Lexophilia is defined as “the love of words.” It’s a neologism, a newly invented word. It comes from two Greek words – lexis (meaning words) and philia (meaning fondness).Writers, readers, lexophiles and anyone doing research can find a wealth of free information on the internet. Here are ten sites that will help you find just about anything you might need to look up. 1. Rhymezone.com is my dictionary of choice. It’s a quick and easy way to find words but it’s so much more. You can find synonyms, anonyms and homophones. Use it to write poetry. It will return words that rhyme with yours. Want to see your word used in a famous quote – no problem. It will return pictures, documents and multimedia related to your word. And you can customize it to select your most used functions by default. 2. Bartleby.com is one of the most comprehensive references on the web. Here you will find everything from encyclopedias to inaugural addresses of the presidents of the United States. Looking for quotations, Bartleby has more than 87,000 contemporary and classic quotes. The Elements of Style, The Columbia Gazetteer of North America, The Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are only a small part of what’s offered. 3. Urbandictionary.com is a slang dictionary with words related to urban cultures and street slang. Over 3,000,000 definitions have been submitted since 1999 4. Acronymfinder.com is the world’s largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms and abbreviations. They’ve been online for ten years and their unedited sister site acronymattic.com has another three million acronyms and abbreviations. 5. itools.com gives quick access to some of the best internet tools. Search tools will help you find anything on the web. Look up or translate words with Language tools. Use the Research Tools to find information about any subject. There are Financial Tools that will convert currency and Map Tools for driving directions. 6. Gutenberg.org is the web site of Project Gutenberg, a library of electronically stored books that are available free. It was started in 1971 by Michael Hart and has been worked on by hundreds of volunteers. There are over 25,000 free books in the online catalog. There is also an offline catalog that can be downloaded. 7. Refdesk.com is a portal to much of what the World Wide Web offers. It lists a vast assortment of informative and educational sites. Desktop resources include area codes, zip codes, calculators, Old Farmer’s Almanac, newspapers, lottery results, sports, tax prep guides and more. 8. effingpot.com/index.shtml is an American’s Guide to speaking British. Seven sections – Slang, People, Motoring, Clothing, Around the House, Food and Drink and Odds and Sods – contain over one thousand words and expressions that differ between the US and the UK. 9. Cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/ offers free cliff notes on literature, writing, math, science, test prep and information on college grants and scholarships. 10. And for nonverbal gestures signs and body language I highly recommend ChangingMinds.org.
6 Unusual Jobs That Pay Ridiculously Well
Finding a good job at the present time is difficult, especially in this time of recession when instead of getting a new job, many people are losing their jobs regularly. However, managing a job that pays well is not as difficult as it seems to be. To get such a job, one has to look at the right place and most importantly has to think outside of the typical way. In today’s world, the notion of job has changed a lot. Now, people do not need to be a ‘Director’ or a ‘Chairman to make big bucks. In this day, one can make big amount of money just by choosing an unusual job that not everyone can or will do. Here, is a list of 6 unusual jobs that pay ridiculously well:
Crab Fisherman. It may sound strange, but it is true that the profession of a crab catcher is a highly paid one. However, the hazards and dangers involved with this profession justify the high earning related to it. Apart from the risks of losing limbs and catching hypothermia, crab catchers have to compete with the crews of other companies. However, just 3 months of the working period and earnings of over $50,000 per year have made it one of the most lucrative yet unusual jobs.
Bounty Hunter. Bounty hunting is another unusual job that pays ridiculously well. This job involves catching fugitives who have left town by violating their parole. The bounty hunters earn 10 to 45 percent of the amount deposited by the criminals as their bale money. An experienced bounty hunter can earn $50,000 to $100,000 per year. However, the job is quite risky, as a bounty hunter has to deal with dangerous criminals.
Ethical Hacker. Ethical hackers have made the cyber world a safer place for everyone. Unlike the typical hackers, who create havocs in the cyber security systems and steal information from other’s computers, ethical hackers help companies to find weakness in their cyber security system. An experienced and skilled ethical hacker can earn over $124,000 per year.
Golf Ball Diver. The job of a golf ball diver includes collecting balls that lost during the time of playing golf. This job requires scuba skills as divers need to collect balls from under the water. This is comparatively a less risky job that can earn good bucks. Professionals can earn handsome amount of money from this job.
Flavorist. This unusual job is related to the food industry but does not involve any kind of cooking, baking, or chopping. All is needed for this job is to have a scientific mind and a tongue with a fine taste. Flavorists analyze natural flavors and recreate them in the laboratory. They sometimes synthesize new flavors too.
Trash Collector. Many people will make a strange face on the mention of this job. However, this job is quite easy to perform and pays handsome amount in return. Anybody can consider this profession as a viable career option as it only requires collecting trash from homes and emptying them into a big truck. A trash collector in New York City can earn $100,000 per year.
These unusual jobs are not only means of making money but also can offer relief to those who are sick of the typical job environments. These are also good means to impress others with unusual job titles. People who love diversity and variety can opt for these 6 unusual but well paid jobs.
Chartered Accountancy Profession in India and Your Career Prospects
A career in chartered accountancy is for the people who have a penchant for numbers and accounts. The demand of CA’s has been growing in between 10 percent to 15 percent over the last three years and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years.
Chartered accountancy is one of the highest paying careers in the country. It is not only remunerative but is considered to be one of the most respected professions in India. As per the news published in one of the leading newspapers, in ICAI campus placements 952 Chartered accountants were placed with an average annual salary package of around Rs 7.28 lakh. This is a clear indication of high demand for accountancy professionals in the market. ICAI has organized this placement drive across different cities in India like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.
Some of the high-profile recruiters of chartered accountants in India are Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Federal Bank, ITC, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, L&T, Wipro, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Engineers India, GAIL, etc. Some other good paymasters of CA are E&Y, Deloitte, ICICI Bank and PWC.
Where are the CA jobs available?
As per the current job trends, CA’s are in high demand not only in the core sectors like banking, financial services, or manufacturing but even in new age sectors like Information Technology, telecom, risk and assurance services, infrastructure and retail. High earning potential jobs are available in banks, PSU’s, auditing firms, finance companies, mutual funds, portfolio management, stock broking firms, legal firms and so on and on. Financial inclusion is the next high potential job generating sectors.
The work of a CA is mainly involved in auditing financial reporting, creating and maintaining accounting systems, corporate finance, and tax management, among others. A fresh chartered accountant can earn somewhere in between INR 5 to 7 lakh per annum. With the increase in the years of experience and expertise, the salaries can go as high as INR 18-24 lakh per annum.
Here are the top career options for the chartered accountants, take a look-
· Audit and Taxation
· Finance Advisory
· Investment Banking
· Banking and Financial Services
· Outsourcing
· Academics
· Corporate Sector
Chartered accountants are one of the most rewarding career domains to be in. The courses required are common proficiency test (CPT), Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC), CA final and Articleship.The modern age CA is technically armed to serve as management consultants and play a pivotal role in helping business and industry to optimize the use of resources, increase their efficiency and accomplish their targets.