Jobs Of The Future

The Wall Street Journal

If you're gearing up for a job search now as an undergraduate or returning student, there are several bright spots where new jobs and promising career paths are expected to emerge in the next few years.

Technology, health care and education will continue to be hot job sectors, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' outlook for job growth between 2008 and 2018. But those and other fields will yield new opportunities, and even some tried-and-true fields will bring some new jobs that will combine a variety of skill sets.

The degrees employers say they'll most look for include finance, engineering and computer science, says Andrea Koncz, employment-information manager at the National Association of Colleges and Employers. But to land the jobs that will see some of the most growth, job seekers will need to branch out and pick up secondary skills or combine hard science study with softer skills, career experts say, which many students already are doing. "Students are positioned well for future employment, particularly in specialized fields," Ms. Koncz says.

Career experts say the key to securing jobs in growing fields will be coupling an in-demand degree with expertise in emerging trends. For example, communications pros will have to master social media and the analytics that come with it; nursing students will have to learn about risk management and electronic records; and techies will need to keep up with the latest in Web marketing, user-experience design and other Web-related skills.

Technology Twists

More than two million new technology-related jobs are expected to be created by 2018, according to the BLS. Jobs that are expected to grow faster than average include computer-network administrators, data-communications analysts and Web developers. Recruiters anticipate that data-loss prevention, information technology, online security and risk management will also show strong growth.

A computer-science degree and a working knowledge of data security are critical to landing these jobs. Common areas of undergraduate study for these fields include some of the usual suspects, such as computer science, information science and management-information systems.

But those might not be enough. That's because not all of those jobs will be purely techie in nature. David Foote, chief executive officer of IT research firm Foote Partners, advises current computer-science students to couple their degrees with studies in marketing, accounting or finance. "Before, people widely believed that all you needed to have were deep, nerdy skills," Mr. Foote says. "But companies are looking for people with multiple skill sets who can move fluidly with marketing or operations."

Social media has opened the door to the growth of new kinds of jobs. As companies turn to sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to promote their brands, capture new customers and even post job openings, they will need to hire people skilled in harnessing these tools, Mr. Foote says. In most cases, these duties will be folded into a marketing position, although large companies such as Coca-Cola Co. are creating entire teams devoted exclusively to social media.

Similarly, employment for public-relations positions should increase 24% by 2018. Job titles—like interactive creative director—will reflect the duality of the required skill sets.

Back to School

Students will have to study strategy to maximize relationships between third-party content providers and their company's Web team. Other key skills will be search-engine optimization, or Google SEO, to maximize Web traffic and marketing analytics to decipher the company's target demographic, says Donna Farrugia, executive director of Creative Group, a marketing and advertising staffing agency in Menlo Park, Calif.

Many universities and community colleges are offering certification programs focused on burgeoning sectors. For example, the University of California at Los Angeles's extension program offers a certificate in information design.

That program, like similar certificate studies at other schools, aims to give students an edge in natural website optimization—a major attraction for Web-based companies who want to boost user traffic, says Cathy Sandeen, dean of UCLA's extension program.

User-experience design—a sort of architecture for information that Web viewers see—is another emerging field. Jobs there include experience specialists and product designers at firms ranging from computer-game companies to e-commerce Web sites.

Ms. Sandeen says the school will offer a certificate program for user-experience design as well, at a cost of about $3,000 to $5,000. The program will run one to two years, depending on a student's schedule, and will couple product design with consumer psychology and behavior.

"Our students [will] learn to think like anthropologists, evaluating how easy it is to utilize the products," she says.

Not surprisingly, green technology, including solar and wind energy and green construction, are also booming areas. Engineers who can mastermind high-voltage electric grids, for example, will have a great advantage over other job applicants, says Greg Netland, who oversees recruiting for the U.S., Latin America and Canada for Sapphire Technologies, an IT staffing firm in Woburn, Mass. that is a division of Randstad.

"Global sustainability will become more important to employers," Mr. Netland says. "It cuts costs, making experts in the field highly attractive to employers."

