Think of all the things you could do with a million dollars. You could take a trip to Paris, pay off the credit card debt you racked up by shopping in Paris, and even buy an expensive designer dog like the one-and-only celebrity Paris has. Oh the possibilities. (OK, not all of us can get to Paris. But we hear Cleveland is nice this time of year, too.)

So, do you want to know the secret to making an extra million dollars in your lifetime? A college degree. That’s right: Someone with a bachelor’s degree will make about a million dollars more in their life than someone who didn’t finish high school. Just think how much more you could make if you earned your master’s. And while the cost of college may be high, the increase in income you’ll see once you get your degree pays for your education and then some.

We know what you’re going to say: “I’ve got a job and a family and a ton of other responsibilities. How am I supposed to fit in classes on top of everything else?” And we say, “Get your degree online.”

An online degree is perfect for busy people who want to learn new skills and make more money at work. You can attend class anywhere you can find an Internet connection—your local library, the Starbucks down the street, or your own bedroom—at times that are convenient for you. You don’t even have to change out of your cute little pajamas with the monkeys on them. You’ll also save time and gas money because you won’t need to drive to campus or stress yourself out trying to find a parking spot.

Want to find out more about Online Degrees? We’ve got tons of great articles to help you decide which program and school are right for you, as well as advice on how to finance your education and more.

All you have to do now is pick up a Lisa Frank trapper keeper and you’re all set.

The gang from “Beverly Hills 90210” chilled at The Peach Pit when the going got tough. The ladies from “The Hills” crash at mommy and daddy’s million dollar vacation pads when money can’t buy happiness. And when President Bush gets bummed over his approval rating, he can golf, fish and play the Risk board game deep in the heart of his Crawford, Texas ranch.

Everyone needs somewhere to hang out and relax. To reflect and move forward. And now America’s hourly workers and job seekers have Off the Clock. Think of it as yoga for your paycheck. Sure, the beanbag chairs and the old school “Donkey Kong” arcade game haven’t arrived yet, but please make yourself comfortable.

Within the walls of Off the Clock – SnagAJob.com’s new community/hangout for hourly workers and job seekers – you’ll find a ton of resources for both your working life, as well as the hours before and after you punch the clock: Connect to our MySpace profile and accelerate your job search. Get personal finance tips, hourly job news and plenty of punch lines in SnagABlog.com, our job search advice blog. And even send us your job stories, read others and win prizes in our new Share & Win! section.

Have fun. Tell your friends. And be sure to check back often. Off the Clock is a work in progress and we’ll be adding cool new features in the near future. We welcome your ideas; if you have any, please send them here.

• Check out Off the Clock now.

Working Papers: A first-time job seeker’s B.F.F.

It seems that everything these days comes with instructions: toaster ovens, exercise equipment and – heck – even mac & cheese.

Well, almost everything. First jobs don’t come with a free helpful guide. Until now…

SnagAJob.com has written “Working Papers” with the goal of helping all those soon-to-be hourly workers who have tons of questions but no answers.

Whether you’re curious about how many hours you can legally work each week or you demand to know why the amount on your paycheck looks suspiciously small, we have all the answers – well, all the answers about first jobs. We can’t tell you if opossum is safe to cook in that new toaster oven. Sorry, check the instruction book.

• Read “Working Papers” – a guide for first time job seekers
• Read more tips for finding teen jobs, student jobs and summer jobs.

Yes, we did.

We know, we know. You just bought your first ice scraper of the season last week and your weird neighbors still have their holiday lights wrapped around their chimney.

But it’s not too early to start thinking about summer jobs…especially when you add up the costs of your Spring Break trip, whether you’re heading to Panama City Beach to catch some rays or Branson, Missouri to catch a Dolly Parton impersonator.

Here are a few tips to beat the competition for the choicest summer gigs:

• Get yourself connected: Just like electronica music fossils Stereo MC’s once proclaimed, now is the time to touch base with former bosses, employed friends, and dad’s buddy who owns that restaurant. Networking isn’t just for stuffy dudes in suits anymore.
• Find out the local “release dates:” Find out when the local high schools and colleges close up for the summer, which will be easy if you’re a student at one of them. Despite our warnings, people will wait to start their summer job search until the last possible minute. You don’t want to be a vulture picking over the leftovers.
• Buy suntan lotion: A brief public service announcement: It’s always a good idea to have some SPF 30 on hand. Even if you’re not working outside, it will give you one less errand to run once your shift ends and it’s time to hook up with your crew. Plus, no boss likes an employee with third-degree burns.

