Re: Current shortage of HP positions

[sandy_perle@email.fpl.com]

>1. Is the current perceived shortage of available positions the 
result of cutbacks in the government (most notably DOE), or has the 
demand for HPs reached a plateau?  If so, will it remain there?<

Due mainly to cutbacks. It is a matter of company's, be it a nuclear 
utility or hospital, or whatever, thinking that the bottom line 
dollar is more important than performing a real assessment of what 
accountabilities and consequences will be found IF a number of 
professional HPs are cut.

As I write this I might be out of a job myself, after 20.5 years at 
FPL. The decision has been made, we just haven't been notified yet. 
So, I'll most likely be hitting the phones and street looking for a 
job, although the needs that I have been responsible for are still 
valid and have not diminished.

     
     >2. If the demand for HPs has reached a plateau, and I'm not 
     necessarily saying it has, are we doing those currently in college a 
     disservice by encouraging them to enter health physics?  It's one 
     thing to encourage someone who won't be expected to enter the work 
     force for some time; it's another thing to encourage people who are 
     just about to enter the work force into a flat market.<
     
     Probably. If HPs are being laid off, and there isn't any foreseeable 
     sign that this will turn around soon, and believe that it won't, the 
     students of today are being led sown a path to starvation. This is a 
     sad state of affairs, believe me. I receive several requests for jobs 
     each month. The only thing I can say is that I most likely won't have 
     the misfortune of answering these request anymore.
     
     Regards,
     
     Sandy Perle
     Supervisor Health Physics (so far)
     Florida Power and Light Company
     
     office (407) 694-4219
     
     homepage http://www.lookup.com/homepages/54398/home.html