The Job Hunt

The new national unemployment numbers come out Friday, and while they may drop slightly, White House economists predict that the unemployment rate will hover near 10 percent for at least the next year. Still, there are jobs out there.

Each week we scour several job boards, including Indeed and Vault, to help track the best employment listings with salaries of $100,000 or more. This week's picks:

Retail Solutions Architect, IBM
Despite its somewhat confusing title, this position basically boils down to being an internal consultant. You'll work with other IBM staff to come up with more efficient processes for store marketing, merchandising, and supply-chain management. You'll need eight to 10 years of experience in retail systems and a familiarity with leading small technical teams on various projects.

Pros: You'll travel all over the world for IBM.

Cons: With so much travel, you'll be away from home most weeknights and home only on the weekends.

Supervisory Natural Resource Manager
The Department of Agriculture is looking for a natural-resource manager for its offices in Juneau, Alaska, to make sure any activity on public land does not harm the region's fish and wildlife and to advise the department on federal environmental policy.

Pros: The job pays up to $135,000 a year.

Cons: Um, it's cold in Alaska.

Reservoir Simulation Senior Consultant
Saudi Aramco, one of the global leader's in crude-oil production, is looking for a petroleum engineer/consultant to help the company develop and optimize its oil fields. You'll do data analysis and model construction to find oil in new places (and keep it flowing in older fields)—in addition to teaching technical courses in-house to young engineers. At least 15 years in the field of petroleum engineering is essential, and you'll need 10 years of experience in reservoir simulation.

Pros: The need for oil worldwide does not seem to be slowing down. Talk about job security.

Cons: It's unclear from the ad where this job is based, though most of this company's oil fields are in Saudi Arabia.

Balance Dysfunction Physical Therapist
Tennessee-based Gentiva Health Services Inc. is looking for a physical therapist to work with clients on balance problems by developing rehabilitation plans and providing hands-on care and evaluation.

Pros: Physical therapists receive 19 hours of continuing education with the company's physical therapist director.

Cons: While this job is attached to a large company, the physical therapy visits take place in clients' homes. This could involve a fair amount of driving and travel.

Director of Sourcing, Metals
The Manfield, Mass., company Convidien is looking for someone to oversee the $250 million a year the company spends on metals to produce its medical devices and supplies. In this job, you'd find savings for the company; negotiate deals; and work with suppliers of metal in regions around the globe. You need to have at least 10 years of purchasing, engineering or supply-chain management experience, plus good negotiation skills.

Pros: You'd get to oversee a large budget.

Cons: You'd travel up to 25 percent of the time.