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Future Job Growth

            The industry where your job is positioned and the occupation that becomes your life’s work will have a big impact on almost every facet of your life whether you live in Nashville or elsewhere. Careful consideration should be given to placing yourself in the right position. Selecting a stagnant industry or occupation, could result in barriers and pitfalls down the road with few alternative opportunities. Growth industries and occupations may also have barriers and pitfalls, but they will generally have more opportunities available. Don’t always just look at immediate or short-term barriers that can trip you up, also consider long-term potential for problems.

            It is important to realize that industries and occupations are not the same. To understand the difference between an industry and an occupation, look at them this way. An industry is the employers with jobs organized to accomplish a similar purpose. An occupation is what you within an industry do to earn a living – the job itself.

            Industries and occupations can be interrelated or not interrelated. For instance, a registered nurse is almost always found in the health care industry, but an accountant can be found in health care, communications or about anywhere else.

            Being in an occupation that is not in a growth mode can still offer plenty of opportunities if you are in a growth industry. If you are in both, the opportunities should be even better during your career.

            There is an old saying, “I would rather be lucky than good.” Your selection of the more promising employer and job can greatly influence how much luck you will have in your future career. High growth industries and employers are more likely to provide lucky opportunities and fewer barriers than slow growing ones.

 

INDUSTRIES

 

If you are in or decide to be in an industry that is not expected to see significant growth, you may be limiting your long-term employment and promotion prospects. Staying within the expanding industries may offer you, not only greater opportunities, but also long-term stability since they should experience less downsizing and layoffs over time. Even if you are in a support occupation such as an accountant, administrative assistant or buyer; placing yourself in one of the growth industries could prove beneficial. Being in one of these industries could also give you more flexibility on where you want to live, particularly if there is nationwide demand.

Growth industries are not all the same. Some are considered emerging and some are in a more mature state. Emerging industries in the short run will generally have fewer opportunities until demand for the product or service rises. However, emerging industries can at times expand quickly because of intrinsic changes in the industry and extrinsic adjustments in workplace, culture, economy or demographics. In the 1980s for instance, the demand for personal computers exploded in the emerging industry as available software improved dramatically and the increase in handling large amounts of information was needed. The result was an increased need for employees to fill the newly created positions. Growth in personal computers also spurred the growth of other industries, such as educational training.

Mature growth industries can be relatively new or older. What separates them all from non-growth industries is the level of demand for their products or services to be produced in the United States.

What all this means is positioning in the right job can have long term benefits. So give your employment choice at least a lot of thought. This does not mean you have to be in a growth industry, but consideration should be given to them in your goal setting.

 

 

EMERGING INDUSTRIES

 

The following are some of the emerging industries offering many employment opportunities now, but they should become growth industries within five to ten years and significantly impact other industrial group’s employment such as health care.

 

·        Biotechnology

·        Nanotechnology

·        Cybersecurity

·        Homeland Security

·        Life Care Planning

 

GROWTH INDUSTRIES

 

The Department of Labor breaks down projected industry growth industries for the next 10 years by largest job growth (total actual numbers) and fastest job growth (accumulated percentage). Either way employment in the industries is projected to be in high demand during the next ten years. The following are the top 10 broken-down by group.

 

Industries With Largest Job Growth In Next 10 Years

 

             Industry                                                   Jobs  Increase        Percentage   

·        Employment Services                                            1,579,900                  + 45.5

·        Local Government Educational Services                  783,000                  +10.1

·        Local Government, not education/hospitals              763,700                  +13.9

·        Offices of Physicians                                                 759,500                  +37.0

·        Full-Service Restaurants                                            701,400                  +16.6

·        Private General & Surgical Hospitals                        648,100                  +16.0

·        Limited-Service Eating Places                                   591,900                  +15.9

·        Home Health Care Services                                       537,100                  +69.5

·        Private Colleges & Professional Schools                   472,300                  +34.3

·        Management, Scientific & Tech Consulting              471,200                  +60.5

                 

 

 

 

