UNITSIXPartOneIfYouWillBeGraduatingfromHighSchoolorCollege...Ifyouwillbegraduatingfromhighschoolorcollegeinthenextyearortwo,youmightbeveryconcernedaboutyourfuture.Probablythemostimportantquestionsonyourmindarethese:Willyoufindagoodjob?Andwhatshouldyoudotomakesurethatyoudo?Tohelpyouanswerthesequestions,firstIamgoingtodescribehowtheUSjobmarkethaschangedinthelast100years.AfterthatIwilltellyouwhatyoucandotoprepareyourselfforthejobmarkettoday.OK,nowfirstofall,tobegin,let^stalkabouttheAmericanjobmarketandhowithaschanged・Withoutanyquestion,themostimportantchangeinthe20thcenturywastheshift,thechange,fromamanufacturingeconomytoaserviceeconomy.Amanufacturingeconomyisonethatproducesalargenumberofthings,orproducts.Peoplewhoproducethingslikecars,furniture,orclothingareworkinginamanufacturingeconomy.Butontheotherhand,aserviceeconomyisoneinwhichmostworkersprovideservices,theydosomethinginsteadofmakingsomething.Someexamplesofserviceworkersincludedoctors,hairstylists,airlinepilots,salesclerks,andeverybodyworkinginthecomputerindustry.Allthepeoplewhodesignandprogramandservicecomputersarepartoftheserviceeconomy.SotheUnitedStateshaschangedfromamanufacturingeconomytoaserviceeconomy.Let'slookatthosestatistics.Thepercentageofmanufacturingjobshasgonedowndramaticallysincethebeginningofthe20thcentury,anditwillcontinuetodecreaseinthe21stcentury.Andatthesametime,therehasbeenagreatincreaseinthepercentageofservicejobs.Basically,onehundredyearsago,80%ofworkersworkedinagricultureormanufacturing;buttodayonlyabout20%do,while80%provideservices.Andbytheyear2020,thepercentageofserviceworkerswillincreaseto90%.Youmayaskwhy.WhathascausedthischangeintheUSeconomy?Whyhasthenumberofmanufacturingjobsdecreased?Cananyoneguess?...OK,good.Robots,orinotherwords,automation.Alotoftheworkthatourparentsandgrandparentsusedtodobyhandisnowdonebymachineslikecomputersorcomputerizedrobots.Anotherreasonforthissituationisforeigncompetition.MostmanufacturingisnowdoneoutsidetheUS,inChina,orMalaysia,countrieswherethelaborcostsarecheaper.Togiveyoujustonestatistic,betweenMarch2008andNovember2009,aperiodofjust20months,morethanhalfamillionUSmanufacturingjobsweremovedtoAsia.Butontheotherhand,whyhavethoseservicejobsincreasedsomuch?Well,hereagaintherearetwobasiccauses.First,thenumberofservicejobshasincreasedbecauseoftechnology.Withallthenewmachines,well,someonehastosellthemandinstallthemandfixthemwhentheybreak,right?Noneofthosejobsexisted25or30yearsago.AndtheotherreasonforagreatincreaseinservicejobsisthattheAmericanpopulationischanging.Forexample,becausepeoplearelivinglongerandlonger,theyneedmoremedicalservices,right?Sothefastest-growingjobsincludethingslikenursingandhomemedicalworkers.Also,anotherexample,sincemostmamedwomennowworkoutsidethehome,there'samuchgreaterneedforservicessuchasrestaurantsandday-carecenters.Somepeoplesay:servicejobsingeneraldon?tpayverywell.Comparedtofactoryjobs,thehourlypayisprettyloYes,thatistrue,anditisabigproblem.Youhavetorememberthattherearemanydifferentkindsofservicejobs.Theyincludeeverythingfromacomputerengineerearning$70,000ayeartoaworkeratafast-foodrestaurantearning$6or$7anhour.ThirtypercentoftheworkersintheUnitedStatesearnlessthan$8anhour.Theirsalariesarelowbecausetheydorfthavemucheducationandtraining.Andthereisoneotherseriousproblemwithservicejobs:alotofservicejobsdon'tprovidebenefitslikehealthinsurance,va...