The 10 top careers for blacks in the '90s

Ebony, Feb, 1989

IF you are considering a career switch or about to enter the job market for the first time, you've got plenty of options. Seizing upon the prevailing employment windfall, however, will be a bit tricky. More than 21 million new jobs are expected to plump up the labor market by the year 2000. The best jobs will require at least a year of college or technical expertise, according to the U.S. Labor Department report Workforce 2000. But uninformed career choices, inadequate education, and discrimination traditionally have locked many Black workers into low-growth clerical, health-support and manufacturing jobs, says Dr. Margaret Simms, research director at the joint Center for Political Studies. Solutions to avoiding those pitfalls are clear: labor analysts say if you are to be competitive in the workforce in the next decade you must begin now to prepare yourself by making career choices based on labor market trends and personal interests.

Labor indicators suggest the workplace is being drastically altered by the graying of the American population, global market expansion, a growth in the service economy and a decline in manufacturing. Those factors, coupled with a greater emphasis on productivity, are going to require a more technically skilled, highly educated workforce, says Dr. Marcus Alexis, dean of the University of Illinois Business School. With that in mind, labor experts have picked 10 of the best jobs for Blacks in the 1990s. The following list represents their suggestions for high growth, good-income careers that provide some measures of security beyond that of traditional employment.

1. MATHEMATICIANS & COMPUTER SCIENTISTS - "The whole world is becoming digitalized. Electronic and computer scientists are designing the hardware, and mathematicians are implementing the programs," says Victor Linquist, placement director at Northwestern University. Mathematicians are finding jobs in marketing research, investment banking and computer applications. The outlook also is better than average for computer analysts who can help businesses design, select and more efficiently use computer systems and resolve data processing problems. There is no prescribed training for such jobs, but most require a college degree with some background in business, applied math, data processing and knowledge of computer concepts and programming language. The average salary for computer systems analysts is 38,300 with managers averaging $71,500. The average mathematicians salary is $36,000.

2. ENGINEERS-Employment growth of 32 percent, 13 percent higher than average, is expected in this field, which provides experts to perform such tasks as developing industrial robotics, fiber optics, better fuel sources, aerospace technology and electrical equipment for power plants. Demand is greatest for mechanical and electrical engineers, particularly in energy-related fields. Engineers must earn college degrees, with an emphasis on engineering, science, math, physics, computers and mechanical applications courses. Starting salary is $29,000, but for those with master's degrees in business administration it is $50,000. The top salary average is $78,500.

3. NATURAL RESOURCE SCIENTISTS AND ECONOMISTS-A growing concern for the environment and for the management of water, fuel and other natural resources has created a shortage of people with expertise in this field. Particularly scarce are Black engineers, scientists and economists for natural resources management jobs, says Dr. Gloria BromellTinubu, who heads the Atlanta Cluster Initiative Economic Research Unit at Spelman College. The federal departments of energy interior and environment, state environmental protection agencies and city water departments offer a number of employment options, Dr. Tinubu says. Opportunities also are plentiful in the private sector for geological consultants studying ground water movement, and for economists who can develop water or utility rate models. Such economists must study calculus, statistics, economics and computer principles. Salaries of natural resource economists and geologists average 35,000 to 40,000.

4. BIOCHEMISTS - Scientists in this field are in on the cutting edge of research related to AIDS, sickle-cell anemia, making crops resistant to insect infestation, clothing and carpet-fiber development, and other concerns. "Biochemists ask questions at the basic level, the atoms level;' says Dr. William T. Barnes, a biochemistry professor at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. As with most natural science careers, opportunities for biochemists are boundless, says Dr. Barnes, who is involved in a joint lung cancer research project with scholars at Yale University. While biochemists at Abbot Laboratories pioneer AIDS vaccine research, others at Searle Diagnostic, Inc., test drugs to lower cholesterol levels. Those with engineering or molecular biology backgrounds delve into gene splicing, and others are opening their own research labs. You must have a strong biology and chemistry background as well as a knowledge of physics, calculus and physiology to excel in this career. Chief investigators also must have advanced degrees. The average salary is $37,200. 5. ACCOUNTANTS - As the public asks for greater accountability, and as businesses increasingly rely on cost benefit analysis to make growth decisions, accountants will become more important. American companies dispensing goods and services abroad need accountants to untangle the web of international tax treaties, and local firms need experts for internal auditing. The top-growth jobs in this field require bachelor's degrees, with a concentration in accounting, business principles and math, and some familiarity with computers. Most states also require certification. About 376,000 new jobs are expected over the next decade with an average salary of $40,200.