TPC-Digests-V1-Issues-123

particularly newsworthy. However, the fact that the demand for robotic technicians is increasing at 50% per year is noteworthy. The problem is that even with a 50% increase in positions for robotic technicians, the number of openings that will become available is relatively small. Available census data about the amount of change in occupations shows that various occupational groups are relatively stable. When examining individual occupations, for every example of occupational change there is an example of stability. In the case of dentistry, technology has led to improved instruments, electronic data bases are used to store patient records, and X-rays are now viewed and stored digitally. However, other aspects of dental work have not changed. Essential work behaviors, such as assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, communication with patients, manual dexterity, and selecting and managing staff, remain essential to the success of a dentist. The essential work behaviors of a dentist have not changed in 100 years. While important changes in work have occurred, occupations remain a viable unit of analysis for the assessment and information resources used in delivering career services. It is inappropriate to assume that changes in occupations are a sufficient justification for substantive change in the delivery of career services. Career interventions that are old are not out of date unless there is evidence that some other intervention is more effective. Changes in the delivery of career services should be based on evidence that changes are warranted and that other interventions are likely to be more effective. New ideas are not necessarily better, and old ones are not necessarily worse. The perception that occupations are undergoing substantive change has been exacerbated by inaccurate information about occupations presented in mass media. TPC Digest