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Best Careers for a Changing Job Landscape

By Marty=20 Nemko

Posted December 19, 2007

It has only been a year since U.S. News published Best = Careers=20 2007, yet much has changed. As a result, in Best Careers 2008, = we've=20 dropped five of the 25 profiled careers and added 11 new ones. (Check = out our=20 list of 31=20 careers with bright futures.)

(J.D. King for USN&WR)

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Discuss=20 Best Careers

We've also added a new section on Ahead-of-the-Curve=20 Careers. These 12 careers are too nascent or narrow to justify = inclusion as=20 a Best Career, but they are currently viable and promise to grow further = in=20 demand and importance to society. If you'd enjoy being on the cutting = edge,=20 they're certainly worth a look.

The factors that prompted changes in the list of Best Careers have=20 implications for all career seekers. Here is a glance at some trends and = a word=20 on how to search for your best career:

Even college grads might want to consider blue-collar=20 careers. Last year, because U.S. News readers tend to = be=20 college educated, we included only careers that typically require at = least a=20 bachelor's degree. This year we've added four careers that don't. Why? = More and=20 more students are graduating from college at the same time that = employers are=20 offshoring more professional jobs. So, many holders of a bachelor's = degree are=20 having trouble finding jobs that require college-graduate skills. = Meanwhile,=20 society has been telling high school students that college is = the way,=20 so there's an accelerating shortage of skilled people in jobs that don't = require=20 college. (Why else do you think you have to pay $100 an hour for a = plumber?)

The four noncollege careers we added would be rewarding even to many = college=20 graduates, especially because college grads are likely to stand out = against the=20 competition. Those added careers are: biomedical=20 equipment technician, firefighter,=20 hairstylist/cosmetologist= ,=20 and locksmith/secu= rity=20 system technician. Other skilled blue-collar careers that scored = well on our=20 selection=20 criteria: machinist (manufacturers report a shortage), nuclear plant = technician (few people are entering the field, yet plans are on the = books for=20 building more plants), and electrician/electronics tech (above-average = pay, and=20 it's easier on the body than many other blue-collar careers). The = takeaway: Many=20 college graduates should consider skilled-trade careers.

Government is becoming an employer of choice. = Corporations,=20 fueled by pressures to compete globally, continue to get ever leaner. = Nonprofits=20 are increasingly strapped because of donor fatigue and continued = scandals.=20 Government, beneficiary of increased tax revenues in good times and = often able=20 to raise taxes in bad times, has the luxury of continually paying = employees=20 well, whether it's an economically sound practice or not. As the last = bastion of=20 job security, government offers good pay, ample sick days, holidays, = vacation=20 days, health insurance, and retirement benefits. With signs pointing to = the=20 Democrats taking control of the White House plus both houses of = Congress,=20 government hiring of nonmilitary personnel can be expected to increase. = So, we=20 have added government=20 manager to the list of Best Careers.

Consider a career's resistance to offshoring.=20 Well-publicized failures of offshoring may have led the public to think = that=20 companies are reducing its use. In fact, companies are quietly = increasing=20 offshoring efforts, even jobs previously considered to be better left in = the=20 United States: innovation and marketing research, for example. So, we = have added=20 offshore resistance to the criteria we used in selecting the Best = Careers.=20 Offshore resistance was one of the factors that led to adding these = careers to=20 this year's list: curriculum/training = specialist, genetic=20 counselor, ghostwriter,=20 investment=20 banker, mediator,=20 and usability/user= =20 experience specialist.

Status may be the enemy of contentment. It seems the = pursuit=20 of status is greater than ever. People are flocking in greater numbers = to such=20 careers as medical research, medicine, and architecture. Yet recent = surveys and=20 other indicators of job satisfaction in those professions paint a = less-than-rosy=20 picture. So, we've added those three careers to our list of Most=20 Overrated Careers, which includes other high-status but often = unrewarding=20 careers such as attorney and chef.

A list of careers is a great place to start. We've = tried to=20 identify careers likely to be enjoyable to many people and to write = short=20 profiles that will give you a real feel for what each career is like. = But these=20 profiles, like any, should be only a starting place for your career = search. If a=20 career's profile appeals, read the recommended website or book.

If the career still turns you on, visit a few people in the career to = get a=20 balanced view. Ask questions like: "Would you walk me through your = career from=20 the moment you chose it up to today? What's good and bad about the = career that=20 might not appear in print? In the end, what ends up being key to being = good at=20 this career? Why do people leave this career?"

Next, browse textbooks used in training for this career. Would you be = good at=20 that stuff? Finally, volunteer to work alongside someone in this career = for at=20 least a week. If you're still excited, you've probably found a career in = which=20 you'll be happy and successful. Congratulations.

U.S. News Contributing Editor Marty Nemko is a veteran career = coach and=20 host of "Work With Marty Nemko" on KALW, 91.7 FM in San Francisco. He is = the=20 author of Cool=20 Careers for Dummies (fully revised third edition). =

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