In the cutthroat world of show business, sometimes it’s comforting to have a familiar face and someone you can trust as part of the team. These 15 celebrities left their fate and careers into the hands of their parents and it served them well — very well.

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The Kardashians

Perhaps the mother of all momagers, Kris Jenner helped her Kardashian daughters become household names. In addition to launching the careers of Kim, Khloe and Kourtney as reality television stars, the Kardashians have segued into the world of fashion design. Ready to have the limelight to shine on her, Jenner has inked a deal for her own talk show. In 2011, it was reported that she was worth an estimated $20 million.

Oftentimes when couples mix business with pleasure, it can cause tension in the relationship but not for these couples. Here are 15 celeb couples that became partners in the bedroom and boardroom.

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Daytime darling Kelly Ripa met her husband Mark Consuelos on the set of ABC’s “All My Children.” After keeping their relationship a secret for over a year, the couple snuck off to Vegas to elope. Ripa and Consuelos continued to play married couple Hayley and Mateo on the soap opera for six years until leaving the show. Having no problem working together, Ripa and Consuelos founded production company Milijo in 2007 and made several films that premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival.

Source: crunkfeministcollective.wordpress.com

Scenes from Awkward Black Girl come to mind: Nina the ‘fish-smelling’ office manager accosts ‘J’ and perpetually makes her life a living hell for any number of reasons. Sometimes, bosses and managers simply aren’t very friendly–sometimes it’s within their nature to remain withdrawn and to refrain from overly fraternizing with employees. But know this, and know this well: there is a clear and finite difference, however, between a manager being reserved or indifferent, and showing outright disdain towards an employee.

Everyone has been there, some live there and some can’t walk into their places of work without being confronted with an eye roll, insincere smile or a cold shoulder. Your manager can hate you for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, jealousy, arrogance, ignorance or attraction. Here are four major signs/scenarios so that you’ll know if it’s all in your head or if your boss wants you gone.

Smiles At Everyone But You

You arrive to work in a chipper mood, ready to take on the day; and just ahead, you see your manager. They’re moving through the office with a positive demeanor, smiling at every Tom, Rick (since the D-word won’t suffice on WordPress) and Harry, but when you approach them, giving a vibrant, “Good Morning,” all the energy drains from their face and the only response that is mustered up is a lackluster, “Hello” as he/she surveys you with their eyes. Trust, it’s not that you need that person’s approval or Kool-Aid smile, but when it’s clear that you’ve become the less than favorable employee and you don’t know why, nor are you told why, it’s clear that somebody doesn’t care for you.

You Catch Hell For EVERYTHING

You’re at your workplace and it’s a hot summer day. As it’s a business-casual environment, many women are wearing a skirt or dress–including your manager, yet they’ve singled out your attire as being “inappropriate.” He/she insists that they’ve spoken to you several times about your clothing (even though they have NOT), and they make a point of reminding everyone what they shouldn’t wear, just moments after publicly ostracizing you. You might think you look exactly like your colleagues, but to your boss, who can’t stand you, you walked in dressed like Joseline Hernandez, baby.

You Can Do No Right

Following a performance review, you’ve discovered that your manager is dissatisfied with your work. He/she does not share this privately, but instead they share their feelings with you in front of your colleagues. Because you want your manager and your fellow employees to see you as a an exceptional employee, you begin to work harder, struggling to put in extra time and extra effort, but when it comes down town to another evaluation, your manager only slightly acknowledges your “minor” improvements in front of your coworkers, but privately praises you later. Or even worse, you work hard and even go the extra mile, but your boss can only seem to point out what he or she doesn’t like about your work. Unappreciated much?

You’re The Example

There is a staff meeting, and all of the employees on your team are called into the room. The meeting, which is supposed to discuss progress and policies, almost immediately gets directed towards you. Going as far as to say your name, your manager spends more than half of the meeting time discussing you and your faults or talking strictly to you in front of everyone, stating that you routinely abjure rules–mentioning only one brief instance when you may have made a bad call. At the same time, he/she only briefly touches on the fact that some of your fellow co-workers have committed much heavier grievances, including losing very important accounts due to negligence. Things that could have been discussed in private are discussed around your colleagues in an attempt to “set you straight.”

