas. Land based luxury and specialty resort spas are very expensive, but the exact same level of service, professionalism, skill, and treatments can be provided on a cruise ship at extremely low cost. Labor is the key and the primary reason for most of the expense of spas. Labor is a tremendous value on a cruise ship because the cruise ship managers can choose workers from the global marketplace where it is easy to get the best value for the money.

Spas

Spa treatment is customized for each client. Spas commonly offer services such as:

Soothing massage therapies, skin and body treatments drawing from European and Eastern principles, expert hair and nail services, and a full menu of therapeutic treatments utilizing a deep-cleansing facial at the start of the program, as well as a series of detoxification and contouring wraps, lypo-reduction wrap, as well as marine mud and herb wraps. Massage Therapies including: Swedish Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Deep Tissue Treatment, Maternity Massage, Therapeutic Foot Massage (Reflexology), French Hydrotherapy Massage.

The healing therapies include a variety of massages, reflexology, facials, firming and many other body treatments. Plus a wide variety of services and wellness programs specially designed to meet the individual's needs and desires. A full service salon offers all manner of hair treatments (including a certified colorist), as well as a variety of manicures, pedicures, and 'facelifts' for your hands. Extensive skin care includes: Age Management Therapies including, Glycolic Facial, Anti-Aging Facial Peel, Microdermabrasion; Facials including: Aromaplasty Facial, Teen Facial, Gentleman's Facial, Nutrisource Facial, Regulating Acne Facial, Vitamin "C" Skin Renewal Facial; Body Treatments including: Decleor Sauna Mask, French Hydrotherapy Massage, Andromeda Salt Glow, Mummy Mud Mask, Seaweed Body Wrap, Safe Sun Treatment, Herbal Wrap; as well as various hair and nail treatments.

Additionally, spas also can facilitate weight reduction programs, and even administer physical therapy. In short, you can be treated like a king, on the budget of a pauper.

Labor Costs - International competition provides the most value to the ship owners.

On paper it seems to make good sense to man the ship with a Philippine crew. I love the Philippines. I have been there several times. English is still widely spoken and usually spoken quite well. The people are usually friendly and happy to see foreign tourists. A large percentage of ships worldwide are manned by crews from the Philippines. The Philippine government has a pretty good structure and system to facilitate the export of Philippine labor. In spite of how attractive it seems on paper, I would recommend NOT hiring a crew from the Philippines. Philippine workers tend to be envious of others, and especially of everybody else's wages. They tend to think they are getting the raw end of the deal. It is rare to find a Filipino who is happy with his employment. While I am sure there are many good employees from the Philippines, there are more who are dissatisfied than satisfied with their employment. There seems to be a cultural anomaly in the Philippines where people feel that employers are bad guys. I would hesitate to recommend a crew from the Philippines in spite of the apparent advantages on paper.

My recommendation (for what it is worth)

I do know something about what I am writing about here. I am the former President of Adventure Spa Cruise. My advice is not just uninformed ranting. Back to the point now, the second best manning nation for a ship is India. I highly recommend India for the medical staff and the entire hotel staff, including the spa, and every other position except the deck and engineering. The labor costs in India are very attractive. I would also recommend using an Indian based manning agency. It is best if the ship's owners do not have to deal with every employee issue or concern. The manning agency takes the pressure off the ship's management, and their service is very reasonable. Indian employees tend to make better employees than do Filipinos. Indians also speak English, albeit not quite as well as Filipinos. I know Americans tend to get all worked up when someone uses a broad brush to paint an entire ethnicity. I love the people from the Philippines, but as employees they tend to be more problematic than do Indian employees. I realize that this statement is politically incorrect, and these days that might get me thrown in jail. I usually do not worry so much about being politically correct. I call it the way I see I and I let the cards fall where they may, and hope I can stay out of jail for speaking my mind.

All deck and engineering positions should be filled with an all Ukrainian crew. The ship will realize the most value for the money with Ukrainian deck and engineering staff. The Ukraine has a long maritime history and tradition. Maritime training and standards in the Ukraine are among the best in the world. Ukrainian deck and engineering staff are as good as or better than any other, but the cost of their labor is a very good value. The labor for deck officer and engineering staff are governed by international agreements, including STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers).

Putting a cruise ship into service

After acquiring the ship, it will require some more investment to put it into service. At this point the joint owners will need to reach some agreements on many points. The cost of putting a cruise ship into service as a megayacht (very large private yacht) is much less than putting the ship into commercial service. However, if you can afford to buy a ship can easily meet SOLAS 2010 requirements, and can afford to flag and register it as a commercial ship then you can use the ship commercially to produce income and ROI (return on investment).

There are many marketing options for a commercial cruise ship. If the owners use no more than half the cabins, then that will leave sufficient means to produce enough revenue to at least pay for operating costs, and possibly produce a profit above operating costs. I will just briefly touch on some of the options available for marketing cruise ship capacity.

1. Conventional cruises. There is a trade-off here. You can produce revenue by providing conventional cruises. This will require that the ship have an itinerary that suits the commercial cruising market.

2. Freight and cargo. Some cruise ships have enough cargo capacity to produce some revenue by booking freight.

3. Assisted living. A cruise ship is well suited for assisted living, including crew and facilities. The going rate for assisted living in the average city in America is higher than the average cost of a cruise of the same duration.

4. Timeshares. This is an option not available to conventional cruise ship operators but could be facilitated if your co-owners agree to this type of marketing to fill cabins not used by co-owners. I will not go into the figures here, but timeshares tend to be high profit sales. There is a good chance that if the joint owners use no more than half the ship's cabins for their own personal use, the remaining cabins could easily produce more than the total amount all the joint owners combined have invested.

Ships that would easily meet SOLAS 2010 tend to cost a bit more money to buy up front, and cost more to put into service. So I will give you couple of examples.

The Orient Venus is one of my favorite high-end ships. The specs:

M/V ORIENT VENUS

BUILT: JULY 1990 AT I.H.I.TOKYO

JAPANESE FLAG

JG. NK OCEAN GOING

GRT: 21,884 TONS

DWT: 4,863 TONS ON 6.50 M

LOA x B x D : 174.0x24.0x8.7 M

M/ENG: DIESEL UNITED-12PC2-6V x 2 SETS ,

TWIN SCREW CPP

SPEED: SERVICE ABT21.0 KNOTS / ABT 56.70MT /D

FUEL TANKS CAPA: IFO 1,500.4 M3 /MDO 87.30M3

GENERATOR: 1,600KWxAC450Vx60HZx 3 SETS

ENGINE ROOM M0 SYSTEMS

CRUISING RANGE: ABT 7,000MILE

PASSENGERS: MAX 606 PERSONS

CREW: 120 PERSONS

ABA WOG

DELIVERY: BY ARRANGEMENT

INSPECTION : KOBE.JAPAN

OWNERS PRICE USD 22 MIL net here

My personal assessment of the Orient Venus

It is a late model and beautiful ship. It has many highly desirable attributes for a residential ship. It is a high end luxury cruise ship with an extraordinarily high tonnage to passenger ratio. This is very important for a residential ship. More living room and more space per passenger is far more essential for a residential ship than for a conventional cruise ship. When passengers are only on a ship for a short time, they can tolerate cramped living quarters, but when they live year-round on a ship, the extra space is quite valuable. The owners have been trying to sell this ship for $22,000,000. That may seem like a high price, but when you divide it by the number of cabins (195) the asking price per cabin is $102,564. This price is in line with what you would expect to pay for a condominium. The last word I got from the owners is that they will sell the ship for $18,000,000 now ($92,307 per cabin). The cabins are all "outside" cabins and are large. The ship can accommodate 606 passengers and a crew of 120, for a total of 726 people.

