Hottest Careers

Defining Hot Careers

The term hot job is thrown around a lot by employers, experts, and journalists.  You need to know what makes a job hot before you shift careers or seek a new degree.  When we refer to hot jobs, we are often discussing jobs that are experiencing great growth at present.  Nursing and health care careers are currently hot jobs because of the constant demand for experienced professionals.  These careers will remain hot for the next generation as millions of baby boomers move into retirement.  Another career that will see constant growth in the next generation is information technology.  IT engineers and help desk professionals will be able to find work at companies of all sizes throughout the world. 

Job seekers must differentiate hot careers from careers that are high paying, but may be evolving in a different direction.  Careers in auto manufacturing represent perfect examples of professional paths on the move.  For five decades, a job in an auto plant was lucrative in terms of pay as well as pension.  Automakers worldwide have introduced robotic production on certain product lines, thus reducing the need for line workers.  The next generation of cars will be all-electrics, hybrids, and alt-fuel vehicles produced by highly trained professionals.  This type of career requires a professional who is flexible, a quick learner, and willing to change with the industry. 

Projecting Hot Careers

Before seeking information from outside sources, you should conduct your own assessment of hot careers.  You can merely think about the latest trends that you see daily to determine the hottest jobs on the market.  Consumers are beginning to see flex-fuel vehicles, hybrids, organic food, and other sustainable products.  By simple observation, you can assume that jobs with concentrations in greener products will be big in the next few decades. 

A personal projection of the 10 hottest careers on the market should also involve some media research.  Cable news networks feature hours of content daily dealing with the stock market, jobs news, and business trends.  You can learn about specific employers and their competitors by looking into upwardly mobile stocks.  Newspaper stories and videos about new types of businesses can give you a leg up on fellow job seekers.  Your media consumption may also reveal stories about declining industries, freelance job opportunities, and other options for your career search. 

U.S. News & World Report®

The leading publication in ranking schools and employment opportunities in the United States is U.S. News & World Report® (http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/).  This magazine is known by many consumers for its cutting-edge explorations of politics, international affairs, and the economy.  College students and job seekers also flock to U.S. News & World Report® for its subsidiary publications.  The online Rankings section available on the publication’s website covers everything from the top 100 colleges to the 10 hottest careers.  In particular, you can focus on the magazine’s 50 Hottest Careers section to find your next career path. 

The 50 Hottest Careers include listings for the best careers each year to trace the evolution of the job market.  You can use U.S. News & World Report® as a job search tool to pursue job vacancies in these hot careers.  Articles like “6 Ways to Keep Family from Derailing Your Career” provide information on how to develop a successful professional life.  The publication delivers this information in myriad formats including traditional articles, blog posts, videos, and slide shows.  You can stay on top of the latest news about the hottest careers in America with U.S. News & World Report®. 

Career Explorer©

Job seekers know that multiple sources of career information are critical to locating the hottest careers.  Career Explorer© (http://www.careerexplorer.net/) features a section on its website detailing the Ten Hottest Careers in a particular year.  This report on the hottest careers includes the fastest growing occupations over the past ten years.  Each job listed in the Ten Hottest Careers report includes a salary range, description, and associated job titles.  After learning about the hottest careers in 2010, you can proceed to build your resume for a career shift. 

Career Explorer© features aptitude tests for dozens of jobs that help you determine if a career change is in your best interest.  The website also contains a search tool where users can input their ZIP codes and educational interests to find the right schools.  Career Explorer helps college students track down book rentals, financial aid, and housing at their selected schools.  Users can also locate blog entries, career videos, and salary reports that make sense of a confusing job market. 

Search4CareerColleges©

A third tool that tracks the 10 hottest careers on the American job market is Search4CareerColleges© (http://www.search4careercolleges.com/).  Given the website’s name, it is clear that the focus of its job lists is to encourage users to seek vocational education.  At the top of the main page, you will see a listing of the 10 hottest careers according to the website editors.  These careers cover professional fields ranging from information technology to court reporting.  You can merely input your ZIP code next to the careers list and submit your preferred career to find schools in your area. 

Search4CareerColleges© is a great clearinghouse of information on the nation’s hottest career paths.  You can read through job descriptions for hundreds of jobs to narrow your career options.  If you are looking for education in another career area, you can simply use the school search tool to track down a local college or university.  Search4CareerColleges© maintains a career and education blog linked to its main page for the latest in job market information.  Users also gain access to articles on succeeding in college, building a prosperous career, and advancing from entry-level jobs.  By using all three websites, you can get a good feel for which careers will be booming in the next decade.