Shortage of Workers Cause Scholarships to Rise—Get on the Gravy Train!

There are not enough qualified workers to fill jobs that will soon be vacant.

Because current employees are retiring and the jobs they are vacating require some degree of specialization, many employers are finding that there are not enough current graduates to fill those positions.

FAA Needs to Recruit More Air Traffic Controllers

According to an article in USA Today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is hiring more air traffic controllers since many more are retiring than expected. Read the article here: http://bit.ly/3ukvjP

The FAA has decreased training from 3 years to 1 year for air traffic controllers by dividing the job responsibility held by one person into two positions. They are looking for people 31 and under.

To learn more about these jobs, click here: http://bit.ly/UekdK

To learn how to become an “air traffic control specialist,” find out what you need to do: http://bit.ly/d4bcU

There are different paths if you are a U.S. citizen with prior experience, no experience, or enrolled in an Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) Program.

Not Enough Qualified Lab Folk

In my research of the coming workforce shortage, I discovered that there weren’t enough people in the “clinical laboratory workforce.” According to the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that by 2012, 138,000 lab professionals will be needed, but fewer than 50,000 will be trained.”

Salaries range from $27,000 for phlebotomists to $70,000 for medical laboratory technician managers.

Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/12AcqU

What is a phlebotomist? Don’t know. You can find out about this career and others on ASCP’s website: http://bit.ly/Ht9yd

ASCP also offers several scholarships: http://bit.ly/4gA6Hw

Where Do My Passions Lie?

Don’t just seek a career because it pays well. Remember, it’s best to marry your passions and dreams to your vocation.

Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, wrote about choosing a career and the new philosophy of job hunting in this article: http://bit.ly/2RTMj

His website has many resources, including a podcast about careers and his books about career change: http://www.48days.com/ .

A book I find very useful by Dan Miller is the 48 Days to the Work You Love Workbook. I have a copy for myself and have bought some for friends: http://bit.ly/VtiFz

Another famous book about making career choices is Richard Nelson Bolles’s What Color Is Your Parachute? You can either buy his book or check it out from the library. I would check in the index about informational interviewing, or the PIE process.

Bolles's website contains information about the job hunting process, including quizzes you can take online for free to determine interests: http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/

Also, if you are currently an employee, sometimes Human Resources may offer career assessments to determine your interests and skills and inform you about possible careers you don’t know about.

If you are a student in high school or college, some career assessment and advising may be available. Take advantage of these programs if they are offered. Career assessment can sometimes cost hundreds of dollars if done privately.

Free career advice and assessment can also be found at One Stop Career Centers, located all over the country and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. Here you can find a One Stop Career Center near you: http://www.servicelocator.org/