Business and financial careers have recently been exhibiting more uncertainty than seen for several decades
. There will always be employment fluctuations due to economic and political events, but what we have seen in career development during the past five years seems to surpass normal cyclical change. As one result of this volatility, individuals might need to revise their approach to career planning.
For those who might be unconvinced that something serious could be transpiring with financial and business career choices, there are at least three industries that seem to suggest otherwise: real estate, banking and automobile manufacturing. Careers involving any of those three business sectors have involved significant change in recent years. Because these particular industry groups have such a widespread impact on the entire economy, many other career alternatives have also been impacted.
Some of the traditional means of preparing for various career paths have proven unreliable in helping individuals to secure meaningful employment. Recent college graduates have one of the highest unemployment and underemployment rates of any career-oriented group, so a university education is proving to be underwhelming as a career boost. For those who are challenged by new problems and situations, it is an opportune time to roll up your sleeves and contemplate one or more prudent solutions for a declining employment market in many traditional career fields.
Career-related questions should be asked and answered. What career paths are of most interest? Are there currently feasible strategies for proceeding? Is there a practical method to obtain sufficient career training help for pursuing one or more career interests on a short-term basis? What are the costs and risks for both a short term and longer term?
Using career training programs as an illustration, there are likely to be multiple options which need to be thoroughly evaluated before proceeding. For example, career training is frequently offered on a group basis which theoretically reduces the cost but can also reduce learning effectiveness as well. Even the cost savings of a group teaching environment can be widely debated when the expanding cost of a college education is used as a prime example of group training that is not so cheap after all. Individualized career training is likely to offer the most flexibility along with what should be a more conducive learning environment. Performing at least a cursory cost-effectiveness review of one-to-one training is a prudent strategy for facilitating a crucial personal career decision.