Top 10 Dead or Dying Career Paths (Blog)

Many of the jobs lost in the recession may not be coming back. Some of the hardest-hit occupations had already been declining for years due ...

Many of the jobs lost in the recession may not be coming back. Some of the hardest-hit occupations had already been declining for years due to advances in technology and changes in the global economy. Based on data and projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the following is a list of career paths that are swiftly disappearing.

#1 Computer Operators
This field declined by 31% from 2004 to 2009 and lost 42,000 workers, and the BLS expects continued deterioration. With most professionals using personal computers with ever more sophisticated data processing, jobs based solely on entering commands and monitoring computer terminals are outdated or increasingly specialized.










#2 Stage Performers
The five-year decline for this career path, which includes magicians, jugglers, clowns and dancers, was a startling 61%--one of the steepest on this list. According to jobs researcher Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., live performances have fallen out of fashion and have been almost entirely replaced with movies and home entertainment technologies.

#3 Postal Service Mail Sorters
After losing almost 57,000 jobs between 2004 and 2009, the BLS expects a further 30% decline in this occupation by 2018. With more automated processes for mail sorting and increasing correspondence via e-mail and fax, this job is quickly becoming unnecessary.

#4 Holistic Healers
Alternative medicine specialists like acupuncturists, homeopathic doctors and hypnotherapists may be an endangered species. The field declined 44% between 2004 and 2009, losing about 26,000 jobs. Because health insurance companies typically do not cover these specialties, alternative medicine may be becoming a more niche, luxury service.

#5 Office and Administrative Support Workers
About 300,000 administrative jobs disappeared between 2004 and 2009, and the BLS projects continued contraction throughout the next decade. Secretaries and file clerks are no longer in demand as companies cut costs. Moreover, technologies like voicemail and easy-to-use word processors have enabled professionals to do their own clerical work.

#6 Telemarketers and Door-To-Door Salespeople
This type of sales is no longer efficient and has been replaced with Internet and television advertising, says researcher Shatkin, author of 2011 Career Plan. Door-to-door sales and telemarketer positions are expected to decline 15% and 11%, respectively, by 2018.




#7 Photo Processors
With the rise of digital photography and automated printing, positions for manual photo printers are rapidly disappearing. The occupation has been steadily losing jobs in the last five years that data is available, and the BLS projects a 24% decline by 2018.







#8 Seamstresses
Sewing machine operators fell by 77,000 in five years, and the BLS expects another 72,000 jobs lost by 2018--a 34% drop. "Sewing is all overseas now," says Shatkin. "We can't compete with low-wage countries." Occupations like hand sewing, fabric mending and textile knitting have also seen a sharp decline in recent years.








#9 Radio Operators
As technology advances, the need for workers to monitor communications via radiotelephone equipment is disappearing. This already small field saw a five-year decline of 43%.






#10 Carpenters
This occupation lost almost 160,000 jobs between 2004 and 2009, a 17% drop. These artisans may soon be working in a more niche, high-end field due to an increased interest in prefabricated homes and home additions and mass-produced furniture sold at chains like IKEA and Target.