The Fastest Growing Jobs Out There

By Glenn Mueller, Contributing Writer

Updated: 1/7/2009

Unless your name happens to be Moses, you probably shouldn’t expect to find a burning bush that reveals your divine purpose in life. However, the rest of us still need to figure out some way to earn a living. Though there are many factors to consider when you are trying to find the right career path, it is important to pick a field with a strong future.

The good news is that the job market is expected to expand in the coming years. In fact, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor, 19 million new payroll jobs will be created between the years 2002 and 2014. So, in other words, there will be no shortage of opportunities out there for those job seekers who pick the right fields.

And, that college degree will be more important than ever in the job market of the future. Nearly all of the fastest-growing jobs require the completion of additional education. At the very least, you’ll need an associate’s degree to obtain most of these jobs, though some of them require successful job applicants to complete graduate school. This means that the demand for teachers and professors will be higher than ever, making this one of the expanding careers on the list. In fact, according to some projections, the need for college professors is expected to increase by nearly forty percent.

As the Baby Boomers get older, they will be in greater need of medical care -- putting the health field at the top of the list for expansion. It is comforting to know that even technology will never be able to replace the human touch of a doctor or nurse. In fact, statistics predict that there will be a need for approximately 623,000 more nurses than we currently have in the job force. Yet, it is medical assistants and physician’s assistants that will be in the most need of all. These professions are expected to grow by at least sixty percent by the year 2012. Health information technicians, dental hygienists, personal home care aides, occupational therapist assistants and physical therapists are some of the other jobs that will see the most growth, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

If the medical profession is not for you, tremendous growth is also expected in the computer sciences and other technology-related fields. The need for database administrators is expected to grow by more than forty percent by the year 2012. Information systems managers, network administrators, systems analysts, software engineers and computer security specialists are also on the list of the fastest-growing jobs for the future.

While some fields will be expanding, the need for other types of workers will subsequently diminish in the coming years. According to projections from the U.S. Department of Labor, farming, fishing and forestry will be among the hardest hit careers. Manufacturing and production is expected to account for the single greatest loss of jobs, especially in industry and textiles.

In the past, the U.S. has always managed to cope reasonably well with the rapidly changing economy. In fact, Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, always claimed that flexibility was this country’s greatest strength.

When you are deciding on a career for the future, there are many different factors to take into consideration. You certainly want to choose a field with potential for growth, but you should also take an inventory of your individual talents and skills. Would you rather work for a small company or large company? Where would you most like to live? What salary range will be necessary to meet your economic goals? There are many resources out there that can help you find the best career path. You may want to pay a visit to your high school guidance counselor, or you can see if your college or university has a career center. Another excellent resource for anyone who wants to find a vocation or may be interested in changing careers is Richard Nelson Bolles’ best-selling book, What Color Is Your Parachute?

MONEY magazine and Salary.com recently came out with their own list of the best jobs on the market. Many factors were considered, including job growth, salary, working conditions and the amount of stress. In case you missed it, here are there top 10 jobs:

1. Software engineer
2. College professor
3. Financial advisor
4. Human resources manager
5. Physician assistant
6. Market research analyst
7. Computer/IT analyst
8. Real estate appraiser
9. Pharmacist
10. Psychologist