Career as Lifelong LearningWith the decline and/or transformation of companies that have been major providers of employee safety, such as IBM, GM, Boeing and Lloyd's of London, the path of career of a series of upward moves based on a long-term relationship suddenly seem outdated. For this chapter, we think about careers in terms of developing a person's skills, learning abilities, and personal identity. I What happened to careers? Downsizing, restructuring, outsourcing of American jobs to foreign countries, increased job demands, and reduced health and pension benefits has negatively impacted corporate careers over the past decade and a half. Let's look at the job loss totals in the early 1980s and 1990s: 3.4 million in the 1980s by Fortune 500 companies. 1986 – 1991 80% of 400 employers have reduced to a workforce of 12.4% average. Reason for such losses? Economic recession, global competition, and the deindustrialization of the United States, along with corporations, are forcing workers to do more with less, which has also ushered in the rise of the dual-income family. With loss of trust and fewer benefits, most Americans believe executives are only interested in power and money. II Future Trends: Will Career Prospects Improve? The Bureau of Labor Statistics previously predicts that the U.S. workforce increased rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s as baby boomers entered the workforce. But so do they...