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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1963)
i! The Secretary of Labor gives this timely report on opportunities for today's job seekers as well as for those planning careers for tomorrow By W. WILLARD WIRTZ U. S. Seerafocy af Labor WHAT WE face a paradox in this country today: there is persistent unem ployment yet at the same time there is a shortage of workers qualified to fill ex isting job openings! President Kennedy, in submit ting his comprehensive manpow er report to Congress recently, said: "Greater employment op portunities and a work force ever, more capable of making use of such opportunities . . . are among the foremost domes tic needs of the nation." That report went on to show that our increasing rate of unemploy ment about 5Vi percent of the work force is our country's greatest waste of its natural resources. Why is there this failure to mesh available jobs with avail able job seekers? This paradoxical situation re sults from factors that have been operating for some time. Among them are : the emergence of new industries and products and the decline of old ones; the impact of new technologies, no tably automation; shifts in the location of industries; shifts in market demands; the effects of foreign competition ; and the en try of a "bumper crop" of young people into the labor force. One thing we can do about the situation is to realize that today belongs to the educated and trained and that tomorrow the demand for skills will be even greater. Beginning jobs now go to high-school graduates; and many, employers demand even further education. Ma chines are doing away with un skilled work and with the jobs once available to high-school dropouts. Unemployment among dropouts is about twice as high as among high-school graduates and three times as high as among workers with some col lege training. In terms of income, a college graduate can expect to earn $180,000 more in his lifetime than a high-school graduate, while the latter can expect to earn $100,000 more than the THE ARE person who finished only gram mar school. The facts cry out: don't sell yourself and your country short by failing to get all the educa tion you can. What are the best jobs? For those who are either job hunt ing today or planning careers for tomorrow, here is the most up-to-date picture of the work situation, based on Department of Labor studies. Good Jobs for High-School Graduates : Those with special skills acquired in vocational, business, or high school, the armed services, or apprentice training programs have the best opportunities. Despite more automation in offices, the need for skilled cleri cal workers is expected to grow by more than four million by 197S. Persons trained in book keeping, stenography, business machine operation, and compu ter skills are in highest demand. Jobs are increasing rapidly for policemen, firemen, and other protective services in urban and suburban communities. Service workers in health fields, such as hospital attendants and practi cal nurses, also are needed. Sales jobs increase with popu lation and spending, particu larly in real estate and insur ance. Top sales jobs are for rocket components and compu ters, but these require some specialized training. There also is a mounting need for mechanics and repairmen who can install and maintain the complex appliances and ma chines used in our society. Technicians with vocational or junior-college training are in great demand. These include en gineering technicians trained in electronics, mechanics, chemis try, metallurgy, and most other areas of technology, as well as medical technicians, nurses, and dental hygienists. Good Jobs for College Graduates: This year's bachelor-degree recipients generally are receiving between $4,500 and $7,200 a year. The Federal government, the largest single employer of new college grad uates, pays beginners with a bachelor's degree $4,565 to $5, 540 a year, based on scholastic achievement, The demand for scientists and engineers could average about 100,000 a year during this dec ade. Chemists, engineers, mathe maticians, and physicists are get ting the highest starting salaries. Teaching, the largest profes sion, is plagued with persistent shortages. Elementary and sec ondary schoolteachers start at from $400 to $450 a month, with secondary teachers often earn ing the higher amount Also critically needed are phy siotherapists, nutritionists, lab oratory technicians, medical li brarians, pharmacists, and clin ical psychologists. Many social workers are needed, too. Lawyers and accountants are in demand because of our more complicated corporate structures and tax laws and our increasing middle-income population. Be ginning positions average $6, 500 a year. I have concentrated on jobs in greatest demand, but indi vidual interests, aptitudes, and long-range goals are the primary BEST JOBS? considerations in finding the best job. With sufficient educa tion, there is a tremendous vari ety of careers in which to find excellent job opportunities. Tomorrow belongs to those who face it honestly who see change as an essential quality of growth, who see growth as the meaning of life, and who believe that the future is a good idea. COVER: of fotiu to Mto tewww Ws ttoee Wwh tetn-agers ptiogaphetl- t. tTrftVnw bent on enjoying that Imt kit summer. mw swraw ftwn am Sond oil ocWIling totnmyfilooljftrii lei gMW VWAaV, IJ3 NB Michigan Av... Chkooo I, ll" " ?d?'.11 'j"oni about oditorlol footum to loMlrfi Akrororo, Aroon IW.II. Mot london, fom.hr Wortl,. 60 I. Mil. Si., Now To.. 22. N. T. Jk tyon, fW J. Opp.Minw, Hollr IHJ. tOCIU.NO AND tOOKS. INC, in N. Michigan A..., Chicocj. !. III. All rlnh) wnd ttNIIT V. 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