Help Wanted

Calling all engineers! If you're in school for engineering or you already have a degree in the field, your skills are in hot demand. A talent shortage makes engineering the hardest job to fill in the U.S., according to global staffing firm Manpower.

Other in-demand jobs include machinists and skilled manufacturing workers, sales representatives, accountants, mechanics and information technology staffers. Despite the economic downturn and regular news of layoffs, there are still fields that simply aren't getting enough people entering the professions, a new Manpower survey shows.

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't collect data on the gap between the supply and demand of employees in specific fields, says Tracy Jack, a BLS spokesperson. That means the Manpower survey offers a rare opportunity to examine recruiting challenges by sector.

"We're dealing with an HR paradox," says Melanie Holmes, a Manpower vice president. "Unemployment is going up in the U.S., but nearly a quarter of the employers we talked to are struggling to find talent. It's not a shortage of warm bodies, it's a shortage of people with the right skills."

When it comes to engineering, hiring managers aren't likely to find a glut of applicants any time soon. Fewer than 10% of graduating college students in the U.S. are studying engineering. "That says there is such a low percentage pursuing those engineering degrees," says Paul Holley, a Manpower spokesman. The global push to find renewable energy sources means engineers are needed to design technology to find those sources.

One of the most needed types of engineers, those that find and recoup petroleum, are practically going extinct. The problem: 40% of all petroleum engineers in the U.S. are over age 50 and nearing retirement. Combine that with the slowdown in students majoring in engineering and the future of the industry is unclear.

The next several in-demand jobs are in manufacturing. They include machinists (workers who operate manufacturing equipment), welders, electricians, technicians and mechanics. The shortage might seem surprising given the public focus on the number of U.S. manufacturing jobs that have gone overseas, but there are many plants in the U.S. that need skilled laborers.

Young people aren't going into the field because they fear there won't be jobs available. But more skilled employees are needed at large U.S. companies like Harley-Davidson and Boeing.

It's a chicken-and-egg issue. "The worry is that, without skilled machinists, even more plants will go overseas," says Frank Larkin, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists. "These were jobs that went to solid, middle-class families."

Meanwhile, jobs go unfilled. "We get calls every week from employers looking to hire machinists from all over the country," says Larkin.

Accountants are on the list for the third straight year. In fact, demand for Certified Public Accountants and junior accountants has increased by 25% year-over-year for the past three years, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

"There are 44,000 CPA firms in the U.S. that range from small ones to the big four, and virtually all would tell you that getting an adequate amount of people is a critical strategic issue," says Barry Melancon, CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. "We do an annual survey of firms asking what their top five issues are. Regardless of size, future human capital is either their top or second-to-the-top issue."

There are several reasons. First, after accounting scandals like Enron, new, stricter accounting laws require companies to devote more resources to their accounting work. "The complexity of accounting rules grows every day," says Melancon.

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While the looming retirement of baby boomers will affect most professions, Melancon says it will hit the accounting field particularly hard. That's because there was a boom in the number of accountants who entered the field in the 1970s. A decade later, those numbers dropped off. Those who started in the field nearly 40 years ago are nearing retirement, and there aren't enough accountants coming down the pipeline to fill their seats.

Melancon says the accounting profession is trying to combat the shortage by dispersing Association members to colleges and high school career fairs. Their goal is to encourage students to consider careers in the field.

Becoming an accountant might not sound as sexy as, say, a race car driver, but it looks like anyone studying accounting will at least have a job.

Next: Best Part-Time Jobs for Boomers