MORE INSIGHTS INTO REAL OPPORTUNITIES Here are some promising job categories that have been revolutionized by technological inventions that have expanded rather than reduced job opportunities. Health Care Technology will create new opportunities for medical practitioners and technologists. Imaging machines already in use (anyone who has had an MRI—Magnetic Resonance Imaging— and has had to stay very still for what seems like a very long time knows how important they are in diagnosing diseases and injuries) will continue to be improved upon, providing instant color pictures of the interior of the human body. These machines already have revolutionized the health-care field and mean more jobs for nurses, other support staff, and technicians. Also in demand will be people who can design, manufacture, and repair new medical equipment. Robotics Though talk and much of the excitement about artificial intelligence have slowed considerably, particularly in the manufacturing of automobiles, it still is viewed as a viable and necessary tool, with new applications being researched and created by cost-conscious manufacturers and the medical profession. Worldwide, engineers are creating robotic devices to do some of the detail work now done by humans, such as quality control and chemical analysis. An increase is anticipated in demand not only for engineers but also for technicians, electronic designers, robot installers, and highly skilled professionals who can build, service, and market robotic inventions. Computer Graphics Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/ CAM) and Computer-Aided Imaging (CAI) are rapidly changing the way visuals are created and transmitted, and if you’ve mastered these fields you will have no trouble finding a job. The two are used to automate the design and manufacture of products from industrial design to fashion to media illustrations, doing away with drawing boards, prototypes, scissors, and glue. CAI, which gives objects a three-dimension form, already has revolutionized entertainment outlets such as television, movies, and videos. Information Technology Because we rely so heavily on the latest information, whether at work or at home, the demand for workers capable of manipulating and analyzing data will increase. Continuing advances in microelectronics, fiber optics, and digital technology are creating jobs in storage, retrieval, analysis, and transmittal of information. Telecommunications, which includes the telephone, electronic mail, cable TV, computer networks, and satellites, will fill cyberspace with job opportunities in the coming decade. Biotechnology The study of biological diseases has become a must because of terrorist threats, as I have mentioned. Additionally, the application of biological systems to technical and industrial products and to solve medical mysteries are a new frontier for job opportunities, such as genetic engineering, human cloning, and solving human fertility problems, that will grow rapidly. Biologists and other scientists will be asked to better understand human and animal diseases, to produce better and safer drugs, to create disease-resistant crops, to neutralize pollutants, and even to devise microorganisms to extract oil from properties in the United States—and to do whatever else they can to diminish dependence on fuel from the volatile Middle East. Lasers There will be no letup in the strong demand for medical staff trained in the delicate microsurgery of laser medicine, which today fascinates a public grateful not to have to undergo traditional surgery. Lasers will be used in a variety of ways—to speed up communication through fiber optics, to cut diamonds, to align underground pipes and sewers, and to speed up the publishing process. That means job opportunities will be plentiful for engineers, physicists, optical technologists, computer scientists, and technical and production workers. A REALITY CHECK Okay. Now you know most of the good news when it comes to employment growth. Unfortunately, there’s more to the job picture than that. These are chaotic times, and in order to make sense of the confusion you also have to know where the job growth is slow—in other words, where the jobs are not. In this way, you’ll be able to make better choices and avoid unnecessary grief and frustration in your job hunt. As you already know, job cuts hit a 10-year high in 2001, and few experts are brave enough to predict what will happen next. Industries are changing to meet new market demands, which, of course, affects what kinds of workers are needed. Though the service industry, as described at the beginning of this chapter, still is the largest segment of the current labor market, it was the hardest hit by the slowing economy and took an unusually heavy toll on people who usually are recession- proof: low-wage workers such as cooks, cabdrivers, cashiers, cleaning and maintenance workers, domestic workers, hotel workers, sales clerks, tailors, and that once always available refuge for the unemployed and actors and artists, waiters. Many Americans who had conquered the changes in welfare laws and had found jobs, albeit low-paying ones, once again are looking for work.
