Careers: Five Jobs for Our Shores

The presidential campaign thrust the offshoring of American jobs into the spotlight, and although the issue no longer dominates the headlines, it hasn't moved to an Asian call center. According to a new study by the McKinsey Global Institute, 2.3 million service jobs will have moved offshore from the U.S. by 2008, up from 900,000 as of 2003. So how do you protect yourself?

First, look for jobs whose supply outstrips demand, for which companies in the U.S. need qualified workers from anywhere on the globe. But most important, says Hans Gieskes, CEO of recruiting firm H3.com is to find a job in which you need to "smell, see and touch the culture you're working in." Here are five surprisingly hot fields where you must use your senses.

BREAKING ROCKS

Don't dismiss it as rocks for jocks. With oil companies desperately searching for new sources of crude and prices above $65 per bbl., now is a good time to know your limestone. Petroleum geologists study the earth's surface and subsurface to help predict the chances of striking oil. Over the past year, the average annual salary for a geologist with three to five years' experience has climbed 11%, to $75,600, reports executive- search firm MLA Resources. Across the board, salaries are up 8%. Also, demographics are driving demand; the average age of a petroleum geologist is 49. Bob Goldstein, a geology professor at the University of Kansas and an oil-industry consultant, says companies are offering his grad students salaries in the low $70,000s.

Although the industry is becoming more digitized, geology still has face-to-face--or face-to-rock--elements: when searching for new frontiers, explorers gather rocks in the field and run chemical tests to determine whether they once held oil; geologists may examine rock shavings on a rig to make sure drillers are hitting the right spot. "When someone spends $10,000 drilling the location you've scouted and makes a well, there's nothing more satisfying than that 'Attagirl' from investors," says Deborah Sacrey, a Houston-based geologist with her own company, Auburn Energy. "It's a huge sigh of relief."

PUMPING FOR DOLLARS

It may not sound exactly highbrow, but getting physical can pay off. Over the next decade, the number of fitness and aerobics instructors will grow 44%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), making exercise training one of the fastest-growing fields. (Bonus: a worker in China can't stretch your legs in the States.) "We eat too much and work too hard," notes Ron Clark, CEO of the National Federation of Professional Trainers. "We're not taking the time to educate ourselves on basics, like going for an occasional walk, so we'll hire someone else to tell us what to do." Clark says trainers can make $25 to $250 an hour, depending on the clientele.