Experiment with Science
and Tech Jobs at Career Night

Workshops Show How to Transition to Good Jobs

February 1, 2010

By Henry DeVries

Are you ready to experiment with the idea of finding a good job in high tech, biotech, healthcare tech or clean tech? You can test the options at a career development night that is part of San Diego's largest celebration of science, the San Diego Science Festival.

The second annual free career development night will be held 5 to 8 pm Tuesday, March 23 at the UC San Diego Extension Sorrento Mesa Center, 6925 Lusk Blvd., San Diego. Informative workshops on new and emerging trends in science, business, healthcare and digital arts will be offered along with job tips from industry professionals. Parking is free.

Workshops led by UC San Diego Extension faculty at the career night include:

• The Changing Landscape of Biotech in San Diego
• Mapping Your Career Advancement Path
• Healthcare IT
• Career Transitions
• Green Jobs
• Data Analytics
• Casual Gaming
• Career Options in Healthcare
• Financial Aid for Continuing Education

All workshops will be panels with representation from instructors/advisors, industry professionals, professional associations and alumni. The event is sponsored by ESET and Life Technologies.

The entire San Diego Science Festival can be an opportunity for the science career curious. The career night is just one of hundreds of free events beginning March 20, 2010, and culminating in Expo Day at PETCO Park on March 27, 2010. The festival features citywide events at venues that include public libraries, San Diego State University, private companies, UC San Diego, K-12 schools, Balboa Park, and other locations throughout the region.

The closing event, Expo Day, is an interactive exploration of science offering attendees more than 150 hands-on exhibits and experiments by science and technology firms, research labs, universities, and local schools.

As the economic recovery progresses, and the science industry stirs with life, some areas are going to be hotter than others. Many of the disciplines are young enough that experienced researchers, technicians and college graduates who’ve gained skills in other, even similar areas will be needed to learn and work on these emerging areas.

UC San Diego Extension works closely with University faculty and company executives in the local science industries to develop the range of classes and certificate programs that help people advance their careers in science and technology.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is predicting growth in the science and technology sector but warns job seekers they will face stiff competition for those jobs, especially in the wake of the past year’s layoffs. However, the bureau also believes that technician jobs will be the driving factor behind good job growth in its broadly defined science technician category.

One area to investigate is healthcare information technology (HIT). Due to the prevailing demand for professionals working in healthcare delivery settings, the American Health Information Management Association Report projects around 40,000 new HIT jobs over the next several years.

 ”Several factors - a growing industry with vast employment needs, a societal concern with federal backing for broad reform, and a solution incorporating advanced knowledge and skills among workers - combine to form a strong base for workforce development and employment opportunity for the coming decade,” says Mark Cafferty, president and CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership, which recently awarded federal funds to UC San Diego Extension to provide no-cost training to Workforce Investment Act eligible individuals. 

Recently, UC San Diego was awarded a $3 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to fund the year-round San Diego Science Festival efforts. In addition, the NSF grant will be utilized over a three-year period for three other Festival sites: San Francisco through UC San Francisco; Cambridge, Massachusetts, through the MIT Museum; and Philadelphia through The Franklin Institute.

Initially inspired by international science festivals that draw crowds in the hundreds of thousands, the goal of the San Diego Science Festival is to increase community awareness of science and inspire people to consider entering science-related careers.

The San Diego Science Festival is partnering with more than 120 collaborators, leading businesses and organizations in the community that wish to offer their guidance, financial support, and time to help teach the scientific leaders of tomorrow. Collaborators include BioBridge, a science outreach program at UC San Diego; CleanTECH San Diego; General Atomics; UC San Diego Extension, and UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering, to name a few.

Learn more by visiting the San Diego Science Festival online at sdsciencefestival.com and twitter.com/SDScienceFest.

Media Contact: Henry DeVries, 858-534-9955 or hdevries@ucsd.edu