I have read much about how expensive food is in time and resources in some counties. I have also listen to many individuals here in St. Lawrence County, NY (USA) complain about how much of their income is spent on food. So I began to wonder if our food is expensive based on world economy or relative to our memory of old prices. A quick search on Google revealed that the US has the cheapest food. In fact, International Business Time’s reporter Lisa Mahapatra reported that “U.S. residents spent on average about $2,273, or about 6.4 percent of their annual consumer expenditures, on food in 2012, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-expenditures.aspx ).” She also provided some excellent world maps that color codes the countries by the relative cost of food at http://www.ibtimes.com/us-spends-less-food-any-other-country-world-maps-1546945 . Washington State Magazine also put out a great chart for Annual income spent on food with a color coding to show percent of children under 5 that were suffering from Malnutrition at http://wsm.wsu.edu/researcher/wsmaug11_billions.pdf . I found it amazing that while some countries with more than 40% child malnutrition rate were spending 35.8% (India), 40.1% (Nigeria), and 45% (Pakistan) of their annual household income on food; there were still countries like Belarus that spends 44% of their income on food and has less than 5% child malnutrition. There are many reasons for this and one of them is that percent of income spent on food is not an indicator of the price of food. It is a comparison of the price of food based on family income. There is an excellent visual for this on The Economist. They have a chart at http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/03/daily-chart-5 that shows that the average weekly spending of $43 a week is the lowest percentage of income spent on food (US); however in Cameroon, a $9 weekly grocery bill will consume almost 50% of their household income.

So why does our food seem so expensive?

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABringing_in_the_Boar's_Head.jpg

It is because we base it on our cognitive bias of what the actual dollars were we spent on food in the past. Many times individuals will exclaim how outrages today’s food prices are by recalling to me what they spent on food in the 1950’s. This, in reality, is the proof that food is relatively cheaper than it ever has been. I say this because in 1950, Americans spent almost 30% of their income on food. That is over a 20% drop in the price of food. In the 1900’s it was even higher, American actually spent 42% of their income on food. No wonder the family farm can no longer survive in our economy; we spend less on food than any other country or any other time in our history. (Cheap Eats: How America Spends Money on Food: Derek Thompson; http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/cheap-eats-how-america-spends-money-on-food/273811/ ) Food is CHEAP!

What does this have to do with Career Goals?

Just like the assumption that Food Cost in America is expensive, even though it is the cheapest food in existence ever; we make false assumptions when creating career goals. It is easy to look at someone in a career field with 20 or 30 years experience and think we can’t pursue that career because we lack their skills. When in fact we should be looking at what they looked like when they first started that career path. The truth is that the biggest obstacle in achieving great career goals is the absence of having career goals. You can achieve amazing and unbelievable things once you set your mind that you are going to achieve these things. Once you remove the cognitive biases that make you think the goal is too grand and the mountain is too high to climb; you can start enjoying the cheap food as being really cheap. For the nay sayers that want to gain comfort by destroying your dreams with negative advice like, “you cannot do it because no one else from your background has done this.” Tell them a what Dr. Arnold Schwarzenegger always said on his climb to the top, “GOOD, that means I’ll be the FIRST one to DO IT!”

Below are some current openings that you may be interested in that have been posted this month. You can get assistance with achieving your career goals and applying for any of these listed positions by emailing me or contacting your local office at;

One Stop Career Center

315-386-3276

80 State Highway 310, Suite 8

Canton, New York 13617-1495

NYS Dept Labor

315-769-3596

35 Glen St

Massena, NY 13642

NYS Dept Labor

315-393-4600

1020 Park Street

Ogdensburg, NY 13669

"We avoid the things that we're afraid of because we think there will be dire consequences if we confront them. But the truly dire consequences in our lives come from avoiding things that we need to learn about or discover." Shakti Gawain