Several ship brokers have this ship listed. I usually do not talk to ship brokers. I prefer to talk directly with the ship owners. I am in contact with the owners of the Orient Venus. I could probably get this stunningly beautiful ship for less than $15,000,000 today, and get some concessions and extras thrown in to boot.

Another example of a high end ship that would make do well as a commercial cruise ship, plus accommodate a hundred or so full-time live aboard co-owners is the Dream Princess, originally named Song of Norway.

GRT: 22,945

Max Draft: 6.7 M in sea water

Length: 194 M.

Total No. of Cabins: 538

Total No. Of Beds + Berth: 1280

Outside Cabins: 346

Inside Cabins: 192

Cabins size range: SQ. M: 11 -18.

Main Engines: 4 Wartsila Sulzer - 18,000 HP.

Service Speed: 16 Knots.

Public Rooms:

Main Dinning room - "King & I"- about 500 pax.

South Pacific Lounge about 400 pax.

My Fair Lady Lounge about 500 pax.

Bars- 5

Self Service Restaurant on the swimming pool deck

Large Swimming pool

Disco

Casino

Duty Free Shops

Gym

8 passenger decks

extensive outdoor areas

Ship was redecorated / refurbished extensively during 2005.

The asking price on this ship is $31 million USD. Divide the asking price by the number of cabins and the average cost per cabin would be $57,620. Of course some cabins are better than others so co-owners would have to agree of the shared usage before agreeing to the purchase.

I have some bad news for the ship owners and some good news for you. This ship will not sell for the asking price.

Fuel

Ship fuel is cheaper than automobile fuel for a few reasons. There are no road taxes on ship fuel of course and also it is different fuel. Ships main engines usually run on IFO180 or IFO380. Generator engines tend to be more finicky and commonly require diesel (MDO), which is still cheaper than automotive diesel. IFO 180 and 380 costs much less than MDO, usually about half the price. Ships consume a lot of fuel. So fuel cost is a major concern. I have some suggestions. If I were a co-owner of a ship I would be willing to invest a little more in the ship to increase fuel efficiency, and thus lower operating costs. There are many things that can be done to increase fuel efficiency. I would start with hull resistance. There is a new silicone-based paint from International Paints that when applied to the hull reduces amount of resistance in the water sufficiently to result in a 3 to 5% decrease in fuel consumption. A similar coating for the propellers also has been proven to increase fuel efficiency.

In addition to hull and prop coatings, there is an even more promising way to achieve dramatic fuel savings.

There is a company called Kiteship that has developed and produces kites for racing sailboats. These sailing kites do not require a mast. The kites fly high above the vessel, attached by cable and controlled from the vessel. Dave Culp of Kiteship has done a technical feasibility study on fitting a very large kite onto a conventional cruise ship. This would dramatically reduce fuel consumption. It would convert a fuel guzzler to a "green machine." This is tantamount to converting a powerboat into a sail boat. The design of a cruise ship limits the amount of sail that a conventional ship can safely accommodate. A cruise ship lacks the ballast of a sail boat. If used in addition to the main engine(s) the kite will increase fuel efficiency. If the kite is used to pull the ship with the main engines shut down the ship's speed will be reduced substantially. However, in this case, not only would the ship save IFO (main engine fuel) but also save MDO (generator engine fuel). If the kite were pulling the ship unassisted by the ship's engines, then the propellers could be used to propel the ship's generators without firing up the diesel generator engines. Even if the ship were traveling very slowly in the water, the propellers would turn in reverse if freed from the main engines. This is a very simple and easy task for the ship's engineer to accomplish. In other words, the ship can be pulled by the kite, and that motion will push the ship's propellers providing power to produce electricity and power the air-conditioning without using any fuel. The trade-off is a loss of speed and also some tacking is required, further reducing actual speed. What's the rush? Why not go for maximum fuel savings? The salient point is that a high flying large kite can pull a cruise ship. If I were a co-owner of a cruise ship I would hope to find like minded co-owners who would be receptive to using such state-of-the-art technologies to save fuel.

There are hundreds of cruise ships on the market but I will just mention one more here. This cruise ship has RO/RO (Roll-On, Roll-Off) capability. This would be very convenient for live aboard owners who want to bring their "toys" with them. The garage deck will accommodate 6 to 8 trucks, or 60 to 80 cars. That converts to a lot of co-owner toys such as motorhomes, travel trailers, campers, cabin cruisers, ski boats, jet skis, sailboats, houseboats, bass boats, motorcycles, ATVs, cars, and trucks.

Specifications:

650 PASSENGER CRUISE SHIP FOR SALE

VESSEL IS FULLY FITTED WITH SPRINKLERS

SOLAS 2005/2010 FITTED

TWIN SCREW CRUISE

VESSEL DIMENSIONS LOA 137.10 X BREADTH 21.00 X 5.8 METERS DRAFT

BUILT 1981 / POLAND

REBUILT 1991

REBUILT - UPGRADED 1999

REBUILT - RENOVATED - REFURBISHED 2002

CLASS R.S. ICE CLASS L2

GRT 12637

PASSENGERS 650 IN 230 CABINS (BASIS 3 BERTH OCCUPANCY)

ALL CABINS WITH PRIVATE FACILITIES (INCLUDING SUITES AND SEMI SUITES)

9 DECKS

HELICOPTER PAD

MAIN ENGINES SULZER 4 X 4,350 BHP

SPEED ABOUT 17.5 / 15 KNOTS ON ABOUT 45 / 36 M/TONS + 9 TONS DIESEL OIL

BOWTHRUSTER 800 BHP

STABILIZERS

120 TONS PER DAY WATER MAKER

RECEPTION

LOUNGE

RESTAURANT (420 SEATS)

NINE BARS

CASINO

DUTY FREE SHOP

CHILDREN'S PLAY ROOM - TWO DISCOS

TV/MOVIE CORNER

DUTY FREE SHOPS

HAIRDRESSING SHOP

JACUZZI

ONE PASSENGER ELEVATOR

LAUNDRY SPA & HEALTH CLUB

TWO SAUNAS

CLINIC

TWO SWIMMING POOLS (ADULT & CHILDREN)

Cost per cabin based on asking price, $71,739. This ship will sell for less than asking price. It is already SOLAS 2010 compliant. It would cost very little to put into commercial service.

Conclusion

Becoming a co-owner of a cruise ship is not a far fetched idea. It is practical and feasible if you are able to find like minded people who would be willing to share the expenses.

medical coding training at home.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Wrongful Death - When a Dead Person is Liable


medical coding training at home.

Why such a tragic title above?

I should admit that it is an exaggeration to call the victim of any type of accident, negligence or malpractice "liable". But there are many tragic life events when the diseased person has become a cause of pain and suffering for others. A good understanding of the "liability" terminology is very, sometimes, important in both simple accident cases and tragic ones.

Liability in plain English

Today liability insurance covers virtually everything: be that your home, your work place, subway train you're riding in, or your vehicle. Talking especially about our roads that are so crowded already, there is a real big chance of being involved in automobile accident virtually for everyone in our society. Hopefully in a minor one, but who knows.

