THE
CAREER CHOICES NEWSLETTER
June 1, 2007
The following articles were compiled by the editors of The Career Choices
Newsletter. We will provide this service free-of-charge changing the
content on a monthly basis.
Construction
trades
According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, construction and extraction jobs are expected to grow by 12
percent by 2014, installation, maintenance and repair jobs will expand by 11.4
percent, transportation and material moving is expected to grow by 11.1
percent. Some of the\ blue collar positions mentioned in a recent listing of
high paying construction jobs by aol are:
construction and building
inspectors
waste and waste water
treatment plant and system operators
elevator installers and
repairers
subway and streetcar
operators
iron and metal workers
electricians
brick masons block masons
and stonemasons
plumbers pipe layers
pipe fitters and steam
fitters
heating air conditioning
refrigeration mechanics and installers
carpenters
All of these occupations
will have a growth rate of at least 9 percent through the year 2014 and most
pay more than $40.000 a year.
Information from NACE
The National Association of
Colleges and Employers (NACE) conducts research on the job market for new
graduates and related issues. NACE is the foremost organization providing
this type of information. For recent press releases contact:
www.naceweb.org/
The following are recent
news releases from NACE.
College Class of 2007 White
males outpace women, minorities in landing jobs 5/17/2007
College Career Center Most
Effective Job-Search Tool for New Graduates 5/15/2007
Preliminary Results
Highlight Active Labor Market for 2007 College Grads 5/11/2007
Employers Revise College
Hiring Projections Up to 19.2 Percent 4/16/2007
Accounting Grads Gain 9
Percent in Average Starting Salary from 1990-2005
2/5/ 2007
Librarians
in Demand
In October the American Library Association reported on a study
that predicts a 5 percent increase by the year 2014 in the number of librarian
and library-technician jobs. (The latter group does not require a master’s
degree in library science). Half of this nation’s 105,000 librarians are
expected to reach retirement age by 2019. Currently library schools are not
having any difficulty recruiting students. However, the low salaries paid to
public librarians force many trained librarians to seek other work.
Positions are available for
former librarians in government, finance, and academia. According to an
article in the January 2, 2007 Wall Street Journal the Federation
Bureau of Investigation, engineering firms, and Google are also among the
organizations hiring librarians. Complicating the situation for many young
librarians is the reluctance of older personnel to retire.. Starting salaries
for librarians according to the ALA is about $39,000 a year. Those with
library science degrees and a background in another field may qualify for jobs
as law librarians, digital librarians, and research librarians. The starting
salary for these specialists is about $47,000 a year.
Low
Grades Lead to Fewer Opportunities
According to the December 31 New York Times employers are
now more likely to consider the grades of a job applicant before making an
employment offer. The article quotes a Mr. Johnny Taylor, Jr. senior vice
president of human resources for I. A. C./Interactivecorp who said that he has
found that an applicant’s GPA is the best predictor of job performance in the
first years of employment. “Companies want the smartest people and grades are
the best indicator of intelligence for new employees competing in a
knowledge-based economy.” Some employers are even asking applicants their SAT
scores to obtain a further indication of his or her intelligence. .
The National Association of
College and Employers found that 66 percent of companies screen candidates by
GPA and 58 percent of those surveyed said that they were less likely to hire
graduates with grades averaging less than a 3.0. Companies in different
industries have their own requirements. Applicants for positions in
investment banking usually need a 3.5 average or higher to be considered.
Guidance personnel,
according to this article, are urged to counsel their students with low GPAs
to obtain internships or summer job experience to demonstrate their abilities
to would-be employers.
Wage Stagnation for Women Workers
During the 1980s and 1990s women on
all levels were gaining ground on their male counterparts. By the mid 1990s
women earned more than 75 cents for every $1.00 in hourly wages earned by
men. According to the Department of Labor this remarkable progress (women
earned about 65 cents for every $1.00 that men earned in the early 1980s.)
seems to have stopped and even reversed itself for one group of women. In
2006 college educated women between 36 and 45 years old earned 74.7 cents in
hourly pay for every $1.00 that men in the same occupation earned, about the
same wage spread as the previous ten years. There seems to be two main
reasons for this reversal.
