Now that 2007's hot career trends are history, job seekers and career shifters alike want to know where the big career payoffs will be in the months to come. A historic political year like '08 has a way of sending us all back to basics, encouraging us to reexamine our values.
Not surprisingly, the career sectors due to surge in the coming year all have that element of the tried and true: technology, education, healthcare, and business. The surprises dwell in the details. For example, add administrative expertise to a rock solid sector like education or healthcare and the sum means money in the New Year's bank. With a bit more education and imagination, one of these 10 hot careers could make your 2008 sizzle:
1. Marketing and Promotions Management
- Median Salary: $63,610
- Education: communications and/or marketing degree, personal experience
- Bottom Line: If you can tell a story that earns your company new customers, you'll love the view from your new corner office.
To survive, every company needs a solid marketing plan. Entrepreneurs enrolled in online MBA degree programs learn how to structure effective promotions. Meanwhile, graduates of marketing degree programs help companies build solid customer relationships. Either way, marketing careers remain at the backbone of business success.
2. Medical Assisting
- Median Salary: $24,610
- Education: medical assisting program completion
- Bottom Line: Explore a medical career while helping doctors manage busy practices.
With so much pressure on doctors to provide personal service while seeing more patients, medical assistants play crucial roles in many practices. As more medical assisting schools offer courses online, curious students can land healthcare jobs in a fraction of the time it takes to complete medical school.
3. Computer Networking Specialist
- Median Salary: $66,460
- Education: IT degree with industry certification
- Bottom Line: Get trained on Windows Vista or Mac OS X and become every IT manager's best friend.
Unlike offshore helpdesk professionals, networking pros must work on-site. Therefore, employers routinely recruit home-grown information technology degree holders with networking skills and experience with equipment from multiple vendors.
4. Teacher
- Median Salary: $41,400
- Education: bachelor's degree and state-accredited teacher training program
- Bottom Line: Use your life skills to mentor a new generation of students.
Faced with a wave of professionals nearing the end of their teaching careers, many school districts have changed the basic requirements for new educators. Online teaching degrees make it easy for working adults to meet state guidelines without sacrificing income.
5. Software Programmer
- Median Salary: $74,980
- Education: computer or software programming degree
- Bottom Line: Earn while you learn how to write solid code.
Though the writers' strike makes entertainment seem like a losing bet, the entertainment spotlight still shines brightly on game developers. After all, annual video game sales now rival box office receipts for the first time. As a result, publishers have rushed to find talented professionals with software programming degrees to bring new titles to market quickly.
6. Educational Administrator
- Median Salary: $68,340
- Education: typically, a master's degree in education administration
- Bottom Line: Add education courses to an existing business or retail career to serve a different kind of customer demand.
As school districts reduce class sizes and increase the number of school facilities nationwide, many successful business managers are finding success as administrators. By stacking a degree in education administration over an existing bachelor's degree, graduates can meet state requirements while bringing fresh insight to a crucial, challenging profession.
7. Graphic Designer
- Median Salary: $38,030
- Education: graphic design degree
- Bottom Line: Ride the wave of localism and embrace the artistic style of your region.
Though graphic design schools were some of the first institutions to embrace the Internet, graduates have found tremendous success by building face-to-face relationships with clients or with employers. Successful graphic design school graduates understand how to develop projects that feel at home in a community.
8. Paralegal
- Median Salary: $39,130
- Education: certificate, associate, or bachelor-level paralegal training
- Bottom Line: Put your passion for justice to work without having to pass the bar.
Paralegal schools are turning out some of the most successful recent graduates to enter into the legal profession. While new lawyers face competition for attorney jobs, law firms are enrolling their secretaries in online paralegal training programs to help meet the demand for legal assistants.
9. Nursing Administrator
- Median Salary: $52,330
- Education: nursing degree, especially BSN
- Bottom Line: Make the leap from RN to BSN for better schedules and long term stability.
It's no secret that nursing careers are hot. However, registered nurses who earn their BSN degrees can qualify for higher level positions as supervisors and administrators. In this healthcare "seller's market," a few extra nursing school courses can lead to perks like steady schedules and stable assignments.
10. Accountant / Bookkeeper
- Median Salary: $28,570
- Education: associate-level accounting degree or higher
- Bottom Line: Upholding the best practices of business can lead to a rewarding career.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires many businesses to manage complex accounting programs. As an in-house bookkeeper for a small business, an accounting degree-holders can enjoy tremendous personal satisfaction along with strong job security.
With some New Year's resolution and a healthy dose of career training and education, 2008 could be the hottest year ever for your career.
This article is sponsored by Lincoln College of Technology
Lincoln gives you the academic reputation and personalized attention of a traditional college along with the convenience, flexibility, and value you need and expect from an online college... That's the Lincoln Difference.
