You know the economy is in trouble when more and more college kids are taking on part-time gigs.

Did you work when you were in college? I didn’t my first year but the honeymoon was over during second semester. My parents expected me to pick up the tab for some of the fun college toys…gas, beer, etc. I worked at apparel store named Syms on Long Island, and I also worked for a weekly newspaper in Manhattan in the evenings.

Looking back, it was a great experience for me because I seemed to take my studies a bit more seriously seeing the real work world outside academia. I knew I needed a good education if I was going to end up doing what I love, journalism.

More and more under 20 year-olds don’t work in this country, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. But it seems the troubled economy is pushing many college kids into jobs whether they like it or not. The parent gravy train is slowing down.

My intern took a look at the phenomenon on her campus and offers us some perspective on what’s going on.

By Katherine Guiney

While the recession is impacting parents first and foremost, their college-age students are not being left unscathed. Some may think of college as all play and very little work, but that concept, if ever present, just went out the window.

“I have skipped classes in order to do work for other classes before,” says Jennifer Eichholz, a senior at the University of Delaware who works approximately 40 hours per week at Bath and Body Works in Concord Mall and is finding it hard to balance real work and school work.

The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article, A Hard Lesson in Economics; Painful Choices as College Bills Wallop Families, about how the recession is impacting the worry-free life that college students live.

“Many students are already making painful adjustments, including dropping out, borrowing more to stay in school, transferring to cheaper schools or taking on part-time jobs.” - WSJ

As of November, 50.2 percent of full-time college students worked either part-time or full-time jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says.

Having a job when you’re a college student is a great way to make money, but it’s a balancing act. Get ready for some sleep-deprivation.

Eichholz worked at the bath products store for just over three years and moved back home to Wilmington after her junior year in order to save money. Now she can add driving to and from campus to the list of things she has to do.

To keep the list from getting too long and to maintain her 3.5 grade point average, she takes full advantage of any downtime she can find.

“I took a class where I had to read a book a week,” Eichholz says. “I bring the book to work, so that when I have my half hour lunch break I read.”

Jessica Murtha, a sophomore at Delaware who also works at Bath and Body Works in Concord Mall, says she has seen Eichholz reading on more than one, two or even three occasions.

“When she’s on her lunch break, she’s always reading,” Murtha says.

Until recently, Murtha herself worked three jobs, but has since cut back to only babysitting and her Bath and Body Works position.

“Me and her, we were living on energy drinks earlier this year, in September and October,” she says.

Both Murtha and Eichholz cite money as the reason for working during the school year.

“I know I’m going to have all this school debt when I graduate,” Eichholz said. “And with bills in general.”

On a recent rainy Monday, Dec. 1, after an 8 a.m. departure from home for class, three hours of listening to professors, the drive back home into Wilmington and the accomplishment of some homework, Eichholz worked a seven hour shift and did some more homework. And she still says this day was calmer than most.

“Normally, I have to be at work by 1:30, so I just head from school to work,” she says. “But that day I had a 4 o’clock start, so it was nice because I had time for homework.”

It may sound like it sucks for these kids, but it may be a blessing in disguise.

I’ve written extensively about how important it is for an individual’s personal and career development if they work when they’re younger.

A study done by Jeylan Mortimer, professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, found that students who worked built more confidence and responsibility than kids who didn’t.

And almost every CEO I interviewed for my book, “From the Sandbox to the Corner Office,” said job experiences in their youth, especially during their teens, helped frame their outlook on work.

Tim Ryan washed dishes at a restaurant when he was in his teens.

An excerpt from my book:

It all started when an older kid in Ryan’s working class neighborhood in Pittsburgh wanted to go to a Pittsburg Pirates game but couldn’t go until he found a replacement for his dishwashing job at a local upscale Italian restaurant called Nino’s. Ryan decided to help the guy out, hoping to gain some “peer status”, so he volunteered to take the Friday night shift even though he was nervous about whether he’d know what to do.

The food services industry was the farthest thing from his career ambitions. At that point, young Ryan had visions of someday becoming a lawyer, having watched Perry Mason on television. And frankly, he did not even like food that much. He was a terribly picky eater, one of those kids, he says, that didn’t want different foods on his place to touch. And he hated gravy or anything that he could not readily be identified on his plate.

