Finding Work
With the right skills and a willingness to shift fields, you could strike pay dirt right away
Let's face it: Unemployment is still pretty high, and in some fields--technology, publishing, and investment banking--layoffs and closings have left plenty of walking wounded. "I think what makes this recession unique is the color of the collar," says economist Paul Harrington of Northeastern University, noting that professionals have borne the brunt of the pain this time around. Yet those same professionals are often in the best shape to find other good jobs, especially if they are willing to switch fields. Dumped dot-commers can take their computer skills to the healthcare industry, for example, or former human resource managers, with retraining, can become educators. And even finance and technology are showing a bit of life in some key sectors.
The trick in this economy is to match expertise to a job type, regardless of the field. "This labor market likes people with particular kinds of skills," says Harrington, including computer, specialty healthcare, or teaching expertise. The good news: Once you find a fit, you're likely to be in the money for a while. The first wave of baby boomers is set to start retiring, leading to a brain drain on the supply side even as demand soars in some fields. The best advice for job seekers? Look at the big demographic picture; those trends will create tomorrow's jobs. -Jodi Schneider
Healthcare
Need evidence that healthcare is hot? Just follow the money. Clinical laboratory scientists in California are being offered $10,000 signing bonuses. Employees at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia receive $2,000 for each successful radiation therapist candidate they refer. And a pharmacist willing to move to International Falls, Minn. (population 10,000; the "Icebox of the Nation"), can earn $100,000 base salary, plus a bonus and profit sharing. And all of this is occurring as other industries freeze or cut salaries and lay off workers. Even once-out-of-favor medical specialists like cardiologists, orthopedic surgeons, and oncologists are sought after; their ranks thinned as HMOs emphasized primary care. "Now the pendulum has swung, and there's a great shortage of specialists throughout the country," says Susan Edson, principal at New England Health Search, a physician recruitment firm in Maine. Demand is expected to only grow as an aging population requires more specialized treatment.
NOW HIRING: Specialty nurses. If you're an experienced emergency room, intensive care unit, or critical care unit nurse, you can pretty much write your ticket, says Dirk Leidecker, vice president of operations at Martin, Fletcher, a healthcare recruiting company in Texas. Registered nurses need an associate's or bachelor's degree in nursing or a diploma from a hospital-based program, and specialists receive on-the-job training and can be certified by the appropriate association. In some areas, hospitals are required to maintain a certain nurse-to-patient ratio in wards with the most critically ill patients. No wonder they're offering $15,000 signing bonuses. And there's no end in sight to this labor shortage: The government projects some 560,000 nursing positions will be added between 2000 and 2010. Perhaps average annual salaries of about $50,000 (and climbing) will help fill some of those jobs.
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