Jobs in alternative-energy systems, including wind and solar energy, will require a variety of skills: engineers to design systems, consultants who will audit companies' existing energy needs, and those who will install and maintain the systems.

Financial Opportunities

Despite the slashing of positions seen in the financial sector during the economic crisis, recruiters also expect thousands of new jobs to be created in the compliance field, says Dawn Fay, district New York/New Jersey president of Robert Half International.

Ms. Fay counsels job seekers to look at the misdeeds of the past year or two to identify where new jobs will bloom in the financial sector. "It was a year of Ponzi schemes and banking meltdowns," she says. "Be strategic and position yourself as someone who can mitigate those risks."

That makes risk management an emerging specialty with strong growth in jobs expected. Those on track to be financial analysts can get additional certification in risk management through organizations like the Risk Management Association or the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

"Risk management was a mainstay in financial companies, but I believe it will be present in every Fortune 500 company," says Jeff Joerres, chairman and chief executive officer at staffing firm Manpower Inc.

Hospital Upgrades

Individuals with a healthcare degree are expected to see a surge in hiring, with more than four million new openings estimated by 2018, according to the BLS. Hiring for physical and occupational therapists will likely be strongest. But new specialties are popping up, particularly in case management, says Brad Ellis, a partner with Kaye Bassman International, an executive-search firm based in Plano, Texas.

Case managers do everything from managing the flow of information between practitioner and insurance company to mitigating risk to the hospital.

"If you have a nursing degree, for example, getting a certificate in risk management from the state board of health would make you extremely competitive," Mr. Ellis says.

Harris Miller, president of the Career College Association in Washington, D.C., says IT will be increasingly important in the quest to drive down health-care costs, too. Students specializing in nursing informatics, which combines general nursing with computer and information sciences, at the master's degree level will swap a clipboard for a smart phone to manage patient data. Schools like Vanderbilt University are offering nursing informatics degrees via distance learning, and certification is offered through American Nurses Credentialing Center, based in Silver Springs, Md.

The strong push toward making medical records and information more accessible through computerized record-keeping means opportunity, Mr. Miller says. "This is going to require people who are skilled in the hardware and software of nursing informatics."

Health Care Degrees Providing Good Medicine For Employment
Story from the Star-Telegram

Despite an uncertain economy and a depressed job market, the professional potential of a health care degree has never been, well, healthier—at least from the perspective of job seekers.

"Most people have heard about the nationwide nursing shortage," wrote Mary Engel in a 2008 Los Angeles Times article. "But the country is also experiencing a shortage of trained workers in the … [more than] 200 occupations that make up about 60 percent of health care workers."

"One of the things we can absolutely be assured of is that we are going to use more health care, and the more health care we use, the more health care providers we use," said Dr. Michael West, executive director of the University of Texas at Arlington’s Fort Worth Higher Education Center.

"About 1,100 people a day will go on Medicare and Social Security starting in 2011," he said. "That’s why the industry is growing."

Many jobs require a graduate degree

Graduate degree credentials can open the door to many in-demand health care jobs; in some cases, advanced training is required rather than preferred.

"A large majority of the health care programs are going to graduate degrees," said Dr. Jimmy H. Ishee, dean of the College of Health Sciences at Texas Woman’s University.

Ishee offered an example of how one patient might require a health care team populated by professionals with advanced degrees:

"Let’s say a person has a stroke," he said. "During rehab, they might need a speech pathologist, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist.

"A nutritionist or dietician would meet with the patient to help prevent recurring strokes, and a kinesiologist would work with the patient on a treadmill," he said.

Advanced education for nurses

One health care field particularly rich in opportunities for professionals with post-graduate education is nursing, and a nursing professional remains in very high demand.

"There is a nursing faculty shortage across the country which is contributing to the (general) nursing shortage," said Dr. Paulette Burns, dean of the Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Texas Christian University. "To help meet this shortage, we are graduating nurse educators (from our program)."

"We are also beginning a new graduate option for a clinical nurse leader," said Burns. "This nurse functions at the unit level in hospitals or agencies, making sure the patient has coordinated care.

