Changing What We Do

Changing What We Do There was an article in the NYTimes this week about the conditions of the labor market in a Wisconsin town thatlost over4,000 GM jobs. These overpaid ($28/hr) workers are now being forced to re-tool themselves for jobs that wont come close to paying them what they used to make.Here is a sample of the transitioning career paths: Electrician to Radiology Technician Truck Driver to Logistics and Warehouse Management Machine Operator to Veterinarian Assistant Employee to Restaurateur The US economy used to be a balance of manufacturing and service sector jobs. However, that changed. We dont make many things in the United States today. That means that the millions of people with manufacturing backgrounds will have little choice but to take their careers in a new direction. The NY State Dept of Labor publishs monthly newsletters.In the latest edition, it stated that in the Finger lakes there were over 1,500 new jobs created in Educational and Health care services from 2007 to 2008. Not huge numbers, but one of the few growing industries in the region. So the message that I ampassing along is this: Thinkservice, think independent, think global marketplace. Anyjob that physically requiresthat you touch or help isnt going anywhere yet. We cant even predict what the in demand occupations will be 10 years from now (though they still try). That comes from the DOL. It is so difficult to predict what the future holds.You can look backhistoricallyto see how this country rose out of previous recessions, but all those times this countrys makeup was hugely manufacturing based. That isnt the case, we cant hope that making more cars, tanks, airplanes, anything, will bring us out of where we are. The jobs that are hopefully going to come from the current stimulus package are foggy. However, this we know. They wont be paying $28/hr. Re-tooling and re-budgeting arethe answers. Down size personal budgets. Simplify your life style. If you cant make a lot of money, then you might as well love what you do!