With the NBA playoffs in full gear, a lot of people wonder how they can get a NBA related job. While it’s not easy getting such a job, one exciting field that many don’t consider is refereeing. Becoming an NBA referee is a difficult task, but it’s possible if you have the dedication and the willingness to pay your dues.

The first thing you want to do if you want to become a basketball ref is to go to a referee school. There are a number of camps and clinics that provide beginner, intermediate and expert tips. ProBasketballRefs.com and Officiating.com are two very good resources if you are looking for camps or clinics in your area.

Once you learn the ropes, you will likely have to start at the bottom of the ladder. Many professional refs started out by refereeing rec leagues and church leagues – and oftentimes for little or no pay. Once you get comfortable with your refereeing skills, you can begin to climb the ladder.

The most difficult aspect of becoming a professional basketball ref is the dedication required. It usually takes years to climb up one step on the ladder. For example, if you are a ref in a rec league, it’ll likely take you a couple years to go to the high school level. Once you are at the high school level, it’ll take even more years before you move up to the college level. However, if you stay dedicated and you remain willing to learn your craft, there’s really no limit to what you can achieve on the basketball court as a referee.

And make sure you don’t take bets on games or you’ll end up like Tim Donaghy.

During the summer months, there are a lot of people looking for seasonal jobs. While a lot of these people are students who are off for the summer, there are a lot of other groups who look for seasonal work at that time of year. For example, educators who are off for the summer could look to make some extra cash. Retirees are also well represented during the summer months because there are a lot of seasonal jobs available that don’t require a long-tern commitment.

What are the best summer jobs? There are a lot of different fields that are hiring during the summer but not all gigs are created equally. The aspects to look for in a good summer job are a job that offers good flexibility, a low amount of stress and good pay.

One place to look for work is at hotels or resorts. During summer months, a lot of people are vacationing. That means hotels and resorts need to hire extra people to accommodate. Another place to look is amusement parks and water parks. Like hotels and resorts, amusement parks and water parks need seasonal workers to fill in during the summer months.

If you want a job where you are in control, consider starting your own lawn care business. You can charge people in your neighborhood to cut their grass and take care of their lawn. In the warm summer months, people are more open to paying for professional yard work. Additionally, you can open your own childcare operation that is specifically geared towards the summer months when kids are out of school.

The great thing about seasonal summer jobs is that if you don’t like the job, you can always move on and look for something better.

Photo credit: Flickr

Now isn’t a good time to be looking for jobs on Wall Street. If you have a Wall Street job, you’re probably worried about the status of your job. With the struggling economy of the United States, Wall Street has become a harder place to survive.

The main problem for Wall Street is people currently don’t have a lot of extra money for investment purposes. A few years ago, a family could dabble in the stock market and save money for a rainy day. Today, a lot of those same families have to spend every incoming penny just to stay afloat. To compound the affects of the struggling economy, rising energy costs and gas prices have put a pinch on a majority of families in the United States.

Wall Street related companies are making job cuts to try to make up for less business coming their way. This week Morgan Stanley got rid of 1,500 employees – most of the eliminated jobs were in the fields of asset management businesses, investment banking and trading.

Another company, Lehman Brothers, is expected to cut approximately 1,500 employees on Monday. After this latest round of cuts, Lehman Brothers would have eliminated about 6,500 jobs in the last year. Rumors also have JPMorgan Chase looking to make major job cuts.

If you are interested in working on Wall Street, you should wait until the economy turns around. Almost every economist believes that the economy will stabilize and recover at some point, which might even be in the not too distant future.

A recent report by Forbes found some interesting trends in the hourly job market. While some hourly jobs can end up paying quite well, there are some hourly jobs that aren’t so hot at the moment.

According to the report, the highest paying hourly job is a sales representative. Sales reps make about $28 per hour. Though the pay is good, a lot of sales rep say that the stress level is high, which results in a lot of turnover in this industry.

Other hourly jobs that pay well are administrative assistants, auto technicians and customer service representatives.

Those three professions average anywhere from $15 to $20. Many variables go into exactly how much someone should expect to earn in these lines of work, including experience and the state the job is in.

The most sought after hourly jobs are restaurant jobs. Being a waiter is a job that many people look into, however this line of work is famous for having an extremely high turnover rate.

What are the worst hourly jobs at the moment? With the down turn in the economy, construction workers and retail workers are losing jobs left and right. Since less and less people have disposable income, people aren’t building as much as they used to and they also aren’t shopping as much. Now isn’t the time to look for jobs in the construction field or the retail field.

Photo credit: Flickr

Recent studies show that the city of San Francisco added 10,000 new jobs in 2007 – many of which were high-paying technology jobs. San Francisco is quickly becoming one of the most technologically advanced places in the United States and many companies are opening offices within the city.

Among the companies that have recently added jobs in San Francisco are Yahoo and Google, which are arguably the two biggest and most powerful internet-based companies. Yahoo and Google opened offices in San Francisco to tap into the extremely savvy population of potential workers that call the city home.

While the economy is slowing job growth across the United States, that phenomenon isn’t as apparent in San Francisco. Due to San Francisco mostly relying on the steady technology field for their local economy, the city isn’t affected as much as other cities that rely on a broader array of fields.

If you are thinking about getting a job in the technology field, consider looking for jobs in San Francisco. However, keep in mind that San Francisco isn’t for everybody. While it’s true that the many high-paying jobs are available, the cost of living in San Francisco is also very high. Specifically, houses in San Francisco are notorious for being extremely expensive.

Be sure to calculate the increased cost of living if you plan to move to San Francisco for a job. The cost of living is high but depending on the specific job and the corresponding pay, it still might make sense for you to move.

Photo credit: Niall Kennedy - Flickr

According to an economist, the service industry and the technology industry are the two most likely job sectors to flourish in the future. The economist, Richard Berg, warned that the financial sector could face problems in the future. Berg is the CEO of the Performance Trust Company.

While a lot of the service industry is low paying jobs, that’s not always the case. You can find good paying jobs in the service industry, especially if you have the needed educational requirements and the work experience.

The technology industry requires even more extensive education. Working with computers and the internet is the wave of the future. As more and more companies move online, the demand for workers in this area will continue to grow.