"They are kind of a pivotal force in making sure that the patient gets what the patient needs," she said.

The clinical nurse leader is a somewhat new health care career path, according to Burns. "We’re working with Texas Health Resources to begin this program and implement it in their systems," she said.

Not all health care career paths are clinical: examples of these include health educators or health care administrators who manage operations.

"From a practical standpoint, it’s more cost-effective to prevent (disease) than it is to treat it," said Ishee. "We prepare health educators who teach in the public schools or work in community health centers (to teach) preventive aspects, from drugs to smoking to nutrition.

"A degree in kinesiology can prepare someone to go on to occupational or physical therapy school, teach physical education or be a personal trainer," he said.

A nursing certificate is a somewhat shorter path of entry into the nursing field.

Consider a dual degree graduate program

Dual degree graduate programs combining business and health studies prepare health care professionals for career advancement — and are also viable options for business professionals in other fields who want to transition into health care.

"Enrollment [in our dual program] has doubled in the past two years," said Dr. Paula Ann Hughes, director of the School of Management at Texas Woman’s University.

"That’s because the health care field has a good future," said Hughes. "There’s a need for educated professionals, and there’s also a lot of cost pressure [in the health care field today].

"You have to have a good 'health care head’ as well as a good 'business head,’ "she said.

Hughes said enrollment interest has also increased in TWU’s executive MBA program offering a healthcare emphasis.

"One of the things we do [in the health care EMBA program] that makes us special is our applied projects," said Hughes. "These are actual projects for health care institutions that help them save costs or give better customer service.

"For example, we reassessed the leukemia unit of a Texas hospital to help them give better patient access and patient care," she said. "In another instance, we assessed the [financial] feasibility of a pain management unit.

"We do this free of charge; it’s a good community service plus a good learning experience for the students, so it’s a win-win," she said.

Business types with an interest in health care can also prepare for new careers or advancement through the University of Texas at Arlington’s master’s level program in health science administration.

West said that the UTA program prepares students for a range of jobs, including entrepreneurial enterprises like health care Web site management; clinical service managers, such as the head of an organ transplant organization; and traditional department leadership in a hospital or acute care setting.

"Nowadays it’s almost mandatory that a department head have a master’s degree in some kind of management," he said.

Advice on getting started

Admission requirements for graduate programs vary widely, and requirements for some programs, nursing in particular, can be a bit daunting to people attempting to enter from another field.

"Having a bachelor’s degree in nursing is a predominant requirement [for graduate admission]," said Burns. "However, many schools have started what we call accelerated baccalaureate nursing programs, which are for people who have degrees in other fields.

"Several Metroplex universities offer this program," she said.

Ishee recommends that those interesting in migrating to the health care field investigate career options and do some volunteer work in the industry area of choice.

"Volunteer at local medical facilities, or ask to be an observer and find out what a physical therapist does," he said.

West said that "people who don’t have a clinical background in health care still have a lot to offer the system because they have fresh perspectives."

"We need new ideas and new ways of looking at things," he said.

A Healthy Field For Jobs
Story from the Roanoke Times

Donna Ferguson spent about a decade working in information technology before being laid off.

Now the Salem resident is looking to the health care industry for future paychecks.

Bill Potter said given the current economy he's grateful to have a job as a nurse after spending 15 years as an engineering design draftsman and several more years in a coffee shop.

And Brooke Crouch said after she graduates in May, she's counting on the needs for dental hygienists to help her secure a job during this recession.

With health care standing out as one of the few industries where jobs are being added instead of shed during the economic crisis, Ferguson, Potter and Crouch aren't the only people looking to tap into the security of health professions. Colleges in the Roanoke and New River valleys report an increase in applicants to their various programs in the health field, and some say they have noticed a surge in the number of inquiries from nontraditional students -- those not right out of high school -- looking to head back to school.

While many of the programs point to multiple reasons for the uptick in students interested in the medical field, they all agree the recession has been a contributing factor. Job seekers looking for more control in an unstable economy have led some people who are already working in the medical field to consider advanced training and graduate school to add an even greater sense of job protection.