When the accident occurs you have a right to file a claim with an insurance company of someone to blame in the accident. If, for example, your car has been hit from behind, a person to blame is obvious - the driver of the hitting vehicle. You are entitled for a full compensation for damages that have been created by a negligent driver from behind. But wait - sometimes this is not that simple.

Imagine that now you are the driver of the hitting vehicle. You've hit another car from behind in spite of being cautious and keeping a distance between both automobiles. The car in front of you has just stopped short, you even have not seen brake lights of that car. You just jammed on your brakes, but it was too late already. Now, police report will notice that indeed the brake lights of another car have been off.

What we have here is a real life example when a person to blame is not 100% liable for what has happened. Because the driver of the car that you've hit hasn't taken care of the brake lights he or she is considered to be a negligent, like you. It might cost from 10% to 25% of the total damages claimed in this case.

Here is a real life example with calculations. Mike was in a car accident. He stopped short because a dog ran in front of his car. A car from behind, that Dean was in, hit Mike's vehicle. Both drivers sustained injuries, had to see a doctor, took days off from work.

Now, police reported that Mike's car had dysfunctional brake lights. That fact was used by Dean's insurance company to point out some negligence from Mike's side. It created situation when both drivers are liable, just not equally, but both.

Mike's medical bill and lost income was about $2000, Dean ended up with about $1000 of claimed damages. If Dean had been 100% at fault, Mike would be entitled to $2000 check from Dean's insurance company. But the fact that Mike did not make sure that his car met a local Vehicle Code requirements, i.e. did not fix his brake lights, made him partially at fault for what had happened. This made Make between 10% to 25% negligent. Dean is now liable for only a part of Mike's damages - between $1500 and $1800.

On the other hand Dean is eligible to collect from Mike an amount equal to Mike's negligence, which is between $100 and $250 from total $1000 of Dean's damages.

Again, why such a tragic title above?

Unfortunately, a negligent person can die in an accident. That makes things very complicated, but still an estate of the deceased is liable for damages created by the dead man. Legal language uses "" terminology to broadly cover all cases of death that is caused by fault of another.

Let's modify the example above. Imagine the situation where Mike's injuries caused him to die. Now we have a typical wrongful death case where dead person is still liable. Mike's estate is now eligible to request compensation from Dean. This will eventually lead to wrongful death lawsuit award from Dean's insurance company to Mike's estate And in spite of Dean's guilt, he still has to pay his bills too. Dean's potential damages in this tragic event are now way different. Justice is blind, isn't it?

medical coding training at home.

Working in the Physician Billing and Coding Fields


medical coding training at home.

For those who are interested in physician billing and are considering the option of pursuing a career in the field, it is a good idea to become familiar with the nature of the work and the compensation one would receive with a career in this area. There are several options, such as working as a medical practice consultant.

As one who works in medical billing, one's primary job would be to document when patients visit the doctor or another type of medical service provider. Billers enter information about the service provider and the patient into advanced software systems that are used in order to transfer this information to the health insurance company. Those who work in the field also record information about payments from the insurance companies and the patients themselves. In some cases, there is an issue with the documentation and it is necessary to communicate with patients and insurance representatives over the phone in order to straighten out the problem.

Working as a medical practice consultant in the field as a medical biller does not necessarily require one to work in a doctor's office or a hospital. The work can also be done from home, an office, a clinic, a billing service provider, or any other location that has all of the necessary software available. In many cases, a doctor will outsource the billing work of their office. In some cases, they may do so with a business that is run out of the home, as long as the costs provided are competitive.

A related field is that of medical coding. Medical coding is a separate practice from billing. Unlike billing, it is a service that cannot be run from home. In the majority of cases, somebody who works in the field of coding works in the doctor's office or clinic. The coding is completed before the billing process begins. The income a person can earn from billing and coding is approximately the same.

For those who are interested in either of these fields, it is helpful to have an understanding of both, but it is not necessary. The two processes are linked with one another, but the required training to do one or the other is separate. Billing is often a more popular choice due to the fact that it allows for more versatility in terms of work environment. Coding is an alternate choice for those who are interested in working more closely with medical service providers.

For those who take a job in either field, the positions are often available 24 hours a day, and the income starts at a minimum of about $10 an hour. The income can go up quite a bit, and advancing to higher positions in the field can take place quite rapidly. Certification is also not necessarily required, but it can be very helpful for those who wish to put themselves ahead of the pack.

medical coding training at home.

Working From Home Opportunities That Work


medical coding training at home.

Can you really find legitimate jobs working from home? Yes you can IF you know where to look and depending what kind of job you are qualified for.

If you want to trade hours for dollars there are a myriad of companies that will hire you to do certain verifiable tasks that you can accomplish from your home office. This usually saves the company money and benefit costs over office staffed employees. In this home based category you are paid for producing a quota of desired tasks and are paid accordingly.

Depending on your skills, training, and experience you can submit your resume to online job hunters (employment agencies) in your related field, i.e. medical, legal, and insurance, etc. A few examples - Hilton hires work from home reservations and service specialists, CompuCom hires Java Script developers for telecommuting positions, and Tenet Health Care hires medical coding specials who work virtually from home.

Another category is marketing solicitation, surveys, customer service, recruiting, sales, scheduling, technical, writing, and telemarketing jobs. In many cases, the jobs are part-time, commission-based, or pay a lump sum for a completed project.

Working from home opportunities is not nearly as plentiful as you would think considering the amount of interest there is in working from home. They are also difficult to find. Job seekers who are interested in home employment need to spend a good deal of time searching for legitimate, working from home opportunities, as well as a significant amount of time weeding through scams.

Full-time jobs that provide health insurance, a pension, vacation, and other benefits while you work full-time from home, especially if you don't have experience, are few and far between.

Flexibility is one key to successfully working from home. If you are willing to consider freelance or contract employment or willing to combine a couple of part-time positions, you'll have a greater chance of success in finding opportunities that are legitimate. It's also critically important to take the time to search for positions and to thoroughly research those that sound viable.

If you are not professionally trained in a specific field, want to work part time, Network marketing would be another avenue to pursue, it can be quite lucrative. The good ones offer honest, legitimate business models with modest start-up investment, free training, free websites and quality products. You don't have to be a super salesperson to succeed and you won't end up with a garage full of soap. Good Luck!

medical coding training at home.

Working - Careers That Can Help You Find a Balance Between Your Job and Your Life


medical coding training at home.

In today's world most families - with and without children - find it impossible to make ends meet without two incomes. At the end of the 90's it was estimated that over 40% of all married couples had dual incomes. To compound the problem, both men and women who work full time jobs say they average at least 50 hours a week - a far cry from the "full time" definition of 35 - 40 hours a week.

For the most part society demands that the woman be the family caretaker, child care provider, housekeeper, cook, chauffeur, nursemaid, financial manager, social secretary, activities planner, event coordinator, and wife. While trying to accomplish all this, she is still expected to bring home the bacon - low sodium turkey bacon! - fry it up, serve it, do the dishes, clean the kitchen, and then run back out to bring the kids to soccer practice, pick up the dry cleaning, go grocery shopping, pick up kids from soccer practice, head home, help them with homework, and get them to bed. With any luck she can splash some cold water on her face and brush her teeth before collapsing from exhaustion.

Does this sound like your life? Maybe it's time to make a change - into a new job. A job that will give you the flexibility you need to gain control over your schedule.

