The best anchor they ever had.
Posted on 10/10/2007 11:24:35 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Health care, education and financial services--if you're looking for work in the coming decades, these are the fields to get into.
What to avoid? The usual suspects. According to the projections by the U.S. government, manufacturing jobs are expected to decline by more than 5% by 2014 as production moves overseas. Same goes for textile workers, such as sewing machine operators, who will see a 36% drop in employment. Technology will kill off more office positions, such as file clerks. They'll see a 36% drop in their ranks by 2014. Digital cameras will zap the manual photo processing industry by about 30%. And that guy who comes around to read your electric meter? Expect to see a lot less of him, too.
But these are the obvious victims as the U.S. moves from a goods-producing economy to a services-producing economy. More interesting are the jobs that are likely to experience slower than average growth (average being about 13%). This is where the surprises are.
In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century
Like computer programmers. Despite all the advances--and expected job growth--in the computer industry, expect the number of programmers to increase by about 2% between 2004-2014. Why? Outsourcing. Americans who want a career in this field should find a specialization, like cybersecurity.
Another endangered species: journalists. Despite the proliferation of media outlets, newspapers, where the bulk of U.S. reporters work, will cut costs and jobs as the Internet replaces print. While current events will always need to be covered (we hope), the number of reporting positions is expected to grow by just 5% in the coming decade, the Labor Department says. Most jobs will be in small (read: low-paying) markets.
Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn't seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius--which now have plans to merge--have regularly operated in the red.
Anyone who regularly books their flights online can tell you why the travel agent business is in jeopardy. So here's a surprise: The Department of Labor only predicts a 6% drop in travel agent jobs by 2014. The demand for luxury and specialty travel, and increased spending on tourism, will buoy the industry somewhat. If you do plan to be a travel agent, best to find a niche field or specialize in specific-destination trips. Travel agents might also find success in organizing groups of foreign visitors to their home markets. But remember, the travel industry is highly connected to swings in economic conditions.
Worse off? Federal employees and their amazing benefits. Washington employs nearly 2 million people, not including the military, making it the country's largest employer. After Sept. 11, 2001, it expanded significantly due to homeland security needs. But those days may be coming to an end. By 2014, federal government jobs--excluding the Postal Service-- will only have increased by about 1.6% above 2004 levels due to the transfer of some jobs to state and local governments and the increased use of private contracting companies. Don't believe it? A report compiled by a House of Representatives panel earlier this year found that government spending on contracts rose by 103% between 2000 and 2005.
Should you be discouraged if a career you pinned your hopes on is not expected to grow? Not at all, says Anthony Spadafore, director of Pathfinders, a career counseling company in Alexandria, Va. He says that if people pursue their fields that play to their talents, they'll be able to compete for the top jobs where competition is fierce, even if the industry is diminishing.
"The idea of shrinking and hot fields, we think it's sort of a rudimentary way of looking at things," Spadafore says. "Believe it or not, there's still a need for bank tellers."
Want more info? The Department of Labor has some excellent information, including the bi-annual Occupational Outlook Handbook, which includes career descriptions, salary information, employment projections and working conditions for hundreds of jobs. (The next version is due out early next year.) Another good resource is the Occupational Outlook Quarterly, which profiles specific careers. Last year, the publication issued an entire volume related to growth projections.
#1 Changing Hillary's Depends ??
Assistant crack whore.
And for the 7th year in a row, the worst job in America.....Crack Whore!!
LMBO!!
Cut corporate manufacturing taxes to the level that the rest of the world charges and you’ll save a lot of outsourcing. I believe that Japan has a 26% manufacturing tax, the United States has a 36% tax.
Manufacturing jobs are gone.
Computers? Forget it.
Ranchers and farmers? Nope.
Media? Shrinking.
Federal employment? Gone.
Sales agents? Nope.
Um, so that leaves........ummmmmmm.......
Manufacturing of buggy whips will also decline.
Beat me by seconds!
Consolidated Opera Hats is at an all time low.
ROFL
The best anchor they ever had.
Ha!
“Cut corporate manufacturing taxes to the level that the rest of the world charges and you’ll save a lot of outsourcing”
You can cut the tax rate to zero there will still be outsourcing to China, India. Lower labor rates and sucessful “protectionist” (pro-India, pro-China) practices make it profitable.
Crackwhores.
GOOD NEWS!
At a guess, Politicians, and Lawyers (Thier larval stage).
Everyone else sells Big Macs, or simply does not work, and predictably, votes for the Glorious Revolution.
There are nonsanctioned service industry jobs available, such as the aforementioned Crack Whores, their employers, and drug distributors, but since their businesses are not burdened by taxes, they are not really threatened.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.