Attention College-Bound Students: Hot Career Trends for 2012 December 7, 2009
Ian Welham on hot jobs for 2012 college students
There is a blockbuster movie out right now titled 2012 that shows the end of the world. However, if you believe in life after movies, there is something else you might want to consider in 2012—the job market.
For those students who are starting college or those who will need to decide on a college and major in the next few years, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on the upcoming trends for jobs. These trends are usually very accurate and may give you some insight into a major that not only will lead to a good-paying job, but may give you some new ideas for a career to pursue.
It looks like 2012 will be the year of the healthcare worker. Now, please understand almost every year is the year of the healthcare worker because people get sick, people get older, people will always need healthcare. But it is important to see which healthcare jobs are on the rise to make an informed decision on your future.
According to the U.S. Labor Department, 13 of the 20 fastest growing jobs between 2004 and 2014 are healthcare related. And if you look at the top 10 fastest growing careers it is entirely made up of healthcare and computer technology – making either profession a home run in the job department.
Again, technology makes sense. Take a moment and think about it: almost every office has a computer, almost every home has a computer. We use computers for almost everything. Even our traffic lights and bank accounts are tied to computer technology, so the jobs are always plentiful. But again, check the trends to make sure you are studying the most sought after computer technologies.
The top ten fastest growing jobs are: Home health aides, Network systems and data communications analysts, Medical assistants, physican assistants, computer software engineers (applications), physical therapist assistants, dental hygienists, computer software engineers (systems software), dental assistants and personal home care aides.
The good part of this trend is that assistants are in high demand, making it easy for graduates to break into the field and slowly expand their experience for a higher status and salary.
For college-bound students, the most important thing when looking at future job markets and in turn figuring out what you want to do with the rest of your life is having realistic expectations.
To see some realistic and not so realistic career expectations of real-life college students, read our article Post Grad Career Expectations: The Good, The Bad and The Truth by a former NJ College Career Counselor. It’s in our library now.