Be aware that making a change of this magnitude could easily decrease your earning potential, at least in the beginning. However, with any balancing act, some type of negotiation needs to take place. If your goal is to spend less time with your co-workers and more time with your family, it is certainly a sacrifice worth making.

Below are some options to consider. Some do require special training and/or licensing but you can usually take advantage of online courses if need be.

Your first choice should be to try to work with what you have:


  • Ask your present boss if you can cut back your hours permanently. (This may turn your job into a part time position without benefits, so weigh the financial consequences before committing.)

  • Are there any transfer possibilities at your company? A different department / job / facility?

  • Find a new company that allows flex time or telecommuting doing the same job you do now.

If these choices don't work out, you could consider the following:


  • Outside sales positions usually allow plenty of flexibility and "free time" as long as you meet your sales quota.

  • Field reps in computer repair can usually find a few hours here and there between client sites

  • Reporters, journalists, newspaper columnists, freelance writers

  • Anything with "mother's hours". Even if you aren't a mother you can still benefit from having most of the afternoon to yourself.

  • Retail jobs are never 9- 5. Schedules can vary widely each day and each week.

  • Nursing. Usually a few days on and a few days off whether you are full time or part time.

  • Freelance court transcription

  • At home medical coding and billing

  • Real estate sales

  • Insurance (life, health, car, home, etc.) sales

  • Transportation services

  • Catering / meal preparation / baking special desserts (birthday cakes, etc.)

  • Become a "virtual assistant". Many small companies and sole proprietorships don't even have office space; they are home based businesses. Regardless of their size, however, they frequently have a need for the same type of support services as their larger counterparts. Phones, customer service, help desk support - to name but a few - can easily be handled by an assistant in a remote location (your kitchen?).

  • Develop and start your own at home business.

There is no magic answer to the dilemma of how to make enough money for your family vs. how to spend enough time with your family. All too often these goals become mutually exclusive as we try to burn the candle at both ends and watch helplessly as our lives spiral out of control.

Assess your needs and decide what is most important to you and your family. Once you find the answer, the rest will fall into place automatically.

medical coding training at home.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Work From Home Careers With Vocational Training


medical coding training at home.

If you are on the lookout for genuine home-based work opportunities, you may already know how frustrating the process can be. All you can find in the name of "work-at-home" jobs in the Sunday classifieds and on the Internet reek of scam.

Before you give in the urge to try one of these options against your better judgment and out of sheer desperation, we have a few work-from-home job ideas that you could try your hands at. What's so special about these jobs?

Well, for one, they are legitimate careers and won't trick you into parting with your personal information or precious money. Second, it's possible to secure these jobs after completing only relevantcareer training programs.

At a time when the cost of college has gone through the roof, these careers provide a ray of hope to individuals seeking flexibility in their professional life without having to pay through their nose to get trained in them.

Medical Transcription: This is perhaps one of the most popular and genuine work-at-home jobs. According to the data available on the website of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical transcriptionists held about 105,200 jobs in 2008 and many of them worked from home-based offices. *

The website also states that employers prefer to hire medical transcriptionists who have completed post secondary medical transcriptionist training offered by many vocational schools.

Since the job of a medical transcription involves transcribing doctor dictations into patient records, clinical correspondence and other healthcare related documents, it's important for them to not just understand, but also be able to interpret complex medical terminology.

Consequently, a medical transcriptionist training program includes coursework in anatomy, medical terminology, healthcare documentation, etc. Additionally, courses in typing skills, English grammar, and writing are also incorporated into a medical transcription program.

Medical Billing & Coding: This profession is part of the larger healthcare information management discipline and involves using a classification system to assign codes to each and every diagnoses and procedure performed at a healthcare facility. These coded documents are then used for billing patients and/or their health insurance carriers.

The job of a medical coding and billing specialist is vital for maintaining proper patient records and ensuring that healthcare practitioners are paid for the services rendered. On the face of it, the work may look simple, but these professionals deal with the pressure of managing tons of data and achieving 100 percent accuracy on a day-to-day basis.

That's why, medical coding and billing professionals need thorough knowledge and deep understanding of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, clinical classification and coding systems, healthcare reimbursement procedures, etc. that only a formal career training programin this field can provide.

Virtual Assistant: Virtual assistants or VAs are a class of professionals that provide administrative, clerical and secretarial support to clients on a contract basis from their home or any other remote location. And who are these clients, you may ask.

Well, virtually anyone who needs a person to complete routine everyday tasks like responding to emails, scheduling appointments, managing files, making travel arrangements, setting up and maintaining a website and blog, conducting online research, create promotional material, perform basic SEO activities, and other such chores.

It could be a small business owner, an executive or a home-based entrepreneur who cannot afford to have a full-time personal assistant on his/her payroll.

If you're wondering how one starts this work at home career, the answer is simple. Invest in an administrative assistant career training program to acquire the skills you need to get started as a virtual assistant. What may further boost your marketability is professional certification offered by organizations like the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA).

Sources:

*

medical coding training at home.

Work From Home Careers in Healthcare


medical coding training at home.

According to the Department of Labor (DOL), healthcare was one of the largest industries in the year 2008, providing 14.3 million jobs.*1 Furthermore, the sector is projected to add another 3.2 million new jobs until 2018. *2

If you are planning to start a work at home career, then healthcare is one field worth considering. Not only is the vertical brimming with jobs that offer the flexibility to telecommute, but also most of these opportunities don't require extensive schooling. In fact, it's possible to start a lot of healthcare home-based jobs with a vocational training program at a career school or college.

Here are some potential healthcare careers for stay at home moms, retired folk, working professionals looking for a side career, or just about anyone keen to spend less time on road traveling to work and more time with their family.

Medical Transcription: Those familiar with the healthcare industry would know that medical transcription has been around for a while. However, the profession has evolved a great deal over the years from the time manual typewriters were used by medical transcriptionists (MTs) to transcribe doctor dictations to now when most of them use top of the line, cutting-edge laptop computers to do the job.

Post-secondary training programs in medical transcription may provide candidates the skillset for this job. Such medical transcriptionist courses are available at career schools and colleges and many of them are self-paced online programs.

Voluntary certifications are offered to MTs by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity(AHDI) upon meeting certain requirements.

Medical Billing & Coding: It's one of the allied healthcare professions projected to grow at a much faster than average rate over the next few years, according to the DOL. To become a medical billing and coding specialist, one needs to be good with numbers as the job involves assigning standardized codes to various clinical procedures and using these codified documents for the billing process.

Medical coders and billers can perform their job independently from home and require only limited interaction with healthcare providers and health insurance companies.

Aspirants can gain the skills for this job through a vocational training program in medical billing and coding. Alternatively, Associate degrees in fields like Allied Health or Medical Specialties may also provide the required proficiencies to those keen to have some college experience.

Medical Writing: If you have decent writing skills and some clinical experience, freelance healthcare writing can prove to be an extremely lucrative work-at-home career. It will allow you to let your creative juices flow and provide an outlet to the writer in you. At the same time, you will be able to make more than decent money for it. According to payscale.com, freelance writers in the healthcare industry can earn up to $50 in hourly wages.3

There are plenty of avenues that medical writers or communicators can write for including textbooks, journals, white papers, websites, marketing collateral, etc. Joining organizations like the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) may help healthcare writers find freelance assignments.

Telephone Triage: This is a popular work at home profession amongst registered nurses (RNs). It involves RNs offering clinical advice to patients over the telephone. They listen to the symptoms that patients describe and use their clinical knowledge to provide a medical assessment.