Despite his food aversions, he fell head over heels for the frenetic restaurant environment when he first laid eyes on Nino’s kitchen. “I just loved it. I remember how dynamic the kitchen was. Here was this ballet going on in front of me. It was controlled chaos. I had never seen chefs perform before in these white coats, flames going, knives flying. These are the kinds of things 13 years old boys are attracted to,” he recalls, with fascination still lingering in his voice from teen hood.

Ryan is now the president of the Culinary Institute of America.

So guys, don’t bitch too much about having to balance books and some grunt job. It may pay off in the end.

Let’s face it folks. If you want to be president, a CEO, or master of your career, you probably need your wife, or your mother, or your mother-in-law to watch your kids.

That’s the lesson to be learned by Marian Robinson, Michele Obama’s mother, moving into the White House once Barack Obama becomes president.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a great thing that Ms. Robinson will be able to be the solid rock for those two little girls. But it points out a big problem women still face in this country when it comes to balancing work and family. And I’m not just talking about the women who are trying to do the balancing. I’m also talking about their poor mothers, their mother’s mothers and their mothers in law.

You know what I’m talking about sisters! The diapers stops here — right at the front door of almost every woman no matter how old, no matter how young. We’re the booger/butt/tear wipers for most of the kids in this country whether we’re 22 or 62.

Female means baby detail. That’s just the harsh reality.

So, what are we going to do about it?

I delve into the “grandma track” issue in my MSNBC column this week.

At a time when work-life balance should be a distant memory, many grandparents, typically grandmothers, are suddenly back in the parenting saddle again.

A growing number of women are pitching in with the care of their grandchildren, even though many have yet to hit the proverbial retirement rocking chair.

In a sign of the times, the U.S. Census Bureau started tracking the phenomenon in 2004 and it’s becoming more pervasive. Today, 1.5 million working grandparents are also caring for grandkids, up from 1.4 million since 2004.

“These grandparent caregivers have the same issues working parents have — balancing working with caring for children,” says Jaia Peterson Lent, deputy executive director of intergenerational advocacy group Generations United. She noted that more than two-thirds of grandparent caregivers are under the age of 60, and 71 percent are still in the workforce.

Why are more and more grandmothers giving up their careers or having to balance work and raising their kids’ kids today?

Because they don’t have a lot of other options!

What’s your take?

My sister Vaso got a great job this week and I was so proud of her I went on social networking site Twitter and tweeted about her accomplishment.

When we talked on the phone Wednesday night, I told her I put a message about her on Twitter and she said, “Oh. I keep hearing about that. What the heck is it?”

I probably could talk about Twitter and what it is for hours, and there are endless descriptions of it on the Net, but basically it’s a place where people share quick tidbits 24 hours a day. By tidbits I mean short sentences, or just a few words, or numbers. What ever the heck people want to share. The only restriction is that you keep your written thoughts to 140 characters.

Here’s a good bare bones description of it from Internet expert Mark Frauenfelder:

Simply put, Twitter is way for you to let other people know what you are doing. After you register at Twitter, you’ll be presented with this question: “What are you doing?” Below the question is a blank rectangle for you to give your answer. You must answer using 140 characters or less (about two sentences). This answer is called a “tweet” and you can tweet as often as you want (for free). Anyone who has your Twitter address can read your tweets.

Who cares? Another excellent question. The answer: people who care about you — your friends, your family, even people you’ve never met but only know online. You can let people know you’re tweeting on Twitter by letting them know you have a Twitter address: (mine is http://twitter.com/frauenfelder). Some people put their Twitter address at the bottom of their email messages to let people know. Other post it on their blog or Web page.

I use Twitter to let my friends know about funny photos and stories I’ve found online, or if I’m going to an event in town that other people might want to attend. If you sign up for Twitter and stick with it, I’m sure you’ll come up with you own uses.

Pretty simple, no?

Lately I’ve been asking people to follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/careerdiva, and many of you have taken me up on it even if you don’t know what the heck it is. But you guys get on there, follow me, and then don’t participate in Twitter world.

