Defining the New Economy
More Relevant Occupational Categories
Future Job Growth
What This Means for Job Seekers
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For decades, U.S. government and industry leaders have
classified jobs according to these familiar categories:
- Managers
- Professionals
- Sales
- Administrative support
- Service workers
- Production workers
Robert B. Reich, who served as Secretary Labor
under President Clinton, believes these job
classifications, however, are becoming increasingly
outdated as the United States moves into what is now
commonly called the new economy.
Defining the New Economy
In his book, “The Future of Success” (2001, Alfred A.
Knopf, New York), Reich says the new, still-emerging
new economy is marked by these two basic principles:
- Choices for products and services are widening
for consumers, who are finding it increasingly easier
to “get a better deal” in a highly competitive
marketplace. Technological advances, such as the
Internet, have created a commercial atmosphere in
which there are “no-secrets” about a competitor's
products, making it easy to compare prices, quality,
features and consumer satisfaction ratings.
- Sellers of products and services, as a result, are
less secure, and that insecurity is spurring an
unprecedented era of innovation. But that innovation
also means there is very little job security and
company loyalty. And the traditional lines for
remuneration and paths to promotion within a company
are breaking down.
Reich concludes that these two forces (more choices
and more innovation) will increasingly place a premium
on two types of workers:
- “Geeks” (computer programmers, software
developers, network administrators etc.) who can help
companies innovate by using “outside the box”
information technology to produce and market products
cheaper, better and faster.
- “Shrinks” (consumer researchers, product
design specialists, marketing experts etc.) who can
also think “outside the box” to turn what the “geeks”
develop into products and services consumers need
and want and then market them effectively.
Most individuals are not both a “geek” and
a “shrink.” But those in either group who are team
builders -- who can help the “geeks” and “shrinks” to
work together, share knowledge each group possesses
and produce innovative products and services -- will
be particularly in high demand in the future.
I find these four quotes from Reich's "The Future of
Success" particularly interesting because I believe
they give us a feel for how the new economy is going
to affect us as individuals:
- "The real value of a college education to
one's job prospects has less to do with what is
learned than with who is met."
- "The 'old boy' network is being replaced by
an 'attest for' network in which the best jobs go to
people whom others already in the network know
and can vouch for."
- "Individuals now blaze their own career paths by
making their reputations in their fields, not in their
organizations."
- "In the new economy, you get ahead not by being
well liked but by being well marketed."
That's certainly different from the traditional
organization, which rewards employees for loyalty and
longevity and thrives on predictability instead of
innovation.
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More Relevant Occupational Categories
According to Reich, both the “geeks” and “shrinks” of
the new economy are “creative” workers. They will
continue to be the highest paid (within the top 25
percent of U.S. income categories) for their services,
even though knowledge of information technology is
becoming only a secondary, indirect requirement
(behind creativity) for the work they do.
Because the United States is making a transition into
the new economy, Reich says, more relevant
occupational categories are emerging. He views the
emerging U.S. economy as consisting of four main
groups:
- Symbolic analysts (“creative” workers) - about
25 percent of the workforce.
- Routine production workers - about 20 percent of
the workforce.
- In-person service workers - about 30 percent of
the workforce.
- Government, farmers, miners and extractors of
natural resources - about 25 percent of the workforce.
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Future Job Growth
Under the emerging new economy, Reich sees future jobs
multiplying in:
- Health sciences and health care
- Entertainment and the arts
- Services which increase our attractiveness to
others
- Intellectual stimulation and intentional learning
- Contact, networking and clearinghouse services
- Family well-being for all members from child care
to senior services
- Financial security
I'm going to take the liberty to add one more job
sector which could show growth in the post 09/11/01
economy: physical security.
It's important to note that “creative” workers --
information technology and marketing specialists --
will likely find a strong job market within each of
these eight job sectors.
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What This Means for Job Seekers
So, how does a job seeker -- particularly a job seeker
with a physical disability -- take advantage of the
American (and, eventually, global) transition into the
new economy? Here are six important steps you can
begin to take right now:
- Choose a job coach, a job counselor, a career
counselor, a mentor, or a recruiter who understands
and keeps up to date with transitions within the U.S.
economy.
- Discover who you are in terms of skills, temperament,
communication style and learning needs.
- Take workshops and volunteer for experiences which
help you develop your interpersonal communication,
teamwork and teambuilding skills, no matter where you
find you fit best (in the traditional or in the new,
emerging economy).
- Make the best use of your time, effort and money
by creatively choosing a career niche in a job sector
which is growing in demand.
- Get to know which companies and organizations are
successfully operating in the old economy and which
are successfully operating in the new economy, learn
about their corporate cultures and then intentionally
target those which fit your career niche and your
temperament.
- Use your networking skills to monitor big, small
and subtle changes in the paradigms for both the
traditional and new economies in this post 09-11-01
era and adjust your career management plans
accordingly.
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