Since telephone triage services are mostly offered by RNs, the training requirements for the job are the same as that of a registered nurse - a two-year or four-year college degree or a hospital-administered nursing diploma. Experience in nursing practice may also be necessary to become a telephone triage nurse.

Virtual Medical Assistant: The job of a medical assistant involves performing administrative tasks at a healthcare center. This includes scheduling appointments, maintaining patient records, following up on insurance claims, and a range of other paperwork. A lot of these tasks can be handled virtually from a remote location and may prove more cost-effective, especially for small employers. That's why many independent physicians are trending towards hiring virtual assistants. It helps them trim their office staff and tighten their budgets.

Skills for this job can be acquired through a medical assistant training program from a career school or a two-year college degree.

Sources:

*

*Ibid

*

medical coding training at home.

Work at Home With Medical Billing and Coding Training


medical coding training at home.

Most of us often dream of having the comfort of working at home, with a secure atmosphere. But actually such expectations rarely turn to reality.

One of the most curious - and most highly sought out work-at-home career options are found in the Medical field. Medical billing and coding has been considered as a very important requirement by the medical industry. These careers are for someone who has interest to work in health care, but would wish to work in more an administrative role rather handling the patients.

The job of Medical coders is to maintain the records of patients by using a universally recognized coding system that ensures compliance with the federal regulation laws and meeting the insurance requirements. The Medical Billers are responsible for making sure every record is being entered and billed correctly.

With a computer system and the entire transcription equipment, the medical billing and coding professionals do their jobs seated anywhere. It may include the home office, a local coffee shop, or the front deck, or even the beach. This sounds really interesting.

One just needs to be enrolled to any accredited online school. Then they have to complete training online at flexible times. One can complete their coursework within a short period of time. Some medical billing and coding training programs may take one to two years to complete. But the flexibility of studying and conducting testing at your own pace is less intimidating than being in a classroom.

Many doctors or clinics are found to be outsourcing their billing tasks to independent work-at-home medical billing and coding professionals.

What does it take to become a Medical Biller and coder? Well, here are those requirements.

o Running a medical billing and coding business at home requires the focus, discipline and a can-do attitude.

o Medical billing and coding professionals directly influence when and how much doctors get paid by insurance companies, one is likely to work with more clients after having some practical experience under their belt.

o All the career goals connected to medical billing and coding business should be outlined and the steps to reach them need to be planned.

o One should take note of their financial resources before planning to spend the same for launching the home-based medical billing and coding business.

o Plenty of space or room should be available that is used exclusively as a home office.

o One should apply for their business license.

o The employers that require these services are mostly doctors, dentists or other health professionals or a clinic too.

o Networking will the best approach for generating leads. One should start sending out letters describing their services and giving a follow up through phone calls on regular basis.

o Industry contacts can be done by joining any professional organizations, talking to own family doctors, or even by taking job with a temporary agency.

Working from home as a medical billing and coding specialist surely gives you the leisure time that can be fully used to enjoy with family while still making a good earning too.

medical coding training at home.

Work at Home With a Medical Transcription Career


medical coding training at home.

Many career oriented individuals are researching work-at-home professions related to the health care field, such as medical transcription, medical billing, or the medical coding profession. Modern advances in technology are beneficial for trained medical transcriptionists that telecommute from home. Some women enjoy the flexible schedules that may be available in this profession, so they can stay home and raise their children. Some people select work-at-home jobs because they feel it is less stressful for them.

Job Description

Medical transcriptionists may use digital transcription systems to complete their job duties from home. They can receive dictation over the internet from the transcription company or doctor they are working with at that time. Their job description may include transcribing a variety of health care records, such as the following: histories and physical examinations, chart notes, discharge summaries, consultations, operative reports, laboratory reports, psychiatric evaluations, and radiology reports. Medical records may include essential information regarding patients' symptoms, diagnoses, tests, treatment plans, and prescribed medications.

It is essential that the health records are accurate and secure to help provide quality care for patients. A medical language specialist may have a job description which involves editing voice-activated transcription. These professionals should demonstrate excellent proofreading and editing skills.

Home Office Equipment for an MT

The home office may include up-to-date equipment, such as the following: computer, printer, fax machine, modem, and specific transcription equipment. Helpful resource tools may include medical reference books, word expansion software, line count programs, and electronic spellcheckers.

Training and Education

Colleges, vocational schools, online distance education programs and home study courses may offer accredited educational programs for a future career in this health care profession. The student may learn information regarding the following subjects:

Anatomy and Physiology

Medical Terminology

Medical Diseases

Pharmacology

Computer Skills

Legal Issues

Grammar Rules (including punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, numbers, and numerals)

Diagnostic Tests and Procedures (including laboratory tests and x-rays)

Medical Specialties: Cardiology, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Otorhinolaryngology, Pulmonary/Respiratory Medicine, Urology, and Psychiatric

Proper Chart Formatting for the following: History and Physical Examination, Consultations, Operative Reports, Discharge Summary, and Chart Notes

Job Opportunities

After successfully training, transcriptionists may research the following employment options: hospitals, medical offices, clinics, health care facilities, and physical therapy offices. They may decide to work part-time or full-time for a medical transcription company that allows them to work from home. Another option is to start an MT business from home. There are positive benefits of being able to train and work at home in this health care profession.

medical coding training at home.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Work at Home Jobs - The Top Questions and Answers


medical coding training at home.

It's natural for a new work at home job seeker to have tons of questions before they begin their search, and also often during their search. There are scams scattered everywhere you look on the Internet and one has to be extra cautious.

Perhaps a job seeker has already been scammed and wants to be reassured they won't be a victim again? Or maybe they just need to know exactly where to start? The answers to the below questions and the following tips will help.

Q - Do I have to have experience in order to work at home?

A - For work at home in general, one does have to have basic Internet navigation skills and basic typing skills. For a lot of the telecommute jobs that are available, one does have to have certain skill sets. However, it depends on which company you are applying for as to what skills you need to get the job. For each job listed, it usually states "specifics of experience needed" and often times will require a resume from you. A few of the companies will train you on the job and if so, it will be stated on the company's website. Also some of the companies will require you to train on site for so many months of said company before you are allowed to work at home.

Q - Can I make enough money to pay my bills from working at home?

A - Yes, it certainly is possible. For telecommute jobs, it all depends on what company you apply for. The pay varies for each job/company. For best results and if possible, try to work for more than one company to help secure your income.

Q - Does a telecommute company require any fees to get started working?

A - The only fees that should be required are for specific software in order to do the work, a headset for customer service, a foot pedal for transcription work, and for some companies, a background check. If a company requires any other fees than the ones listed above such as start up or registration fees...these are scams. Always do your research.

Q - What types of jobs are offered in telecommuting?

A - There are many jobs available for you to choose from including:

* Customer Service

* Data Entry

* Admin Assistant

* Freelance Writing

* Blogging

* General and Medical Transcription

* Coding

* Web Design

* Tutoring

* Graphic Design

Q - How does one research a job lead to find out if they are a scam or not?

A - Below are the number one signs of a scam:

1) Registration fees

2) No contact information

3) Statement saying you will make $xxx amount of dollars in a short time

4) Free hosted website

Below are some sites for you to search out certain online scams:

fraud.org/

scambusters.com/

consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/scam_alerts.htm

econsumer.gov/english/

search.bbb.org/

ripoffreport.com

Important Tip: You can also type in the name of the company with the word "scam" behind it in the home page of google.com to find out scams

Q - How many hours do you have to work when working from home?

