Britfrombristol

As there seems to be quite a few people on this site who are facing a challenge with either getting a job, choosing which area to live, changing career and retraining after emmigration I thought I would share a very useful reference tool I found.

I recently purchased "Best Jobs for the 21st Century". The information has been obtained from the Occupational Information Network which is maintained by the U.S. Department of Labour, earnings information from the US Census Bureau and general research by the Authors. It provides the best 50 jobs based on salary, percentage growth up to 2008 and annual openings. In addition it provides plenty of other useful statistcs such as best jobs with and without degrees (post and undergraduate), best part time work plus other top job lists based on personality types etc. Also, if anyone is looking at different areas to move to it provides population data for cities and States together with median salaries for many different professions from waitressing to dentists together with how many people work in these jobs in each geographic area. Finally, it lists 500 professions, their description and what qualifications are needed for training purposes.

According to the book it looks like good news for Systems Analaysts! Even if they got this wrong the book has plenty of useful info to use in the decision making process.

Despite the above I'm not on commision to sell the book but thought it may be of interest to some!

The book is written by J Michael Farr and LaVerne L Ludden.

supernav

Yeah well it's all gonan be thrown out the window -- cuz all those jobs are gonna get replaced by $5/hr mexicans within the next 3 years.

-= nav =-

NC Penguin

I don't wish to "rain on your parade" but I hope that book didn't cost too much (more than $30) 'cos I think a book like this would get pretty unreliable pretty quickly.

All the predictions are based on analysis of past trends I suspect but as those in the finance industry say, "past trends are not an accurate indicator of future trends" (or words to that effect. Basically covers bad choices in stock purchases if the predictions fail).

If one has the time and patience, looking at the Department of Labor stats online would probably yield similar findings without having to buy a book.

My top tip to those looking for work is to learn Chinese. Why? So much US business is done with China (how many times do you see a "Made in China" sticker on products these days?) China could well be a huge economic force in the near future and having the language skills will be a marketable asset.

Some jobs, in my opionion, could never be outsourced overseas. e.g. legal work, doctors/nurses, teachers, insurance related jobs, any jobs related to the government.

Duncan Roberts

The major shortage is young people who speak Arabic and English. Learn that and you'd be set for life in government jobs!

Bluegrass Lass

But who wants to work for the gov't?? Give me private industry any day of the week. Govt' jobs get crappy pay & crappy retirement (from what I've heard), but you do get all the gov't holidays off though (about the only benefit I see).

jemetpl

Not in the UK anymore. Following the Government's tax raid on private pension schemes the public sector final salary schemes are amongst the best on offer. Remuneration including pensions benefits is going up faster in the public than private sectors.

Even where the private sector pension crisis impacts on government,special deals are done. About the only people who've escaped relatively unscathed from the Equitable Life fiasco are the Directors ('natch) and Members of Parliament who voted themselves a special deal so that they didn't have to face the same problems as the great unwashed (other Equitable customers).

Bluegrass Lass

That's really a shame. Though I've only been working for a few years now, I have yet to come across a company that offers pensions. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there's probably only about 10% of companies offering them, maybe even lower. The only pension that I've heard someone can get from the gov't here is Social Security. And that's going to run out sometime in the future, so my generation won't get crap.

Most US companies now offer 401(k)'s which are retirement funds. You contribute x % from your salary and the company will match it, up to a certain percentage (usually no more than 2% - 4%). 401(k)'s invest in stocks, IRA's, mutual funds, bonds, etc. People basically have to hope that they earn good returns on stocks, etc in order to have a semi-decent retirement. Which kinda sucks since you obviously can't count on stocks to always increase in value.

Britfrombristol

Don't worry NC Penguin you are not "raining on my parade".

The book was only $20ish for 700 pages of information so it has not broken the bank. Relative to the expense of emmigration, a drop in the ocean.

If you read my post fully you will note the book contains population data, median salaries and training requirements. Whilst it would be prudent to be cautious about the forecasting I doubt whether the above will, generally speaking, change dramatically in the next few years.

Nevertheless, thank you for your "top tip"

Yosser

If I was leaving school again, I would wanna be a train driver or bricklayer, cause every Tom, Dick and Harry is going into IT

Soon it will be a role reversal, all techies will be earning $25,000 a year and the average dustman will be on $78,000 with 401k and full medical ins, simply because there ain't no-one wanting to do that anymore.

Bluegrass Lass

Speaking of that, have you payed a plumber or electrician for any services lately?!? They charge outrageous amounts of $$! Or heck, even car mechanics get paid a ton. I think I read that there's a shortage of people going into trades these days. Definitely worth looking into!

NC Penguin

Maybe not dustbin men perhaps but Sunflwrgrl13 is spot on. Those manual labour type jobs like plumbers, electricians, etc. are in short supply because so many have been chasing the white collar and service industry jobs that there's a shortage. It's true in the UK as well as in the US...

Yosser

Wish it was true, I was an electrician when I first came here, it was the boss that charged $50.00 an hour, he paid me $12.00 an hour I'm glad I got out of that industry, awful experience.

Same with being a car mechanic, just how much do you think they pay a qualified car tech out of the $75 an hour they charge YOU!

I can see why so many people want a nice sit-on-yer-arse, cushy air-conned office, yapping on the phone and surfing the net type job, I mean who wants to be bending pipe and shoving wires through conduit when its 110 deg in the summer and -20 in the winter.....not me!

NC Penguin

Maybe you need to go independent or in a partnership and be your own boss.

I think you may need to get out more Many millions of "white collar" workers in the US are working their butts off at the moment (probably have done since early 2002 and still at it) for fear of losing their jobs at the drop of a hat ("hire at will" policy as it's called in the US) if they slack off. Those who don't pull their weight aren't tolerated and are easily replaceable by harder working an possibly cheaper employees.

I think the people you are describing are the "fat cats" very high up the corporate ladder who make the orders and delegate a lot.

Also, $12 p/hour is probably a lot better than working at Walmart, don't you think?

Yosser

I don't know anyone here well enough to have a business partnership with, for number one.

I am one of "those millions" working my butt off so I know how it feels.

No I don't think $12 a hour is no-where near enough for 4 years of college and trainning, laying in roof spaces when temps are 180 degress and mounds of 'sticking to your arms' fiberglass.

Well done for the independants that charge you $50.00 an hour, they deserve it, YOU won't think nothing of it when the computer goes kaput and they charge you $150 just to open up the motherboard.

I just hate the mentality of some people that think electricans and plumbers shouldn't be alowed to earn a decent wage, just because there bottom feeders in their book. well I'm so sorry you must think, just beacuse you nonce around in a Audi and wear a tie you think your special and that YOU must be the one earning six figures a year. It takes just as much education to become a sparky as becoming a IT techie.

:lecture:

Glad I got that off my chest

NC Penguin

You're in a different type of rat race really. Instead of being in one that works indoors, in an office or a factory or a school, yours is a battle within the electrical trades industry.

<<snip>>

Are you addressing the paragraph at me? Or, are you just venting?

I hope it's not the former 'cos you haven't a clue about my background nor my views and even less about what I do for a living or my personality. If only you knew...