Engineers, tradesmen and sales reps, the world needs you now!

Vanessa Richardson
Updated

If you're a truck driver, a teacher or a technician, then you are one hot catch in this sluggish job market. That's according to the temp agency Manpower, which does an annual Talent Shortage Survey and found that 30% of employers worldwide are still struggling this year to find qualified job candidates, especially skilled tradespeople, sales representatives and technicians. (If you want to see the global results, go here and download "2009 Talent Shortage Results Report.")

The Top 10 hardest job slots to fill in the U.S. are:

  1. Engineers

  2. Nurses

  3. Skilled trade

  4. Teachers

  5. Sales reps

  6. Technicians

  7. Drivers

  8. IT Staff

  9. Laborers

  10. Machinists and machine operators

Employers around the globe say that positions in the skilled trades, sales, technical work and engineering remain the most difficult to fill. We WalletPop bloggers have written a bunch about how the hard-working tradesman has been underrated and overshadowed by the flashy corporate executive. Looks like these days, a two-year specialty certificate from a community college can get you a job quicker than an expensive MBA degree.

Even the New York Times leans that way in its most recent Sunday magazine.

Just some thoughts to ponder for you college students freaking out about that post-graduation job hunt.

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