Experts Explore Where Careers Are Headed

Workshops Show How to Transition to Higher Demand Jobs

February 3, 2009

By Henry DeVries

“Career Night: Your Future in Science, Technology and Business” is the theme of a free career night 5 to 7 pm March 25 at the University of California San Diego Extension Sorrento Mesa Center, 6925 Lusk Blvd., San Diego. Informative workshops on new and emerging trends in science and business will be offered along with job tips from local professional associations.

The event is part of the San Diego Science Festival, a citywide celebration held throughout March and early April 2009.  To sign up for the free career night workshops click here.

Workshops led by UC San Diego Extension faculty at Career Night include:

• Future Technologies in Life Science
• BizTalk: An Entrepreneur’s View of the Technology and Life Sciences Industries
• Engineering Career Opportunities – Present and Future
• Looking Into The Legal Field: Career Paths in Paralegal and Intellectual Property
• Opportunities in Financial Careers: A Brighter Side of the Job Market
• Healthcare Careers for the Non-Medical Professional
• Recruiters Roundtable
• Transitioning into Retirement

Another workshop will examine “How to Get a Job at UC San Diego.” The third largest employer in San Diego County, UC San Diego pays more than $1.1 billion in salaries and wages to nearly 27,000 faculty, staff, healthcare and student workers.

“Job market fluctuations bring both change and opportunity,” says Vicki Krantz, director of business, science and technology programs at UC San Diego Extension. “For recent and mid-career college graduates, continuing education is an increasingly attractive way to transition to areas of employment that are in higher demand.”

Sponsors of Career Night include ESET, General Atomic, Gen-Probe, Illumina, Jobing.com, Lockheed Martin, ResMed and Vertex.

In addition, to help San Diegans in this difficult time, UC San Diego Extension continues to offer $100,000 in grants to help unemployed San Diegans attend seminars on career changing, networking, resumes, corporate politics, salary negotiation, and mastering the interview. Seminars are taught by a team of career specialists with experience in helping with career search and professional development.

To apply for the career seminar grants, unemployed San Diegans should visit the Web site. Grant recipients will need to provide proof of unemployment status to enroll.

Media Contact: Henry DeVries, 858-534-9955