3 answers
Victoriahna
Student
Niagara Falls, New York
2
Questions
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What are the fastest growing job fields?
I want to make sure I can get a job with the major I choose in the career field I want. #job-market #college-major
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3 answers
Jeremy Michael Jimenez
Sales Development Representative at PagerDuty
5
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Jeremy Michael’s Answer
There are lots of jobs that are growing in. If you are looking into what you should major in, Business is a major/field that I know is always growing and hiring. Business involves many different interests/passions from people, whether you like numbers (accounting/finance), the more creative side (marketing), people focused career (HR), or technology based (MIS, BIS, information systems). It is probably the most versatile major to look into from my experiences, and the skills can transfer over into a wide variety of jobs.
Kimberly Alvar
Digital Operations
3
Answers
Ashburn, Virginia
Updated
Kimberly’s Answer
Hi There! Great question! I think its very wise of you to be thinking this way - and is important for you to set a career path for yourself that will be here in 20-30 years from now. It would be tough to have to start over in your career if the indstry you choose is slowly diminishing over time. I would say anything in technology, telecommunications, digital, IT are all safe bets of careers that will continue to grow. However, you need to find something that you love. It is not worth it to pick a career just based on what will be here in the long run - choose your top 3 industries and go from there. You get one life to live, so do what you love!
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1738
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Victoriahna,
It's great you are thinking about this! The information on CareerOneStop can help you prepare.
https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/careers/occupations/occupation-profile.aspx
I'd like to caution you to be mindful of a couple of ways numbers are manipulated as you start this research, because schools are all competing for your money, and the people you talk to will sometimes sound like sales people!
If an occupation has a high growth rate, it does not necessarily mean it will be easy to enter. This is for two reasons. The multiple schools might be graduating more people than there are openings. So, if there are 5000 vacancies annually for Paralegals (due to all factors: growth, attrition, etc), and 20,000 people per year complete their paralegal training, some of those may not find jobs. Secondly, percentages are deceiving. If I tell you that the number of diamond cutters in the United States doubled last year, you might want to be a diamond cutter. So, you need to ask, "how many diamond cutters were there last year?" Suppose there were only five. . . !
Secondly, "median" salary figures are often used in marketing material. Median is the middle. So, while median Paralegal salary might be $48,000, entry-level is closer to $30,000. You will need information as to how fast the salary increases. Payscale.com has good salary information.
Pay close attention to geographic differences, on both salary and job growth rate, especially if you are not wanting to relocate. There is a huge difference between wages in the Northeast compared to the South, and, even within one state, wages can vary drastically between two different cities.
On a more positive note, most majors are marketable in several different directions, so, as long as you are flexible, you should be able to find a job regardless of your major. The more open you are, the easier this will be. This is a concept we refer to as "transferable job skills." It will be up to you to show how your experience and education relates to the position, but this is not as difficult as it sounds! Also, it is always possible, and often happens, that once you start college you will change your major, so, stay open-minded towards that possibility!
Best of luck!
Kim
It's great you are thinking about this! The information on CareerOneStop can help you prepare.
https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/careers/occupations/occupation-profile.aspx
I'd like to caution you to be mindful of a couple of ways numbers are manipulated as you start this research, because schools are all competing for your money, and the people you talk to will sometimes sound like sales people!
If an occupation has a high growth rate, it does not necessarily mean it will be easy to enter. This is for two reasons. The multiple schools might be graduating more people than there are openings. So, if there are 5000 vacancies annually for Paralegals (due to all factors: growth, attrition, etc), and 20,000 people per year complete their paralegal training, some of those may not find jobs. Secondly, percentages are deceiving. If I tell you that the number of diamond cutters in the United States doubled last year, you might want to be a diamond cutter. So, you need to ask, "how many diamond cutters were there last year?" Suppose there were only five. . . !
Secondly, "median" salary figures are often used in marketing material. Median is the middle. So, while median Paralegal salary might be $48,000, entry-level is closer to $30,000. You will need information as to how fast the salary increases. Payscale.com has good salary information.
Pay close attention to geographic differences, on both salary and job growth rate, especially if you are not wanting to relocate. There is a huge difference between wages in the Northeast compared to the South, and, even within one state, wages can vary drastically between two different cities.
On a more positive note, most majors are marketable in several different directions, so, as long as you are flexible, you should be able to find a job regardless of your major. The more open you are, the easier this will be. This is a concept we refer to as "transferable job skills." It will be up to you to show how your experience and education relates to the position, but this is not as difficult as it sounds! Also, it is always possible, and often happens, that once you start college you will change your major, so, stay open-minded towards that possibility!
Best of luck!
Kim