| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| ECONOMICS
Help Wanted: Mobileworker.com Workers in the New Economy are clearly outstripping their Old Economy counterparts in wages and salaries. Yet as in past eras of rapid technological change, the forces driving this widening disparity are also creating new opportunities for mobility. The growth of the New Economy sector is giving millions of smart and motivated U.S. workers--from new college grads to network technicians to top managers and professionals--a chance to join the leading sector of the economy. The result: an upward movement of incomes. Indeed, in many ways mobility is an inevitable consequence of the rapid job growth of the New Economy sector. Today, New Economy industries are accounting for some 30% of all new private-sector jobs being created. For managerial and professional jobs, the percentage is much higher. The demand from the New Economy is simply sucking in workers from the existing industries and from outside the labor force. GRADS WELCOME. Best placed to take advantage of the new opportunities are recently minted college grads. Having grown up with computers and without any investment in existing careers, they are flocking to the growing parts of the economy. About half the job offers to new college graduates are coming from New Economy industries, according to the latest data from the National Association of Colleges & Employers. The top four--consulting, accounting, software, and finance--account for 30% by themselves. At the same time, people in existing jobs are retooling. Enrollments at vocational schools are rising, as blue-collar workers seek networking and computer repair skills. The mobility extends even into mid-career managers and professionals, who are already heavily committed to existing jobs. To be sure, there are enormous obstacles to moving from an old-line company to a New Economy job, especially for an experienced worker. Sales reps who have spent their whole careers selling paper goods would have a hard time selling e-commerce services. ''You don't know the products, the lingo, the application,'' says Sandy A. Miller, a consultant at Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm based outside Chicago. The new jobs also carry a degree of risk and instability that makes them less desirable to established workers. Moreover, because a greater share of compensation is tied to stock options, the base salary may be less. Senior executives may take a cash compensation haircut of up to two-thirds of their former salary, but they are handsomely paid with an equity stake. Nevertheless, the recent success of many who have job-jumped, plus the long-running bull market, have given people both the psychological strength and financial flexibility to take the risk. It's now not only acceptable for senior execs to make the move, it's almost expected. ''People wonder why you aren't making the change into the fast-growing companies,'' says David B. Kixmiller, head of the international technology practice at Heidrick & Struggles International, an executive recruiting firm. ''It's not a stigma or failure if your first job [in an Internet startup] doesn't work out,'' he adds. Some people will find it easier than others to make the switch. Seasoned marketing executives, for example, are in high demand in many New Economy companies. Indeed, ''there is a tremendous need for branding on the Internet to set your product and message apart and above everyone else's,'' says Peter V. Polachi, a partner with Heidrick & Struggles. Similarly, with the explosive growth of e-tailing (Web retailers), there is a ''crying demand for logistical skills in merchandising and replenishing products for commerce,'' says Robert D. Kenzer, a search consultant at Kenzer Corp. Of course, these sorts of job switches need not narrow the income gap between New and Old Economy industries. Indeed, if the best people are flocking to the fastest-growing sectors, the gap may actually widen. Yet, for both the economy and for Americans, such mobility can only be a good thing. By Michael J. Mandel and Toddi Gutner in New York _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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