IT IS POSSIBLE THAT YOU ALREADY know that you want to make a career for yourself in the jewelry industry and may already have begun your life's work. In fact, some of the most famous jewelers working today began selling their work in high school. Unlike many other careers, being a jewelry designer and maker does not require a college education or any specialized degree, although there are industry certifications that can be very useful as you progress in your career, and the broad range of knowledge to be gained by attending college can be useful from both a creative and a business standpoint. Nevertheless, if the creative urge has hit you at an early age, and you discover that making beautiful things by hand is a source of satisfaction, becoming a jeweler could be the career for you. While you may be starting out on your own as a jewelry maker, it is important to understand that this is an industry with large-scale manufacturers, national wholesalers, and extensive retail chains, as well as individuals who handle their own sales in addition to being the creators of their work. As you continue to make and market your own jewelry, you may find it necessary to hold a regular job in the industry, even if it is simply your local jewelry retailer. You may need employment with an established jeweler or jewelry company just to support yourself. You may also want to do this for educational purposes in order to learn some specialized technique directly from a master craftsperson who works for a certain company. If you are making your own jewelry, whether exclusively or part time while working for another jeweler, you will want to market your work as effectively as possible. There are a great many outlets for the individual jeweler including crafts shops, flea markets and farmers markets, and Internet marketplaces. Crafts shops may be focused on artists who use materials from the local environment, such as a shop in a coastal town that features jewelry that is made with sea glass. Flea markets and farmers markets tend to be open on weekends, which is perfect if you are also holding down a job during regular business hours. Internet marketplaces are, of course, open 24/7 and you can upload images of your work and handle sales on your own schedule. Besides these outlets, there is nothing except a licensing fee that prevents you from setting up a pushcart with your work in any highly trafficked area such as a retail mall, or a downtown business neighborhood where lunchtime shoppers can take a few moments away from their other chores to browse through your collection. Being a designer and jewelry maker is not the only way to participate in the jewelry industry. Two important categories of jewelry industry professionals are gemologists and appraisers. Gemologists typically are called upon to certify the authenticity, quality, and characteristics of gemstones. Jewelry appraisers examine jewelry to determine the value of a particular item. Both of these professionals find work with jewelry companies or individual stores, appraisal firms, auction houses, pawnbrokers, and insurance companies. They may operate their own independent businesses as well. This new Careers Ebook contains a wealth of unbiased information about an occupational field, based on the latest national surveys. Careers Ebooks cover attractive and unattractive sides, opportunities, education necessary, personal qualifications required, earnings, descriptions of different job specialties, first person accounts by those in the field, and how to get started; including practical advice on what to do now. There are live links to schools and colleges, associations, periodicals and other sources of reliable information.

A Practical Guide to Efficient Shop Management, Run Your Shop Without It Running You offers jewelers useful advice to managing their shop. Take-In Procedures, Setting-Up a Shop, Pricing Repairs, and Productivity in the Shop are just a few of the subjects covered. With over one hundred and fifty pages of information, illustrations, and worksheets, this is the most comprehensive book on Shop Management available today. This Valuable Guide Is A Must In Every Jewelry Store Learn a variety of methods to improve profitability of the jewelry shop. Including; how to set correct prices, improve scrap material management, and avoiding costly mistakes at the take-in counter. Learn methods of increasing productivity without sacrificing quality. Including; organizing and scheduling jobs, shop design, organizing the bench, motivating the bench jeweler, and many other topics. Run Your Shop Without It Running You will show you how you can have a shop that is efficient and profitable. In the ever-changing business environment, retail jewelers are compelled to make every aspect of their business profitable. If a store is to survive in the future, not only can it not support a loss in the shop; the shop must contribute to the profits of the store. In the years ahead, the shop may very well be the most important asset for the independent retail jeweler. It Is Now More Important Then Ever To Operate The Shop Professionally And Profitably. The business environment has changed over the years, and business practices must change along with it. No longer can the shop be the Necessary Evil, the Achilles Heel of the retail jewelry industry. The shop must be able to stand on its own and provide its share of profits to the store. Then, the store will not just survive in the future, it will THRIVE. In 1999 Bench Media first published Run Your Shop Without It Running You and is the Best Selling book on Jewelry Shop Management. Here is what other has said about this book: “All in all, the book is a no-nonsense guide to running a tight repair shop – It's A Must Read.”INSTORE Magazine “For too many years jewelry storeowners have believed the fallacy the shop can't be a profit center. Brad Simon destroys that notion step-by-step with a practical book that shows owners and shop mangers the keys to profitability.”Professional Jeweler Magazine “This is the best book on setting up and running a shop that I have ever seen. It is a must for every jewelry store and every jeweler should read it.”Andy 'The Tool Guy' Kroungold “Brad is one of the few people who understand how to make a profit in the shop and how to set prices. If you have a shop or are going to install one, you should buy this book. It's great on setting things up in an orderly fashion for best efficiency, which speeds things up and lowers cost. Buy this book; it's a good one.”David Geller “This is going to be one of those classic books that comes to mind whenever someone asks about going into the trade or gets serious about making their shop profitable. There is a lot of practical business sense and many bench tips.”John Caro “Brad Simon reviews much that should be common sense, but unfortunately is often overlooked. It is good to see it laid out and explained for a bench jeweler's perspective. Thanks Brad for such an informative manual.”Tony Baldwin “Brad Simon has taken a potentially boring subject and made it interesting to read. His years at the bench are obvious from the detailed descriptions of what goes on in the shop.” David Lantz “Very well done. An excellent reference guide and tool for jewelers. Jewelers will definitely benefit from this book. I recommend it to all.”Arthur Gordon

Describes 250 occupations which cover approximately 107 million jobs.

An important resource for employers, career counselors, and job seekers, this handbook contains current information on today's occupations and future hiring trends, and features detailed descriptions of more than 250 occupations. Find out what occupations entail their working conditions, the training and education needed for these positions, their earnings, and their advancement potential. Also includes summary information on 116 additional occupations.