Future-proof jobs for americans

LittleNemoNES

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
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If I am analyzing the situation correctly, telecommunications (comcast, etc) & health care are 2 very safe fields because they are not easily exported.

Do you agree? What do you foresee to be good career paths?
 

LittleNemoNES

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
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Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Finance (managing rich people's money) would be another I guess.

Couldn't they hook up with some Chinese firm that manages money?

Software engineering IMO is a really bad choice. Indians can do this over distance.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
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Health care may be the best one. Demand should continue to go up and the hands-on stuff cannot possibly be outsourced.
 

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
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don't forget IT, will always be a need for them

I'm in telecom personally.
 

Robor

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Skoorb
Health care may be the best one. Demand should continue to go up and the hands-on stuff cannot possibly be outsourced.

I kick myself almost daily for going into the computer industry instead of medical field.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Software engineering IMO is a really bad choice. Indians can do this over distance.
Some of it they can. Software engineering is not brainless coding as some perceive it to be; it cannot be outsourced as easily as a simple call-center job.
 

SpunkyJones

Diamond Member
Apr 1, 2004
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I work in telecom, on top of this being an unstable field in general, all my work can be done remotely, like say from India. Health Care seems to be fairly future proof.
 

LittleNemoNES

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
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Originally posted by: Skoorb
Software engineering IMO is a really bad choice. Indians can do this over distance.
Some of it they can. Software engineering is not brainless coding as some perceive it to be; it cannot be outsourced as easily as a simple call-center job.

I didn't mean to say that software engineering is brainless work.
Indians can be very intelligent people. Don't let the accent when speaking english fool you into thinking they are unintelligent. In my experience when talking to gold membership support, the indians tech are badass.

I meant that they could do this job remotely.
 

Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
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Originally posted by: Skoorb
Health care may be the best one. Demand should continue to go up and the hands-on stuff cannot possibly be outsourced.

What about that remote surgery stuff they are tinkering with
 

yllus

Elite Member & Lifer
Aug 20, 2000
20,577
432
126
Originally posted by: gersson
Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Finance (managing rich people's money) would be another I guess.

Couldn't they hook up with some Chinese firm that manages money?

Software engineering IMO is a really bad choice. Indians can do this over distance.

I would think that money management would be an extremely portable job. Crunching numbers in a spreadsheet is the same whether it's done in Chicago or Beijing.

Software development - as opposed to programming - isn't something I'd consider very portable. The need for face-to-face (or at worst, oral) interactions with the client usually demands a local presence. Compared to hammering out development requirements, the programming is usually the easy part of the project...
 

fleshconsumed

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2002
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Originally posted by: gersson
Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Finance (managing rich people's money) would be another I guess.

Couldn't they hook up with some Chinese firm that manages money?

Software engineering IMO is a really bad choice. Indians can do this over distance.


I don't think many people would trust Chinese firm to manage their money, at least not in the short term.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Originally posted by: gersson
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Software engineering IMO is a really bad choice. Indians can do this over distance.
Some of it they can. Software engineering is not brainless coding as some perceive it to be; it cannot be outsourced as easily as a simple call-center job.

I didn't mean to say that software engineering is brainless work.
Indians can be very intelligent people. Don't let the accent when speaking english fool you into thinking they are unintelligent. In my experience when talking to gold membership support, the indians tech are badass.

I meant that they could do this job remotely.
I know you didn't mean that; but I mean that you cannot remotely do the work all the time. I'm in IT. My job right now literally cannot be remotely done in the same capacity it is done now.

 

Jaskalas

Lifer
Jun 23, 2004
33,378
7,443
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Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Finance (managing rich people's money) would be another I guess.

There are not many rich people to manage in failed socialist regimes, unless you're talking about party members.
 

GoPackGo

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2003
6,414
468
126
Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Originally posted by: gersson
Originally posted by: fleshconsumed
Finance (managing rich people's money) would be another I guess.

Couldn't they hook up with some Chinese firm that manages money?

Software engineering IMO is a really bad choice. Indians can do this over distance.


I don't think many people would trust Chinese firm to manage their money, at least not in the short term.

Just think if the government decided to seize the assets. Communism FTL
 

Jmman

Diamond Member
Dec 17, 1999
5,302
0
76
Is there such a thing as a future proof job? I am sure those guys who worked with horses couldn't imagine any other mode of transportation. I think the key is being flexible and willing to learn new skills, not trying to find some job that is somehow future proof.....
 

nageov3t

Lifer
Feb 18, 2004
42,816
83
91
data centers have always seemed semi-future proof... people will always need web servers and for the purposes of lag and maintenance, seem inclined to want them to be at least relatively local (as opposed to on the other side of the planet)
 

Wheezer

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,731
1
81
health care is probably one of the top five.

Unfortunately I have seen many of the people going into the field...tech schools are really pushing nursing programs....as such many are going in just for the money and don't give two shits about doing the job effectively.

The people I have seen going into these programs is enough to scare you into doing everything you can to maintain your health so you don't have to be in a hospital at all.
 

Excelsior

Lifer
May 30, 2002
19,048
18
81
Originally posted by: Robor
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Health care may be the best one. Demand should continue to go up and the hands-on stuff cannot possibly be outsourced.

I kick myself almost daily for going into the computer industry instead of medical field.

People always asked me why I wasn't going into computers. Health Care is why....
 

Excelsior

Lifer
May 30, 2002
19,048
18
81
Originally posted by: Wheezer
health care is probably one of the top five.

Unfortunately I have seen many of the people going into the field...tech schools are really pushing nursing programs....as such many are going in just for the money and don't give two shits about doing the job effectively.

The people I have seen going into these programs is enough to scare you into doing everything you can to maintain your health so you don't have to be in a hospital at all.

Its not even the recent graduates. Sometimes its the 5-10 or older workers in other areas as well. As with any field, there are good and bad folks, and some OK ones.
 

Special K

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2000
7,098
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If you work in a technology field and are scared of outsourcing, try getting a job with the government or a defense contractor. Hell will probably freeze over before the US outsources those jobs.
 

Legend

Platinum Member
Apr 21, 2005
2,254
1
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Originally posted by: gersson
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Software engineering IMO is a really bad choice. Indians can do this over distance.
Some of it they can. Software engineering is not brainless coding as some perceive it to be; it cannot be outsourced as easily as a simple call-center job.

I didn't mean to say that software engineering is brainless work.
Indians can be very intelligent people. Don't let the accent when speaking english fool you into thinking they are unintelligent. In my experience when talking to gold membership support, the indians tech are badass.

I meant that they could do this job remotely.

Being able to work remotely isn't what's important with software design and engineering. Relevant experience in the field and with the existing code database for the project is what's important. The ability for a company to retain the engineer for more than a decade is desirable. India has so many jobs that people change all the time. Thus most engineering jobs are never considered being shipped to India, because it's not profitable.
 

shira

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2005
9,567
6
81
Writing best-selling novels is future proof, ignoring the issue of piracy.