Dear Joyce: I am a single mom, and my teenager hasn't made a move to find a summer job, which would not only help with the budget but give him something positive to put on a future résume. Is it too late to secure a vacation job? -- D.T.

Dear D.T.: Employment welcome signs are still out all over the country as summer 2000 begins. Look in on a relatively new specialized Web site with a name parents will admire: Gotajob.com (gotajob.com). Free to applicants, the site appears to be the only one specializing in seasonal and part- and full-time hourly jobs. Gotajob claims to have more than10,000 employers signed up, including more than 500 national retail chains. They're targeting high school and college students, as well as homemakers and senior citizens.

Dear Joyce: Until recently, I had been caring for my elderly father who now has passed away. I am an RN (registered nurse) and am thinking about moving to the West Coast to enjoy the climate. I haven't looked for a job for a while. Which Web sites should I monitor? -- C.J.

Dear C.J.: A search engine will cough up nursing job boards or listings maintained by professional nursing organizations, the federal government and commercial recruitment companies. After a bout of hospital restructuring to cut costs in the1990s when qualified nurses were laid off to hire less-skilled, unlicensed personnel, the professional nursing shortage is alive and well across the nation.

Problems remain: Nurses with bachelor's or master's degree education don't earn nearly as much as other professions with similar education levels; the average age of RNs is about 47, and nursing schools have cut back programs and enrollment caps.

A new resource to check out is sponsored by Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow, a coalition of 18 nursing and health-care organizations providing career content. The site (nursesource.org) is linked to a job database operated by VitalCareers.com, which permits you to search for job openings across the nation.

Dear Joyce: I am considering moving out of special education into into private industry, particularly fiber optics. How could I bring shape to my vision? -- C.E.P.

Dear C.E.P.: Fiber optics-based services and products are among the speed growth industries with jobs for people with nontechnical as well as technical skills in a wide variety of functions, including business communications, software development, optics, electrical engineering, customer support, sales, marketing, finance, administration, management and information technology. Get a quick upgrade of your knowledge in Plunkett's Telecommunications Industry Almanac, a top-flight reference work available in libraries and colleges. The reference is crammed with names and contact information of employers in the fiber-optics field.

While the almanac explains technical components of the field, one prediction caught my eye: "Even greater advances in technology will soon follow, and the primary cost of enabling long-distance telephone calls will drop to a minuscule fraction of a penny -- essentially free service for Internet and long distance will be supported by advertising or bundled services."

Dear Joyce: After a long job search, I finally landed a very good contract job of six months, with good prospects. I signed a employment contract with a noncompete clause which says that I can't go to work for any of my staffing company employer's clients for six months if I leave. The client is dropping hints about me working directly for his company. What are my rights? -- P.B.

Dear P.B.: You've signed so you'll have to live with your agreement no matter how tempting the offer. If you challenge, you'll need a good contract or employment law attorney. Better, suggest that the client negotiate with the staffing company. You'll look ethical by taking the high road.

Send career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007, or e-mail her at jlk@sunfeatures.com. Sorry, no personal replies.

© 2000, Los Angeles Times Syndicate