"In every recession there are always people who come back to school or grad school to advance their skills," said Raymond Linville, dean of Radford University's Waldron College of Health and Human Services.

In particular, Linville said the college has seen tremendous interest in its new physical therapy and occupational therapy graduate programs among several other health care degrees. While the occupational therapy program is set to begin classes in the fall, the physical therapy program is on hold until a chair for the program is hired.

A growing industry

Nationwide, health care will generate 3 million new jobs between 2006 and 2016. That's more than any other industry, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Seven of the 20 fastest-growing occupations are in health care.

Projected rates of employment growth range from 13 percent in hospitals, the largest and slowest growing industry segment, to 55 percent in the much smaller home health care services.

As talks heat up for national health care reform, the industry could be further affected as providers figure out ways to accommodate the millions of people who are now uninsured and likely not accessing health care services.

"If you get those people back on insurance and they are getting health care again, then you are going to increase the demand issues," said Beverly Beck, director of Virginia's Healthcare Workforce Data Center. "No matter what, it will make an impact."

Beck is working with a team of experts to establish work force data to help spot trends and inform the public and policymakers about the supply and demand of health care workers. The center was funded by the state in July.

"We really don't have anything like that now," she said.

While the economic crisis has not entirely spared the health care industry, it is among the few sectors that has added jobs.

In Virginia, health care jobs grew in several areas from January 2008 to January 2009, according to numbers released last month by the Virginia Employment Commission. That includes a 7.9 percent uptick in private social assistance, a 2.4 percent increase at hospitals and 3.1 percent growth at nursing and resident homes.

Locally, for instance, Carilion Clinic's ongoing transformation from a hospital-based provider to a clinic-based health care system has helped sustain job growth. The Roanoke Valley's largest employer, Carilion now employs about 12,000 people. Carilion competitor HCA Southwest Virginia also has continued to hire for clinical jobs at its four hospitals throughout the economic downturn.

It's the growth in the health care field that has Ferguson looking to make a move into the industry.

Ferguson was laid off Jan. 9, and has had no luck in finding employment in the IT industry.

"I don't have a bachelor's, so it is much harder for me to get my foot in the door," she said.

Two weeks ago she finished a Virginia Western Community College online course called introduction to medical technology. It cost $89 and helped her decide to make a career change.

"The medical field is always booming, so I decided that is the direction I want to go in," she said.

Last week she enrolled in an online certification program through the American Academy of Professional Coders.

Once certified, Ferguson plans to run her own business offering to work for physician offices to help code patient medical information for insurance purposes. She has already set up a business, F&H Administrative Services, and begun networking for clients.

With a daughter, a husband, three dogs and a "huge mortgage," Ferguson said the decision to spend $1,300 for the certification courses was something that had to happen to improve her family's financial future.

"I have to be working, and I have to be bringing in some income," she said.

Early enrollment numbers

It's people in similar positions who are helping to boost early application numbers at some area colleges. Both Virginia Western and Jefferson College of Health Sciences have seen a rise in applications for some health degrees. Numbers from Radford were not yet available, Linville said.

Still, it's too early to know the extent of the impact the recession has had on the health field. And National College in Salem hasn't seen a dramatic increase in people looking to change careers by getting trained for a job in health care, spokesman Chuck Steenburgh said.

"From our perspective the big move to health professions took place in the '90s," Steenburgh said. "We're to the point now [where] we've gone from a small percentage of the student body up to 50 percent today who are in the health care field. There may be a modest increase, but it really hasn't been anything dramatic."

Still since January, Virginia Western in Roanoke saw a significant increase in applicants to its health technologies division, especially in nursing, where applications were up 16 percent.

"We may see a much bigger increase next year because of those people in the pipeline who have not yet applied to a program," said Anne Kornegay, dean of the health technologies division.

Many people deciding to make a career switch may not have the prerequisites needed and could be obtaining those before enrolling in a specific degree program, she said.

Similarly, Jefferson College has also seen an increase in its applications compared with a year ago. Jefferson College, which has rolling admissions, has received 1,623 applications, up 7.3 percent from 1,512 the same time a year ago. The college's nursing program has seen applications increase 24 percent.

