Robert Reich's Work of Nations

According to Robert Reich's Work of Nations, there are three job categories emerging internationally. These jobs include routine production services, in person services, and symbolic analytic services.

Routine production services are often referred to as blue-collar jobs. These blue collar jobs involve the completion repetitive tasks, and can include the positions of low and mid-level managers, foreman, line managers, clerical supervisors, and section chiefs. These jobs are in this category because it involves the repetitive action of overlooking subordinate's work. Workers in the routine production service field can be found in heavy industries often monotonously putting products together or inputting data. Workers must be loyal, reliable, and capable of taking direction.

Another job of the future is the in-person services category. Much like the routine production service jobs, in-person services involve repetitive tasks. These jobs do not require much education. Workers are paid per-hour worked. However, the difference in in-person services is that these jobs must be done face-to-face or person-to-person and can not be traded worldwide. Instead of working with machines, metal, data, or fabric these workers work directly with their customers. Examples of these jobs include waitresses, hotel workers, janitors, cashiers, hospital attendants, house cleaners, taxi drivers, etc.. These employees must be reliable, punctual, and tractable.

The last job is the symbolic analytic service worker. People in this category are problem-solving, problem-identifying, and strategic-brokering workers. Their services can be traded worldwide and compete with foreign markets. Things that are traded are not physical or commercial things but rather data, oral and visual representations. Jobs included in this category are research scientists, design engineers, software engineers, civil engineers, biotechnology engineers, sound engineers, public relations executives, investment bankers, lawyers, etc.. Most of these jobs require a four-year college degree.