Abstract

The exponential growth of technology-dependent careers is changing the landscape of future occupations for students today. The impact of this phenomenon has been felt in both the professions and in the trades. New technologies are changing access to information causing a shift in the configuration of the professions. Technology is also creating jobs never before imagined in human history. While the career landscape explodes with new opportunities, student career advising has remained stagnant and largely unchanged. A new, expanded framework is needed. Instead of focusing the search for the fitting job using trial and error or preference tests, students should be coached to concurrently look at their personal interests and skills, and then be referred to data on projected job demand as created by the rise in technology. Students need to be given access to information about the future demand of industries that will help them make decisions and find educational pathways that will lead to higher wage jobs. Predictions for job growth and demand for specific occupations are readily available. The guidance that follows a firm foundation driven by future employment realities will result in better career choices and avoidance of the potential pitfalls of uninformed searches, unfruitful exploration, and mismatched results.