Starting Over
Getting a Job You Love
by Joan Dzuro, SPHR

Many companies face cutbacks and layoffs, and people who have devoted years of loyal service to their job often find themselves among the unemployed. Others find themselves close to retirement but want to do something new and fresh. Looming over their heads is the dreaded question: what now?

Where do you start when you haven't been involved in the "job market" in what seems like forever? How do you find the next great position that you can love and enjoy? Does your dream job even exist?

In Starting Over, author Joan Dzuro uses her HR expertise to bring readers up-to-date on today's job market. Her insight and experience have crafted this easy to follow guide, helping you not only find a new job, but one that surpasses any position you've had before.

Careers

In researching careers I found some interesting information in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (2005-2005) by JIST Publishing, Inc. Employment in the United States is expected to increase from 144 million in 2002 to 165 million by 2012--an increase of 14.8 percent. The jobs being added cover a wide spectrum of occupations. Below are some of the predictions that the Occupational Outlook Handbook stated:

• Education and health services: One out of every four new jobs created in the US economy will be either healthcare, social assistance, or private educational sectors.
• Administration, support, waste management, and remediation services will grow 37 percent and add 2.8 million by 2012.
• Professional, scientific, and a technical services will grow 27.8 percent and add 1.9 million new jobs by 2012.
• Employment in computer design and related services will grow 54.65 percent.
• Management, scientific, and technical consulting services will grow 55.4 percent.
• Employment in the information super sector is expected to increase 18.5 percent or 632,000 jobs by 2012.
• Leisure and hospitals are expected to grow 17.8 percent.
• Arts, entertainment, and recreation to grow 28 percent.
• Trade, transportation, and utilities to grow 14.1 percent between 2002 and 2012.
• Financial activities will be up 12.3 percent.
• Government, including public education and hospitals, will be up 11.8 percent.
• Goods-producing industries will be up 3.3 percent.
• Manufacturing is expected to decline overall by 1 percent. You may see some specific industries remain level or even increase, but as a whole category this area is expected to continue to decline.
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting are expected to decline 2 percent.
• Mining is expected to decrease by 11.8 percent.

While looking for your next career, understanding where the growth opportunities lie is critical. Knowing which careers are looking at growth helps you focus your skills in an area that has the chance of being around for many years.

Understand that no one has a crystal ball and that projections made above are compilations of many years of information, trends, etc. The Department of Labor spends a lot of time and money looking at these areas to help keep us informed of these trends. I always remember that the best information can change with unexpected events that go against the normal trend. The information above should be a good guide to help. Become knowledgeable on which areas will offer you the best chance of success in your next career.

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