Here are some suggestions. Sign up for Twitter and start tweeting. Don’t go crazy by tweeting every time you go to the bathroom or inane stuff like that, but share interesting things you read on the Internet, or lessons you may have learned that day.

Then start reading tweets by people under the “Everyone” section. When you come across an interesting tweet, click on the highlighted name of the person tweeting and follow them. Keep doing this until you have a critical mass of people you find interesting, maybe 30 or so. It’s a good idea to already have interesting tweets you’ve done so when you follow someone and they check you out to see who you are they’ll see more than just a tweet saying “hello. I really don’t know what Twitter is but my sister told me to sign up.”

Once you’ve gotten the hang of Twitter, I would read this blog post by Twitter master Guy Kawasaki. This is a great primer for upping your Twitter followers.

So, you may now be asking “why the heck should I be on Twitter at all?”

Well, no one has to be on Twitter. If the job you do has very little to do with the Internet, or you’re just to busy to add another task, then maybe Twitter isn’t for you. But if you are in a host of jobs, marketing, writing, art, music, etc., where you want to get the word out about yourself, Twitter is a free, easy way to do it. Or maybe you just want more people reading your blog.

How will it help? If you can get a good amount of followers following your tweets, then you create your own audience. All you have to do is tweet about something and your followers, at least some of them, will read the tweet and maybe follow a link you included in the tweet.

I tweet often about what I’m writing about in this blog and on my MSNBC.com column, and I do it all in verse. Seriously, that’s my thing. I wanted to distinguish myself from the rest of the Twitter pack. Some people love it. Others are probably annoyed by it. But my use of Twitter has definitely led to more hits on this blog.

Here’s a recent rhyming fun tweet:

nothing better than rummaging thru a bag of pistachios and finding one that’s shell-less/i’m a salt-a-holic, i must confess

And here’s a please-read-my-blog tweet:

adorable little children turn into savage beasts/how can we expect labor leaders to smoke the pipe of peace. yur thoughts? www.CareerDiva.net

Another good example of using Twitter to create buzz is cartoon artist Hugh MacLeod. He tweets when he has a new cartoon on his blog and wants to share it. I often check them out. They are damn good. Here’s a recent sample:

This guy has over 11,000 Twitter followers. Hello, this is great marketing for MacLeod, no?

Anyway, you see what I’m talking about.

Now, all you have to do is not be afraid to go into the Twitter water. Sign up and make like a twittering Ester Williams.

My sister did indeed sign up. But when I went to her Twitter page it said: “This person has protected their updates.”

She inadvertently locked her page from people trying to follow her. OK, so she hasn’t quite figured this Twitter thing out. But at least she’s trying.

Do you know that opening scene of Pulp Fiction where the couple that call each other Honey Bunny are in a restaurant and jump up with guns in hand and hold up the place.

That’s what jumped into my head last night, when I heard the raucous sounds coming from our upstairs bathroom. My nine year old and six year old were going at it when they should have been brushing their teeth. They were throwing things at each other and fighting.

At dinner the little tikes were so sweet and then moments later — “Any of you fucking pricks move and I’m execute every mother fucking last one of ya.”

OK, they don’t curse, at least not where we can hear them, but it got me thinking about how difficult it is to get along with people, even the people you love.

Our daughter Circe claimed her brother Cheiron was growing things at her toothbrush so she threw a wooden turtle at him and hit him in the head. My husband and I knew she was lying, so he used a bit of psychology on both the kids and punished Cheiron even though we both suspected he did not incite the riot. (I thought this was a very bad idea.)

When you witness kids doing this you can almost understand what’s going on in Gaza right now, or the many other wars raging around this globe, or right in our own backyard.

One backyard war that has been raging for too long is the one among the nation’s biggest unions.

At a time when workers are increasingly getting the shaft, a bunch of hard-heading union dogs just couldn’t see beyond their own egos to join forces and do what’s right for employees everywhere — GET ALONG!

The AFL-CIO used to be the umbrella group for all the countries largest union groups, but infighting caused a major break and the Service Employees International Union, the Teamsters and a host of other smaller factions splintered off and created their own little sandbox called Change to Win.

I say sandbox because all these so-called labor advocates have been acting like a bunch of kids for too long.

There was a glimmer of hope yesterday.

