Earn as You Learn: Resources for Research & Career Management

One constant question among my career coaching community and my Certified Professional Career Coaches is: How do I coach job seekers discouraged by the current job market?

We see job seekers who apply for hundreds of jobs online and maintain meticulous spreadsheets; however, they don’t build relationships, meet people in person, or follow up on applications or interactions. They feel dejected by a lack of response from online job searches. 

If most job seekers are doing the same passive activity and it isn’t effective, something has to give. 

The World Economic Forum estimates that more than 90% of employers use automated systems to screen job applicants. The question is, “What happens when the systems they use come from a limited set of vendors?”

According to the Stanford Digital Economy Lab (May 2026): Q&A | Algorithmic Monoculture in Hiring, “On the algorithmic side, our work finds that you need to apply to more jobs than ever before — and apply widely. Some employers use the same processes (sometimes literally the same vendor), so submitting more applications through identical pipelines won’t generate new evaluations. That’s part of why range matters. The flip side: as a job seeker, you’ll probably end up learning more about employers’ hiring stacks than researchers do, because you’ll be asked to complete the various steps of these processes yourself across many firms.” 

Facts & Myths – The Switch

Many job seekers who secured employment from 2020 to 2022 were mostly employed remotely. They worked from home, using a laptop and computer screen for Zoom/Teams meetings. That was the norm; they didn’t know any different. Many job seekers today are required to work from an office or hold a hybrid job (about 65% according to many polls and the BLS). 

Many of these job seekers were told that earning a college degree could lead to a starting six-figure salary. This is not typically the case. Most entry-level positions begin at $40K annually; some medical positions begin at $65K and up (nursing), X-ray technicians ($48K and over $100K years later), electrician I ($50K), and lead master electrician ($75-95K), as examples (Salary.com). Location affects salary levels. Everyone must work their way up the salary ladder. There is certainly room to negotiate an initial salary. Nevertheless, new workers must prove their worth. 

During that same timeframe, people who worked for employers that sent them home to work remotely during 2020 had to change their lives and work styles. It takes discipline to work from home after years in an office (it also takes space, equipment, and in some cases, quiet). People-persons lose social interaction and water-cooler conversations when they work from home. It can become lonely. 

In 2025-2026, the federal government retired or laid off 12% of its workforce, or about 256K personnel. Nearly all government employees were required to work remotely beginning in 2020, and nearly all government employees were required to return to office work in 2025. A major switch. 

Today, more than 8,000 jobs are available to the public on usajobs.gov. There are 54 internship positions available. 

Start the Research – Degree-Based Opportunities

Looking at specific federal agencies, for example, NASA will hire approximately 4,000+ interns (students enrolled in college programs) (280,000 applied in the 2022/2023 iteration – so the competition is tough – and most of the positions are onsite) through its pathways program (Spring 2027: Sep 14, 2026 · Summer 2027: Feb 26, 2027 · Fall 2027: May 21, 2027; 2028 deadlines are expected to follow the same pattern). https://www.nasa.gov/careers/pathways/. 

I appreciate the skill sets they expect from the candidates: Prior experience is not required! They are looking for 7 non-technical competencies: Attention to Detail, Flexibility, Interpersonal Skills, Learning, Problem Solving, Self-Management (Achievement), and Technology Application. Job seekers can build these basic competencies through college team projects, retail or food service work, volunteering in the local community, holding banking teller positions during college, and serving on school committees or sports programs. If students demonstrate these skills in college or even high school on a resume, they may earn strong referral letters and references. These opportunities provide demonstrable and concrete examples of work experience, paid or unpaid. 

In the medical field, the fastest-growing role is Nurse Practitioner, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (it requires a degree). The role is expected to grow 41% by 2035, creating 138,000 new jobs with a median pay of $132K annually. Also, Medical Assistant roles will continue to grow, as will Home Health/Personal Care Aide roles (requiring training and certifications).

Non-Degree & Hybrid Degree Opportunities

If a job seeker is looking for an opportunity and a change in job duties that, in some cases, do not require a degree, opportunities are available. 

• Walmart is hiring its own employees (customer service associates, janitors, others) via its Associate Technician Pilot program and training them in the trades, including electronics functions, so they can internally manage refrigeration, general maintenance, facility systems, and more. It expects to train 4,000 internal employees by 2030. The employees accepted into the training program are paid while they learn. 
• Micron in Boise, Idaho plans to hire 17,000 employees over the course of the next 10-15 years. Micron’s Registered Apprenticeship Program is for technician roles in Boise. It is an “earn while you learn” pathway into semiconductor manufacturing, including completing technical college coursework towards an associate degree in partnership with the College of Western Idaho. This is paid work and training, not an unpaid internship. Micron opened a 60,000-square-foot Micron Training Center in Boise in August 2026 with 20 semiconductor process tools that replicate a fab environment, so trainees can practice on equipment similar to what they’ll encounter on the actual fab floor. 
• Tractor Supply in Nampa, Idaho, is hiring for 500 jobs for its distribution center and will hire more employees as it begins its receiving operations. To hire in mass, it sometimes holds group/hiring-event interviews as part of its recruitment process and makes on-the-spot hiring decisions. 
• Other companies across the USA that are hiring hundreds and thousands of employees include: Dollar General, Domino’s, Starbucks, O’Reilly Automotive, CVS Health, Kroger, Ulta Beauty, Target, and others. This information helps our clients research companies and industries with new and open positions. 

By looking for companies hiring hundreds or thousands of new employees, job seekers and their career coaches can identify hiring trends and industries that are hiring. The medical profession will likely remain a steady hiring hub for years to come. Some hospitals and clinics are now hiring newly graduated nurses and training them, rather than hiring nurses with xx years of experience. Some markets are seeing a mindset shift in how they hire employees (e.g., with experience, or taking the risk of training new employees to build them up in the company).  

Resources

• U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Finder lets you search by company, occupation, city, state, or ZIP code and includes openings from employers and program sponsors around the country: www.Apprenticeship.gov.
• USAJOBS.Gov is the federal government’s official website for federal positions. Applicants can search for jobs by clicking several filters, including federal grade, series, job title, salary, public, internal candidate, and others.
• This website provides STEM-specific positions available with NASA

https://stemgateway.nasa.gov/public/s/explore-opportunities. 

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides an overview of essential statistical data on labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy, supporting both public and private decision-making processes: https://www.bls.gov/.
• O*NET is a robust tool and provides a comprehensive database of occupational information, including job descriptions, required skills, and educational requirements for over 900 occupations. The O*Net resource helps job seekers, workforce development professionals, and educators understand the labor market and available career options with career exploration tools and workforce development resources: https://www.onetonline.org/.

There are many more resources available online for job search and career management – these are just a few to help with research.