Are We The Way of the Future?

Computerworld recently published an article listing twelve job skills that no employer can refuse. The usual suspects hopped onto the list - whatever's hot, that is. Wireless, for example. But one of the twelve was usability. That surprised me, for several reasons.

First, usability isn't a universally-needed skill, at least not at the level a specialist brings. It kicks in only when the stakes are high and failure is all too expensive. For websites, it's primarily for ecommerce and other high-end sites. And those are designed and built on the coasts, not in the flyover zone where I live. Check out monster.com, dice.com, UPA's career page, or careerbuilder.com, and you'll see what I mean. Jobs are plentiful in Massachusetts, Washington State, California, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. There aren't many in Iowa, Montana, Arizona, Indiana, Alabama, and most of the other flyovers. So how do we qualify as owners of a "can't miss" skillset?