Five of the most unpopular jobs

[C22H19N3O4]

SOURCE


Five of the most unpopular jobs
Certain jobs face a shortage of qualified workers
By Laura Morsch
CareerBuilder.com


Wednesday, February 8, 2006; Posted: 6:13 a.m. EST (11:13 GMT)
Is there a severe labor shortage looming for the United States? It depends whom you ask.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a labor force of 162.3 million people by 2012. At the same time, the BLS predicts that the 2012 economy will require 165.3 million jobs to be filled.

For years, doomsayers have interpreted these statistics to mean the economy will experience a shortage of 3 million workers. But this simply isn't true, insisted Michael W. Horrigan in the February 2004 issue of the BLS' Monthly Labor Review.

Horrigan wrote that multiple job holding and statistical differences between the BLS and Current Employment Statistics surveys, not an impending labor shortage, account for the differences between the numbers.

Although the BLS says there will not be a generalized shortage, certain jobs will experience a shortage of qualified workers. Here are five that are expected to be hit particularly hard:

Registered nurse
The nursing shortage has been fairly well-publicized. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there was a shortage of 110,000 RNs in 2000, or about 6 percent of the national demand. The shortage is expected to grow to 29 percent by 2020.

What's causing this dramatic shortage? For one thing, the report states there will be an 18 percent increase in population by 2012. Plus, the aging of the baby boomers will result in a larger proportion of elderly people.

To make matters worse, after 2011 the number of nurses leaving the profession is expected to exceed the number entering it.

Nursing salaries are increasing to help boost interest. The starting salary for registered nurses was nearly $39,000 in an April 2005 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. According to the BLS, median annual salaries were $53,640 in November 2004.

Machinist
In Deloitte's 2005 Skills Gap Report, 90 percent of respondents indicated a moderate to severe shortage of qualified skills production employees like machinists, who use machine tools, such as lathes, machining centers and milling machines to produce precision metal parts.

Machinists are becoming ever-more productive, but job opportunities for machinists are expected to be excellent, according to the BLS. These days, many young people are choosing to attend college or are shying away from production occupations. Thus, there are not enough new machinists to fill newly created jobs or replace experienced machinists who leave the occupation or retire.

According to the Princeton Review, the average starting salary for a machinist is $22,500. The median salary for machinists is just over $34,000, according to the BLS.

Librarian
Studies have shown that librarians are expected to exit the profession en masse in coming years. The American Library Association Website quotes statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau indicating that more than one-quarter of all librarians will reach the age of 65 by 2009. A study published in the Library Journal found that 40 percent of library directors would retire by that same year.

In addition to the librarians expected to retire within the next decade, interest in the profession is waning among younger workers, according to the BLS. The situation is particularly dire for colleges and universities, which report the greatest difficulty in hiring librarians due to lower pay.

Graduates of library programs in 2004 reported an average starting salary of more than $39,000, an increase of nearly 3 percent over the previous year. The median salary for librarians is nearly $47,000, according to the BLS.

Truck driver
Getting those eBay packages delivered might take longer by 2014. A report prepared for the American Trucking Associations by Global Insight, Inc. warns there is already a shortage of about 20,000 long-haul heavy-duty truck drivers. By 2014, the deficit is expected to reach 111,000.

The report blames slipping wages for the shortage. Trucking wages fell sharply with the onset of the recession in 2000 and have yet to recover. According to the BLS, the median salary for heavy or tractor-trailer truck drivers is $33,870.

Pharmacist
What, no refills? Pharmacists should have no trouble finding a job in coming years. A recent report from the Pharmacy Manpower Project (I'll link this report in the next post) predicted there will be a shortage of 157,000 pharmacists by 2020. Already, the American Hospital Association reports a 7.4 percent vacancy rate for pharmacists.

The shortage can be partially attributed to the aging population and the fact that more drugs are being manufactured and advertised to the public. In fact, the number of prescriptions has increased from 2 billion to 3.2 billion in the last 10 years. That problem is expected to worsen with the new Medicare prescription drug program that began January 1, pharmacy officials told CNN in November.

To help cope, universities are opening new pharmacy programs and expanding existing ones. The high pay currently offered by pharmacist employers can't hurt, either.


NOTE: Did you know that Walgreens hires a Pharmacist every 19 minutes?

[C22H19N3O4]

SOURCE


Pharmacy Manpower Project Report Finds Ranks of Pharmacists Shrink as Job Demands Grow; Pharmacists Want More Time to Counsel Patients, Less Time Dispensing Drugs
3/15/2006 2:51:00 PM EST


The U.S. pharmacy profession could face a worsening shortage of pharmacists in the next decade as more men prepare to retire and more men and women opt for part-time work, according to a new study released today by the Pharmacy Manpower Project, Inc. (PMP). The National Pharmacist Workforce Study finds the potential worsening shortfall coming at a pivotal time with pharmacists wanting to spend less time dispensing drugs and more time providing patient-centered services such as immunizations and counseling seniors on proper medication usage and the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. The study was released today at the American Pharmacists Association's Annual Meeting & Exposition and will be published in the May/June 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA).