Even in uncertain times, certain jobs continue to grow and new ones are created. Figure out where you fit in. Professionals who are surprised to find themselves having to look very hard to find work are those who once worked for dot-com start-ups, for travel agencies, or as computer programmers, stockbrokers, general managers, sales supervisors, or marketing and advertising honchos. Unlike low-wage workers, however, some professionals took money and access to healthcare insurance with them when they lost their jobs. Manufacturing also has been on a skid, posting big losses because of disruptions and lost business from the terrorist attacks. As pointed out earlier, it has been on a decline for quite a while. I know this personally because I live in the Midwest, which once boasted of its industrial capabilities but has been known since the late 1980s as the Rust Bowl. Today, industrial output is going from bad to worse, and the decline is broad-based.
THE SLOWEST GROWING INDUSTRIES Just as the federal government reports the good news, it also collects, analyzes, and distributes the bad news. Here is its list of the slowest growing industries and jobs:
Blast furnaces and basic steel products.
Compositors and typesetters.
Crude petroleum.
Electrical and electronic assembly.
Footwear (except rubber and plastic).
Iron and steel foundries.
The current labor market is a far cry from what it was at the end of the century: It’s now a buyer’s market. But you can make employers want to buy you.
Luggage, handbags, and leather products.
Metal mining.
Miscellaneous primary and secondary metals.
Mobile homes.
Natural gas and gas liquids.
New conservation and development facilities.
New farm housing, alterations, and additions.
New gas utility and pipeline facilities.
New local transit facilities.
New nonbuilding facilities.
New nonfarm housing.
Private household workers (like manufacturing, on the decrease for more than two decades).
Railroad equipment.
Ship and boat building and repairing.
Silverware and plated ware.
Statistical clerks.
Stenographers.
Textile machine operators.
Tobacco manufacturing.
Watch, clock, jewelry, and furniture repair.
Though the job potential for many of these slowgrowth industries seems grim, most still are hiring. They still have specialized and good job opportunities for those with the needed skills. Additionally, plans to cut back on jobs are occurring in such industries as construction, nondurable goods manufacturing, transportation, and public utilities. And industries such as media, publishing, and business services are trimming the fat from their organizations.
THOSE MOST IN DEMAND
The professionals most in demand are computer engineers. They are needed everywhere, from financial institutions to manufacturing. Technology, though going through an unfamiliar period of downsizing in some areas, still is very much alive and well. The new technology is the future, and computer engineers, along with programmers, systems analysts, Web designers, and tech support staff, will lead us to it. The semiprofessionals most in demand also are technicians but in a different way. This category includes: Administrative aides. Dental technicians.
Educational assistants.
Home health aides.
Library technicians.
Medical records technicians.
Nurse technicians.
Paralegals.
Pharmacist technicians.
Physical therapy aides.
Physical therapy technicians.
Physician assistants.
Surgical technicians.
Teacher aides.
The blue-collar worker is an unskilled or semiskilled worker holding a job that doesn’t require advanced training or even a high school diploma—and these jobs are disappearing quickly because of technological advances: Remember when a garbage truck was filled not only with flies but with a crew of as many as four people? Now trash disposal is down to a oneperson operator of a computerized truck. Cleaning up and maintenance work are the mainstays of many blue-collar workers. The demand for janitors and cleaners is ongoing, as more and more of the baby boomers trade in their single-family homes for apartments in large buildings and high-rises, which need 24-hour cleaning and maintenance. But unless you have enough capital to start your own cleaning service, janitorial work, even where it is unionized, is not a career with a future, though it can be long-term. It’s an entry-level job that offers low salaries, few benefits, and high turnover. But it still is a job that is much needed—and all jobs are dignified.