A - For telecommute jobs, it depends on what company you apply for and how many hours they require. The ball is in your court, you can work for as many hours as you wish and for how many companies as you wish. Just make for sure you are not over-booking yourself. Always consider your family's needs as well.

Q - Where is the best place to find a telecommute job?

A - You can find jobs through many different sources. You can find a lot of them on message boards and Twitter, along with the other social media sites.

You can find them on job boards such as:

careerbuilder.com

monster.com

indeed.com

craigslist.org

genuinejobs.com

You can also find them by doing a search on google.com

Q - Will I need a resume to find an online job?

A - Yes. Almost all legitimate telecommute companies will require a resume from you. They want to know if you have the skills required to do the specific job. Also it is best to include a cover letter along with your resume.

The important thing to remember when searching for an online job is, have patience. Most often, you won't find a job overnight. Keep applying consistently to the job leads that you think you are qualified for.

medical coding training at home.

Work at Home From Medical Billing Certification


medical coding training at home.

Before you decide to certify with medical billing certification or if you wish to do medical coding service from home as a business, then you should consider all requirements like education, certifications, fund sources for starting a business, market situation, earning potentials and pitfall possibilities etc.

How to work from home?

From medical billing certification, it is possible for the professionals to work from home. It completely depends upon the experience and physician's acceptance. Professionals should be able to prove that they can provide quality service to the doctors in order to work from home. Majority of the patients in the hospitals are under PPO or HMO plans. If you want to get work from home option, then the physician should be very comfortable in providing all billing work to you without a close supervision. Getting proper work experience is the only way to start a business for providing medical billing service from home. So, without proper training and certification, it is impossible to get all these billing work from the physicians. Experienced medical coders can handle the work easily and able to show the performance in short period of time to the physicians. Hence, experienced physicians can work from home only after getting several years of experience. Only entry level coders are working under the close supervision of the physicians.

Majority of the physicians will always check for the consistency in the billing work and none of the physicians will take a risk or provide the work to the entry level coders for work from home option. Getting medical billing certification alone doesn't provide with maximum benefits. It is important to go for a job as soon as completing the course. Moreover, for non-experienced coders, the pay is around 11$ to 15$ per hour which is obviously a descent income to start.

medical coding training at home.

Wind At The Edge of the Heart, Thoughts on Van Gogh and Ourselves


medical coding training at home.

During the spring of 1967, on my way to lunch in the Student Union Building at University of Alaska in Fairbanks, I happened upon a recently published Popular Science magazine that featured a story about a new French invention. The article described a device that used infrasonic sound waves controlled in such a way as to emit varying degrees of intensity and, depending on the level, the weapon could cause vomiting, fainting, seizures, and even death. The scientists had discovered these ultra-low frequencies in the prevalent winds of southern France, known as the Mistrals.

I was particularly excited about stumbling across this article. As a student of painting and music, I had no interest in weapons, and, at the time, little interest in science but I was captivated with what I read. Like many young students of art, I was very much under the spell of the French Expressionist, Vincent Van Gogh. Perhaps it was the overall tragedy of his life ending so young. What other artist looms so large an archetype of a suffering, creative genius? I read everything I could get my hands on, including the letters he wrote, most of which were to his brother Theo, but to others as well. There were numerous letters to him and from others about him, particularly the French painter Paul Gauguin who briefly lived with Vincent in Arles, France.

I felt I had stumbled upon the clues to my own little Rosetta Stone. No one has ever been able to give a precise reason for Van Gogh's journey into madness and ultimate suicide. It has often been suggested that he was epileptic. When he was clinically treated in 1989, two doctors diagnosed Vincent with epilepsy - seizures consisting of acute mania with sensory hallucinations, particularly affecting sight and hearing. However there is no indication that he suffered from epilepsy prior to his arrival in Arles. Still others have long argued that his daily intake of absinthe was essentially what drove him over the edge. Absinthe is a strong alcoholic drink made in part with a poisonous, hallucinogenic ingredient called wormwood. I tend to agree that the latter is the stronger candidate, but, in my opinion, it was a combination of everything - the absinthe, his upbringing, genetic imprints, and his environment, i.e. the winds.

In a letter to Theo, Vincent recounted that when he first arrived in Arles, as he was getting off the train, a man getting on the train advised him to return to wherever he came from because, quite simply, the people in Arles were a bit strange. This is not unusual and similar behavior has long been reported in other areas where extreme winds prevail over long periods of time, causing anxiety and depression among local residents.

It should be noted that Van Gogh did not cut off his entire ear. He merely sliced off a portion. Some say the helix, the upper part of the external ear and some say the lobule-what we call the ear lobe. In any case, doing so and sending it to a prostitute in a small box, as well as his general anti-social behavior in the small city of Arles, prompted the good citizens to lock him up in the insane asylum at nearby Saint R�my. Sometime later, during his recovery, he asked permission to leave for the day to paint in the countryside. Earlier, during his time in Arles, it wasn't unusual for him to spend hours each day struggling with 'plein air' painting, his easel staked to the ground and his canvases tied to the easel to prevent the mistrals from toppling everything over. In this case, as he was mostly recovered, the asylum allowed him a day pass. During this long afternoon of painting, the winds came up quite fiercely. It was reported that later that evening Van Gogh became terribly distraught and set about drinking his painting turpentine.

I rather doubt Vincent's suicide can be attributable to any single event, yet I find irresistible the poetic imagery imbued in the possibility of the artist being dismantled by the winds. It isn't a great leap of the imagination to see the mistrals appear in the paintings he painted while in Arles-the swirling energy found in the application of pigment as if he were as much hearing the un-hearable as anything he could see before him. Did he sense the destructive forces of the winds? I'm sure he did. What poignant irony that he tried to cut off the organ that helps sound enter the brain and shape our mental perceptions.

When Vincent was released from the asylum and left the south of France, he went to Auvers-sur-Oise, twenty-seven kilometers northwest of Paris and was somewhat under the care of Doctor Gachet. Within months after arriving, it is generally held that Vincent went to a small wooden shed, shot himself in the heart, collapsed, revived and returned to the Ravoux home in which he boarded. He died the following day. The daughter of Monsieur Ravoux, Adeline Ravoux, who was twelve yeas old at the time, wrote an account of the event some years later. However, buried in the original published letters, there is an account indicating that he shot himself in the groin. How can this be reconciled? One plausible explanation: the date, 1890, was during the final decade of the Victorian era. This was a period of such enormous prudishness that even pianos could not be said to have legs. Anything sexual or anything having to do with those parts of the body were immensely taboo. It's more than likely, if Vincent's wound had been in the groin, this would not have been discussed or divulged to the general public and certainly not to a twelve year-old girl. According to Vincent's statement, as he lay dying, when he revived from shooting himself, he tried to find the gun to finish off the job, but could not. The gun was never found. In her accounting, Adeline suggested that Vincent did not commit suicide; that, in fact, he was murdered. By whom?

Even without medical knowledge, one could easily suppose that a man shot in the groin might survive longer than had he been shot in the heart. Obviously, had he intended the heart, he must have missed by some degree. If we assume that it was a wound in the groin, we can only wonder why there, whether self-inflicted or not. It took over thirty-seven hours for him to die in extreme pain.

