Each year, millions of Americans volunteer their time to community-service organizations. According to the Electronic Journal of the U.S. Information Agency, more than 90 million American citizens participate in volunteer activities. And in recent years, the number of corporate-sponsored employee volunteer initiatives has increased in response to the realization that they benefit employers and employees, [...]

Like countless summer interns before her, Bonnie Ulmer stuffs envelopes, jots down messages and signs for packages. But you won’t find her hanging out at the mall after work — she’d rather be doting on her grandson.
Ms. Ulmer, 56, signed on to be an intern at consulting firm Triad Communication in Washington, working alongside a [...]

Jobs That Come With
A Little Something Extra
Perks just keep getting harder to find. However, there are jobs for which perks are a part of the compensation package.
In healthy, happy mid-20th century America, when the executive level was the career ideal to strive for, the key to the senior washroom stood as the symbol of success [...]

Scientists and Doctors
Are Tops, Say Americans
Want a job that will wow them at parties? Then study the sciences.
That’s the message from the Harris Poll’s annual survey of attitudes toward a cross section of occupations. Of 1,011 adults surveyed nationwide, 51% said scientist was a job with “very great prestige.” Doctors were right behind with 50%, [...]

Advice to Grads:
‘Be Ready for Change’
Smart college students know their career futures won’t be stable. Most new graduates will work in several fields or jobs over their lifetimes and will be continually adapting to ever-faster technical developments.
But you can take steps to be ready for an uncertain work world. First, accept that your education doesn’t [...]

MY SON DAN, a Dartmouth College senior, wants to be a political consultant. Or maybe a journalist. Obviously, he could use my career guidance.
As a baby-boomer parent, I know too well the importance of landing a good job after graduation. And I certainly could open plenty of doors for my firstborn. But I hesitate to [...]

It felt like thick heavy oatmeal. My right foot was ankle deep in wet concrete as sweat poured down my face, my back burned and my shirt stuck to my skin. It was the height of the Mississippi summer and I was pouring the foundation for a hot tub. More accurately, I had to push [...]

There has never been a better time to break into the consulting industry. Demand is high for these advisors and problem solvers at companies, organizations and governments worldwide, and the industry is growing exponentially.
New graduates usually join consulting firms as analysts or associate consultants, while M.B.A.-level hires typically receive the title of consultant. At the [...]

During the1950s, Joan Ellis was a full-time homemaker and mother. In 1979, at the age of 48, she completed the undergraduate degree she’d begun before her marriage. A decade later, she launched a successful new career as a film critic. Now age 69, she’s going strong. Read her reviews on her Web site, www.JoanEllis.com. Movie [...]

Take an industry that’s as old as the abacus, and add four years of higher education — plus a fifth for those seeking better prospects and higher pay. Subtract the effects of a jobless recovery, and multiply by the mystery factor of this year’s business scandals.
What’s the bottom line for college students and recent grads [...]