Jobs Posted in the North Country

Job Title	Company	Order #	City
Child Protective Services Caseworker	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113467	Akwesasne
Youth Worker	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113474	Akwesasne
Child Care Teacher	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113473	Akwesasne
Domestic Violence Caseworker	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113470	Akwesasne
Executive Assistant	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113465	Akwesasne
Chief of Police	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113451	Akwesasne
Budget Analyst	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113456	Akwesasne
Network Support Technician	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113464	Akwesasne
Program Manager	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe	NY1113469	Akwesasne
Cleaner	St Lawrence University	NY1113356	Canton
Graphic Web Designer	St Lawrence NYSARC, Inc	NY1113376	Canton
Motor Equipment Operator	Town of Clare	NY1113478	Canton
Warehouse Manager	Tarbell Management Group	NY1113529	Hogansburg
Indirect Business Development Officer	Community Bank, N.A.	NY1113913	Malone
Dishwasher	Phillips Diner	NY1113398	Ogdensburg
Waiter/Waitress	Phillips Diner	NY1113400	Ogdensburg
Cook	Phillips Diner	NY1113403	Ogdensburg
Estimator/Sales Position	American Pavers Inc.	NY1113501	St. Lawrence County

USA JOBS

https://www.usajobs.gov

Operations Assistant NF-01

You can apply for this position using the following options (you must have a resume or use the NAF Optional Application http://armypubs.army.mil/eforms/pureEdge/A3433.XFDL to apply): 1. Preferred - Apply electronically via USAJOBS - https://usajobs.gov . This will ensure faster processing of your ap

Salary:	$8.00 - $12.44 / Per Hour
Series & Grade:	NA-1101-00/00
Location(s):	Fort Drum, New York
Open Period:	12/19/2014 to 12/26/2014
Announcement Number:	NENAFBN141288372

Department:	Department of the Army
Agency:	Army Installation Management Command
Position Info:	Multiple Schedules - Multiple Appointment Types
Who May Apply:	US Citizens and Non Citizens

Food Service Worker NA-01

HOW TO APPLY: You must submit a complete application by 11:59pm (Eastern Time) on the closing date reflected on the vacancy announcement. A complete application contains a Resume (or DA Form 3433), any required documentation to support any preference/priority claims, certification, licensure or educ

Salary:	$8.49 - $9.43 / Per Hour
Series & Grade:	NA-7408-01/01
Location(s):	Fort Drum, New York
Open Period:	12/18/2014 to 12/25/2014
Announcement Number:	NENAFBN141286181

Department:	Department of the Army
Agency:	Army Installation Management Command
Position Info:	Multiple Schedules - Multiple Appointment Types
Who May Apply:	US Citizens and Non Citizens

Recreation Aid (Lifeguard), NF-01

Salary:	$8.50 - $12.44 / Per Hour
Series & Grade:	NF-0189-01/01
Location(s):	Fort Drum, New York
Open Period:	12/19/2014 to 12/26/2014
Announcement Number:	NENAFBN141284677

Department:	Department of the Army
Agency:	Army Installation Management Command
Position Info:	Multiple Schedules - Multiple Appointment Types
Who May Apply:	US Citizens and Non Citizens

AUTOMOTIVE WORKER NA-08

Salary:	$11.54 - $13.46 / Per Hour
Series & Grade:	NA-5823-08/08
Location(s):	Fort Drum, New York
Open Period:	12/19/2014 to 12/26/2014
Announcement Number:	NENAFBN141287944

Department:	Department of the Army
Agency:	Army Installation Management Command
Position Info:	Full Time - Temporary NTE 30 SEPTEMBER
Who May Apply:	US Citizens and Non Citizens

Security Guard

About the Position: Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division (LI), is located in northern New York's picturesque North Country, one of the most historically unique and geographically beautiful areas of the United States, offering many outdoor recreational opportunities from hunting and fishing

Salary:	$28,269.00 - $36,746.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade:	GS-0085-04/04
Location(s):	Fort Drum, New York
Open Period:	12/19/2014 to 12/29/2014
Announcement Number:	NEBN144232831285822

Department:	Department of the Army
Agency:	U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/U. S. Army Forces Strategic Command
Position Info:	Full Time - Permanent
Who May Apply:	Current Department of the Army Civilian Employees (on a career or career-conditi...

Transportation Security Officer (TSO)

TSA may apply a gender-specific (male or female) hiring preference to fill TSO positions in order to meet security mission and same gender pat-down job-related requirements. At airport locations where it is necessary to apply the hiring preference, candidates of the needed gender will be provided pr

Salary:	$30,894.00 - $44,134.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade:	SV-1802-D/D
Location(s):	Plattsburgh, New York
Open Period:	12/18/2014 to 1/6/2015
Announcement Number:	PBG-U09-P001

Department:	Department Of Homeland Security
Agency:	Transportation Security Administration
Position Info:	Part-Time - Permanent
Who May Apply:	Open to All U.S. Citizens and U.S. Nationals For further information concerning ...