Smart Money Picks 10 Rising Careers

jonathanjo writes "Smart Money announces the ten hot jobs they see rising in the next decade. Among them, many familiar to slashdotters (wireless engineer) and several of those are of dubious ethical value (data miner, IP lawyer). "Forensic Accountant" even made accounting sound cool! But why oh why did I give up on being an Adventure Travel Guide to be a web designer? D'ohh!"

Comments

Don't Pick a Career Because It's "Hot"

[pnatural]

If you're going to work for the Man for 30+ years, you'd be better off finding out what you really love to do, and work towards being the best that you can be at that. Anything else says you're just in it for the money. That's certainly not a crime, but it will probably show in your work when compared to someone who really does love what they do.

Just my US $0.02.

Re:Don't Pick a Career Because It's "Hot"

[datastew]

My sentiments exactly. To succeed in a competitive job market, you need the extra edge that comes from having true passion for what you do.

Back when I was in high school, the "hot jobs" of the next ten years always included "systems analyst." Being the contrarian that I am, I predicted a glut of "systems analysts" and tried my hand at Mechanical Engineering. Only after "surviving" as a Mechanical Engineer for four years in college and three years working did I finally admit that I was hard-wired to be a systems analyst.

The moral: find what you love to do and ignore the Hot Careers lists.

Cab Rank Rule

[JWhitlock]

According to this website (about midway down),

There is also a professional rule among barristers, known as the 'cab-rank rule', which is intended to prevent them taking on only those cases which they think they will win. The rule says, in effect, that provided a barrister has sufficient time and the necessary expertise, he or she will take on any case which is offered; like a taxi-cab at a rank.

From this site:

Chief Justice Phillips: The Cab Rank Rule shortly stated, is that it's the advocate's duty to act for and to do the very best for a client regardless of any personal feelings, and it really has its origins in the conduct and writings of a very famous 18th Century advocate in England, Thomas Erskine. Erskine was briefed to defend the famous pamphleteer Thomas Paine who was charged with sedition because he'd written some very rude things about the King.

Erskine thoroughly disapproved of Paine and his writings but he was determined to represent him because he thought it was his duty to do so. In fact the King put a lot of pressure on Erskine to return the brief, and he refused, and the King punished him because he removed from him a very valuable office that he held of Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales.

And I think, although other people had been acting in a similar way up to that time, it was Erskine's eminence - he was the most brilliant English advocate of the 18th Century - which brought about the universal acceptance of this ethical duty.

It wasn't easy to find this info - most web sites that use the term are for lawyers, and assume that they learned the term at some point in law school. At this point, I will resist the temptation to say that any lawyer would define the term for you, for a small hourly fee.

Re:"Dubious Ethical Value"

[the eric conspiracy]

Lawyers that represent clients in the wrong, are in the wrong themselves. No excuses.

There is an unfortunate level of ignorance present on slashdot regarding the role of a lawyer in society. The fact of the matter is that it is the job of a lawyer to be an advocate, that is to put forward the interests of his client. His opponent likewise has the same job. It is up to the judiciary and legal system to establish the guidelines for deciding the right and wrong in a case, NOT the lawyer. It is by this system that an individual gets his voice heard.

Perhaps many lawyers defend causes that you don't like, however the fact of the matter is that without this tension in the advesarial process we have for our legal system both sides of the case would not get fairly heard.

Meaningless Titles

[nathanh]

I really hate the over-inflated titles that computer mechanics keep giving themselves. I'm sick of seeing business cards for Software Engineers and Network Architects.

So what's next? Computer Surgeon? Information Astronaut? Why not go the whole nine yards and call yourself a Software Deity or Network Visionary?

I want to see some realism in titles. The person paid to maintain legacy COBOL should be called a Code Janitor. The person who designs networks should be called a Network Foreman. And anybody who writes code should be called a Software Author.

But please, enough with the self-aggrandizing titles.