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2001: A Job Odyssey Published in the Long Beach Press Telegram California’s economy is booming; Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate is at its lowest since 1990; employers are clamoring for competent workers. While there is no such thing as a career crystal ball, knowing about workplace trends can help you move towards higher income and greater job satisfaction. The New Work Culture Changes in the corporate culture have spurred individuals to take more responsibility for their own career and job advancement. The tendency in the past was to stay with a job for a decade or more, and employers who looked at a resume filled with several short term positions saw the prospective employee as unstable and a possible problem. Not so today. Because many companies are in an almost constant state of change, they are looking for employees who show an ability to adapt. In the new work environment, if you stay at a company for more than a few years, particularly if your resume does not show a progression of job titles with increasing or varying responsibilities, employers may question whether you are capable of adjusting to change and coming up with fresh ideas. While the trend towards corporate mergers and acquisitions continues to churn the workforce, for as many workers as are being displaced with the creation of each new mega-company, there are more jobs being created because of the revolution in technology. In particular, the internet and the resulting gold rush mentality have inspired a trend toward small start-up companies and the need for venture capitalists, freelance consultants, project work, temporary employment, and alternate work schedules. The new work culture is also being affected by the fact that there are
more 55-plus Americans in the workforce than ever before. By 2006 the
Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasters predict the baby-boomer population
will increase this group of workers to the 23 million mark. Women in the Workplace Over the past decades, women have participated in greater numbers in the paid workforce and have achieved greater stature in all industries. Their slow and steady progress has brought them into executive suites. However, they still face a glass ceiling, particularly women at mid-life and minority women. Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, recently said, “I definitely believe there is a glass ceiling - it does still exist. You will find well-qualified women positioned far lower in the company than men who are similarly qualified.” While the trend is for more companies to put anti-discrimination policies into effect, Labor Secretary Herman says the next step is to make sure the policies are actually implemented. Between 1995 and 1999, there was a 37% increase in the number of female corporate officers. However, today these 1,386 women represent only 11.9% of the total number of officers. Only 1.3% are minority women. Men still control 93.2% of line officer jobs (positions with profit-and-loss or direct client responsibilities) that often lead to the top corporate jobs. Only three women hold chief executive positions in Fortune 500 companies. While President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and women have had progressive career advancement, their salaries have not kept pace with that of men. For example, according to a 1999 Salary Survey published in Working Woman (July/August 1999), the median annual earnings of a female advertising copywriter is $50,500; males earn a median of $59,300 for the same position. A female account executive earns an annual median of $40,500; a male earns $50,600. A female technical writer earns $47,000; a male earns $56,000. A female graphic designer earns $29,224; a male earns $37,440. In general, older women face even greater salary inequity. In 1998, women earned an average of $.76 for every $1.00 a man earned. By age 55, women earned just $.69 for every $1.00 earned by a man. While the trend is towards closing the gender/pay gap, in most fields, women are not yet getting equal pay for equal work. Salary and Compensation One of the most controversial trends over the last twenty years has been the soaring rise in salaries for top business executives and the enormous discrepancy in compensation between the top and bottom rung of employees. For example, the average blue-collar worker earned a 2.5% raise between 1996 and 1997. The average boss received 35%. The average CEO’s total compensation in 1997 was 325 times that of the average worker. If minimum wage had kept pace with the percentage of increase of CEO’s compensation from 1960 to 1997, minimum wage would have been $40.97 per hour in 1997 and higher than that today. Job-hopping is another workplace trend effecting compensation. Many of today’s employees are jumping from job to job and accruing more skills, greater experience, enhanced confidence and usually higher salaries with each move. Particularly with internet start-up companies, the trend is for employees to be more interested in compensation based on a combination of salary and stock options. Employers are moving away from a paternalistic commitment to workers' job security and automatic wage increases toward productivity and performance-based compensation. Where the Jobs Are The new work environment is creating an increasing need for specialization in both industry and professional occupations. Some of the hottest cyberspace specialties, for example, are: webmasters, internet advertising designers, internet store and service provider managers, internet project managers, writers and editors. The aging population has created a need for more health-related jobs and for specialties in biotechnology such as: genetic research technicians, biomedical engineers and equipment technicians, chemical technicians, and clinical research associates. The trend toward growth in technical and professional environmental careers includes jobs such as air quality specialists, wildlife biologists, environmental engineers and educators, city and regional planners, soil conservation scientists, and conservation/pollution control technicians. The fastest growing sector in the Los Angeles area economy is construction and construction-related services. The technology/new media sector is also growing, but the entertainment industry has lost 1.2 percent of its workforce in the last year and this trend is projected to continue except in multimedia which continues to experience job growth. Besides more jobs in leisure and hospitality services, new office jobs will be created including titles that might include: mentoring director (to match new employees with veterans), fitness manager (to provide fitness programs and establish ergonomic standards), and business etiquette advisor (to establish manners for the high-tech office). To get specific advice on how to make the career trends work for you, you may want to consult a National Certified Career Counselor who can provide you with information about a variety of jobs. You may consult the National Board of Certified Counselors web site at www.nbcc.org or the California Career Registry at 714-284-8857 to find a career counselor in your area. Websites like hungryminds.com, latimes.com and monster.com also provide helpful career information and advice.
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