Start your summer job search now.

Halloween is over, but we’ve got something even scarier for you to think about: Saving up for (or paying off) four years of college.

Add in the interest, books, a heaping supply of No-Doz, and the price keeps rising. And don’t forget those high-tech headphones to drown out your roommate’s snoring.

Wouldn’t you like to cut all of this in half? Or more?

You can with an associate’s degree. Half the years and half the cost – probably even less than half. Sure, you might be thinking that in order to score some really big bucks, you need a four-year bachelor’s degree. Not true.

If you’re calling our bluff, then just check out this list of the top 25-paying jobs you can land with an associate’s degree. Heck, at a median salary of nearly 70 grand a year, a radiation therapist doesn’t sound like a bad gig, right?

You can get a associate’s degree from many traditional bachelor’s degree-granting colleges, plus business schools, community and junior colleges, as well as through online programs.

So if you can’t wait (or pay for) four years of college, think of that number of sweaters you thought you needed to fold at the mall to afford a four-year school. Or imagine the number of tables you thought you needed to wait. And cut them in half.

One of the biggest problems with getting a job, especially a first job, is that you don’t know what to expect. Often times, you’re so excited to get a job that you don’t ask a lot of important questions, like, “How am I going to deliver pizzas if I don’t have a car?” Or, “How am I going to be able to cook hamburgers if I’m a vegetarian?”

That’s why SnagAJob.com developed JobBuddies, a sort of CliffsNotes starter kit for jobs. By checking out these quick reference guides, you can find out everything from how much you might make to what sort of ridiculous uniform you’re going to have to wear. Best of all, you find these things out before you’ve punched the clock on that first day of work.

SnagAJob.com will be introducing one new JobBuddy each month, and we’ll be sure to target all the industries popular with teens and students. This month, we’ll let you ride shotgun with Delivery drivers.

If you’re a recent college graduate – or the parent of one - then you know how oh-so important it is to land and start a killer job minutes after the cap and gown are tossed in the attic.

But as much as you might build up the pressure for landing that perfect job right after college, the odds are very good that you won’t be at that same job in 30 years. Or even three years. Remember when you were a kid and wanted to be an astronaut until that day you realized you hated Tang? Exactly.

The good news is that job opportunities and salaries have increased for our most recent crop of college grads. The flip side is nothing new: landing a great job right out of college is never easy. As the number of job seekers with degrees jumps up each year, the competition for skilled positions becomes more and more intense, especially if you’re shopping for a job in a niche market, like Odor Tester or Pet Detective.

When the job hunt gets long and the money starts to run out, there’s often pressure to take a less-than-ideal career. Hold on just one minute. Yes, we stated earlier that your first career isn’t likely to be your last career. But that doesn’t mean you have to settle. Why not take on an hourly or part-time job and continue your career search on the side? CNN recently suggested as much, and they also suggested that SnagAJob.com was the ideal job search website to do just that.

So why not take on a few shifts a week at a retail store or moonlight as a server? You can probably even find an hourly job that resembles your field of study. You just might not want to mention that whole “Odor Tester” aspiration during your job interview. It might not be taken as a compliment.

It’s that time of year when tweens and teens get their names mispronounced four times in one day by someone wearing a sweater vest, when a good lunch costs less than a tank of gas, and when Friday night lights stare down on our next Sunday afternoon gridiron superstars.

Ahhh…back to school. It’s an amazing and awkward 13 (or so) years when your parents’ fashion sense and the first letter of your last name are just as important as free will and choice.

Specifically, let’s take a look at high school, a time when you have plenty of worries and stresses. In fact, there are so many things out there consuming the lives of high school students these days that being broke is that last thing they can afford. Who wants to spend their free time begging and borrowing for enough cash to make a fast food run?

If you’re a high school student, the parent of a high school student, or know a high school student, there’s something you should know: managing school and a part-time job is much easier than you think.

In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, working high school students spend less than two hours per weekday on the job. They don’t have to commit five hours each day to a part-time gig. Heck, 10 to 15 hours of work a week should put plenty of money in students’ pockets for gas, food and clothes.

And not being broke is just one benefit of a part-time job…

Read more:

• Tips for balancing work, school and life
• Teen job tips and advice