Many people believe that non-manual labor office jobs, also known as white collar jobs, are only for the well-educated, and are unattainable by those who haven’t had the time, desire, or resources to obtain a degree. However, this is not always the case.
“Many white collar jobs require exceptional communication, logistics, and problem solving skills, and often, these are skills that can be tweaked with time and experience, but not studied in a degree program,” says Steve Langerud, who owns the career counseling firm, Steve Langerud and Associates.
]]>Lee Bailey’s EURweb (Electronic Urban Report) June 20, 2014
*A 2013 Oxford study named “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs To Computerization,” claims 47 percent of total U.S. unemployment could see job loss or a decrease in employment due to technological advancements.
Where will that leave you?
“Job seekers should follow the wisdom of hockey great Wayne Gretzky who said, ‘I skate to where the puck will be, not where it is,’” says Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant and managing partner of career guidance organization Steve Langerud & Associates, LLC in Grinnell, Iowa.
The key lies in researching to explore which jobs will become obsolete and which ones are growing – and then preparing to pursue what’s poised to thrive.
]]>“The ‘best’ degrees are those that position people to address the dilemmas of the 21st century with both hands-on, solution-oriented skills and set the stage for continuing education and training,” says Steve Langerud, workplace consultant and principal of Steve Langerud & Associates. “Students who are willing to play futurist and tackle the issues of food supply and safety, energy issues, urbanization, health care, and education will thrive.”
Will Obama’s overtime plan create more part-time jobs?
Quentin Fottrell write in his recent MarketWatch piece, ”Under current rules, many companies don’t have to pay overtime to salaried workers who make more than $455 per week (roughly $24,000 a year). The Obama administration is expected to direct the Labor Department to raise that threshold, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal Wednesday.”
As I told Quentin, “We will see companies working to bring this work in on a contract basis instead of a salaried basis” to avoid paying overtime, says Steve Langerud, workplace consultant and principal of Steve Langerud & Associates in Grinnell, Iowa.
]]>