Find a Job in a Fast Growing Field Using Labor Market Information For Your State

The question confronting most people who want toyou'll receive results based on the fastest growth in
find a job is "what's a good paying job with growthsheer 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 tradejobs requiring a two year community college or
boomed as people joined the wagon trains headingvocational school training program or 4 year
west.bachelor's degree.
Today, the boom is long gone and those wanting toWhat do you see when you do the job information
find a job with a future will most likely wish to staysearch?
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 begrowing jobs as determined by the number of jobs
expected to thrive in the future either in your homethat 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 Informationgrowth prospects for Alabama is computer software
to research potential jobs as you create a long termengineering and applications.
plan to find the job you feel is ideal for your skills andBy 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 useYou'll learn a wealth of information about this
the free service available at "America's Careerparticular 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 apeople in this job make in the particular state and
new window so you will not lose the instructions onnationwide based on government labor market
how to find a job with potential on this page wheninformation.
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'llPaying" 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 theseWhat job's come up? Hint: They'll be listed by the
headings:highest pay expressed (when possible) as an
(Again, these are for Alabama.) DemographicHOURLY wage and then an ANNUAL WAGE for the
Information:job you find in Hourly/Annual format.
2001 Population 4,468,900For Alabama (the answer may vary for your state)
2002 Labor Force 2,102,800the Top 10 are:
2002 Unemployment Rate 5.9%1 Commercial Pilots N/A /$59,100
2002 Median Household Income $37,6002 Computer Specialists, All Other $24.52/$51,000
2001 Per Capita Income $24,5003 Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse,
You'll be able to see how the state ranks nationallySubstation, and Relay $23.59/$49,100
and you'll be able to check unemployment rates by4 Radiation Therapists $22.67/$47,200
county just to know what you're up against in your5 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 growth7 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 openings9 Ship Engineers $21.13/$44,000
Occupations with the largest employment10 Telecommunications Equipment Installers and
Occupations with declining employmentRepairers, Except Line Installers $20.79/$43,200
Highest paying occupationsAgain, you can click on the job titles you find and go
At this point in your career search you'll also bedirectly to an occupational report.
asked to choose the level of education you're willingBy using Labor Market Information, you can find a
to achieve to enhance your income. The optionsjob with high growth potential, high wages, and
listed are... Overallusually a training requirement that involves only 2
Requiring only work experience or on-the-job trainingyears of training or less beyond high school.
Requiring post-secondary training or an associate'sRemember, you do not necessarily need a traditional
degree4 year degree to find a job with high growth
Requiring a bachelor's degree or higherpotential. You DO need specific skills however not
Click the appropriate button to make your selectionsmore "underwater basket weaving courses" at
and then you can hit "search" to find a job withcollege 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.