According to some surveys some of the top jobs for 2009 will include those in IT especially data warehousing and mining, IT security, networking, virtual computing and VOIP; engineering; accounting and tax professionals. Especially those in demand will be the specialist who can also communicate and manage. That makes sense - maybe - yet many IT jobs have been outsourced, and I wonder if these jobs will also be outsourced in the future. The key is to always keep up to date and to build relationships where you are valued.
More surprising are some other surveys that say there is a demand for blue-collar workers such as construction workers and material handlers. With the decline in the property market construction this does not seem to be a boom area. Many of these other jobs have faced declining wage rates. So is it a chicken and egg situation? Can't get the people or can't pay them enough?
So if the top job lists don’t make sense to you or don’t appeal what should you do?
Do what you love. Be flexible. Always keep learning. Be prepared to change. Don't panic! Unless you want to be sure of having the same job you have always had for the next twenty years. Then you need to worry. But if you are open, things look good! There are possibilities and chances. So go for it!
David Couper is a career coach and writer who for the last twenty years has worked in Europe, Asia, and in the USA with major organizations including the BBC, Fuji Television, Mattel, Sony, and Warner Bros.
He has successfully coached individuals at all levels including CEOs of major companies wanting a new challenge, frustrated souls wanting to make their dream come true, and front-line employees laid off and desperate to get a job.
David has published seven books. His works on interpersonal skills, counseling in the workplace, and management issues (published by Connaught, Gower, HRD Press, Longman, Macmillan/Pearson Publishing, Oxford University Press) have been translated into Swedish, Polish, and Danish, and published in the UK and the USA.
David has a degree in Communication, a postgraduate qualification in education, is certified in a number of training technologies, and has a Masters in Psychology. He is a member of the American Society of Training and Development, Society of Human Resources Professional, Writers Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television.
He has dual US/UK citizenship and speaks French and Japanese.
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