20 Hot Job Tracks When Baby Boomers Retire
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Customer Care Manager Today's gotta-be-reachable ethos has led to a proliferation of mobile phones, pagers and voice mail systems--revenues from mobile communications are expected to jump nearly 40 percent from 1995 to 1998. The companies battling for this business are putting customer care managers on the front lines. Not only do these pros spring into action when the cellular service breaks down, they also plug what the company is selling. When an order comes in for two additional phone lines, a manager has detailed knowledge of the purchaser's needs, of suitable services to pitch and of competitors' offerings. AT&T has hired 200 to 300 customer care managers in the past year.
HOT TRACK SALARIES (AVERAGE) ENTRY LEVEL: $30,000--$50,000 MIDLEVEL: $55,000--$75,000 TOP: $75,000 and up
TRAINING. A B.A. in liberal arts, business, communication skills. A sales background helps.
RUNNER-UP HOT TRACK. Telecommunications lawyer. With the explosion of global trade and telecommunications, multilingual deal makers are needed.
WHAT TELECOMMUNICATIONS JOBS PAY JUNIOR TECHNICIAN (ENTRY): $25,000--$35,000 TECHNICAL SPECIALIST: $50,000 PROJECT MANAGER: $50,254* SENIOR ENGINEER: $89,875* STRATEGIC PLANNER: $96,607* SENIOR EXECUTIVE: $200,000
Note: Median salaries for 1995, including bonuses and profit sharing. *Average for 1996. Sources: AT&T, Management Recruiters Inc., MultiMedia Telecommunications Association, Network World, Rochester Institute of Technology
TRADES: Commercial-wiring Specialist Now that commercial builders are back from the doldrums, the folks who actually put up the office parks and shopping malls have more work than they can handle. Some $139.5 billion will go to new commercial construction in 1996, up from $110.6 billion three years ago. Qualified electrical workers are especially in demand, partly because wiring a building is a different ballgame now. Most not only need to know the red wire from the blue one but must have some degree of expertise in computers because of the huge demand computers throughout a building place on an electrical system. Most buildings now have computerized lighting systems, automated locks and antitheft devices, too. In some cases, the wirer is also responsible for the upkeep of a building's entire electrical system.
HOT TRACK SALARIES (AVERAGE) ENTRY LEVEL: $9.42 per hour MIDLEVEL: $14 per hour TOP: $23.55 per hour
TRAINING. Five years in an apprenticeship program, working with journeymen in the field. The program includes a minimum of 8,000 on-the-job hours and 1,000 classroom hours.
RUNNER-UP HOT TRACK. Computer control maker. Automated equipment is doing the manufacturing in many factories now. This person builds the equipment.
WHAT JOBS IN THE TRADES PAY: PER HOUR GENERAL LABORER: $9.70 CARPENTER: $13.77 WELDER: $13.79 ELECTRICIAN: $14.78 PIPE FITTER: $14.39 PLUMBER: $14.15
Note: Average pay for 1996. Sources: General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; National Electrical Contractors Association; National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee; PAS Inc.; Roger Herman, business futurist
[Photo profiles]: Jean DePalma, 37, Campos & Stratis, Teaneck, N.J. Salary: $75,000-$100,000 (including bonus) Later this year, DePalma expects to be called to Guam, where her firm will testify in court about damage claims from a recent typhoon.
Gary M. Smith, 37, Price Waterhouse LLC, Philadelphia Salary: $70,000-$95,000 (including bonus) Smith's average day: meet with a client about upgrading computers, bounce strategies off "team members," review industry trends.
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