This week is Administrative Professionals’ Week and today (Wednesday) is Administrative Professionals’ Day.

Administrative Professionals’ Week is observed the last full week in April each year. Companies and bosses are expected to recognize the work of their secretaries, assistants and other administrative support staff.

Administrative Professionals’ Day was formerly Secretary’s Day but the definition and name expanded years ago.

National Secretaries Week was created all the way back in 1952 through the work of Harry F. Klemfuss of Young & Rubicam, in conjunction with the National Secretaries Association. This association might be known to you now as the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP).

If you are a employer, take time out to recognize your administrative staff this week with a special lunch, candy, flowers or better yet … some time off!

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Do you love sports? Do you live, breath and eat sports? If so, you may consider getting a job in the sports field. Sports, while it may look like fun and games, is a multi-billion dollar industry that is hiring new people everyday.

If you aren’t fast enough, can’t jump high enough and don’t the have hand-eye coordination to be an athlete, there are other ways to enter the sporting world. The only bad part is that due to high competition for sports related jobs, you will likely have to start at the bottom and work your way up. What are some entry level jobs in the sports world to try to get?

Ticket Sales
Almost every sport in existence relies on selling tickets to their events. And while selling tickets isn’t a glamorous job, it’s a way to get your foot in the door. Once you are inside, you can work your way up to positions such as promotions manager, fan relation manager or even entering the business side as a financial manager.

Scouting
The best scouts in the sporting industry make millions of dollars a year. However, a lot of scouts have had to start off working for little or no pay. When you begin scouting, all it takes is one good find and then your job prospects for the future will get a lot better. Have a good eye for talent? Consider getting into scouting.

Athlete Assistants
Athletes typically have a very busy life. Sure, they may make a lot of money, but it’s hard for a lot of athletes to handle everything that needs to be handled. That’s where assistants come in. If you want to become an athlete assistant, unless you know someone, you are going to have to prove your worth. To do so, you’ll likely have to work for free for a period that last anywhere from a month to a year. However, if the athlete comes to depend on you, the amount of money you can make in this line of work is impressive.

Sports Agents
Another job to consider is becoming an agent. The first thing you should do is get your law degree. While in law school, get a lower level job (perhaps even clerical in nature) at a sports agency. Then after you have passed the bar, it will be easier for you to get into an established agency or start up your own practice.

Photo credit: N. Hernandez on Flickr

I was thinking the other day about common jobs that I would never want to do. I’m not talking about gross jobs necessarily (like proctologist). I am referring to jobs that I just personally wouldn’t want, even though they might be considered normal and profitable.

Here’s my top five list of jobs I’d hate to have.

Dentist
I know they make the big bucks and they don’t work long hours, but I don’t like the idea of having my hands in someone else’s mouth all day. It’s just too unsanitary to me, no matter what kind of gloves they wear.

Gynecologist
Like dentists, gynecologists make a pretty good living. I would never want this job. I’m female myself so I don’t mind the vagina. I just don’t want to be looking at them all day, particularly if the women have hygiene issues.

Truck Driver
I know this job is necessary for our economy to function - after all, the products have to be transported. But the long, long hours and time away from home has got to be terrible.

Public School Teacher
This probably sounds horrible, but I could never be a public school teacher these days. Years ago, I actually thought of making teaching a career. However, teachers are really underpaid and overworked. And so many public schools are underfunded. I commend those who have chosen education as their field of choice. I just know that personally I couldn’t do it. You are better women (and men) than I am.

Accountant
I’m really good at math. I took Advanced Placement Calculus in high school. I had lots of math and accounting classes in undergrad and grad school. However, numbers all day, everyday would bore me to tears. I’m not sure how much money you’d have to pay me to be an accountant, financial analyst or something of the sort, but it would have to be huge.

How about you? What jobs would you hate to have?

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When people claim to be a professional blogger, that job sounds easy to someone not in the industry. Working in your pajamas with a lot of job flexibility? Getting paid thousands per month? Sounds like a dream job.

Not so fast. According to a story in the New York Times, bloggers around the world are suffering health problems at an alarming rate. Two prominent bloggers, Russell Shaw and Marc Orchant, recently died. Shaw, who was 60-years-old old, and Orchant, who was 50-years-old, both died of heart related conditions, perhaps from burning themselves out at work.

While there isn’t enough date to conclusively state that blogging is deadly, there are reasons why these deaths might not be a coincidence. Successful bloggers have to be aware of current events virtually 24-hours a day. If they miss one event or one email, that can be the difference between a huge success and a massive failure. Working long hours with a lot of pressure to succeed could cause a lot of stress, which could then cause health problems.

Since bloggers always have to be in the loop, bloggers find that it’s difficult to take any personal time. A vacation in the blogging world is virtually impossible. Even setting time aside for exercise or eating right is difficult for a lot of bloggers.

If you are considering blogging for a living, make sure you have the right temperament for the job. If you can get stressed out easily or you can’t handle working long hours, blogging isn’t for you. When all is said and done, your health isn’t worth it – even for a dream job.