Alright, so the list of the best and worst jobs for 2012 came out, and I think we can go ahead and officially say that we need to get our kids some digital skills.
Worst Jobs
- Lumberjack
- Dairy Farmer
- Enlisted Military Soldier
- Oil Rig Worker
- Reporter (Newspaper)
- Waiter/Waitress
- Meter Reader
- Dishwasher
- Butcher
- Broadcaster
Notice that these are almost all manual jobs (don't use the computer at all). The interesting thing is that reporter and Broadcaster is in there. I was reading an article about it and it said that in the digital age less and less of us are reading the paper or watching the news on TV. I think that is really true. I almost never watch the news. When I get to work in the morning and my MSN homepage pops up, I look to see if there is anything interesting going on. If I hear whispers of something interesting I google it and find the news story. Newspapers might be a thing of the past in the near future. So the best jobs?
Best Jobs
- Software Engineer
- Actuary
- Human Resources Manager
- Dental Hygienist
- Financial Planner
- Audiologist
- Occupational Therapist
- Online Advertising Manager
- Computer Systems Analyst
- Mathematician
Most of these jobs have to do with the digital age. For goodness sake, software engineer is the first one up there! I think dental hygienist is a weird one, but I guess we all need great teeth. Still, I think the trend in general is pretty obvious. So what happens to our kids with limited access to technology? I guess they can become reporters.
Hi Abigail, I noticed that even with the "worst" jobs, there would be a need to have some experience with digital text. I think the minimum foundation we can give our students, regardless of our abilities to provide technology or their abilities to access technology, is the sense that they are absolutely capable of learning anything on the computer. My question is, of course, how we can achieve that if we don't have the tools to demonstrate it...
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think the idea of digital and technology skills dominating the day with jobs will start to fade. Instead I think that the ability of people to build and maintain personal relationships and provide services, will make a big difference. I think service oriented jobs, having a person, on site who can do something for you, will always be in demand and be "best jobs" too.
DeleteThanks for sharing this. Interesting that dental hygienist is on the best list - that's definitely a physical (and non-technology job). Also interesting since dentists have that highest suicide rates of all professions. Happy to hear the the hygienists don't suffer from the same issues :)
ReplyDeleteI agree, I never watch the news any more, and I've never really read the paper. I wonder how long we'll even have TV news (at least at the local level)??? ~ Linda