OTHER AREAS OF EMPLOYMENT
The federal government, no matter how much and how often it downsizes or freezes new hiring, is the country’s largest employer, offering hundreds of different occupations and good benefits. The Department of Defense, even in peacetime, employs half of all federal employees. And Washington, D.C., isn’t the only place federal employees work: Only a handful are located in the nation’s capital, doing the nation’s work. So, don’t forget Uncle Sam! State and municipal governments also are in the hiring mode, seeking police officers, firefighters, and prison guards. Though you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out that workers in private industry make more money and advance more rapidly than in the public sector, there’s another benefit to working for the government at some level: You’ll be making an important contribution to society. You will be helping others to live their daily lives a bit better—and you’ll be giving something back, no matter what area you work in. Making sure parks are land- scaped in the summertime and streets are clear in the winter are vital services. And you get all those holidays off! Not-for-profit agencies also attract people who want to give back something in some way. The nonprofit sector is a magnet for people with intense beliefs and commitments. My daughter, Catharine Bell, combined her love of writing and animals in her first job out of college as a writer and photographer in the publications department of the Lincoln Park Zoo. “It was a dream job,” says Cathy, now a freelance journalist and author specializing in the environment. There are more than 1 million nonprofit agencies in the United States. They work in the areas of health, education, the environment, social welfare, religion, unions, arts, culture, community activism, social and fraternal organizations, and foundations. Pick something close to your heart and you’ll find a nonprofit group active in it: They range from the Abbott and Costello Fan Club to Zonta International, and everything in between.
GEOGRAPHICAL FACTS OF LIFE
It’s always been true that large U.S. cities tend to have more job opportunities than smaller, more rural, and geographically less accessible cities and towns. Studies show, though, that hiring was slow in 2002 in metropolitan area such as New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Houston, Seattle, and Chicago (where my son Robert Kleiman works; an event planner, party giver, and food and beverage expert, he is owner of Chase Entertainment).
In order to survive during economic turndowns, nonprofits, too, have had to be far more businesslike about the way they do business. The result is nonprofits also need people with business skills and are willing to pay them for their knowledge. Brighter spots were Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Boston. The state of Hawaii, a beautiful place to live and visit, continues to have high unemployment. However, my son, Raymond Kleiman Jr., co-owner with Morgan Runyon of Runmanfilms.com, a documentary film company specializing in “rad” surfing movies, happily combines his love of surfing and movie making on the island of Kauai. And don’t forget that in a global economy, your job search doesn’t have to be confined to the 50 states.
LABOR FORCE FACTS OF LIFE
Your competitors for jobs are expected to be quite different from a decade ago, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, because the composition of the population and workforce participation are expected to change. Here are some important facts to consider when you’re trying to figure out what your best chances are to get a job:
The labor force age 45 to 64 will grow over the period of 1998 to 2008 faster than any other age group as Baby Boomers continue to age. The labor force of workers 25 to 34 years old is projected to decline by 2.7 million— reflecting the decrease in births in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The labor force participation of women in nearly all age groups will continue to increase. Participation for men will remain fairly constant but is projected to contine to decline as the population shifts to older age groups that have lower employment rates. That means the number of women in the labor force will grow more rapidly than the number of men and will increase to 48 percent in 2008 from 46 percent in 1998.
Asian and Hispanic participation in the labor force are projected to increase faster than other groups because of high immigration and higher than average birth rates. For Asians the increase is set at 40 percent; for Hispanics, 37 percent.
The African-American labor force is expected to grow less than Asian and Hispanic participation and is projected to be at 20 percent. It’s noteworthy that the African-American labor force will increase twice as fast as the white labor force with its 10 percent projected growth rate.
The Asian share of the labor force will increase to 6 percent from 5 percent and the Hispanic share to 13 percent from 10 percent. White non-Hispanics will see a decrease of their share of the labor market to 71 percent in 2008 from 74 percent in 1998.
A radical change in the demographics of the U.S. workforce is that by 2008 the Hispanic labor force will be larger than the African-American labor force. There are jobs: Now you are privy to the fact that there are jobs out there. The next step is exactly how to get them, and I will show you how in Chapter 2. You now have the grounding in what the employment market acts like and looks like, and you therefore are ready to take the next step in your job search: looking for a job.
Now is the time to pause to evaluate what you want to do, what kind of job makes you happy, where you want to work, and where you want to live. My strong suggestion is if it feels significant, important, and meaningful to you, do it.
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