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Do you relate to any of these scenarios, and are you suddenly overwhelmed by feelings of resentment or angst?  Well, try not to be. Know that the best defense against a manager who doesn’t like you is to kill them with kindness. While this may seem less desirable than, let’s say, punching your manager in the face, recognize that if you were to give your manager anymore cause for complaint outside of whatever arbitrary feelings he/she has for you, then that person may really strive to get you fired. And if that doesn’t work, if you fail to charm your manager despite all of your efforts, then strive to charm everyone else, including your manager’s superior, by doing great work and just being a bigger and better person. Also, if you find that your manager is also mistreating another co-worker of yours, decide that person is an ally and take notes, or at the very least, you’ll have someone to complain with.

Image: iStockphoto

USA Today‘s Entrepreneurial Tightrope column tackled the issue of gratitude after a boss named C.J., probably tearing up while typing his/her tale of woe, complained that his/her ungrateful employees weren’t thankful enough for all the wonderful things that he/she did for them.

“These perks cost money. Is it asking too much to expect them to show me that they appreciate my efforts?” C.J. asks.

First, hush with your whining C.J.

Second, Gladys Edmunds, the Entrepreneurial Tightrope columnist, hits it right on the head in her response.

“I’m not sure how you want them to display their appreciation. But, it’s a new day and you need to find out if your employees consider your gifts something to be grateful for,” Edmunds responds.

Many employers and managers, coming from a good place and genuinely trying to reward employees for a job well done, try to organize dinners, boat rides, parties, or other events to show their appreciation and then make it mandatory for employees to show up.

Cake in the conference room is great. The occasional happy hour get-together is cool. And nice dinners and cocktail parties around the holidays are expected and acceptable. But people have lives. They spend lots of hours daily away from their families and friends and want to get back to them once their time at work is over. Count in all the overtime that staffers put in to make sure projects are done on time and without error, and you have people who spend upwards of 50 or 60 hours at work every week (plus commute time). To them, spending another couple of hours at a work function isn’t “a perk.”

Edmunds includes a few examples, one in which a father was missing his daughter’s seventh birthday party to attend a company dinner that the boss said was a treat. Everyone felt they had to be there. That’s actually the opposite of a perk.

“…[Y]our employees might have a better appreciation for the kind of compensation that benefits their lifestyles,” Edmunds says, suggesting that those in charge simply ask what people would like. When all else fails, people love cash.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its list of the 40 highest paying jobs that don’t require a Bachelor’s degree. The work covers a range of industries and professions from mechanics and electricians to municipal and construction workers to those requiring organizational skill or artistic talent. And even at the bottom of the list of the top 40 — first-line supervisors of correctional officers — the median annual salary tops $55,000 per year (as of 2010).

It’s worth noting that a number of the jobs require some form of post-high school study. Many of the positions related to the engineering or medical fields (respiratory therapists, for example), require an Associate’s degree. Other jobs, like insurance appraisers and commercial drivers, require some sort of non-degree training.

Also worth mentioning — there are projected to be more than 1.2 million openings for registered nurses, number 18 on the list, through 2020. The median annual income as of May 2010 was $64,690.

Last year’s number one, radiation therapist has slipped to number six though the media income, $74,980, has stayed the same. Here are your top five, via Business Insider:

Image: Comstock

5. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
-Median income as of May 2010: $78,260
-Projected job openings through 2020: 38,700
-Requires a high school diploma

4. Transportation, storage and distribution managers
“In charge of operations that range from railroads to shipping facilities,” according to Business Insider.
-Median income as of May 2010: $80,210
-Projected job openings through 2020: 33,700
-Requires a high school diploma

3. Construction manager
-Median income as of May 2010: $83,860
-Projected job openings as of 2020: 120,400
-Requires an Associate’s degree

2. General and operations managers
-Median income as of May 2010: $94,400
-Projected job openings as of 2020: 410,100
-Requires an Associate’s degree

1. Air traffic controller
-Median income as of May 2010: $108,040
-Projected job openings as of 2020: 10,200
-Requires an Associate’s degree

And here are a couple of honorable mentions for professions populated heavily by women.

