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Wanted:
A job with security
Abstract Rattled
by the economic turmoil of recent years, these beleaguered workers are
leaving industries shaken by layoffs for careers where the prospects are
more secure, even if the pay is not as generous. Survivors
of failed start-ups are launching their own businesses, where they can
set their hours instead of worrying about being laid off. Even owners
of businesses in hard-hit industries, who once earned six-figure incomes,
are closing shop to become school teachers. The housing boom is drawing
recruits to take jobs as loan officers and real estate agents. Employees
are increasingly finding they must switch industries to find jobs -- 85%
of workers undergoing a career transition did so in 2002, up 11% from
the prior year, according to a survey of nearly 6,000 employees by New
York-based human resource consultants DBM. In this tough job market, 52%
of those who found new employment took a reduction in pay, with an average
cut of roughly 10%. Career
changers are giving rise to more free agents -- entrepreneurs or contractors
working for themselves instead of an employer. Those who have marketable
skills might feel being on their own is more secure than surviving the
mercurial swings of the economy, experts say. Others
have been forced out of work and turned to consulting or similar jobs
because they can't find employment elsewhere. They struggle with higher
insurance costs and uncertainty about where their next assignment will
come from. The number of such free agents (defined as temporary contract
workers, freelancers, independent professionals and consultants) has more
than doubled since 1980, to an estimated 30 million, according to a June
study by Troy, Mich.-based staffing provider Kelly Services. That's a
25% jump since 1998. ''People
are going to the safer jobs that were so unsexy in the dot-com era. The
post-2000 era, it's back to basics,'' says Samantha Ettus, president of
New York-based Ettus Media Management, which provides career strategy
services. ''The trend is to go (with) what's safe.'' Seeking a secure job The
search for safer ground is a driving factor for career changers such as
Jon Kravitz of Beachwood, Ohio. Hit by slumping demand, he filed for bankruptcy
protection and closed his steel-processing plant in September of 2001.
Now, he's back in school studying to be a teacher, and already has taught
a reading class as a student instructor to ninth- and 10th-graders. Instead
of operating cranes and unloading trucks, Kravitz, 48, teaches vocabulary
words to teens. The pay is less than the six-figure income he used to
bring home, but now he feels he's got a solid future; employment of teachers
in special education, preschool, kindergarten and elementary school is
expected to increase 37% from 234,000 in 2000 to 320,000 in 2010, according
to the Department of Labor. ''I
had to make a career change. I felt the steel industry was too unstable.
I could have gotten another steel industry job, but I would have been
out of work in a year or two,'' says Kravitz. ''After making six figures
for many years, it's different. But there is real demand for teachers,
especially male teachers.'' There
are advantages, such as summers off with his wife, Kim, 54, a guidance
counselor. And as the parent of two college-age children, Kravitz also
reasons that he's got some hands-on experience. Industries
seen as booming despite the anemic economy include professional jobs (such
as those in the health care, education and computer and mathematical fields).
Those areas are expected to see a 26% increase -- adding 6.9 million jobs
-- from 2000 to 2010, according to Department of Labor projections. Employment
in service occupations is projected to increase by 5.1 million, or 19.5%.
Health care support occupations are expected to grow 33.4%, adding 1.1
million new jobs. Computer software engineers are expected to add 380,000
jobs by 2010, and medical assistants jobs should grow by 187,000. Registered
nurses will add 561,000 jobs, a 26% jump over 2000. Truck drivers, security
guards, accountants and auditors all will be in demand. Occupations
with the biggest decreases are in office and administrative support and
jobs such as order clerks and tellers, which have been hit hard by increased
automation.
Meaningful work crucial For
those in search of more secure jobs, here's what's in: jobs that allow
more work/life balance; work that is meaningful and enjoyable; benefit
coverage; good relationships with managers and co-workers; and trustworthy
employers. What's out: Jobs that deliver quick payoffs but no long-term
security. ''A
lot of the guys we deal with, they took jobs in the late '90s for the
dot-com payoff. When the economy got tough, most of them never had any
energy or passion for it,'' says Bob Lambert in Irvine, Calif., managing
partner at executive search firm Christian & Timbers. ''The economy
is forcing more people to face reality. It becomes the catalyst for change.''
Marshall
Longtin, 33, of Green Lake, Wash., used to crave the high-tech payoff.