There has long been a belief by many that Van Gogh was homosexual. While there is no evidence to prove this, there is no evidence to disprove it. We do know that he was enormously fascinated with fellow painter Paul Gauguin. In fact, after Gauguin left Arles, he wrote to a friend that on two occasions he woke in the middle of the night to find Vincent standing above his bed. When he asked what Vincent was doing, Vincent turned and fled out of Gauguin's bedroom.

In her account, Adeline writes, "That Sunday he went out immediately after lunch, which was unusual. At dusk he had not returned, which surprised us very much, for he was extremely correct in his relationship with us, he always kept regular meal hours. We were then all sitting out on the cafe terrace, for on Sunday the hustle was more tiring than on weekdays. When we saw Vincent arrive night had fallen, it must have been about nine o'clock. Vincent walked bent, holding his stomach, again exaggerating his habit of holding one shoulder higher than the other. Mother asked him: " M. Vincent, we were anxious, we are happy to see you to return; have you had a problem?"

He replied in a suffering voice: "No, but I have..." he did not finish, crossed the hall, took the staircase and climbed to his bedroom. I was witness to this scene. Vincent made on us such a strange impression that Father got up and went to the staircase to see if he could hear anything.

He thought he could hear groans, went up quickly and found Vincent on his bed, laid down in a crooked position, knees up to the chin, moaning loudly: " What's the matter, "said Father," are you ill? Vincent then lifted his shirt and showed him a small wound in the region of the heart. Father cried: "Malheureaux, [unhappy man] what have you done?"

"I have tried to kill myself," replied Van Gogh.

These words are precise; our father retold them many times to my sister and I, because for our family the tragic death of Vincent Van Gogh has remained one of the most prominent events of our life. In his old age, Father became blind and gladly aired his memories, and the suicide of Vincent was the one that he told the most often and with great precision."

Clearly the young girl saw Vincent come in, bent over, holding his stomach and in great pain, but she did not accompany her father to the bedroom and only relies on her father's words as to the location of the bullet wound. Thus history has recorded it.

Here remains an untold and unsolvable mystery. Did he, in fact, take his own life or did someone murder him? We have no idea where he really went nor who Vincent might have seen and under what circumstances. As it stands in history, all of this - his neural highway shattered from infrasonic sound waves and his sexual coding - might mean little in the shadow of his monumental genius and what he left us. On the other hand, it does no harm to muse upon any mystery nor the possibility that Vincent ended his life because he could not find a way to express what is most fundamental in human nature-ones sexual identity.

Societies and their cultural skins have changed remarkably in some ways from the prurient age of Queen Victoria. The 20th century ushered in radical changes, such as nuclear weapons, television, fast food and the great sexual revolution I witnessed in the 1960s. Many of us believed that out of these winds of change a paradigm would rise; something more lasting with a greater understanding of the fabulous panoply of humanity and a deeper well of tolerance for racial differences, religious and non-religious beliefs, and sexual expressions. What came seems short lived.

In the last few months, a number of young people have committed suicide and many more suffer from brutal teasing and physical abuse. The sexual blueprint of these children is given to them by the grace of nature, yet many are choosing death rather than suffer unwarranted shame and from the pain of our ignorance and intolerance. Are we doomed to devolve? Our cultural trajectory is never linear and seems weighted by anxiety, doubt and fear; history reveals how mythical are men's wings.

Whenever the winds come up, I cannot but think of Vincent toiling in his solitude beneath the intense sun of Southern France, wondering what his paintings might have been like had he not gone south and wondering, too, what more immeasurable gifts he might have left us had he, himself, not left so young.

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Why You Should Select A Medical Coding Career


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A Medical Coding Career can be challenging, but brings so many benefits that it often overshadows any disadvantages that may be perceived. Basically, it requires finding the key codes used by hospitals and billing entities that reflect the diagnosis and procedures used to treat patients as well as their current status. It's important that as close to 100% accuracy be maintained as significant consequences could result from errors.

These specialists code medical data from patient records received from doctors offices, hospitals, clinics, and other service provides. As a result, they play a critical role in ensuring that medical providers are reimbursed for services rendered and that accurate billing status is tracked. This is especially important when repeated visits are required but insurance limitations exist, such as for chiropractic care.

Although the position itself sounds simple, training is quite complex. Coursework often involves coding systems, insurance regulations, use of medical software, and hands-on experiences in the medical environment. The culmination of study in this field results in certification which will qualify you to work in a hospital, doctor's office, clinic, at an insurance company, or even from home.

The need for certified specialists in this field continues to grow due to the fact people are living longer and insurance processing claims procedures continue to evolve. This leaves the industry wide open for those with the desire to enter a field where you are only limited by your own motivation.

For many the advantages provide opportunities not available when one works for someone else. Outsourcing by service providers has allowed many to work from home in this profession. This is a way to start an at-home business that requires very little start-up money and has a low overhead. To start all it takes is a reliable computer, medical/coding software, and a list of potential clients.

Another huge advantage is the fact that just like many other professions, coursework in their career field can also be completed online. Schools offering this program can be either accredited or non-accredited. The difference is that credits earned from an accredited school can be transferred if one desires to continue their education at a later date. Additionally, it can usually be completed within about two to three months as opposed to years of study.

Those who elect to pursue a Medical Coding Career not only help health providers receive the money they have earned, but also serve as advocates for patients who have difficulty settling disputes on their own. It requires no physical demands, allows one to work from home, and pays well since the service is in such high demand.

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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Why You Should Hire a Licensed Plumber


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Hiring a plumber can be a complicated experience. Oftentimes, it's an emergency and you need one fast. You don't necessarily have time to call friends for advice and recommendations, or even call multiple plumbers. What should you look for when looking for a plumber?

A Licensed Plumber - A lot of people don't even know that there are licensed and unlicensed plumbers, but there are - and the difference can be critical to getting a job completed in a well-done and timely manner. One that is licensed can cost more, but sometimes spending a little more up front can save you big time in the long run. Here are some things to consider and why you should hire a licensed plumber for your next plumbing repair job.

A Plumber with a License is Well-Trained - The certification process is detailed and extensive. It is not a simple matter of just paying for a short course and getting a piece of paper. A licensed plumber is a well-trained, well-educated contractor. They are required to take hundreds of hours of school and must train with a licensed plumber for as long as five years in some states. Hiring someone fully licensed as a plumber will have the experience needed to deal with any job.

A Plumber with a License Will Save You Money - An unlicensed plumber may seem like a deal at first, but a plumber that is licensed will save you more money in the long run by doing the job right, doing it with the right tools, and doing it with quality parts. If you hire an unlicensed plumber, you may well end up having to hire a licensed plumber to fix the work after all.

A Plumber with a License is Insured - If, for whatever reason, a mistake or accident happens on the job, a licensed plumber will have the insurance and workman's compensation in place to cover the costs. With an unlicensed plumber, you will more likely than not be responsible for covering any damage or medical bills.

A Plumber with a License Plays by the Rules - A licensed plumber is to adhere to rules and regulations in order to remain certified. This is particularly important if you are constructing a new home or expanding your current home under code. By hiring a plumber that is licensed, you can be assured that he or she won't cut corners and that you will get a job that is done up to code.

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Why Open a Health Business From Home


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One of the fast growing trends today is to open a health business. The health industry is growing fast and this is mainly caused by those entrepreneurs who have started business on this field. As reported by Small Business Administration recently, 672,000 businesses more or less had started in the year 2005. This number is much greater than any year recorded in American history. Some of these businesses include massage therapy, medical transcription, and medical coding and billing.

