Where the Jobs Are
David DeLong, DBA
David DeLong & Associates
espite the grim news about unemployment and layoffs,
there still are jobs to be found in today’s economy. Employers have
positions to fill immediately, even for older workers...
HOTTEST SECTORS
Federal government. In 2010, almost 60% of all
federal government supervisors and nearly half of all
nonsupervisory workers will be eligible to retire. That’s because
the huge baby boomer population is beginning to reach retirement
age. While concerns about health-care costs and the economy may
keep many from leaving, a significant number will retire. So
federal agencies are hiring now, and not only in the nation’s
capital. Five out of six federal employees work outside Washington,
DC, with the next largest concentrations of federal jobs in
Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Salt Lake
City and San Diego.
The federal government is expected to hire 193,000 new employees
in the next two years -- and in most cases, age is no barrier. The
government is looking for human resources managers, office clerks,
accountants, information technology security workers, engineers,
scientists and policy analysts, among other types of positions. The
Veterans Health Administration needs human resources specialists.
People under the age of 31 can apply for jobs as air-traffic
controllers for the Federal Aviation Administration, where
thousands of controllers are about to retire.
All federal jobs now are listed on one Web
site, www.usajobs.gov.
Health care. Next to government work, the
best job security is in health care, an expanding industry as the
baby boomer population ages. If you can afford to invest some time
in training, consider studying for a certificate to work as a
medical records specialist or a pharmacy technician. Community
colleges offer two-year associate degrees in these fields -- online
courses can be completed in a few months and cost less than
$1,500.
Hospitals and nursing homes need many people to fill a variety
of positions. As of the beginning of February, the Methodist
Hospital in Houston (www.methodisthealth.com) had 400 openings,
including positions for information systems and human resources
professionals, cleaning people and clerical workers. The Mayo
Clinic (www.mayoclinic.org) recently had more than
1,000 openings for nurses, lab technicians and pharmacists.
Scripps Health in San Diego (www.scripps.org), which AARP identified in
2008 as being one of the "Best Employers for Workers over 50,"
recently was looking for hundreds of employees, including many
with business backgrounds. Rural hospitals tend to be especially
shorthanded.
Education. Schools will need 2.8 million
new teachers in the next eight years, according to the National
Center for Education Statistics. Like federal government workers,
today’s older teachers who have spent their careers within school
systems have good pensions that will allow them to retire. Although
budget cuts mean many local school districts won’t be able to
replace every retiree and some have instituted hiring freezes, they
can wait only so long. Eventually, there will be a huge push to
find good teachers, particularly in math and science. The
experience of older teachers could be a real asset, especially in
areas with the greatest demand. There also should be a need for
principals, school administrators, education consultants and
tutors. If you have technical skills or experience in a trade, look
into openings for teachers at vocational schools and community
colleges.
GROWING DEMAND
Other potential employers include security service providers,
accounting firms, grocery chains and companies that benefit from
investments in roads and bridges funded by the economic stimulus
package just passed by Congress.
Security. Hard times lead to crime. The
stimulus package includes money for 100,000 police officers over
the next eight years. Even cash-strapped local governments are
hiring today to fill positions related to public safety. In the
private economy, security services for computer systems are
expanding and private security guards are in demand.
Besides filling slots vacated by retirees, the federal
government has 83,000 new jobs in defense and homeland security
services to fill. The Transportation Security Administration needs
another 22,000 airport screeners who can be trained quickly.
Accounting. While Wall Street jobs now are
scarce, people with a background in finance still can find work.
Many regional and community banks, for instance, are doing just
fine. And major accounting firms, such as KPMG (www.us.kpmg.com), PriceWaterhouseCoopers
(www.pwc.com) and Ernst & Young
(www.ey.com), will continue to aggressively
hire accountants and administrators and will be looking for a
mix of recent graduates and experienced workers. Ernst &
Young expects to hire 2,400 professionals in the coming year.
Consulting firms, such as Booz Allen (www.boozallen.com) and Accenture (www.accenture.com), are hiring thousands of
people with information technology skills in specialties such as
Java and SAP. There will be more demand for personal financial
planners -- new baby boomer retirees will need help managing
investments and planning for old age.
Grocery chains. People are buying food to cook
at home -- and grocery chains need cashiers, retail clerks,
managers and other professionals for back-office functions. Wegmans
Food Markets (www.wegmans.com), a 72-store chain, recently
had 2,000 openings in its stores. Publix Super Markets
(www.publix.com) in Florida has had more than
900 openings, and Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com) reported more than
800 job openings across the country.
Going green. An explosion in green jobs
seems on its way, although the credit freeze is slowing things
down. If you don’t need a job to pay the mortgage next month,
consider specialized training to help companies respond to new
environmental-safety laws and demands for green products.
See www.greenbiz.com for information about
educational resources on sustainable business practices.
Infrastructure. The $787 billion stimulus plan
includes money for roads, bridges and other transportation
projects, as well as for energy and education projects. It should
create openings at construction and engineering firms, as well as
at companies with new energy projects, including utilities. Follow
your local news to learn how your region will benefit.
HIRING DURING LAYOFFS
Don’t write a company off your list just because it’s laying off
some workers. Companies can be actively hiring even while
downsizing. Microsoft, for example, recently announced that it was
letting 5,000 employees go, but it will continue to hire thousands
of people for positions in marketing and software design. Big
corporations require many kinds of specialized skills and operate
in many locations -- a freeze in one department may not prevent
another from staffing up.
Where the Jobs Aren’t
Every field presents opportunities if your skills, personality
and passion give you a competitive advantage in that area. Still,
there are some job categories where the odds definitely are stacked
against you today...
Automotive parts assemblers
Stockbrokers
Home builders
Real estate agents
Manufacturing jobs
Journalists