Trends
When making
career decisions, it is important to remember that your choices must fit
into the realities of the working world. These realities include the speed
of change. Considering that we are transitioning from the Industrial Age
to the Information Age and the past models may not be the best guide as to what
skills will be valued in the future, it is important to give some thought to
preparing for what will be not what was.
Top 10 Forcasts from 2006
The Futurist
http://www.wfs.org/forecasts.htm
Current Forecasts
The Futurist
January-February 2003, Vol. 37, No. 1
http://www.wfs.org/forejf03.htm
The Futurist
http://www.wfs.org Market Trends
Market trends
are those which operate on a macro-scale and determine which employment
fields will be predominant. Examples include advertising, research
and development, information systems management, and social work.
By analyzing certain indices (in sources such as specialized books, business
journals, government policies, even your daily paper and the Internet),
you can begin to discern patterns which you can extrapolate into future
employment prospects. Indices you can watch for include:
-
demographics
-
technology
-
globalization
-
domestic economic
conditions and policies
-
environmental issues
-
cost cutting.
Demography: Population
Growth Slows
The Futurist July-August 2003
http://www.wfs.org/trend2ja03.htm
Keeping Older Workers on the Job by Cindy Wagner
The Futurist July-August
2003 Vol.
37, No. 4
http://www.wfs.org/trend3ja03.htm
A change in any
of these indices has the potential to create new career opportunities or
to lead to the elimination of jobs. The impact of these trends is
evident in the downsizing of the manufacturing sector, the diversification
of the service sector, and the growth of small business in the United States.
It will be up
to you to gain a basic understanding of these trends so that you can adjust
your career preparation and take advantage of emerging possibilities.
Start your search for information in the Career Center where there is an
entire section devoted to future career and labor market trends, as well
as newspapers and business magazines. Check out some of the Internet
sites as well.
Occupational
Trends
Occupational
trends, which are more micro-oriented, are concerned with your role within
a certain field. For example, within "advertising", you can be a
full- or part-time employee of an advertising firm, you can be a freelancer
or contractor, you can job share, etc. Changing economic conditions
are a major determinant of occupational trends, with events like recessions
and economic restructuring playing important roles.
Technological
advances are also significant. One change due to the advent of high-tech
tools has been the increased number of people telecommuting (working from
home). Other key trends that the digital revolution exposes:
-
Distance as a barrier
to communication is increasingly irrelevant
-
Multimedia speech,
text, graphics, and video can be transferred easily as a digital stream
-
Both work and leisure
are consuming more time in information handling and this drives the need
for perceptual learning
-
Computing and telecommunications
are converging
-
Education and information,
combined with entertainment, are now know as edutainment or infotainment
-
Electronic technology
permits the adaptation of electronic messages to specialized or unique
needs of individuals' with this comes an increase in the interactive capability
of the communications system
-
Computer networks
(the Internet and Intranets) are now the driving force in IT
-
Virtual realities
such as communities, corporations, learning environments, universities,
simulation environments are emerging (Mason, 2000, p. 4).
The Internet is
making an impact on many aspects of our lives by changing the way we work,
communicate, and learn and it serves ". . . as a vehicle for the exchange
of information regardless of social, economic or geographical differences"
(Charp, 2000b, p. 8). By matching your strengths and interests with
the needs of your field(s) of interest, you will be able to fulfill your
career goals while filling a niche in the labor market. It is clear
that both types of trends must be considered simultaneously if you are
to make the most of your career. You are making a big investment
in preparing for your career, so make sure your skills will be marketable
in the future by keeping up with occupational and labor market trends.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/
Government's foremost career
guidance publication, providing key info about prospective changes in today's
workplace. Revised every 2 years. Handbook contains details on what workers do
on the job, working conditions, training and education needed, earnings and
expect job prospects in wide range of occupations. A valuable resource to
individuals making decisions about the outlook of their work lives.
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