Content provided in partnership with

How Job Trends Will AFFECT Your FUTURE

Career World, Feb, 2001 by T.J. Wallis

The marketplace is changing, and you don't want to be left behind. Here are Some trends you need to know about.

Do you remember Ferdinand, the rooster, from the movie Babe? Ferdinand had found his dream job when he learned to crow. "I found my gift," he complained. "No sooner do I become indispensable than they bring in a machine to do the job. Ohhhh-oh-oh, the treachery of it--a mechanical rooster."

Ferdinand was replaced. He did not keep up with current job trends and technological innovations. Ferdinand's position is not so different from what is happening in the real world.

Most Popular Articles in Business: Research and Markets : Tesco Plc - SWOT Framework Analysis; Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors; eBay made easy: ready to start an eBay business? These 5 simple steps will ...; Katrina's lawsuit surge: a legal battle to force insurers to pay for flood ...; Wal-Mart's newest distribution center opened last month near the southwest ...; More »

OK, so you're not a rooster. But you do need to know what the future will look like. Knowing this will help you make career decisions that ensure your job is not obsolete a few years down the road. You'll need to know how some industries are altering the world in which we live. Then you can plan a career that will grow right along with the technological times. Look for some tremendous growth in these sectors: information technology and the Internet biotechnology, telecommunications, and health care.

Information Technology

No doubt you've noticed how quickly technological advances become outdated. A computer bought last year with a 16 CD-ROM and a Celeron II processor seems dull compared to the new 750 MHz 100 X CD-ROM with a Pentium III. Such rapid changes create the need for information technology (IT) specialists. These computer whizzes plan and supervise the operations of information systems and data processing activities in a company or organization.

Careers in IT include the design, development, support, and management of Computer software, hardware, and networks. These careers are hot as we continue to speed through the information Age."

Businesses computerize information about their inventory, their customers, and their staff. Computers help businesses run smoothly. Then there's the Internet, where companies do much of their day-to-day business. For example they order parts, hey scout for new talent, they research new products-all on-line. Via the Internet, we can get up-to-the-minute sports scores and find out the latest news from around the world. We also can watch people in real time via video feeds.

So what does that have to do with your career choices? Everything! It seems all the experts agree that this is an industry bursting at the seams! The Information Technology Association of America says there are more than 10 million IT workers, and the demand is growing. Employers will attempt to fill nearly 2 million new IT jobs in 2001, but half these positions will go unfilled because of a lack of skilled people. In his book Change Your Job, Change Your Life, Ronald l. Krannich predicts that systems analyst and computer scientist positions will have grown 79 percent between 1990 and 2005.

Biotechnology and the Human Genmoe Project

Science rules! Especially biotechnology! What exactly is biotechnology? It is the application of biological science for industrial and other uses, especially genetic engineering.

Despite its relative youth. biotech is already seeing changes in its focus. Once molecular biology was the main focus. Now companies are recognizing the importance of integrating the sciences, in particular chemistry, biochemistry and genetics. The best employment opportunities for chemists and chemical engineers will be in this area, according to the American Chemical Society. But it isn't just scientists who will find careers in this industry. Read on!

Some futurists have predicted that the 21st century will be the biology century. Certainly, the U.S. Human Genome Project is going a long way to make that true. Among other things, the project has identified all of the 100,000 genes in human DNA. (DNA is the carrier of genetic information.) All the information collected is stored in computer databases. Although the Human Genome Project is ahead of schedule, its implications in the job market will continue far into the future.

To begin with, this research will fuel the multibillion dollar U.S. biotechnology industry and foster the development of new medical applications. It also will have a major impact on a whole range of very different career paths. These include engineering, mathematics, counseling, sociology, ethics, religion, law, agriculture, education, journalism, pharmaceuticals, bioremediation (the treatment of pollution or wastes, as in an oil spill, by the use of microorganisms, such as bacteria), and biofuels (such as ethanol, made from agricultural crops). And lets not forget the impact this will have on science and and information technology jobs.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, "Cross-disciplinary students with solid backgrounds in the sciences and in others fields, such as journalism, law and computer science, will be needed to tackle the issues and applications arising from the Human Genome Project."

Fiber Optics and Telecommunications

Experts are predicting we will see unprecedented growth in business and consumer demand for high-speed fiber-optic applications. Fiber optics (thin glass fibers that transmit light) provides a much faster, more efficient way to deliver vast amounts of content over the Internet. And with new innovations like video-on-demand, fiber optics is a great way to deliver the speed consumers want. Fiber optics makes copper wire obsolete. It is revolutionizing the telecommunications industry. That's why huge multinational companies like Nortel and Lucent Technologies are investing heavily in optical fiber.

How Job Trends Will AFFECT Your FUTURE

Career World, Feb, 2001 by T.J. Wallis

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: News

Most Popular Articles in Business

Most Popular Publications in Business