Nathan Scarbrough
Week 13 Discussion: Brown,
Chapter 17- Trends in the Labor Market and Factors That Shape Them
This chapter was useful in
providing information that we should know as counselors, and that we should
make sure our clients know as they make choices regarding their future career
paths. In this chapter, Brown discusses
factors that have been affecting the labor market of late and predictions about
the factors that will shape the labor market in the next 16 years. It discusses changes in the types of jobs
available, specific jobs available, and the types of people that will fill
these job positions.
The two
predominant factors that Brown discusses that will be responsible for these
changes include technological advances, and the growing global economy. It also mentions short-term trends that
affect economies, such as disaster, war, fashion trends, and even seasons, but
for our purposes I deemed it more appropriate to talk about the long-term
factors. To begin, technological
advances have influenced the job market since the beginning of
civilization. Much like how agricultural
jobs were decreased by tractors and irrigation systems, and how coal-mining
industries and textile industries were seriously diminished by machinery that
could do the work of a hundred men, future jobs are equally at-risk. In a world where computer technology is
ever-growing, the market for manufacturing jobs is constantly declining, while
the need for service jobs is increasing.
For example, my sister is currently working on a computer program to
simulate particle accelerators. If her
group’s efforts are a success, there will be no need for multi-mile long
particle accelerators, for all one will need is to type in a set of criteria
into a computer program to see the effects of combining two atoms together
close to the speed of light. Not that
this area is a huge job-provider, but I can imagine all the work that must be
put in to building and operating a particle accelerator going to waste because
of some crafty software.
The
global economy is also crucial to consider for those entering the job
market. It is cheaper to outsource labor
to companies that charge less for workers (ex. hourly wages, benefits) and
resources (ex. electricity). That
considered, this process is a two-way street.
Automobile companies such as Mitsubishi are opening up factories (and
therefore providing thousands of jobs in our nation) due to the fact that
Americans are more likely to blow large sums of money on cars than residents of
poorer countries. Whether it is hurting
us or helping us (although I think most would agree that it is currently losing
our nation more jobs than vice-versa), it should be understood that at this
point, all countries that are trading with each other have an effect on each
other, such that a change in one economy will affect all others in the system.
As
professionals that hope to provide career-counseling in the future, we should
be mindful of these factors and trends.
Furthermore, it is our responsibility to ensure that our clients are
aware too, so that they are not blindsided by these effects. If our clients are minorities, we should instill
hope by telling them that jobs for minorities are expected to increase
(although the statistics behind this do not take into account legal and illegal
immigrants comprising our work-force).
We should additionally suggest that our clients go online and look-up
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which provides useful information on the fastest
growing occupations and their educational requirements. If we can ensure that our clients know the
general shifting trends of the labor market, understand the maximum range of
opportunities available to them, and are capable of obtaining the educational
requirements for these positions, then we have benefited from digesting the
information in this chapter and are well on our way to becoming competent
career-counselors.
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