RufusDawes said:
Are you suggesting the kids should go and get degrees in humanities? If engineers are finding it tough, a degree in 'liberal arts' could be darn right useless.
Mathemaniac said:
That's kind of what I was wondering. I mean, so engineering and science have it rough as far as the job market goes, but we can't possibly be the worst. I'd say (though I could be wrong here, as I'm working off of my intuition) that the only professions that are significantly better off than science or engineering are medicine or law. Maybe the business sector is good? I don't know. I barf at the thought of getting a job in business or finance, but that's just me. What else is there?
Excellent points. Now THATs what I call positive, and forward, thinking.
First of all, I'd like to stress out that we should think in terms of career
fields *not* specific positions or
degrees. For example, you might not enjoy the job and daily activities of a marketing manager in a cosmetics company, but could be very interested in being a marketing manager in a satellite communication systems company. We should try, as much as we can, to be open and aware of the job itself and should not be misled by its title.
Another thing. When we talk about job security and prosperity, we are actually talking about the industry itself. For example, a marketing manager who has been working his entire life in the IT industry is in a comparable danger to the software engineers and electrical engineers who were at the centre of the storm. The bottom line: it is entire industries that usually rise and fall, but not typically a certain position.
Now back to our main question. We can now ask: which industries have more security and prosperity? and (for college students) what degrees would provide a good entry point to that industry? or (for graduates) how can you capitalize on your existing skill and knowledge base to shift into these industries? and how to make the transition as smooth as possible?
I'll list some of the highly growing and prosperous industries first.
Education and Health Services
No, it's absolutely not just being a teacher or a doctor. This is a giant industrial supersector that is expected to provide about 6 million new jobs by 2016. About 4 out of every 10 new jobs in the entire US economy will be in this industry. Those physicists/engineers who manage to get a position in this industry can easily get into the $120k+ zone. You could, for example, get into the sales of medical devices or marketing teaching tools and equipments. You could also assist doctors about appropriate dosage of a radiation treatment. And of course you still have the option of being a doctor yourself.
Professional and Business Services
The second major supersector, adding 4.1 million new jobs by 2016. You'll get into positions in business administration and support. A large sector (with the largest employment growth) is management consulting. Typically, you would be in a large team providing help in a very wide range of topics to the higher management in other organizations. You would typically hop from one client to another, serving a wide range of industries.
Source of data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition.
For already graduated scientists /engineers, here are some useful suggestions:
1. By all means, try to be as
less technical as you can. The more technical your position is, the more likely it'll be outsourced. A well known fact in engineering and high-tech companies is that those who are good scientists/engineers are
promoted to less technical positions (such as management, sales, marketing, etc.).
2. Get more "people" exposure. A position as a marketing or sales engineer greatly enhance many of the essential survival qualities, such as negotiation, leadership, business acumen, etc. When your daily activities involve lots of human interaction (instead of equipment/bench/process interaction), you'll have a much clearer picture of what's out there in the real, dirty, "non-linear", human world. You will also have a great list of contacts for any future need.
3. Capitalize, as much as possible, on your non-standard skills. One of the reasons behind the mass offshoring of science/engineering is (ironically) being a universal and standard profession. A voltage is always, well, a voltage. A current is a flow of electricity,
everywhere. A VHDL code (used to design chips) contain the same set of commands used by all engineers worldwide. However, a marketing campaign in the US is substantially different from an Indian campaign. As a scientist/engineer, you will greatly improve your job security by focusing on and nourishing your niche, non-standard, non-technical, abilities.
For college students:
1. Begin with the end in mind. Start with your target career/industry, and walk back to a suitable degree. Although this may sound obvious, many students begin with a certain major and usually end up
force-fitting their majors to real life industries, eventually feeling unfulfilled and over-qualified. Once again, note the difference between an industry and a position. The same position/title could be very different for various industries.
2. Be very flexible. Many students focus on the details and minute differences between various degrees. Should I do ComputerScience or SoftwareEngineering? A dual degree in physics and math, or a mathematical physics degree? and the list goes on. This scene is way distant from reality. In almost all job positions, they'll
lump sum all those (seemingly different positions) in a single category. You will typically see: Position XYZ, a minimum of BSc in CompSci, EE, MechE, or related fields. The distinct degrees at your university are
not distinct job positions.
3. You are (much) more than the sum of courses you take. That is, don't limit your possible future career and positions on the degree or courses you took. As a matter of fact, many comapnies could very probably hire you for a skill, attitude, or knowledge that you personally have,
irrespective of what courses you took. And trust me, this happens all the time.
Hope that helps ..