Ah, 2004. U.S. unemployment was a mere 6% and the average home price reached $264,540. 2004 was a time when many people lived well and earned more. Well today, many industries are either down and out, or out altogether, and many cities throughout the U.S. still have high unemployment rates. Silicon Valley is an exception.
Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, promotes jobs for lower-wage workers. She, along with worker advocates, claims that employers are screening out job applicants who are unemployed.
Owens said a telephone company in Atlanta, which she didn’t identify, ran an help-wanted ad saying only the employed should apply. Jobless applicants were also turned down by a temporary staffing firm and a Texas recruiter because they were unemployed, she said.
“What’s startling are the lengths to which companies are going to communicate this such as including the phrase ‘unemployed candidates will not be considered’ right in the posting,” she said.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is investigating similar claims after media reports revealed that some employers are keeping applicants without jobs from being considered. The practice has also raised concerns about discrimination. Still, many others feel that the practice just doesn’t exist.
The Society for Human Resource Management, which represents more than 250,000 personnel managers, is “unaware of widespread recruiting practices” that exclude the jobless, said Fernan R. Cepero, representing the Alexandria, Virginia-based group.
Applicants who have been out of work may struggle because their skills are more obsolete than those who are employed, said Cepero, vice president for human resources at the YMCA of Greater Rochester in New York.
If you feel you have been discriminated against by an employer, contact the EEOC at 1.800.669.4000 or email info@eeoc.gov.
Just when you thought the workplace was supposed to be for, well—work, someone comes along and says otherwise. Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D. and author of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office 101: Unconscious Decisions Women Make That Sabotage Their Career, claims that workers need to build relationships on the job in order to advance their careers. She also mentions that it only takes 5% of your day, which is around 20 minutes or so a day, to build strong 360-degree relationships. How? Frankel provides the following tips on how to work on relationship building without neglecting your responsibilities at work:
-Take a moment to compliment someone on a particular accomplishment.
-During a business phone call.
-On the way to or from the parking lot.
-Over lunch (even if it’s lunch at your desk).
-Before, during or after a meeting.
-In a brief doorway conversation.
-After work at professional association meetings.
If you’re confused about how this can help advance your career in today’s shaky workplace, it’s probably a good idea to pick up a copy of Frankel’s book. Let us know what you think.
Two of the fastest growing careers in the world are software engineers and network systems analysts. These and other technology driven careers continue to grow even as other careers dwindle, while even more have all but died. This stable and growing career field also offers some of the highest salaries in the U.S. In fact, the average computer scientist earns a cool $86,000 per year. This is higher than 33% of all careers nationwide.
The technology industry is always on the lookout for new talent, so if you think you might be interested in a career in this field, you can get started by choosing a focus area, then enroll in a computer science degree program. Major areas of study include software and hardware engineering, computer systems analysis, database administration, computer and information systems, computer science, operations research analysis, mathematics, an atmospheric science, computer science teacher, and video game design. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees are offered in these areas, and some institutions even offer Ph.D. depending on the focus area.
Aspiring technology professionals can also opt for a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in any of the areas listed above. The standard curriculum for a B.S. in Computer Science typically requires 360 units or 124 credit hours divided into the following sections:
-Computer Science
-Mathematics/Probability
-Engineering and Natural Sciences
-Humanities and Arts
-Required Minor
-Free Electives
Major courses may include introduction to data structures, principles of programming, introduction to computer systems, algorithm design and analysis, foundations of software engineering, database applications, computational discrete mathematics, computer networks, and probability and computing.
To find the best schools for computer science majors, visit Princetonreview.com or U.S. News & World Report college rankings. These popular college directories are a reliable source of information about the nation’s best programs. If you decide to use other sources and you find several schools that sound interesting, make sure you do some research of your own. Make sure the school is accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, as employer’s prefer candidates with a degree from an accredited school. You can check the accreditation status for any school in the U.S. at www.ed.gov.
You may have noticed that there are fewer people working at reception desks, in administrative positions, at checkout counters, and in factories, and more computers are popping up in their place. Self-service check-out, and computers and robots that can do everything from sort mail to assemble a car, have all but eliminated millions of jobs around the world—and the trend is expected to continue.
A whopping 300,000 administrative jobs alone disappeared between 2004-2009 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it projects “continued contraction throughout the next decade.” File clerk positions are expected to decline 23 percent, and according to a recent Forbes article, technology has put postal service mail sorters on the chopping block as well. After losing nearly 57,000 jobs between 2004 and 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a further 30 percent decline in this occupation by 2018.
“The kinds of jobs that are disappearing are the jobs that pay really well (for) relatively unskilled workers,” says Harry Holzer, Ph.D., Georgetown University economist and co-author of “Where Are All The Good Jobs Going.” He lists manufacturing jobs as a leading example, saying that well-paid assembly jobs that require modest training and only a high school diploma or less are a thing of the past.
So where did all the good jobs go? “The combination of technological advancement and off-shoring has shrunk these jobs,” says Holzer.
The following list represents only a few of the world’s dying occupations. Many more are expected to kick the bucket in the coming years.
-Computer Operators: declined by 31% from 2004-2009
-Radio Operators: declined by 43% from 2004-2009
-Carpenters: declined by 17% from 2004-2009
-Stage Performers: declined by 61% from 2004-2009
-Holistic Healers: declined by 44% from 2004-2009
-Telemarketers: 15% decline by 2018
-Door-To-Door Salespeople: 11% decline by 2018
-Photo Processors: 24% decline by 2018
-Seamstress: 34% decline by 2018
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