A story written by a great labor writer Steven Greenhouse in the New York Times today reports that the big babies seem to be talking to each other again and talking about reunification.

The presidents of 12 of the nation’s largest labor unions called Wednesday for reuniting the American labor movement, which split apart three and a half years ago when seven unions left the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and formed a rival federation.

The union presidents issued their joint call after the transition team for President-elect Barack Obama signaled that it would prefer dealing with a united movement, rather than a fractured one that often had two competing voices.

David E. Bonior, a member of Mr. Obama’s economic transition team who withdrew from consideration as labor secretary, helped arrange and oversee a meeting of the union presidents on Wednesday in Washington.

It sounds promising, but I won’t hold my breath. Given the scene in my bathroom last night I’m losing a bit a faith in humankind’s kindness.

Indeed, Greenhouse’s story isn’t all feathers and doves.

The leaders are hoping, by April 15, to approve a plan to reunify, one union official said. But some officials said they might fail to reach agreement.

Of course some officials are being negative. They know it’s hard to put an angry past behind you.

But these bozos are going to have to see beyond themselves in the mirror. The mood against the labor movement in this country is ugly. Even workers who believe in worker rights and think employees are getting screwed think unions are out to screw them too. This type of infighting only gives their fears credence.

How can they possibly get anything substantial done fore the working stiff with this attitude out there?

Yesterday the SEIU held a teleconference to announce their plans to push for worker rights and better healthcare coverage across the nation.

SEIU’s “Change That Works” Campaign will build on the successful work that helped elect an unprecedented number of pro-working family candidates in November. This campaign will unite the strength of more than a thousand union members and staff to bring economic relief to millions across the country, help fix the nation’s broken healthcare system and guarantee workers can freely decide whether to join with their coworkers in a union. As part of the campaign:

* Outreach efforts and other activities are planned in 35 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
*SEIU members have committed to more than 1,000 members and staff working full-time in the field and dedicated 30% of the union’s resources to the campaign. Already approximately $10 million has been set aside to build and mobilize public support in key states.
*SEIU has hired or assigned full-time state campaign directors for each of the 35 states.
*SEIU has created a “war-room” at its headquarters in Washington, DC to facilitate the Change That Works program.
*SEIU members will appeal directly to priority Members of Congress and the new Administration through phone calls, letters, and other actions. This holiday season alone, hundreds of members and activists recruited through SEIU hosted house meetings on health care—other forums and activities are planned this month.
*In coalition with other organizations, SEIU will participate in multi-million dollar paid advertising campaigns this month and throughout 2009.
*Nearly 100 senior staff members are currently participating in a multi-disciplinary training session in Cambridge, Massachusetts and will hit the ground running throughout the country next week.

It’s a great idea, but there is strength in numbers people, and you need every body you can get to fight the good fight. And that means help from, dare I say it, the AFL-CIO.

Come on guys!!

I don’t want to be a negative sack and disregard any hope that a peace pipe won’t be smoked by labor’s top honchos.

After we punished my son Cheiron and he headed to his room, Circe came down stairs with tears in her eyes to tell us that he did nothing wrong. “It was all my fault,” she said as her eyes welled up. I had to choke back the tears myself watching her admit to being wrong.

Wow! This should be a lesson to all you seemingly smart labor advocates. I know your heart is usually in the right place. Find that place now. The clock is ticking for American workers.

There’s been a mad rush among U.S. employers lately to out layoff each other. Alcoa, aluminum producer, just announced it was slashing 15,000 jobs; health insurers Cigna and Aetna plan to cut thousands of jobs; and rumors have been flying that a bloodbath is coming at IBM.

The numbers of people they’re kicking out is staggering and most workers who get pink slipped have little recourse.

Your employer doesn’t have to explain to you why they’re showing you the door, and they typically owe you little when you depart.

Well, the economic downturn that has American companies slicing and dicing their workforces is also hitting China, but firms there can’t just julienne workers.

Chinese labor law prohibits “at will” firing practices common in the U.S., which means employers must have a legal basis for firing any employee.

This according to a great story in a human resource publication called “Workforce Management” magazine by Jeremy Smerd who says layoffs in China, and many parts of Asia, are still considered “taboo.”

