So if you’re looking for a secure job you can get into and basically coast till you die/retire, you’re in luck. The baby boomer generation is on its way out of the work force and there are a ton of soon to be openings in corporate America. So without further ado, your ticket to 20 years of job security*:
1. IRS or Gov desk jobs (accountants, auditors, reps, etc)
The IRS has been very slow to hire people over the last 20 years. This means an incredible percentage of their workforce is about to retire and vacate their positions. What this also means is that their demand is about to skyrocket for hires. Whats a cushier job than the IRS? Tons of bureaucracies in the US federal government are filled with baby boomers right now nearing retirement age.
2. Healthcare
There are tens of millions of baby boomers retiring, which means they are getting older, and likely are going to increase the demand for healthcare. So we’ll need more doctors, nurses, hospital clerical staff, insurance specialists, etc. Figure out ways to provide care, make care more efficient, or more effective, and you’ve got a goldmine. Find people working on these things and get with them. If you can figure out the secret to the tripod of players in the healthcare market and how to sell to all three, you’re golden (doctors, patients, insurers).
3. Transportation
Our nation’s infrastructure isn’t getting any better. More and more people in our population will be unable to drive, they are going to need to get around. Figure out how to make that happen. More and more cars will be on the road, roads not designed to support that many people. People will need alternate means of transportation. Smart trains, smart buses, anywhere that you can solve problems that affect people’s commutes, are sure fire ways to make a mint in the next 20 years.
4. Infrastructure
All of our nation’s roads and highways and railroads are going to need to be upgraded/replaced/fixed in the next 20 years. This is a multi TRILLION dollar endeavor. So go start pouring cement, or better yet, work on tech to make roads more efficient, safer, and cheaper to pour.
5. Education
Our nation is going to face a degree deficit believe it or not. We’re going to be short millions of college degrees in the next 20 years. People are not going to college the same rate they used to. This is due to the financial burdens of college and higher ed being more and more costly compared to what they were 20 years ago, and costs outpacing inflation and average income growth. This increased demand is going to lead to a huge growth in non-traditional learning (online comes to mind, as its easier to add servers than buildings). Though this will bring up an interesting paradox when it comes to degree values in the next decade.
These are just the trends I see, and remember, your best bet in the long run is to control your own destiny, not let someone else.
Please comment, as it makes my life more interesting.
*Note I’m not guaranteeing your job security. You have to kick ass to make that happen.
People aren’t going to college because it’s a waste of time and money. What did you do with your college degree?
touche, but I was running my business before college anyway. for the non-outliers, a degree is still a requirement for corporate advancement. a litmus test.