I don’t often agree with articles in popular press, but I almost always agree with Forbes.

In a recent article, Tara Weiss and the Forbes research team correctly point out the areas where jobs in specific industries are growing.  Here’s the article.

Looking through the 3-sided lens presented in my book, “The Rat, The Race and the Cage“, the industry where you work is the Race.  I encourage people to pursue a career in an industry that they find intriguing.  For example, if you are an advertising expert but soap and deodorant don’t excite you (insert your favorite joke about the French here), then the consumer products industry is probably not for you.  Find an industry you enjoy and take it as far as you can.  Sometimes that means moving to another city where the industry is thriving, or at least doing better than where you are located…

While green shoots are not coming up in the macro-economy when viewed in its entirety, Weiss correctly points out that select industry segments ARE seeing growth and those industries invariably have employment concentrations in specific metropolitan areas.

If you are seeking a job in one of the industries described in the Forbes article, it may be time to consider a relocation.  While uprooting is typically the LAST thing people want to do, it is also an opportunity to experience a new part of our great country.  When I press my case with folks, there is usually push-back: the job market is probably competitive because so many experienced professionals are already located in that city.  I counter with the notion that there also may be a shortage of talent.  Example: it was nearly impossible to find great engineers in San Jose from 1999 to 2002 and remains challenging today, albeit it’s easier than it was in 1999-2002.  At that time, stories of lunch-hour job changes were accurate.

It may be time to take a long look at a new city.  I can suggest a great closing line: “While I am currently located in Atlanta, I am planning to move myself at my own cost to Boston as it is a hotbed of activity in Education, an industry where I plan to spend the rest of my career.”

Be bold.