Not only is the college seeing more applications, but more applicants who have committed to attending by putting down deposits. Of the 1,623 applicants, 240 students have made a deposit, up from 189 a year ago.

"Absolutely, the economy has had an impact," said Carolyn Melby, chairwoman of nursing for Jefferson College. "We just have a lot more interest being expressed, and we have serious applicants who are making calls to find out what we have to offer. ... We've also had more inquiries from second degree people."

Potter is one of those "second degree" people.

Potter's decision to trade in his former job for a nursing degree came before the economic meltdown and after earning a college degree in art. Discovering life as a draftsman didn't suit him, Potter headed to Roanoke College to study art and graphic design. While he finished his bachelor's degree in 2001, he never did go into graphic design. Instead, he ended up serving coffee.

It wasn't until 2004 when he turned to health care. Knowing Carilion Clinic would pay for employees to go to school, Potter ultimately landed a job as a front office person at a pediatric clinic. Six months after that, when he became eligible for Carilion's tuition waiver program, he started taking nursing classes at Jefferson College.

Potter finished his associate degree in nursing in May and passed his licensing exam in June. Since then he's been working in the geriatric unit at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Now, Potter is considering heading back to Jefferson College for a master's degree in nursing.

"Absolutely, the economy is a factor in that decision," Potter said. "I'm almost assured of always having a job. I will probably never want for a job. But I think that any time you have more education and experience in a field, you become more" employable.

Getting hired

Crouch, like Potter, is also counting on the luxury of being able to find a job in multiple markets should that be necessary. Although she doesn't want to move.

Crouch, 28, began classes at Virginia Western in 2006 to take the prerequisites needed to start the dental hygienist program in 2007. She will graduate May 15.

While Crouch has not found a job yet, she said she chose the field in hopes of bettering her employment prospects.

She admitted she is "a little concerned" about finding a job given the state of the economy, but said she thinks she is in a better position than before heading off to school.

Kornegay said many May graduates from the health technology division, which includes the nursing and dental hygienist programs, have jobs lined up and called the job prospects "very good."

Radford's Linville also said that he expects graduates to easily find jobs, especially once the two new programs in occupational therapy and physical therapy start graduating students.

That said, the recession has changed the projections slightly. In nursing, more nurses who were nearing retirement have delayed that decision. Additionally, older nurses and those who decided to take a break to raise children are heading back into the work force. This is creating an increased competition on open positions for new nursing graduates.

Kornegay said it may mean new nurses have to look at more options and not focus on top preferences.

"Some of those who wanted to be in the hospital setting may have to look at private practice openings, but there is still such a demand for nurses that I think it is a pretty secure world out there for people in health care," she said.

But Beck, director of the Healthcare Workforce Data Center, said, "The relief from the shortage is temporary. Do not get distracted. ...

"The real shortage is coming 10 to 15 years down the road when all the nurses retire," she said. "It is just like a tsunami effect, when you add in the aging of the population."

In Face of Recession, Health Care Fields Continue to See Strong Demand

The U.S. lost over 650,000 jobs in February alone, but the health care industry added 27,000. On average, health care added 30,000 positions per month for the year 2008, making a health care degree seemingly recession-proof.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the industry will create 3 million new jobs over the next 10 years, in part driven by an expanding elderly population.

Physical therapists and occupational therapists will be in very high demand, while the traditional roles of nurses and physicians' assistants will also continue to grow.

A physical therapist must have a master's degree and license, while an occupational therapist needs a bachelor's degree and license. Strong industry demand, coupled with a shortage of qualified personnel, mean the holder of a nursing degree is in an excellent position for employment for the foreseeable future. Educational requirements range from a master's degree to an associate's degree, depending on the type of work the prospective nurse desires.

High school graduates can become qualified nursing assistants by receiving a nursing certificate. CNA candidates need to enroll in and complete a medical terminology course to learn terms and to understand medical charts.

Radiologists, medical technologist, and pharmacy degree holders will also continue to be in high demand.

Read Entire Article in South Coast Today