Future Careers

Every undergraduate and graduate about to enter the job market wants to know the best careers for the future.  These budding professionals can leave behind tarot cards and crystal balls by using statistics and research tools to find out the careers of the future. 

Studying Best Careers For The Future

The simplest way to determine the best careers for the future is to look at age and longevity of existing professionals in a particular field.  If you are interested in new media or web design, you may be facing a glut of young professionals just entering the profession.  Employment specialists recommend that new professionals enter fields like teaching and engineering where baby boomers are heading toward retirement in the next decade. 

Young professionals should also look at professions with constant demand, as they prepare for the working world.  While customer service jobs may be outsourced to foreign countries, there will be a need for nurses and nurse practitioners in the United States who offer one-on-one services.  Teaching, nursing, and other fields may not be as lucrative as careers in finance or website development, but they offer consistent wages and job security. 

Nursing Careers

College students and young professionals looking to enter the medical field should look no further than the nursing profession.  The current supply of nurses in the United States is not keeping up with demand as new hospitals, urgent care facilities, and clinics open nationwide.  Hospitals have been recruiting nurses in places like India and China because of the shortage of nursing talent coming from American universities.  A good starting point for any professional interested in a future career in nursing is Discover Nursing© (http://www.discovernursing.com), an online education and job guide for the nursing profession. 

Teaching Careers

The expansion of America’s education system into private, charter, and online schools has created higher demand for elementary and secondary schoolteachers.  Aspiring teachers should also note that baby boomers who entered the field decades ago are retiring in large numbers.  While education students can take years to complete their college requirements, the reliable wages afforded to teachers are nearly unparalleled in the current marketplace. 

Professionals entering teaching careers should focus on subject areas that will be in high demand over the next decade.  As public schools refocus their curricula on technical skills needed for future jobs, teachers with math and science backgrounds will be able to find work.  Teachers who can handle Spanish, Chinese, and other language classes can stay employed in this niche for most of their careers. 

Sustainable Farming Careers

Fast Company© notes in its Top Jobs for 2009 that America’s two million farmers have an average age of 55.  The magazine put farming as one of its top sustainable careers for the future because of the inevitable turnover of farmers within the next 20 years.  Traditional farmers using fertilizer and machinery will give way to sustainable farmers who use eco-friendly methods of growing their crops.  If you want to contribute staple crops to consumers worldwide, your future may involve time in a farm field. 

The mass exodus of lifelong farmers coincides with higher consumer demand for locally grown and organic farm products.  While agribusiness will remain a significant part of American agriculture, your career as a sustainable farmer will likely involve a small plot of land and relatively low revenues.  Sustainable farmers can advertise their yields through local publications, open up farms to tours, and sell directly to customers to reconnect with America’s agricultural tradition. 

Civil Engineering

America’s highway system has been functioning for 50 years, and local highways and streets have been operational since the Great Depression.  As state and federal agencies look to renovate existing infrastructure, civil engineers will be asked to carry the load in designing roads, sewers, and transit systems.  Engineering firms are searching for civil engineers who can work around residential and commercial properties, meet project budgets, and fulfill minimum safety requirements when designing infrastructure. 

After years of studying civil engineering at the undergraduate and graduate level, you can start your future career search through the American Society of Civil Engineers© (ASCE) (http://www.asce.org/).  The ASCE works with member firms to fill entry-level and mid-level engineering positions quickly to meet project demand.  Civil engineers can also find work with local, state, and federal transportation agencies that will oversee the renovation of American infrastructure. 

Green Construction And Contracting

The home construction industry is undergoing a change in its perspective on building materials.  Families and businesses want to eliminate causes of lethargy, respiratory problems, and other diseases through cleaner building practices.  Homebuilders, carpenters, and contractors are looking to eco-friendly materials to create homes that are clear of toxins and chemicals.  The resulting “green” construction and contracting field will employ thousands of qualified professionals in the next decade. 

Your career path in “green” construction depends on how your skills fit into the natural hierarchy of the building industry.  If you are good with your hands, you can find work as a solar panel installer.  Solar panels and energy-efficient windows are increasingly popular as state and federal tax codes allow deductions for installation.  You can open a green construction supply business that offers composite building materials, solar panels, and consulting services to local builders. 

Online Resources For Future Careers

Your first stop in the search for future careers should be the Office of Employment Projections through the Bureau of Labor Statistics website (http://www.bls.gov/emp/).  This office prepares annual studies of wage, benefit, and employment trends into the next decade for thousands of professions.  The Office of Employment Projections may be heavy on statistics and light on simplified analysis, but the raw data can be critical to finding careers of the future. 

Another online resource for finding future careers is CareerPlanner.com® (http://www.careerplanner.com).  This website features an article on the Top Jobs for the Future that breaks down the best career options available to young professionals.  CareerPlanner.com® is an excellent resource for new graduates and entry-level professions trying to read about career trends using simple text. 

The final resource for professionals looking for careers for the future is Fast Company’s© Top Jobs feature each year.  Fast Company© has published a Top Jobs for 2009 (http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2005/01/top-jobs-main.html) feature that breaks down high-demand fields at present.  The publication’s focus in 2009 was “green” or eco-friendly jobs that are moving from niche industries into the mainstream in the United States.  The Top Jobs for 2009 section breaks down the reasons why some careers are hotter than others as well as colleges with applicable programs.