Final Blog: Chapter 17

        I enjoyed Dr. Hill's presentation on Breaking News in Brain Science.  I thought the discussion at the end about traumatic brain injuries and concussions was especially useful.  I did not know that old leather football helmets are good against concussions but bad for skull fractures.  I also did not know that the modern hard football helmet is good against skull fractures but bad against concussions.  What a dilemma this presents.  In another class, a student gave a presentation on using the imPACT test in order to see how much damage a concussion has had on a person.  The imPACT test is given before any injuries and then after an injury or concussion.  The imPACT test needs to be incorporated into professional sports requirements.

        I enjoyed the middle school career workshop presentation.  I thought they did an excellent job of emphasizing the connection of careers and education that they found in the research.  I think middle school students would enjoy practicing writing a resume and trying to build a structure to protect an egg from breaking when it is thrown from a significant height.

        In chapter 17, Brown (2012) discusses trends in the labor market and the factors that shape them.  The labor market will continue to change and career counselors need to help their clients monitor their jobs and anticipate the changes (Brown, 2012, p. 362).  I also think that career counselors need to help their clients focus on doing their jobs to the best of their ability and not worrying about all of the future changes.  People need to be ready for changes but not focus solely on waiting for the changes to occur.  This can create anxiety, which can result in decreased work productivity.  This could then result in unemployment.  Therefore, career counselors need to help their clients know about the present and future trends of the world of work with the focus being on doing a good job in the present.

        One cause of long-term trends in the labor market is technology (Brown, 2012, p. 364).  The table 17.1 chart shows occupations with the projected greatest decline in 2008-2018 (Brown, 2012, p. 364).  I understand that many of these occupations will decrease because of technology being able to have a quicker way of getting the job done.  However, computer operators is listed as declining 18.6 percent (Brown, 2012, p. 364).  I am confused by this.  I thought that with technology use increasing then more computers will be used and, therefore; more computer operators would be needed.  The more technology we use then the more likely there will be problems with the technology.  We need computer operators and other information technology workers to help solve any technology problems.

        It is surprising to see that table 17.2 shows that the job with the largest number of openings from 2008-2018 is a cashier (Brown, 2012, p. 370).  This job only requires brief on the job training.  This is good that many people who are unemployed will be able to find a job as a cashier in the near future where they do not need a college degree.  However, the more education a person has then the more money they will most likely make (Brown, 2012, p. 369).

Reference

Brown, D.  (2012).  Career information, career counseling, and career development (10th ed.).  New York: Pearson Education, Inc.