Accounting Career Background Even before the introduction of the first coins in about 600 BC, farmers kept track of their livestock and other valuable possessions in order to have an accurate financial record. Having 16 sheep, for example, meant the ability to trade up to 16 sheep for something else of equal value. The farmer […]

Advertising and Marketing Careers Background From the street cries of merchants selling their wares to today’s sophisticated electronic means of reaching customers, advertising has experienced a dramatic evolution. In its earliest days, advertising allowed merchants to go from street to shop, adopting symbols and later written signs to show the goods and services they offered. […]

Aerospace Careers Background Despite a slowdown in recent years, aerospace is a career field that continues to attract many people because of its cutting-edge technology and wide range of career opportunities. Aerospace technology has made our world a smaller place. The ability to move humans in flying machines has changed our culture, from the way […]

Agriculture Careers Background Rudimentary farming developed approximately 10,000 years ago. Archeological records reveal that people first planted seeds about 9000 BC. However, it would be another thousand years before farming produced crops as a primary source of food. As the skills of farmers increased, food production improved. Animal husbandry, fishing, and planting skills became more […]

Airline Careers Background The first recorded flight of a human being took place in 1783 when French inventors Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier inflated a large balloon with hot air, reaching an altitude of 6,000 feet. Advancements in aeronautics, the science of flight, soon led to the development of successful glider designs. Two brothers, Orville Wright […]

Alternative Medicine Careers Background The United States has been involved in an escalating health care crisis since the 1980s. Alternative health care (also called alternative medicine) plays an increasingly important role both in stirring the conflict and in contributing to potential solutions. What is the health care crisis? There is a growing feeling of alienation […]

Animal Care and Science Careers Background Animal care involves the care and maintenance of animals, both wild and domestic. The animal care field includes the training and breeding of animals, as well as promoting their health and care. It also includes the entire range of actions taken by humans to protect and preserve wildlife and […]

Automotive Careers Background The automotive industry plays a vital and powerful role in world economies, in terms of the value of its product, the jobs it creates, the income it generates, and the taxes it pays. The industry as a whole employs people at all levels of the occupational spectrum, from highly skilled engineers and […]

Banking and Finance Careers Background Banking Banking in the United States emerged immediately after the Revolutionary War. The First Bank of the United States was a federally chartered bank established to print money, purchase securities (stocks and bonds) in companies, and lend money. It also was responsible for establishing lending rules that state banks would […]

Biology Careers Background Life has many different levels of organization from the atom to complex organisms, to whole populations and ecosystems. The biological sciences look at life on one or more of these levels—at anything that is or has been alive. The field of biology also looks at the effects of surroundings on living things. […]