Once upon a time, I was in college and totally panicked about choosing a career. Everyone told me "computers." Get a degree in computers and you would never be out of work... So i did.
Well it took me less than 10 years to prove them wrong.
There is no safety anymore and I think professionals are finally starting to feel that, even if they dont verbalize it. Companies just dont want to pay to train people today and the global marketplace of skills puts new pressure on wages. Guru's tell us to picture ourselves as "knowledge contractors" for "virtual corporations", in other words, protect yourself because no one else will.
While i think this is good advice, it is not the warm and fuzzy world of the 1950's we tend to hear about at election time.
Behind 'Shortage' of Engineers: Employers Grow More Choosy
Job Hunters Face Long Lists Of Requirements as Web Brings Flood of Résumés
Two Hires From 158 Applicants
November 16, 2005
Many companies say they're facing an increasingly severe shortage of engineers. It's so bad, some executives say, that Congress must act to boost funding for engineering education.
Yet unemployed engineers say there's actually a big surplus. "No one I know who has looked at the data with an open mind has been able to find any sign of a current shortage," says demographer Michael Teitelbaum of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
But for candidates facing 200-to-1 odds of getting the job, the struggle seems all on their side. "Companies are looking for a five-pound butterfly. Not finding them doesn't mean there's a shortage of butterflies," says Richard Tax, president of the American Engineering Association, which campaigns to prevent losses of engineering jobs.