Companies that rushed into China during the boom years may find it difficult amid the global downturn to extract themselves, labor law attorneys say.

“It wasn’t too long ago when the burning issue was hiring, recruiting and retention,” said Joseph Deng, a labor contract attorney with Baker & McKenzie in China. “Now it seems the No. 1 issue for many companies in China is cost cutting, termination and redundancies.”

“The first thing you have to keep in mind is that employees have contracts,” Deng said. “You cannot unilaterally terminate a contract.”

Before making any layoffs, employers need to present their plans to employee-represented work councils at each company—called employee representative congresses, which are union organizations elected by employees. For employers whose workers have not organized into unions, any indication that the company intends to lay employees off could incite workers to organize.

Now, I’m not trying to say all working conditions for employees in China are great. In fact, they are crummy and workers are underpaid. But this story points out a key right that employees there have that American workers should also be afforded.

Employers should have to explain why they’re laying people off and make a strong case for their actions, or not be allowed to terminate employees willy nilly.

Are layoffs really going to help a company in tough times, or will it just enrich executives who want to see their stock options rise?

Many people ask me what “at-will employment” really means because they always end up getting screwed by it. Basically, in every state in the U.S., except Montana, an employer can fire you without cause. Workers are protected from being discriminated against, but in most other cases they can kick you out the door for what ever reason because the law doesn’t see employment as a contract between a worker and employer. If you do have a written or oral contract with a company, that’s a whole other story, but for most of us that’s not the case.

So, this is what China does not have, “at-will” employment.

If it weren’t for tainted baby milk and the national disgrace of having a pretty little girl lip sync during the Olympics, I’d move there in a heart beat.

Every where you turn these days there’s yet another hot-jobs list taunting you.

It’s not a coincidence. Almost every editor, online or traditional media, asks writers to come up with such a list every January. They figure it’s a great way for readers to kick off the New Year.

It makes sense, especially in a bad economy. Lots of people are out of work and looking for guidance when it comes to choosing a new job or career, and many working stiffs are keeping all their options open, maybe even considering going back to school if they can get into a secure profession.

But you should take every one of these lists with a grain of salt.

“I try to steer people away from hot jobs,” says Francyenne Maynard, director of the department of career services for Dallas-based North Lake College. Basically she’s seen hot jobs come and go, and in one to five years, a hot job today could be a lousy job tomorrow.

First off, most hot-jobs lists are based on the same old tired data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor. It actually is a projection of hot jobs from 2006 to 2016, and the last time it was updated was December of 2007. Given that, the projections have yet to take into account the severe economic downturn we find ourselves in, or Obama’s big promises for infrastructure and “green” jobs.

For those not based on government data, there are lists made up by HR experts. I used one of these in my MSNBC.com column this week from jobs website JobFox. The findings are based on the gut feelings of individuals who have been involved in HR for decades. That doesn’t diminish what they come up with, but it’s not based on any exact science.

There are also more deeply researched lists, like the one on best and worst occupations in the Wall Street Journal today.

The study, to be released Tuesday from CareerCast.com, a new job site, evaluates 200 professions to determine the best and worst according to five criteria inherent to every job: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress. (CareerCast.com is published by Adicio Inc., in which Wall Street Journal owner News Corp. holds a minority stake.)

The findings were compiled by Les Krantz, author of “Jobs Rated Almanac,” and are based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, as well as studies from trade associations and Mr. Krantz’s own expertise.

Oh, there we go again, labor department data and gut feelings.

This one came up with some interesting conclusions. My favorite:

According to the study, mathematicians fared best in part because they typically work in favorable conditions — indoors and in places free of toxic fumes or noise — unlike those toward the bottom of the list like sewage-plant operator, painter and bricklayer. They also aren’t expected to do any heavy lifting, crawling or crouching — attributes associated with occupations such as firefighter, auto mechanic and plumber.

Yes folks, mathematicians. I know a few mathematicians, and some of them are indeed a happy lot. But you can’t determine your life’s direction based on these lists.

Mathematicians may make a good income and have great working conditions, but there are only a few of us out there with the personality to succeed in this career.

One thing that the Journal’s best jobs list did not include, which was refreshing, were health care jobs. If I read one more story that says health care jobs are booming I’m going to explode.

