OP-
In July of 2013 you were a rising senior
and today you are a parent referring to your kid
Gee you move quickly.
Lots depend on locality. Some states just killed the jobs by their own hands, others picked up those who got laid off somewhere else. Much depend who you voted into the office. Also, what I see in my hometown, many older employees (including myself) are sticking around at their jobs. We are scared by the notion of retirement, job is providing a lot, financial stability, real health benefits, not imaginary ones (like medicare), real entertainment…Even high scoolers are pushed out of low paying “dirty” jobs by retirees who realized that they made a mistake by retiring and went back to work.
I shared my “turbulent” work history with my D. way back in middle school. I cannot tell yet how secure her job will be. However, I have not met an unemployed MD (which may happen due to our wonderful new law), but anyway, since she was interested in a field, she eventually decided on medical career. She is starting residency in July, but so far all thru her rotations at Med. School, she felt that she belongs there.
Yes, some MD positions are actually went oversees and also being performed by non-MDs. D. mentioned radiology as one, some x-rays are being send “read” abroad. She happened to choose the “hands on” specialty though.
There are unemployed doctors and many who have gone broke. There are no guarantees. http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/08/smallbusiness/doctors-bankruptcy/ For better or for worse, the way healthcare is going, most drs. coming out of med school these days will be employees of a bigger organization. The solo practitioner is becoming a thing of the past.
My H just went to a very interesting event at the premiere med center in our state at which they were talking about how robotic surgery techniques now allow doctors based in the US to operate on wounded soldiers on another continent.
I’m not going to worry about it. The comp sci guy could never imagine doing anything else. My older brothers have managed to stay afloat despite the disappearance of DEC. Older brother’s company wasn’t able to survive his partner’s retirement, but he’s gone on to a new job. The commute is awful, but he seems to be enjoying the work. Younger brother’s company has been bought and sold a few times, but it’s still around. DH has tenure, but last year the administration tried to drastically change the tenure policy and the future is even more up in the air now. I’ve never made a lot of money, but people seem to want architects who are willing to do small projects pretty consistently. Younger son has the hardest row to hoe I think as an IR major. Less than a year out. Is doing a second - low paid internship after a job search with lots of interviews, but no firm offers.
I’m with mathmom. My daughter has a master’s in a science field from a top 10 university and is working for a prestigious company. Yet she and her fellow researchers make grim jokes about being unemployed in a year. Fact is, they’re working for a profit-based outfit. If their research yields no potentially lucrative results, their project will be shut down & they will be laid off.
Layoffs are a reality for engineers, IT employees – just about everyone save supreme court judges. There are no guarantees and as such parental worries are pretty worthless.
I would caution about engineering jobs. My husband is an engineer. According to him, engineering is a very specialized field. Optical engineer can’t work as a civil engineer and other way round. Thus, it is not easy to find work for an engineer. Work market is very narrow and specialized.
<@katliamom not to mention those 3 letters that are decimating IT careers now: H1-B >
I truly believe that H1-B keeps IT alive in USA. If not for the plentiful supply of H1-B holders, IT could be relocated into India altogether.
I think the winners are going to be the ones smart enough to start saving 10% for retirement as soon as they get their first job.
Health care careers were the way to go in the '70’s. The way to always get a job. I loved my HS bio and chem classes, got the degree in bio, did the internship, passed my boards and found out that jobs were not that easy to find. In addition, I disliked my career. I became a winner when I went back to school and found a career I liked.
My kid with a poli sci major/history minor got accepted into a Fortune 200 company’s exec management training program. He will not have to be subsidized by us so, I am the winner. 
Emily- remind him to start funding his IRA immediately. If his company matches contributions to the 401K, that’s free money. You will both be winners before you know it!!!
Most new grads ignore the benefits book and focus on how many days of vacation they get. If your son works his way through it and figures out how to max out the free money (paid tuition benefit, pre-tax contributions to cover his HSA, retirement) he will be ahead of the game! My company offers free retirement planning advice which virtually nobody under the age of 30 bothers with- but capital accumulation in your early work life really pays off!!!
Similarly, when I got my MS in chemistry, everyone was saying the Big Pharma was the place to be if you were an organic/synthetic chemist - and for a long time it was: interesting and important research, great benefits and pay, and rock-solid job stability. Then all the mergers and acquisitions started, and the off-shoring of chemical research jobs began, and finally came the downsizing, consolidation, and massive lay-offs/site closures. I’d say that about 20% of my old friends who once worked in chemistry for my old employer are still doing pharmaceutical medicinal chemistry; many are out of chemistry altogether - due to a lack of good jobs, probably some ageism, and a whole lot of disillusionment.
Just saying - today’s “job stability/opportunity” in “the coming new world order” is tomorrow’s case study on “how it used to be.” Nothing is certain. No one knows the answer…
“Emily- remind him to start funding his IRA immediately. If his company matches contributions to the 401K, that’s free money. You will both be winners before you know it!!!”
He is going to take the money he would have paid for health insurance (we are keeping him on our plan for now) to start funding his 401K and they do match. He might be able to put in more - he just has to see what his expenses are the first few months to get a handle on how things shake out.
We also want him to start an emergency fund.
His company’s benefits are top notch, plus there are a lot of additional perks like fitness centers, basketball courts - even an indoor golf range on the company’s campus so he won’t have to join a gym. Things like mortgage assistance and even discounted pet insurance are offered, too.
My H has some advice that I think will benefit some - don’t look for a job, create your own job.
I am still waiting for a robot to do my HOUSEWORK!!! I would take a computer to do it as well. Also the cooking… I never liked it. What will I do - go to the gym, get my nails done…things I never have time for.
You are only a “loser” if you think you are…everything is state of mind.
Post 35:
Yes. Winners are those who create their own jobs. Winners are also those who make it their business to foresee what jobs will be needed in the future, and to become one of those needed/desired… as opposed to becoming maniacal about today’s needs only. 
I will just add that in order to be a “winner” (economically), you have to at least not despise what you are doing. Human beings are not (yet) robots themselves. Studies have shown that when people are miserable in their occupations, sooner or later they quit. Raw “love of opportunity” cannot sustain the human spirit all by itself. Either you “animate” your occupation, or you will end up being a loser, not a winner.
Lists of blogs and forecasts are useless for the person not so inclined to join the latest employment mania.
Perhaps not yet stated is that personal spending habits matter. A frugal spender will find a much larger range of jobs and pay levels that s/he can “win” with. On the other hand, someone who can just barely make ends meet on $200,000 per year will find it much more difficult to stay in the “winner” category.
Mine is a winner, she hired 2 people this year.
The governments would most likely restrict robots before this would ever happen, or they are going to have to find a way to “get rid” of 3 billion poor,angry,hungry, and rioting people.
What is OP doing? I don’t appreciate them flooding the thread with sensationalist and repetitive links.
By the way, I’m glad that so many people here have been winners