Good Careers According to the Stimulus Bill
Good Careers in a Bad Economy, Part 3
A career in environmental “green” technology? Scientific research? Health care? Education? Transportation? Construction?
America’s deep economic recession is making an impact on career plans for teenagers and young adults. So is the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the economic stimulus package, that President Barack Obama signed in February.
The recession, with official unemployment at 8.1 percent at the end of February 2009, is causing many young people to pursue recession-proof careers. They don’t want to fruitlessly study or train for jobs that will scarcely exist in what is shaping up to be a new economy. They want to go where the action is.
As a result, many young people are looking at the priorities established in the economic stimulus package as laid out on Recovery.gov, the Web site that Obama’s team established as part of its promise for an open and public process.
Stimulus Plan is Temporary and Limited
Young people should exercise caution in placing too much stock in the stimulus package for guidance. Some of the stimulus priorities, such as green energy investment, indeed reflect long-term priorities — Obama has pledged $150 billion beyond the initial stimulus over a 10-year span. But other stimulus money, such as for roads and bridges and housing, may represent short-term fixes that will not endure.
Those who are building Recovery.com acknowledge on the site that they are engaged in a work in progress. There really are not a whole lot of specifics.
For example, the primary Obama pledge is to “create or save” 3.5 million jobs during the next few years, a number that gradually has risen from 2.5 million without much explanation. There is no breakdown to indicate how many jobs will be created, as opposed to how many will be saved.
Furthermore, the Web site does not count the numbers of jobs to be created or saved in specific career areas such as how many jobs in energy, how many in housing, etc. The lone breakdown is a map that shows the total number of jobs estimated for each state.
Not all Stimulus Money Goes for Jobs
Good Careers in a Bad Economy
Part 1: Graduating in a Recession
Part 2: According to the March 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics
Part 3: Potential Careers Arising from the Stimulus Bill
Part 4: Career Forecast: Look for Overlapping Opportunities
Part 5: Career Planning: The More Things Change, the More they Stay the Same
A young person considering a job in health care will enter a field that is generally considered recession-proof. After all, people aren’t going to stop being sick and injured, and shortages are reported, especially a shortage of nurses.
Someone considering the health professions may feel encouraged to note that the stimulus plan contains $147.2 billion for health care. However, little of that money will go toward creating new health care jobs. A chunk of $86.6 billion alone is targeted to helping cash-strapped states catch up with their Medicaid reimbursements.
A career in education often is described as recession-proof, but there still is cause for doubt. The New York Times recently reported that Education Secretary Arne Duncan will use the lion’s share of $100 billion from the stimulus bill to prevent “hundreds of thousands of job losses in schools that had been projected for the fall because of growing state budget deficits caused by a steep drop in tax revenues.” Therefore, a young person considering career plans in education may ask what’s in store for the years ahead, when stimulus payments may not be available.
In the same vein, a project to modernize the nation’s electrical grid may be finished before today’s students and trainees enter the job market. The same goes for road and bridge projects, and for housing improvements.
On the other hand, good jobs could arrive in unexpected places. Financial services may seem a dead horse at this point, but at the point when recovery may occur, financial services could return to high demand.
Sound confusing? The Web site HRworld.com recommends “multifaceted” career plans: “If you don’t put all of your eggs in one basket … numerous failures have to happen before you’re really in trouble.”