The number of practicing women pharmacists increased from 31 percent in 1990 to 46 percent in 2004. The study finds a large percentage of male pharmacists nearing retirement, with more than four in 10 (41.2 percent) age 55 and over, compared with only about 10 percent of women. Meanwhile, more men and women are working part time--27 percent of women and 15.5 percent of men in 2004 (compared to 23.4 percent and 11.6 percent, respectively, in 2000).

"The changing face of pharmacy will be increasingly evident in the next five to 10 years with more women in the workforce, the potential for more part-time work by pharmacists, and the desire of pharmacists to spend more time on counseling and other patient services," says David A. Mott, Ph.D., the study's project director and associate professor and Hammel/Sanders chair in pharmacy administration at the University of Wisconsin.

Although the trend of part-time work is increasing for both men and women pharmacists, the study finds the trend toward more part-time work is being fueled by women. For women age 31-50, more than 30 percent are working part time.

Pharmacists' roles are very diverse. In 2004 pharmacists spent 49 percent of their day dispensing drugs and 32 percent of their time on activities such as advising patients on drug therapies, evaluating the safety of drug therapy, administering vaccines, and counseling patients on services ranging from self-care to disease management. The results suggest pharmacists would like to spend only 39 percent of their day dispensing drugs and increase the time spent providing services to patients to 48 percent of their day.

"The roles of pharmacists continue to expand to meet the growing and diverse needs of patients," says Lucinda L. Maine, Ph.D., PMP President and Executive Vice President of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Maine cited the critical role that pharmacists have played this year in administering the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.

Consistent with the growing number of prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies, the workload for pharmacists has increased between 2000 and 2004. Pharmacists report the high workload can negatively affect their work, including activities such as ability to take a break (48 percent), opportunity to reduce errors (36 percent), time spent with patients (35 percent); and ability to solve drug therapy problems (33 percent).

The most stressful events for pharmacists include inadequate pharmacy technician staffing levels (38 percent), phone interruptions (37 percent), and inadequate pharmacists' staffing (34 percent). "Dealing with difficult patients" and "dealing with difficult co-workers" are cited by 33 percent of pharmacists.

Despite the high workload, the study finds a high level of job satisfaction. More than three-quarters (77 percent) of pharmacists in 2004 report a "high level" of job satisfaction compared with 66 percent in 2000.

"This study shows the need for pharmacy schools to produce the best and brightest to meet these new health care challenges and provide patients with the highest level of quality care," says Maine.

Results of the National Pharmacist Workforce Study were compiled by a questionnaire completed by 1,470 practicing pharmacists.

The study was commissioned by the PMP. The PMP is comprised of Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American College of Apothecaries, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Bureau of Health Professions, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, National Community Pharmacists Association, National Council of State Pharmacy Association Executives, National Pharmaceutical Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.

The Pharmacy Manpower Project, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation consisting of all major national, pharmaceutical professional and trade organizations. Its mission is to serve the public and the profession by developing data regarding the size and demography of the pharmacy practitioner workforce and conducting and supporting research in areas related to that workforce

[Red]

Yeah, nobody wants my job.

[Bishop]

The most stressful events for pharmacists include inadequate pharmacy technician staffing levels (38 percent), phone interruptions (37 percent), and inadequate pharmacists' staffing (34 percent). "Dealing with difficult patients" and "dealing with difficult co-workers" are cited by 33 percent of pharmacists.

LMAO i was going to reply with, "i think its the horrible customers they deal with." Thats all i hear about from my brother about his work, is a story everyday about some a-hole customer.

[{X}Echo419]

dude there's like 5k azn girls at GA State trying to be Pharmacists!
there will be plenty soon> LIRL

[C22H19N3O4]

dude there's like 5k azn girls at GA State trying to be Pharmacists!
there will be plenty soon> LIRL

Georgia State doesn't have a Pharmacy School dumbass. Put your GED to use in another thread.

[quickdodge®]

Lolol. Later, QD.

[ReCkLe5s]

damn..... lol

[tony]

Every time I pass by Eckerd or CVS and I see the nice car parked away from the building, I always know who owns it. Makes me wish I had chosen that profession, it will only get better.

[imbosile]

Georgia State doesn't have a Pharmacy School dumbass. Put your GED to use in another thread.

hahahah pwned.

[imbosile]

Every time I pass by Eckerd or CVS and I see the nice car parked away from the building, I always know who owns it. Makes me wish I had chosen that profession, it will only get better.

well you can't be doing to bad yourself, considering you had that badass G35.

[buddha02]

MY JOB IS UNDESIRABLE(INSURANCE AGENT)

[HyPer50]

I wouldn't really mind bein' a truck driver or machinist... i always thought truck drivers got paid like $50k a year average tho... guess i was way off.

[C22H19N3O4]

That amount is just an average nationwide. I think most long haul truckers get paid over 40K a year. I know that truckers that haul hazardous materials get paid more than the average. But, truckers suffer from a lot health issues b/c of the sedentary job.

[HyPer50]

That amount is just an average nationwide. I think most long haul truckers get paid over 40K a year. I know that truckers that haul hazardous materials get paid more than the average. But, truckers suffer from a lot health issues b/c of the sedentary job.

Ya, I hear lots of them get blood clots from sittin' so long.