The economic downturn has changed the shape of the job landscape forever. Even if we recover, it will not be business as usual from now on. As John McCain pointed out during his presidential campaign, some jobs, such as the industrial/assembly positions coming out of Detroit, are gone forever, most of them being shipped overseas.Indeed, if it’s one thing this current recession, arguably the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s–has taught us, it is that nothing is certain. One thing we can put much faith in is the concept that change is the only constant. You may have a job today and be unemployed tomorrow.
However, given the current trends in the job market, there are five jobs that, in this reporter’s opinion, will be the next generation of jobs, looking ahead five years, to 2014 and beyond. The purpose of this paper is to prepare the displaced worker to be ready, and to market himself/herself accordingly.
Employers of the future, for example, will need people to help engineer and operate the wind turbines and the machinery that will provide the energy of the future. I am thankful for a President with vision. Indeed, Barack Obama sees that our foreign dependence on oil needs to stop. Another thing worth mentioning is that it is projected that by the year 2050, our supply of fossil fuels will be shot. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. Thus the reliance on natural gas and gasoline to power our cars must end.
Ergo, we need people who can acquire the engineering skills needed to design and operate the wind turbines of the future. Believe me, this skill will be very marketable in the future. Thus if you need to go back to school in order to accomplish this, then by all means do so.
Second, the job of life coach will become popular within the next five years. There are people who have worked 20 and 30 years for Ford, GM, and Chrysler, who have now found themselves out of work. Their positions simply aren’t needed anymore, for cutbacks due to rising operation costs have become necessary. People are looking, searching for answers about what they need to do to move on from their current place of hopelessness and towards a brighter day. They are looking for answers, such as “What do I do next?” They will need people who know how to take the time to listen and give practical advice on major life decisions like careers. They will need to know the ins and outs of how to help people acquire financial aid when it comes to returning to school, a thing many people will find themselves needing to do.
Third, financial advisors of the Suze Orman variety will be very highly in demand. People will be needing to go to financial advisors for help with decisions like, “Should I buy stock in this company at this time?” or “Should I set up a Roth IRA right now,” or in CDs, or whatever. Due to recent events, it will be ages before people’s trust in the financial market will be restored. People will need help with decisions like “Should I refinance my mortgage?” or “Should I buy a brand new car right now?” In the next five to ten years, regardless to whether the economy improves or not–people will still be distrustful of the financial system.
In spite of the changes, however, some things remain the same. People will always have kids in need of an education, and people will always get sick. Thus the services of good teachers and medical professionals will always be required.
Indeed, teachers are needed. Not just ANY kind of instructors either. Barack Obama, as part of his stimulus package, wants to help in the hiring of dedicated, capable teachers who are responsible and competent. They must be capable of teaching in their content area. They must be able to perform, to bring their students up to where they can be competitive members of the workforce, and of society in general.
I, for one, am returning to school to gain my teacher’s certification. I will be required to spend a semester in a classroom setting, where English is being taught. I will be required to observe that teacher, and perhaps to teach a lesson myself. And after passing the right tests, and successfully completing an internship, I will be rewarded a teacher’s license by my state.
Not only will we see an improvement in the job prospects of grade school teachers, but also of college professors, as well as teachers capable of working with adult learners. For you will see a surplus of people returning to school, be it truck driver training school, medical and nursing schools, or trade schools. They will need capable instructors who understand their predicament and can impart to them the skills they need to move on in life.
Lastly, people will always be getting sick, so that people in the medical field–be they doctors, nurses, medical technicians, billers and coders, patient sitters, etc., will be needed. Not just any medical professionals, capable, competent ones. For I see an increase in the need for hospital beds, since in these economic times, people will succumb to stress, and be showing up in hospitals due to heart issues, high blood pressure, strokes, cancer, and other stress-related, deadly ailments.
These are just five of the career choices that will be hot in the next five to ten years–the main ones in my opinion. For at the present time, and a long time after that, we see job security in each of these fields because of their direct (or indirect) relation to the current state of the economy.
Eventually, we will see better economic times. But America will have to get used to a brand new reality–a reality that may require paradigm shifts in some areas. Some jobs may return, while others will be forever gone. The key to being successful in this season of change–as in any other time in history–is to prepare to meet the challenges of tomorrow today. In order to do that, versitility is the key.
