Let us look at the current economic situation in New Hampshire from the perspective of Gen Y or Millennials. The cohort was born roughly between 1980 and the beginning of the current decade. 

It is easy to think sympathetically about their plight. They are just entering the workforce at a time when economic stability is being challenged, prices for goods and services are dropping, and unemployment is rising. Sounds like a whole lot of bad luck for them!  

But wait a minute… aren’t we plucky, tenacious Americans supposed to be able to make lemonade out of lemons? Don’t we pride ourselves on being able to detect opportunities out of even the bleakest of pictures? There is another way to view Gen Yer’s situation that gives them hope and some encouragement they can use to optimize their careers and standards of living in the years to come. 

Tammy Erickson of the Harvard Business Review’s blog, “Across the Ages”, has given this some thought, and she points out some interesting facts. Compared to Generation X and the Baby Boomers, Millennials had little to lose. They were not heavily invested in overpriced stocks and expensive homes. For the most part, many have not been supporting families or expensive habits. This gives them a greater degree of financial flexibility others do not have. They can afford to more easily accept jobs in which the pay may not be that great, but they can use the time to gain experiences that can build the foundation of career directions yet to come. 

Serving community is coming back into vogue, which provides venues for idealistic energetic young adults to learn organizational and interpersonal skills, while they practice low pay, but spirit lifting and creative work. Maybe now is the time to travel and learn about the world beyond our shores while the job market is down. I hear people abroad are starting to like us again. 

Another opportunity is that Gen Yers, who want to start building long term wealth (and who doesn’t?) can buy into the stock market at a time when prices are low. If historical patterns hold, the market will rebound at some point. Now can be seen as the time to buy low, so that selling high down the road has a chance. 

Also, housing prices are dropping and will continue to for the foreseeable future. For a generation that had been completely shut out of the real estate market there is now a chance for them to get into it while being bolstered by a more competent, cautious real estate and lending industry. 

Of course, there is some mindfulness that needs to occur. Many Millennials have a lot of school debt they cannot ignore. Figuring out how to meet that obligation while volunteering at a soup kitchen can be daunting. But in general, this generation needs to keep a few things in mind. Build cash more than credit. Money can be liberating or imprisoning depending on decisions you make early on. 

Also, look around you. Are you building networks with people who share your interest in solving the problems confronting all of us? Keep stimulated. Stay innovative. Monetary value is shifting, but not evaporating. There is money to be made out there for goods and services that address the pressing issues of people’s lives. Gen Y has a chance to be contenders. In many ways, they have the best chance of all. 

So, who are the biggest employers in New Hampshire? With unemployment rising and the economic future looking uncertain it makes one wonder where the upcoming jobs are going to be. What if you get laid off? Shouldn’t you be thinking of a Plan B? Now there is some risk in looking at the current big time employers and speculating that they will be the future big time employers, but it’s not unreasonable to think that if they’re demonstrating viability now while things are a mess, that they very well could be around down the road.

One place to look is the NH state profile largest employers list on America’s Career InfoNet. What jumped out at me is the following… of the twenty-five largest NH employers thirteen of them are hospitals and medical centers! Well, I guess it’s safe to say that medical care and related jobs is an industry to pay attention to if you want to know where a lot of jobs are.

And if you’re a Plan B type of person, then you’ll want to know that. And think about it, although we’re a relatively healthy state we’re also an aging state. Aging means more healthcare. It’s unlikely that we’re going to see a significant decline in the medical and healthcare field anytime soon. In fact, according to the U.S. Labor Department Health Care is a high growth industry.

To be sure, the medical field hires more than doctors, nurses, and other health care personnel delivering direct service. There are administrators, maintenance, information systems, food service, and a whole lot of support staff needed to run these facilities. But for now, let’s focus on those providing medical and health services. Might you be good at this type of work? Looked at from a skills perspective we can examine four positions in the field, Physician Assistant, Medical Assistant, Physical Therapist, and Nurses Aide. Here are some of the skills needed to do all of these jobs:

Be an active intentional listener

Speak and convey information clearly

Read well

Detect how others are feeling and understand why

Think critically by knowing the strengths and weaknesses of various solutions

Solve complex problems

Coordinate oneself in relation to the actions of others

Are you seeing yourself here? Visualization is the first step. Maybe you’ll want to consider exploring this area further. It can help knowing that we will all want and need qualified and competent medical and health care professional for years to come.

It’s not looking good for jobs in finance in New Hampshire. The biggest story of late is the November announcement of more layoffs at Fidelity Investments in Merrimack, one of the state’s largest employers. We’re talking about 1,700 jobs to be eliminated. This follows a Fidelity announcement in June of 5,700 workers. Looked at nationally, it’s becoming clear that we have been, well, over invested in the financial industry. The size of the industry has grown dramatically to the point where 30% of the S&P 500’s profits in 2007 were earned by financials. This at a time when our math brains could be finding energy and biotech solutions they have instead been devising complex financial products designed mostly to hide debt, so that the American consumer animal can keep being fed. A contraction in the financial industry seems apparent.

If you’ve got a head for numbers and like money of course work in financials has looked attractive. A lot of people have gotten rich this way. Many who were good math students in school have looked around over the past three decades and have said to themselves that they can analyze financials and get rich too. And many have. But, let’s face it, since mid-September the financial smarty pants don’t look so smart right now. In fact, they look anywhere from careless to dumb. If you make your living by investing and managing other people’s money you are currently facing an image problem.

So, what’s a well intentioned number cruncher to do? Don’t despair too much yet. It depends on what you want from a career in finance. Which is more important, providing service or getting rich? For the near future you may have to prioritize. Projections by the U.S. Labor Department and the NH Labor and Economic Bureau are still good for jobs in financial analyses, insurance, and to some extent for financial managers. How these projections play out with the current employment downturn in financials is difficult to predict right now. But looked at from the viewpoint of public need, especially those planning for retirement, is that smart, ethical, and competent financial analysts and managers are more necessary now than ever. People need help figuring out how to best protect and grow their money during these uncertain times. And the public wants straight talk. Now, you may not make the big bucks of the past, but if a financial or insurance expert can market themselves as providing prudent sound money management service for riding out the storm and beyond, then you just might survive in this industry here in New Hampshire. There is opportunity amongst the carnage. See where it is for you.

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Given the amount of time and effort spent on the job it makes sense  that we seek purpose and fulfillment from our work. In turn, we have greater satisfaction in our lives.