This is putting a lot of pressure on many of you to consider a job in health care even though you may not be cut out for such a gig. Yes, there are tons of positions for nurses and home health aides available, but again, these jobs are not for everyone. It really takes a certain type of person to be able to thrive in the medical world.

I know many nurses well, and let me tell you, they work like dogs, see a lot of pain and suffering, and can burn out fairly quickly.

Think long and hard before you embark on this path no matter how tempting the money and perks may seem.

Case in point, one of the worst jobs in the Journal story is lumberjack — dangerous, crummy pay and a poor job opportunity outlook. But the reporter of the piece Sarah E. Needleman includes a quote for a lumberjack praising the profession.

Eric Nellans, who has been cutting timber for the past 11 years for Pike Lumber, is passionate about his profession. “It’s a very rewarding job, especially at the end of the day when you see the work you accomplished,” he says.

Can’t find that kind of information on a list.

Many of you will probably be heading out this New Year to buy the latest career book; spend more time checking out job websites and blogs; maybe even considering hiring a career coach.

But I wanted to start off the New Year with some straight talk. There is no one like you!

You are nuts if you only take the advice of a career writer, your best buddy, or some spiritual guru when it comes to looking for a new job or trying to make sure you survive and thrive at your present gig.

You have to figure out what’s right for your particular situation, for you.

I say this because I often get emails from readers about how they bought some book, or followed a certain career model to the tee, and still ended up unemployed. Many of you are mad because a certain theory did not work out for you when it seemed to work for someone else.

Silliness alert!

I’m not saying you shouldn’t listen to people or read books, but this should only be a small part of your overall strategy.

Lots of the career advice out there right now is for Gen Y…you know the kids still in college or just getting out. This is what drives a lot of traffic to websites and lots of experts, and so-called experts, on getting in on the act. The advice is geared toward someone that doesn’t have a lot of financial responsibilities and can say “F” you to a hiring manager, or take a job traveling around the globe because they aren’t as worried as a 50-something when it comes to a secure job.

That said, a lot of the advice for 30-plus workers can sometimes play it too safe and keep an individual stuck in something they hate. The flip side of the safe advice is the get-surgery-now advice. There is nothing that gets under my skin more than people telling other people they need to look young to make it in the work world today. This is just bullshit.

Aside from age, the bulk of career advice today is skewed toward certain geographic areas, typically big cities on either coast. There’s also a bias towards office jobs and climbing the corporate ladder, disregarding people who want alternative lifestyles, or maybe are slowing down career aspirations while they care for kids or ailing parents. And there is little focus on blue-collar work, especially manufacturing.

So, if you’re 35 years old, living in Topeka, caring for a sick mother, and have aspirations to go into blue collar work, good luck finding anyone that can really talk to your experience or your future career options.

See what I mean?

That said, the best place to find advice for any individual is from someone who is doing what you want to do. A person like that has first-hand knowledge of the job you’re interested in, the training required, etc. But even this person won’t know what your financial situation is, what you’re family obligations are. That’s all information you have to include in the career plan you craft on your own.

You can read the books, read the blogs, hire a coach, but you have to do most of the work yourself to really reap the rewards.

Today, I write about the jobs outlook for 2009 on MSNBC.com, and you know what, it doesn’t look very good. But again, this year will hold different challenges and different rewards for different people.

I’ve decided to ask the Magic 8-Ball about the jobs outlook for this year.

I came to this conclusion after spending days talking to economists, academics and a host of career experts about the employment picture in 2009.

I got a lot of very different opinions — everything from “doom and gloom” to “encouraging,” depending on whom I asked. The prognostications also vary depending on the geographic area and industries involved. And many experts are brushing aside dire predictions in hopes the incoming Obama administration will create infrastructure and “green” jobs.

It’s liberating when you accept the fact that you are an individual with individual needs and desires. I know, it’s scary too, because there is no handbook that can tell you how to navigate your career.

But the only career New Year’s resolution that will get you want you want and need is: “I resolve to take control of my career and come up with my own game plan.”

(OK, the irony of me advising you not to rely on advice is not lost on me.)

Good luck folks. And have a great New Year.