For a decade, he worked in the tech industry, partly in management and
telecom sales. Then the dot-com boom went bust. In
March of 2002, he left his job, feeling he needed safer ground, and turned
to real estate. Longtin bought some investment properties that he began
refurbishing and renting, then decided to take a 60-hour training course
to get a real estate license. He finished in April and has sold several
homes as an agent for zipRealty. ''I
found what I should have been doing all along,'' Longtin says. ''But the
money in the tech sector was great, and I wouldn't have left it if it
hadn't dried up. Now, I'd never go back.'' Risks of career switching Not
everyone is so lucky. Some career counselors and executive recruiters
say hopscotching can lead to ''professional rebound,'' the career equivalent
of dating rebound. Downsized employees are so worried about job insecurity,
they leap to new industries they don't love. What they think is a safety
net becomes a trap. Career
counselors also say it's easy to underestimate the financial and personal
costs of making a drastic move. Returning to school or training for a
different profession can cost tens of thousands of dollars, plus a time
commitment of months or years. Executives
who once earned top dollars can find themselves at the bottom rung of
the pay ladder, competing with younger workers who command smaller salaries
but might not have the same debt loads or family responsibilities. Slightly
less than half of career-transitioning employees got the same or higher
pay in new jobs, the DBM study says. It can also be an ego blow, experts
say, to be the new ''kid,'' working for a boss who might be fresh out
of school. ''You
can do it in the late 30s or early 40s, but if you wait much longer, you're
perceived as too old,'' says David Theobald, CEO and co-founder of Netshare.com,
an online job listing and career resource site for executives earning
$100,000 and up. ''For those earning $150,000 and up, it's much more difficult
to make a career move. You're going to have to work very hard to make
it happen.'' Returning
to school or doing some sort of apprenticeship is frequently necessary,
and career changes are one reason that universities and colleges are seeing
an enrollment boom. The number of students age 35 and older in degree-granting
institutions has soared from about 823,000 in 1970 to an estimated 2.9
million in 2001 -- doubling from 9.6% of total students to 19.2%, according
to the National Center for Education Statistics. For
John Philbin, 38, an economy-driven career transformation has meant going
back to school and sacrificing financially -- at least for now. Philbin,
of University Heights, Ohio, was laid off in September 2002 from his job
in manufacturing sales. While he knew the business well, he was convinced
there had to be a more secure career alternative that he would enjoy more.
The father of two (Maggie, 5, and Jack, 4) is attending Notre Dame College
in South Euclid, Ohio, studying to become a teacher in preschool through
third grade. Every
week, he passes up golf outings with friends to study topics such as the
role of phonics in reading. He goes to the library to study instead of
having extra time with his kids. It's a bit intimidating, Philbin says,
because he was never a good student and wasn't sure what it would be like
to be one of the oldest in the class. ''I
have 30 years left to work. Male teachers are pretty scarce in every grade,
so that's a bonus for me. I'll be in demand,'' Philbin says. ''And I want
to be a role model for my own children. I don't want them to see me work
hard in a job I can't stand just to put food on the table.'' The
investment of time and money in retraining can pay off. Sam DeBord, 26,
was a tech consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers until he lost his job
in 2001. He did a few odd jobs, such as teaching Web design, before settling
on a new career: working as a loan officer. Because of the refinancing
craze, DeBord has never been busier or in more demand. ''With
the downturn in the economy, this is one area that's picking up,'' says
DeBord of San Diego. ''Business is crazy, mortgage companies are hiring
as fast as they can. It's very secure.'' Entrepreneurship rising Career
changes driven by economic turmoil can also be a catalyst for entrepreneurship.
The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy reports that the
number of sole proprietorships climbed from 17.5 million in 2000 to 18.3
million in 2002. While starting a business is a gamble in a lackluster
economy, it can often seem like a more secure option to workers who believe
they have marketable skills. It can also represent greater individual
freedom and a chance to follow a career passion. ''So
many times, people take the jobs that fell into their lap, that had a
lucrative (pay) package or were jobs their family thought they were supposed
to take,'' says Rebecca Zucker, who runs Next Step Partners, a San Francisco-based
organization that focuses on career strategies. ''They haven't had a chance
to ask, 'What have I always wanted to do in my life?' '' Kevin
Quaintance, 35, had the answer to that question. He wanted to launch a
company. Quaintance
moved to Silicon Valley from Los Angeles in 1999 to join the dot-com gold
rush. But the riches never came. Instead, he joined a succession of start-ups
that went belly-up. In August 2002, he lost his job as director of operations
when his Internet firm -- his third employer since moving -- ran out of
funding. Unable
to find another job, Quaintance decided to take control and in December
2002 started his own wireless service company, Authdirect, which he runs
from his garage. He now has 10 customers and monthly income. Quaintance
admits it's a risk, but he says that having more control by running his
own company might actually be more of a sure thing than joining yet another
floundering start-up. ''This is my company, and I control the destiny. Before, I was one of the employees, and I didn't have any control,'' says Quaintance of San Jose, Calif. His son, Austin, is 8 months old. ''And I can spend more time with Austin, I can help watch him during the day. If I was working 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., I'd miss out on that.''
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