Dental hygenist
 -Median income as of May 2010:  $68,250
-Projected job openings as of 2020: 104,900
-Requires an Associate’s degree

Fashion designer
-Median income as of May 2010: $64,530
-Projected job openings as of 2020: 6,700
-Requires a high school diploma

If you think you have what it takes, or could actually stomach working for Kanye West, here’s your chance.

Last night the rapper/fashion designer/inventor? announced plans to launch a design company named DONDA to develop products and services that “marry our wants and needs.”

“DONDA is a design company which will galvanize amazing thinkers and put them in a creative space to bounce their dreams and ideas,” he wrote.

“I am assembling a team of architects, graphic designers, directors musicians, producers, AnRs, writers, publicist, social media experts, app guys, managers, car designers, clothing designers, DJs, video game designers, publishers, tech guys, lawyers, bankers, nutritionist, doctors, scientist, teachers.

“DONDA will be comprised of over 22 divisions with a goal to make products and experiences that people want and can afford,” he said. “We want to help simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see hear, touch, taste and feel. To dream of, create, advertise and produce products driven equally by emotional want and utilitarian need.”

Kanye’s passion for his new idea is undeniable and he’s also pretty proud of the company’s name.

“I’m so excited about the name…. it’s got the best name ever of all companies of all time!!!” he wrote. “The name of the company is DONDA.”

Just be warned. Kanye revealed the details of the new company amidst a three-hour twitter rant on missed opportunities, closed doors, and fronting his owm money to pursue his passions, so he’s still the same old Ye. Nevertheless it’s cool to see him thinking outside the box like this and honoring his mother’s memory at the same time. He also told anybody who wants in on the team to drop a line to contactDONDA@gmail.com.

What do you think about Kanye’s idea? Can he pull it off?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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(Wall Street Journal) — Need entry-level talent? Be prepared to pay a little more this year than you did last.  The average salary offer for bachelor’s degree graduates rose 6% in 2011 to $51,171, according to a new survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.  Some newly minted degree holders, however, will cost even more. Chemical-engineering graduates saw their average salary offer increase 1.8% to $66,058, while offers for grads with computer-related degrees jumped 9.6% to $63,760, NACE reports. Computer-engineering grads gained 4.1%, bringing their average to $62,849.  The priciest recruits? Petroleum-engineering grads are now receiving offers averaging $82,740, or 7.1% more than last year, making these folks the highest-paid majors in the survey.

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Top celebrities often pay tribute to their moms. Mothers are buy nature, the nurturers of the family and most make it their mission to ensure their kids have the best. Some moms play a heavy hand in ensuring their children are successful. Mom/Managers are becoming common in the entertainment industry, and their kids are benefiting from their devotion. Here is a list of some of the top momagers in the African American community:

Jonetta Patton

Jonetta Patton may be better known to the public as the mother of R&B and Pop Superstar Usher. Patton has also been the most prominent guiding hand in his career. She managed her son since he was a teen singing sensation and nurtured his career to Grammy Award winning status, until recently. Although the two have split professionally, Usher still credits his mom for helping him along his stellar journey. Patton continues to run J-Pat management with a client list that includes James Lackey or JLack, a Grammy nominated music producer, and Usher’s little brother.

(Wall Street Journal) — What do managers do? One good answer to this question comes from the late Peter Drucker, whose name that stands out above all others in the century-long history of management studies. A native of Vienna, Austria, Mr. Drucker was an intellectual who worked as a journalist and studied economics. At some point in his studies he had an epiphany: economists, he realized, “were interested in the behavior of commodities, while I was interested in the behavior of people.” That led him to, in effect, create the modern study of management.

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(AOL Black Voices) — These savvy businesswomen went from wiping bottoms to handling to bottom lines in their kids’ careers. Which mommy managers are the best in the entertainment biz? Read on for Black Voices’ list of the Top 10 Momagers Making Moves.

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