This year’s job market has been bleak, to say the least. Layoffs hit the highest level in 14 years; job openings are barely budging; and quits figures are plummeting. It’s no wonder people feel stuck and discouraged—especially as many candidates have been on the job hunt for a year.
But some mid-career professionals are working with the cards they’ve been dealt by going back to school. Many are turning to data analytics, cybersecurity, AI-focused courses, health care, MBA programs, or trade certifications for an “immediate impact on their careers,” Metaintro CEO Lacey Kaelani told Fortune.
But while grad school can certainly offer the opportunity to level-up your career once you’ve completed a program, it comes with financial and personal sacrifices, like time. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, one year of grad school, on average, costs about $43,000 in tuition. That’s nearly 70% of the average salary in the U.S.
There are huge shortages in skilled experienced trades. I’ve seen it all over the US in steel mills. Operators, electricians, welders, etc.
Emphasis on experienced. There’s a fuckton of green apprentices who recently switched careers.
Been doin this work for like 10 years as an electrician so I literally applied to 12 jobs when I finally quit my job of 7 years, got 3 interviews, 2 offers.
Still love my job but I see the labor shortages that can’t be replaced by AI and even automated robotics for production lines
Just look at the multiple fires at the Oswego plant in upstate New York for why the mills are still the wild west sometimes.