A good reason why you should choose to open a health business is the increasing demand of these services. Another reason is that they have a relatively short training program. The start-up expenses are relatively low too, and you can run the business at a home office easily.

Now, why is it attractive to be self-employed and much more particularly, open a health business and work at home? Five beneficial reasons can be cited regarding this situation.

First, you can control your own schedule. Having a home office allows you to arrange your working schedule and you will still have room for a life. You can be there when your kids come home from school, meet them at the bus, and watch movies and television programs with them.

Second, you can control your own income. You will not have to haggle over raises anymore. Your flow of income will now depend on your resourcefulness, ingenuity and determination to work.

Third, you can choose projects which you are interested in. You will be free to mold your career path as you construct your client-base. You can take on assignments that personally suit your interest and skills at best.

Fourth, you can very much gain advantage regarding on taxes. Running a home health business allows you to deduct part of your expenses on housing from your tax. Expenses including vehicles that are used for business can also be deducted.

Last, you can enjoy a brief "20-second commute". You do not have to travel for minutes or hours when your office is right inside your house. The time spent on the road can be spent relaxing or working instead.

These five reasons are definitely more than enough to spur you to open a health business and have your office set up at home!

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Why Medical Practitioners Can Consider Joining the Medical Billing Service


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There are lots of medical practitioners out there and some of them are really doing very well. However the fact is, the market is sure to get saturated. With improved medical science, the latest breakthroughs and technologies, we are leading a healthier life, and this naturally means fewer visits to the doctor. Also consider the fact that every year more medical students are graduating, and this means additional medical doctors to serve fewer people. So it might make sense for many doctors, who perhaps are not doing that well, to find alternative sources of income. Since they are qualified, they will want to remain in the same profession - and this is where the medical billing service can help them.

What Is The Medical Billing Service?

This is the service through which hospitals and doctors can receive payment from the medical insurance companies. But this is not just about processing the payments, accounting or the use of some software. Often there are disputes about claims that may be rejected or delayed, and these disputes often arise out of medical situations. This is a vital service that is important to both hospitals and those who are in the medical profession.

Are Medical Practitioners Really Needed In The Medical Billing Service?

This is a good question. The fact is there are those who feel that qualified medical practitioners are not really needed in the medical billing service. After all, this is all about coding and standardized systems. There are those who say that such a service can be started by anyone working from home with just a little bit of training. We see such advertisements every day in newspapers, the yellow pages and on the Internet. Quite often, the service is even outsourced to other countries.

However, a medical practitioner, both surgeons and physicians can contribute a lot here. Often during the process of billing, several medical terminologies and processes come up and naturally it becomes very difficult for someone who is not an expert in the field to understand them. Those who are a qualified medical practitioner can understand them very well. This is why quite often qualified medical practitioners are selected to head a team of medical billing practitioners.

So if you are a professional medical person, you could head such a team and you could make a lot of money because these positions are highly paid. Of course you could decide to do this part time as well if you are not willing to completely let go of your patients.

Medical practitioners in the medical billing profession can help in another way. For example, in those cases where the insurance company does not release payment, you as the medical professional will have to review the claim to find out if there is some missing information or if there are some errors. Once you have done the review, you will need to make the necessary corrections and resubmit the claim. Obviously, qualified medical practitioners can do this review better than others. There are lots of opportunities here as well as errors happen quite regularly.

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Why Its Important for Massage Therapists to Choose a Specialty


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When massage therapists finish school and begin working, they might not immediately think of developing their skills for a niche market - after all, massage school is just the beginning, and you learn some of your most invaluable skills on the job! While most massage therapists focus on perfecting their Swedish and deep-tissue skills before moving on to advanced modalities, it is always a good idea to continue to think about how you want to develop your massage career. This way, you can take the classes and training necessary to develop your specialty early on.

Making the Most out of Continuing Education

Throughout the nation, massage therapists must abide by a professional licensing code that requires continuing education in areas such as communicable diseases, CPR training, ethics, and general education. While many massage therapists take the minimum number of courses, or pick available courses close to home that are convenient or inexpensive, it is important to take advantage of this educational opportunity, and pick classes ahead of time that align with your specific interests.

For example, students who have considered furthering their massage career within Reiki, neuromuscular massage therapy (NMT), or medical massage should consider that these modalities require several lengthy and in-depth courses, and can take several months, or years to fully complete. And while the process toward this type of certification is indeed more time consuming than, for example, a weekend class in hot stone technique, it is a step toward a worthwhile skill that not only boosts a resume, but also brings in new clients, helps massage therapists market themselves more effectively, and lays the groundwork for a lengthy and profitable massage career.

Start by browsing different continuing education options offered at schools in your immediate area, as well as regionally. Educate yourself about the time requirements, cost, and specific details about each modality, and truly consider what it takes to become a seasoned professional in that field. This way, you can maximize your time and money on required continuing education courses.

Sports Massage, Reiki, Pregnancy Massage, and More

When you envision yourself working as a massage therapist several years down the line - where do you see yourself working? In a chiropractor's office? For a ballet troupe, football team, or running club? Maybe in a holistic center, spa, or independent practice? Every massage therapist enters the profession for various reasons, and it is important to understand what excites and motivates you about a massage career. Some massage therapists are particularly athletic or interested in sports, and it is this type of therapist who is most often attracted to sports massage. Therapists who enter this practice often work with athletes before, during, and after sports events to prevent injuries, and to treat existing injuries.

Medical massage encompasses several techniques, and can include sports massage, craniosacral therapy, and NMT. Medical massage and its associated practices are often performed by therapists with an interest in injury treatment and prevention as a full time massage career. Other massage therapists gravitate toward energy healing, such as Reiki, which is purported to create a healing effect physically, mentally, and spiritually. Therapists who hold an interest in Reiki may also be interested in acupressure, or aromatherapy. Therapists who wish to expand their practice to accommodate pregnant clients may be interested in becoming certified in pregnancy massage, which enables massage therapists to understand and perform a medically appropriate massage for a mother-to-be.

Whatever your interest for a long-term massage career, there are continuing education training courses available to further your chosen specialty. Again, think about why you want to pursue a specific specialty, and what you think it will give back to you and your clients. Do you see yourself utilizing the specialty skills for years with your clients? If so, carefully consider with whom you will spend your time and money. Find the right program and begin another educational journey. You and your clients will benefit from your endeavors as you pursue your preferred niche in the vast world of advanced massage education.

Certification and Training

Finally, sometimes continuing education classes and experience aren't the only thing massage therapists need to practice a specialty in the field. Check with your state licensing board to ensure you have met the minimum credit hours for a special modality. To date, there is no licensing body for Reiki, but it is required to have achieved a "Level III" status in order to promote yourself as a Reiki master in your massage career.

Likewise, pregnancy massage is not governed by an accredited body, but most continuing education providers will not issue a certification until the student has completed a minimum number of credit hours, typically supported by graded exams, practical sessions, and homework. For certification in neuromuscular therapy massage as a career, massage therapists must take continuing education courses, schedule and sit for an exam, and receive a score evidencing competency in the field. The school or instructor of an advanced massage therapy specialty should be able to explain any applicable certification requirements.

Finding a specialty is an excellent step for massage therapists in their long term career, as it not only enables them to become well educated and better able to treat clients, but exposes the therapist to a whole new field of massage, and its benefits. So if you're considering developing a specialty, do your research, ask questions, and have fun learning about how you can further your massage career while helping your clients.

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