According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consulting will be the industry with the largest number of new jobs over the next decade. “Three of the 10 detailed industries projected to have the most employment growth are in professional and business services: management, scientific, and technical consulting; computer systems design; and employment services. Altogether, these 3 industries are expected to add 2.1 million jobs.” Find more details on these employment projections at the BLS website.
I am always telling my two young children not to say ‘stupid’ which is hard for me because sometimes that word is very appropriate. The most recent case in point is from an article from the Silicon Alley Insider about all those stupid (yes I said it) applications that live on Facebook. What I love about this article is that it contains a series of 41 screen shots of how to play a game like Fishville. I was always curious about the look, purpose and appeal of these games, but I absolutely refuse to sign myself up.
But don’t be fooled by the simple graphics and smiling fish!
What is not stupid but instead kind of frightening is how much money companies like Zynga make through their games and by creating networks that other, even more unscrupulous advertisers can join. My newest, most favorite technology business blog TechCrunch has covered this phenomenon in a series of in-depth articles that are a fascinating dissection of how these companies operate.
It almost makes you nostagic for the days of the annoying pop up windows.
Contrary to a discussion I had with friends at breakfast this morning, e-books seem to be hitting their stride in the US marketplace. And though they probably won’t ever reach the fever pitch of a holiday season must-have toy, such as this year’s Zhu Zhu Hamster, more people want them.
In September the US saw e-book sales grow to $15.9 million, up 170 per cent from a year ago. Gartner, a global leader in technology insights (to which all UST students have access), wrote in its September report “A New Ecosystem Defines E-Book’s Second Chapter” that the technology is getting a “second take,” and that this one will stick. Gartner reports that the global e-book market is forecast to be as much as $2.3 billion by 2013. Mobile device compatibility, as with netbooks and smartphones, is among factors driving demand.
Or it could be that grown-ups want tiny high-def camcorders, which are selling strong. Or goats, as reported by The Times. Goats, along with toilets, are very popular gifts for the less fortunate among buyers in the UK. (The goats are then donated to recipients in less developed countries, via Oxfam, which has facilitated 200,000 such donations in the last five years.)
What are you planning to give this holiday season? What are you hoping to receive?
Get ready to switch jobs if you haven’t lately. According to the Book Of Odds website, the odds of having at least 15 jobs between the ages of 18 and 42 are a whopping 1 in 4.39. The figures change a bit depending on gender and level of education.
Graduates: be prepared to move around a bit.
Note also a recent Gallup poll that reported business owners as having the hightest well-being of any occupational group. Professionals and managers were close runners-up. Transportation and manufacturing workers have the lowest overall well-being.
Graduates: own your own business.
One path to owning a business is to get in on the ground floor of a small business, with the upcoming year being a good time to do so. Forty-four per cent of small business owners indicate that they’re looking to hire in the next year in this recent survey from Intuit.com.
Graduates: Get a job with a small business, use your entrepreneurial skills to grow and eventually buy that business, and enjoy the good life.
A selection of statistical data, charts, and graphs on various aspects of health care in the United States, from our friends at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also available as a 13 page pdf, this spotlight deals with costs, demographics, and employment data on health care, with some excellent explanatory graphics and links to the underlying data sources where researchers can go for more information.
Sample graphs:
Carter A. Daniel writes in the Chronicle that reports written 50 years ago by the Ford and Carnegie foundations had a profound and negative effect on business school education in America, leading most to over-emphasize academic theory and credentials at the expense of a thorough grounding in actual business practice.
Daniel thinks that the schools should have resisted the criticisms, and suggests that much of the research doesn’t impact business: ” The number of academic journals in business tripled over the next 25 years, and the number of business books published each year more than quadrupled. Their relevance and usefulness can’t, of course, be quantitatively proved or disproved, but it’s commonplace to hear businesspeople scoff that academic research never has any influence on what they actually do in their companies.” I’m wondering, however, how much of what one learns in any educational program is explicitly or consciously remembered and applied, versus how much just becomes ingrained in one’s intellect and skill sets and is used unconsciously.
What do you think?
If ‘plastics’ was a joke about the future of business in 1967 then what is the one word to describe one of the most profitable industries today? Hippies.
The bad news is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the jobless rate is now at over 10% which is the highest rate of unemployment since 1983. The good news is that one of the most visible companies in the world, Google, is hiring! The bad news…have you seen their interview questions? I know they are in a position of strength to pick and choose – but come on! Does that also mean they have the right to mess with our heads? If you are in the process of polishing your resume, take a quick peek at some of these questions so you can be sure you know what you are getting yourself into. Rest assured that answers are also provided.
You’re welcome!
Published by the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science, Informs PubsOnline is a database of 12 full text management journals that contains articles which focus on decision sciences, information systems, and supply chain management. It may be smaller than other business article databases, but this specialized collection of operations research journals contains articles that can complement articles found in more general management databases. Users can conduct author or keyword searches and can choose to search in multiple or single selected journals. The full text extends back to 2001 and the articles include all table and graphs and references with some links to other full text articles.
Source of much of the nation’s important economic data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is celebrating it’s 125th anniversary in 2009. Publisher of often used titles like the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Monthly Labor Review, BLS is also the home of official national data on unemployment rates, mass layoffs, workplace injuries, inflation and price levels, consumer spending habits, productivity, and time use, to name just a few. Check out their website to learn more.
Sample cool graphs:
Cell phone usage
Time Use