White collar is a term used to describe a particular kind of job. Basically any work that’s not manual labor (i.e. work that’s harder on the brain than on the body) can be described as a “white collar” occupation.
Think research analysts, administrative assistants, and nurses, versus the local plumber or a high school janitor. (Those would be considered blue or pink collar occupations.)
Freaked out about your career? Amanda Pouchot and Kathryn Minshew from prettyyoungprofessional.com have been there, and they have some sage words of advice for you:
Check out Amanda and Kathryn’s other TILE appearances here.
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What do you do when your fancy degree gets you a job answering the phone and filing papers for someone else?
Amanda Pouchot and Kathryn Minshew from prettyyoungprofessional.com have some helpful advice.
“WASHINGTON — U.S. factories are closing. American manufacturing jobs are reappearing overseas. China’s industrial might is growing each year.
Yet America remains by far the No. 1 manufacturing country. It out-produces No. 2 China by more than 40 percent. U.S. manufacturers cranked out nearly $1.7 trillion in goods in 2009, according to the United Nations.
The story of American factories essentially boils down to this: They’ve managed to make more goods with fewer workers.”
What if higher production adds up to fewer jobs? Is efficiency always a good thing?
How often do you see “Made in U.S.A.” on the products you buy? How about “China?”
What?? But yes, it’s true…
“The service area has been growing, historically, pretty fast, much more so than manufacturing.” – Lester M. Salamon, Director of the Center for Civil Society Studies
As jobless claims rise, Americans are becoming even more concerned about the economic recovery.
“The bottom line is that any recovery in employment is going to be very slow. It’s likely that we’re still 9.5 percent unemployment or awfully close to it by the end of the year.” -Scott Wren, Senior Equity Strategist, Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis
Workers who screen websites for explicit content are increasingly in demand, but many companies are failing to provide these employees with adequate psychiatric care.
“You have 20-year-old kids who get hired to do content review, and who get excited because they think they are going to see adult porn. They have no idea that some of the despicable and illegal images they will see can haunt them for the rest of their lives.” – Hemanshu Nigam, Former chief security officer at MySpace
Concerns about the stalled U.S. economic recovery continue to grow.
“It’s looking more and more like the job market is treading water. Layoffs are down from 2009, but hiring hasn’t really picked up and this is disappointing. There is a lot of uncertainty on the hiring side that’s causing things to remain sluggish. In order for the recovery to give people confidence it needs to cut across different sectors of the economy.” – Stephen Bronars, Senior Economist at Welch Consulting
In terms of job creation for the mid-level managing types, yes, they too are hurting.
“The reality is that you get used to a certain level of compensation that is hard to match elsewhere.” – Matt Prendergast, Former Managing Director at Bear Stearns
For now it seems as though the eye of the storm has passed, but we’re not out of the woods yet, especially those of us looking for jobs…
“There’s a certain Darwinian angle to recession. Firms that survive are stronger for having the experience. They tighten down and look for ways to cut waste.” -–Sean Snaith, Economist at the University of Central Florida.