Have brains, will travel

The new American job

Read the article and answer the comprehension questions.

Pre-reading questions

UNIT 3. CAREER

Ex.3.1. Complete the questions with do or make and answer them

1) What would you like to _________ for a living?

2) Is _________ a lot of money important to you?

3) What would you wear to __________ a good impression at a job interview?

4) Would you accept a well-paid job if it _________ harm to your health?

5) Does it _________ a difference to you if your boss is a man or a woman?

6) Would you _________ a job which involved responsibility for people’s lives?

Reading 1

What do people consider an excellent job?

What jobs do you think will be very well-paid in the future?

The American worker has seen hard times these past three years. Almost 3m private-sector jobs have disappeared since President George Bush took office. When the great American job-creating machine at last starts to crank up again, what types of jobs will it be churning out?

The big winners in 2004 are likely to be the cutting-edge, creative types. According to Richard Florida, Heinz professor at Carnegie Mellon University and author of “The Rise of the Creative Class”, creative-class people account for more than half of the total payroll in the United States, whether they are bohemian entertainers, “super-creators” in bio-technology, electronics and software, or knowledge-based professionals.

The shift towards a more flexible, knowledge-based workforce will accelerate in 2004 as American companies adjust further to the demands of a global marketplace. Inevitably, competitive pressures will mean more outsourcing of jobs that can be done more cheaply outside the United States – and louder complaints about software engineering being outsourced to India and the competitive threat from China. The relentless search among American corporations for more efficiency and cost-savings is bad news for those workers caught in the middle. These are the people who are either unskilled or who have the wrong skills, and those who find it hard to shift career.

Think of the Willy Lomans, the door-to-door salesmen who were on their way out even before the arrival of eBay and internet auctions. But also think of the Organisation Man, the middle-ranking white-collar executive who took orders from above and executed those commands without questions. He wore the right suits, had the right house, had the family. He fitted in. Douglas Breeden, dean of the Fuqua Business School at Duke University in North Carolina, says these qualities no longer meet the needs of a knowledge-based society or a modern corporation. The accent is on web-friendly workers who can think flexibly, work in teams and who are comfortable thinking across disciplines. Organisation Man will be more dispensable as ever.

What about jobs lower down the ladder? There is some room for optimism in the retail industry as consumers feel better about eating out in restaurants and stepping back into the clothing stores. Hotels also expect some boost in demand as people start to rediscover their desire for travel. But a more promising source of jobs is likely to be the health-care sector, thanks in part to Congress’s big boost to Medicare. Demand for nurses and orderlies should rise, too, as Americans grow older and need more care, either in their own homes or in retirement communities.

This may increase the opportunities for part-time work rather than full-time jobs which require full pension rights and expensive health-care cover. Disputes between companies and unions over pensions and health-care entitlements have become the new battle-ground in wage negotiations, as corporations encourage workers to be more self-reliant and more comfortable about investing their savings in retirement plans. Older workers will also choose to stay in the labour market.

The creative class will be comfortable in the new competitve environment. They will seek out the best places to work, not just by industry but also by geography. More than 40 years ago, the introduction of air-conditioning fundamentally changed the demographics of the United States. Suddenly it became tolerable to work in offices in the south and south-west. Cities such as Albuquerque, Atlanta and Phoenix exploded in growth and population. In 2004 the same lure of a better quality of life will encourage high-value workers to move to mountain states such as Colorado, Idaho and Utah. They will also seek desert locations in Arizona and Nevada, where the price of property and state taxes are lower than in overcrowded California. On a smaller scale, a similar phenomenon is unfolding on the east coast: senior professionals are choosing to commute rather than live in high-priced New York.

These trends in the American job market put a premium on brains and location. In 2004 the overall growth in employment may still be frustratingly slow. But the American worker who is both creative and flexible will do just fine.

Ex.3.2. Give Russian equivalents for the following phrases:

1) private-sector jobs 2) relentless search 3) door-to-door salesmen 4) to be out on one’s way 5) meet the needs of 6) jobs lower down the ladder 7) the health-care sector 8) 9) part-time work 10) full-time jobs 11) full pension rights 12) health-care cover 13) to stay in the labour market 14) the introduction of air-conditioning 15) exploded in growth and population 16) high-value workers 17) overcrowded California 18) senior professionals are choosing to commute rather than live in high-priced New York.

Ex.3.3. Find in the article all the words and word combinations describing traits of character necessary to get well-paid jobs, e.g. cutting-edge, creative, flexible, knowledge-based. Make sure you know their Russian equivalents.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-24