[David Strom's Web Informant] -- Is your career portable?

[Gabe Goldberg]

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	[David Strom's Web Informant] May 28, 2012: Is your career portable?
Date:	Mon, 28 May 2012 07:14:17 -0500
From:	David Strom <da...@strom.com>
Reply-To:	da...@strom.com
To:	webinf...@list.webinformant.tv

Web Informant, May 28, 2012: Is your career portable?

Who knew, all this time I had a "portable career"? This is the first
time that I have heard the term, which I guess has been popular among
workforce circles for quite some time. It refers to a job that you can
take with you, when you need to relocate because of a spouse or
because of a lifestyle choice.

Six years ago this weekend, my wife and I left Los Angeles and set out
to live in St. Louis. It was a leap of faith for me, having never
lived in the Midwest or really spent much time there. Little did I
know how much the area would grow on me and now I really enjoy living
here. My job, as it has been for most of two decades, has been working
for myself, doing freelance writing, consulting and professional
speaking on IT topics. Mine is very portable as careers go since it is
just my computer and I. Sometimes I do need to sally forth into the
world, and then it would be nicer if we had better air service to the
parts of the country where I am a frequent visitor. But that isn't a
problem unique to St. Louis anymore.

I came across the term after reading my friend Blair Forlaw's piece
here about military spouses:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/8896/memorial-day-28-unemployment-forces-military-spouses-to-get-creative

Which is quite appropriate, given today is Memorial Day. Our military
likes to move its folks about the world regularly: my first wife's dad
was a Coast Guard captain and they moved almost every two or three
years like clockwork. Many other military families that I know suffer
similar circumstances. So having a spousal unit who can bring their
job along no matter where they are posted is a plus.

Forlaw's article talks about some of the high unemployment stats for
military spouses and also cites some great resources that even
non-military people can take advantage of if this direction is
appealing. But I think having a portable career is also part of the
new wave of entrepreneurism and single-shingle types of businesses
that are popping up everywhere: if it is just you and your PC, you
have an edge over someone else who has less flexibility. Tristan Louis
calls us the "makers" in his latest screed:
http://www.tnl.net/blog/2012/05/26/we-are-the-makers/

Regardless of what we are called, let's give thanks today for those
who serve us in the military, and who have served in the past. And to
encourage their spouses, when they choose a career, to become more
portable in the future.

Share this post: http://strom.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/portable-career/

To subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter:
http://list.webinformant.tv/mailman/listinfo/webinformant_list.webinformant.tv

Please also join me on Facebook.com/davidstrom, watch my video product reviews at http://webinformant.tv and follow me on Twitter @ dstrom. To view a few of my presentations and to find out more about my speaking business, go to http://strom.com.

David Strom, da...@strom.com, 314.277.7832, St. Louis MO

[Ruth E. Thaler-Carter]

I've been calling my freelancing career "portable" for many years. That's one of the many advantages of freelancing in general and freelancing in these electronic days in particular.

--
Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, Freelance Writer/Editor
"I can write about anything!"TM
Ru...@writerruth.com * www.writerruth.com * Twitter: @WriterRuth
Author/Publisher, "Get Paid to Write! Getting Started as a Freelance Writer"

Owner, Communication Central * www.communication-central.com
2012 conference: Oct. 12-13, Baltimore, MD