Few would argue that women
are the victims of discrimination when it comes to pay. In addition, an
increasing number of women are taking a break from their careers in order to
stay home and raise a family. When they return to the workplace their wages
are not equal to those of their former male counterparts.
The following two articles are news releases from the Occupational Outlook
Quarterly, Winter 2006-2007 Volume 50, Number 4
Manufacturing Outlook: Many Jobs
Many people still think of manufacturing as it existed a
half-century ago. However, today’s manufacturing processes are more
sophisticated and high-tech.
Skilled manufacturing workers are needed for everything from
production to accounting to design. In fact, the U. S. Bureau of labor
Statistics (BLS) projects job growth in many occupations within the
manufacturing industry over the 2004-14 decade.
The National Association of Manufacturers has launched a new
career awareness campaign, “Dream It. Do It.” The association offers career
exploration tools, including a Web site that has a self-assessment test,
occupational descriptions, and videos that show work in the manufacturing
sector.
For more information or to get career information, write to the
association at 1331
Pennsylvania Avenue
NW., Washington, D. C. 20004, or call toll-free 1 (800) 814-8468. Or
contact:
www.dreamit-doit.com
Employment
change in selected occupations within manufacturing industries,
Projected 2004-14
Occupation
Projected new
manufacturing
jobs, 2004-14
Engineers
24,526
Computer
specialists
13,629
Team
assemblers
10,176
Carpenters
7,636
Engineering technicians,
except drafters
3,573
Miscellaneous assemblers
and fabricators
2,527
Aircraft structure,
surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers
1,147
Paper goods machine
setters, operators, and tenders
995
Train
to Teach With Any Major
So you want to teach but don’t have an education degree? Teach
For America can get you to the front of the class—no education courses or
experience needed.
Teach For America is a national program that prepares and helps
place college graduates in teaching positions. Participants train in a 5-week
summer program and start teaching in the fall. They receive the same starting
salary and benefits as other teachers. Following their 2-year commitment,
many Teach for America participants decide to earn their credentials and
continue teaching; others pursue careers in fields such as business,
healthcare, public policy, and law.
Teach For America seeks applicants who have a bachelor’s degree,
leadership ability, and perseverance. To learn more or request an
application, write to Teach For America, 315 West 36th Street, 7th
Floor, New York New York 10018, or call toll-free, 1 (800) 832-1230. You may
also visit
www.teachforamerica.org where you can apply online
Miscellaneous
*At the end of May Congress passed a measure that raises the minimum wage to
$7.25 an hour from $5.15 in 3 stages over 2 years. The bill, which is
expected tobe signed by the President, grants $4.84 billion in tax breaks to
small businesses to help them meet their increased payrolls. Currently there
are more than 7 states with a higher minimum wage than $7.25 an hour. This
measure will directly affect 4 percent of the workforce (about 5.6 million
workers who earn less than the $7.25 an hour).
*Schools traditionally ranked below the Ivy League institutions
are being inundated by applicants. Students who a few years ago would have
been accepted by these schools are now on waiting lists or have been
rejected. An increase in the number of students graduating from high school,
and the national obsession with college rankings is increasing competition.
In addition, high achieving students are applying to more than one college
adding to the glut of applications.
*During the last few years employment in the airline industry has
decreased from 431,000 in 2001 to 264,000 today. Many workers have left the
industry or are planning to do so. Those staying must live with the
uncertainty of a future layoff. Unfortunately, workers in the airline
industry have not received buyout packages similar to those received by those
in the automobile industry.
*The
North American
Racing Academy which is part of
the Kentucky Community College
system will soon graduate its first class. The school, it is hoped, will fill
the void for American trained jockeys. In 2006 only three Americans ranked
among this nation’s ten top prize winners. While top riders earn more than a
million dollars a year, this a difficult occupation with a high risk of
serious injury. The average earnings of a jockey are between $25,000 and
$35,000 a year.
*The
need for city managers, especially by smaller towns and counties, is becoming
acute. Average salaries rose to $97,075 in 2005 from $75,676 in 1999.
Retirements are part of the problem. Managers of midsize cities often earn
over $150,000 a year. Sixty percent of city managers have master’s degrees,
in public administration, public affairs or business administration, Many
managers, however are opting for careers in school and hospital administration
which have even higher earnings and may be less stressful.
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