What You Should Know About Careers: Which Fields are Emerging

What You Should Know About Careers Which Fields are Emerging

It used to be simple. If your dad was a farmer, you were a farmer; if he was a carpenter, so were you. These days, there are more factors to consider when choosing a career path than there are flavors at Baskin Robbins: how much schooling a career will require, how well it pays, how flexible it is, how fulfilling it is, whether it will require you to move, etc. But career decisions have a more lasting impact than your decision to have Jamoca Almond Fudge instead of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Three Trends in Employment

Before embarking on earning a degree that won’t get you anywhere, consider these three trends that are changing the face of employment in the 21st century:

Automation: Some industries with jobs that were traditionally performed by humans are now being taken over by machines. This is not just the case on factory floors but also in banks and newsrooms.
Collaboration: Collaboration — maybe known to you as the sharing economy and the gig economy — has changed everything. There’s been a huge increase in people who work flexible hours for multiple employers (sometimes in various industries) to generate the equivalent of a full-time income (think freelancing and driving for Uber as employment).
Globalization: The growth of international business structures does open some doors for expanding companies’ reach, but it also closes some employment doors (when jobs are outsourced to other countries).

Keeping these three trends in mind should help you as you look at the big picture job market and the long-term success of your career. As the job market ebbs and flows, getting a master’s degree can be like a life vest that keeps you afloat even though the tides are changing.

Emerging Careers

Healthcare

We all know the era of aging Baby Boomers is looming, and that means that all services for the elderly, especially medical services, will be expanding. Therefore, with an advanced degree, the opportunity to take advantage of a number of rising career fields in the healthcare industry become available.

Nurse Practitioner: With an expected 53,400 new jobs in this field by 2024 and a median annual pay of $104k, NPs should be all set.

Physicians and Surgeons: The Bureau of Labor Statistics states a median salary of $187,200 and estimates 99,300 new jobs in the next decade.

Medical and Health Services Managers: They have an annual salary around $94k and there should be 56,300 new jobs in this field.

Physical Therapists: This job has a projected 71,800 new positions by 2024 and a median salary of $84k.

Tech

Breaking news: tech is still a massively growing industry — especially if you can have both the technical knowledge that comes with an advanced degree as well as the business savvy to oversee people.

Software Developers (both systems and applications): There should be 186,600 new people creating computer programs come 2024, and they’ll be making a median annual salary over $100k.

Computer and Information Systems Managers: These guys will be expanding by nearly 54,000 jobs and their salaries will be $131,600 annually.

Computer Systems Analysts: The employment growth is expected to reach 118,600 and salaries for this career are at a solid $85,800.

Miscellaneous Others

Financial Managers: BLS projects around 37,700 new jobs in this career field and $117,990 as a median salary. Some employers will accept a bachelor’s degree, but many seek workers with a higher degree.

Statistician: The age of Big Data is coming upon us, and we need statisticians to help us make sense of it all. This field is expected to grow by 34 percent, meaning over 10,00 new jobs in the next decade and workers will make $80,110.

Human Resources Manager: While the official entry point for an HR manager position can be a bachelor’s degree, employers have a strong preference for more experienced and educated managers. There should be about 10,000 new jobs in this field, and they’ll be paid $104,440.

Making a Wise Choice

You know what your hopes for the future are. Hopefully you can combine your interests with a practical skill set brought along by an advanced degree that will equip you for the future. But one last piece of advice for those of you who have a passion for something that didn’t make the list: The most successful people are those who spend their time improving themselves, gathering new knowledge, and mastering new talents. And getting a master’s degree is just one way you can improve yourself. “Building multiple skill sets — such as analytical expertise combined with a liberal-arts background, or scientific knowledge with a law degree — can be a terrific way to differentiate yourself in a cluttered job market.”