Top Jobs for 2009 and Beyond

It is obviously not possible to peer into some kind of crystal ball and then to predict the best jobs for the future. We can however analyze some trends in the world around us and then make some informed predictions based on them. With this in mind, here are some of the major trends affecting the modern workplace:

• A large aging population: The ‘Baby Boomer’ generation, one of the biggest single age cohorts of modern time is nearing retirement and old age. This means that there will be a great demand for services aimed at older people (e.g. residential care and geriatric health)
• Rapid medical advances: The medical profession is continuing to grow and to pioneer innovative new treatments for a variety of diseases and conditions. This makes it a high growth area as people are living longer and therefore need more medical treatment. More new treatments will also translate into more demand for medical services.
• Rapid technological growth: With the growth of technology come new challenges and opportunities in the sense that it will both create jobs (especially for people to manage and apply the technology) and take them away (by automating them).
• Rapid growth in the reach and quality of pre-school childcare: More and more mothers choose to return to work on a full time basis, thus creating the need for more quality child care places. This means that the childcare industry is rapidly moving from a source of low paid jobs to a stable career base.
• Rapid growth in ‘distributed working’: Technology is continuing to make new working patterns possible. This means that more and more job opportunities will cease to be office based or will be designed around a flexible working system.
• Short term (hopefully!) financial turmoil: The ‘credit crunch’ has meant that there will be a great need for people to help ‘sort out the mess’ over the next few years.

The trends mentioned above are borne out by the Employment Projections for 2006-16 published by the United State Bureau of Labor Statistics[1]. According to this report the ten careers that will experience the most employment growth over the next decade are:

1. Registered Nurses
2. Retail Salespersons
3. Customer Service Representatives
4. Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food
5. Office clerks, general
6. Personal and home care aides
7. Home health aides
8. Janitors and cleaners
9. Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants
10. Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks

 

 The ten occupations that will grow the fastest are:

1. Network systems and data communication analysts
2. Personal and home care aides
3. Home health aides
4. Computer software engineers, applications
5. Veterinary technologists and technicians
6. Personal financial advisors
7. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance
8. Medical assistants
9. Veterinarians
10. Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors

The ten industries with the largest wage and salary employment growth are likely to be:

1. Management, scientific and technical consulting services
2. Employment services
3. General medical and surgical hospitals, public and private
4. Elementary and secondary schools, public and private
5. Local government, excluding education and hospitals
6. Offices of physicians
7. Limited-service eating places
8. Colleges, universities, and professional schools, public and private
9. Computer systems design and related services
10. Home health care services

Based on all the above, our recommendations for the top jobs of 2009 are:

1. Home Foreclosure Specialist
2. Day Care Worker
3. Management Consultant
4. Computer Programmer
5. Employment Consultant
6. Home Care Specialist
7. Network Engineer
8. Social Service Coordinator
9. Physician’s Assistant
10. Personal Financial Advisors (especially those specializing in rebuilding credit)