| The question confronting most people who want to | | | | you'll receive results based on the fastest growth in |
| find a job is "what's a good paying job with growth | | | | sheer number of jobs and you'll receive listings that |
| potential?" | | | | may require no education beyond high school up to |
| At one time, the Conestoga wagon building trade | | | | jobs requiring a two year community college or |
| boomed as people joined the wagon trains heading | | | | vocational school training program or 4 year |
| west. | | | | bachelor's degree. |
| Today, the boom is long gone and those wanting to | | | | What do you see when you do the job information |
| find a job with a future will most likely wish to stay | | | | search? |
| away from such a field. | | | | You see the first 25 of (for Alabama) 513 fastest |
| So how can you find a job that will reasonably be | | | | growing jobs as determined by the number of jobs |
| expected to thrive in the future either in your home | | | | that will be available between 2000 and 2010. |
| state or the state in which you choose to reside? | | | | As might be expected the job with the highest |
| One key is through using Labor Market Information | | | | growth prospects for Alabama is computer software |
| to research potential jobs as you create a long term | | | | engineering and applications. |
| plan to find the job you feel is ideal for your skills and | | | | By clicking on the job itself you find the "Occupation |
| interests. | | | | Report" for that state. |
| Your first step to find a job with potential is to use | | | | You'll learn a wealth of information about this |
| the free service available at "America's Career | | | | particular job and be able to watch an online job |
| InfoNet" a website sponsored by the U.S. | | | | video showing you just what a particular job involves. |
| Department of Labor. | | | | Since you want to find a job with good income |
| To find a job with growth potential in your state, | | | | potential, you'll see - on average - the kind of money |
| visit this state by state database. (This opens in a | | | | people in this job make in the particular state and |
| new window so you will not lose the instructions on | | | | nationwide based on government labor market |
| how to find a job with potential on this page when | | | | information. |
| you click the link!) | | | | Now let's try to find a job that's in the "Highest |
| After you've searched for a particular state - we'll | | | | Paying" category but only requiring a 2 year training |
| use Alabama as an example - here's what you'll find... | | | | program at the most. |
| 1) Basic demographic information under these | | | | What job's come up? Hint: They'll be listed by the |
| headings: | | | | highest pay expressed (when possible) as an |
| (Again, these are for Alabama.) Demographic | | | | HOURLY wage and then an ANNUAL WAGE for the |
| Information: | | | | job you find in Hourly/Annual format. |
| 2001 Population 4,468,900 | | | | For Alabama (the answer may vary for your state) |
| 2002 Labor Force 2,102,800 | | | | the Top 10 are: |
| 2002 Unemployment Rate 5.9% | | | | 1 Commercial Pilots N/A /$59,100 |
| 2002 Median Household Income $37,600 | | | | 2 Computer Specialists, All Other $24.52/$51,000 |
| 2001 Per Capita Income $24,500 | | | | 3 Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, |
| You'll be able to see how the state ranks nationally | | | | Substation, and Relay $23.59/$49,100 |
| and you'll be able to check unemployment rates by | | | | 4 Radiation Therapists $22.67/$47,200 |
| county just to know what you're up against in your | | | | 5 Electrical and Electronics Drafters $22.02/$45,800 |
| job search for a particular county! | | | | 6 Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians |
| 2) The next step to find a job in a growing | | | | $21.98/$45,700 |
| occupation is to choose the kind of growth | | | | 7 Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technicians |
| occupation you have in mind. | | | | $21.71/$45,200 |
| Your options will be... | | | | 8 Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate $21.16 |
| Fastest growing occupations | | | | $44,000 |
| Occupations with the most openings | | | | 9 Ship Engineers $21.13/$44,000 |
| Occupations with the largest employment | | | | 10 Telecommunications Equipment Installers and |
| Occupations with declining employment | | | | Repairers, Except Line Installers $20.79/$43,200 |
| Highest paying occupations | | | | Again, you can click on the job titles you find and go |
| At this point in your career search you'll also be | | | | directly to an occupational report. |
| asked to choose the level of education you're willing | | | | By using Labor Market Information, you can find a |
| to achieve to enhance your income. The options | | | | job with high growth potential, high wages, and |
| listed are... Overall | | | | usually a training requirement that involves only 2 |
| Requiring only work experience or on-the-job training | | | | years of training or less beyond high school. |
| Requiring post-secondary training or an associate's | | | | Remember, you do not necessarily need a traditional |
| degree | | | | 4 year degree to find a job with high growth |
| Requiring a bachelor's degree or higher | | | | potential. You DO need specific skills however not |
| Click the appropriate button to make your selections | | | | more "underwater basket weaving courses" at |
| and then you can hit "search" to find a job with | | | | college that are unrelated to a specific field. |
| growth potential. | | | | 4 year degrees are nice and even graduate degrees |
| In this case we'll select "Fastest growth" and "overall" | | | | are important to find a job in some fields. But |
| educational requirements. | | | | increasingly, 2 year specialized programs are |
| When you search to find a job with these criteria, | | | | dominating the field as far as improving wages. |