The Marines -- and lots of bad advice

Wrapping up our look at jobs in 4 military services, the Marine Corps accepts applicants from ages 17 to 29. They say their starting pay is the same as in the other military services. Uh, which one, sir? They're all different.

Not sure why all the US military services choose black as their web site background.

Summarizing age ranges and beginning salaries:

US Army 17-42 $17,611
US Navy 17-35 $16,800
US Marines 17-29 unknown
US Air Force 17-28 $17,604

For comparision: French Foreign Legion 17 1/2-40 $25,000

Moving back home to parents after losing a great job is becoming more common.

Bad Advice:

One guy says never follow up more than once in a job search. Be patient. Oh brother. I disagree. Over and over again in business I've seen the "squeaky wheel get the grease". Sure, you can't be obnoxious or too frequent about checking back. But doing it just once is not patience--it's surrendering.

Like duck hunting, "it's fine to send out a hundred resumes", one author writes. Uh, no, it's not. That's simply a waste of time. Go buy a lotto ticket, then get down to real job searching. If you don't know what the company president had for breakfast, you don't know enough about that business. And how many firms can you know in that kind of detail? Focus, focus, focus is the word in this century.

A career specialist said you should frequently google your name--that will bring it up in the search rankings. Somehow, I type in my name and Google knows which "John Smith" I am and moves my entry up a notch. Dang, those people at Google ... top notch.

Good Advice:

How to Find a Job. Available for just $1.50 from Kindle or Nook or instant PDF download

Job hunting expenses may be tax deductible. Check with your accountant. (Report: 4,566 words)

Image courtesy of Simon Howden