Industries With Fastest Job Growth In Next 10 Years

 

Industry                                                      Jobs Increase         Percentage                      

·        Private Educational Support Services                          53,000                   +79.1

·        Home Health Care Services                                        537,100                   +69.5

·        Software Publishing                                                    161,300                   +67.6

·        Management, Scientific & Tech Consulting               471,200                  +60.5

·        Elderly Community Care Facilities                             319,500                  +54.5

·        Outpatient Care Centers, not mental or substance       149,000                  +49.9

·        Residential Mental Health & Substance Abuse             76,800                  +49.9

·        Offices of All Other Health Practitioners                      35,300                  +49.3

·        Residential Mental Retardation Facilities                    159,600                  +47.3

·        Facilities Support Services                                             54,400                 +47.1

 

CHAPTER 14

DEMAND FOR OCCUPATIONS IN THE FUTURE

 

            Your selection of an occupation can mean greater opportunities over the span of your career. Careful consideration should be given to your skills, motivation and ability to determine your occupation. Selecting a growth occupation is not necessarily the best choice for everyone. Sometimes situational issues influence the selection. There are just too many variables to consider. But consideration should always be given to your occupation. Don’t just leave it up to chance.

 

GROWTH OCCUPATIONS

 

            The Department of Labor also breaks down occupational projections for the next 10 years by largest job growth (total actual numbers) and the fastest growing occupations (percentage accumulated). Occupations with the largest job growth are not as likely to require college graduation as the fastest growing occupations, which more often likely to require at least a college degree. The following are lists of the two groups.

 

Occupations With Largest Job Growth In Next 10 Years

 

                        Occupation                                                  Jobs Increase        Percentage 

·        Retail Salespeople                                               736,000                    +17.3

·        Registered Nurses                                                703,000                     +29.4

·        Teachers Postsecondary                                       524,000                    +32.2

·        Customer Service Representatives                        471,000                     +22.8

·        Janitors & Cleaners, not maids/housekeepers    440,000                         +18.5

·        Waiters & Waitresses                                           376,000                     +16.7

·        Food Preparation and Serving   Combined           367,000                     +17.1

·        Home Health Aids                                                350,000                     +56.0

·        Nursing Aids, Orderlies & Attendants       325,000                     +22.3

·        General & Operations Managers                           308,000                     +17.0

·        Personal & Home Care Aids                                287,000                     +41.0

·        Elementary School Teachers                                 265,000                     +18.2

·        Accountants & Auditors                                       264,000                     +22.4

·        Office Clerks                                                        263,000                     + 8.4

·        Freight, Stock & Material Movers                        248,000                     +10.2

·        Receptionists & Information Clerks                       246,000                     +21.7

·        Landscaping & Groundskeeping Workers             230,000                    +19.5

·        Tractor-Trailer and Heavy Truck Drivers              223,000                     +12.9

·        Computer Software Engineers                   222,000                     +48.4

·        Maintenance & Repair Workers                           202,000                     +15.2

·        Medical Assistants                                                202,000                     +52.1

·        Executive Secretaries & Admin Assistants             192,000                     +12.4

·        Sales Representatives Wholesale/Manufacture  187,000                          +12.9

·        Carpenters                                                           186,000                     +13.8

·        Teacher Assistants                                                183,000                     +14.1

·        Child Care Workers                                             176,000                     +13.8

·        Maids & House Keeping                                      165,000                     +11.6

·        Light & Delivery Truck Drivers                 164,000                     +15.6

·        Computer Systems Analysts                                  153,000                     +31.4                

 

                

Occupations With Fastest Job Growth In 10 Years

                 

      Occupation                                              Jobs Increase          Percentage

·        Home Health Aids                                                350,000                   +56.0

·        Network & Data Communication Analysts        126,000                       +54.6

·        Medical Assistants                                                202,000                   +52.1

·        Physician Assistants                                                31,000                   +49.6

·        Computer Software Applications Engineers      222,000                        +44.4

·        Physical Therapist Assistants                                   26,000                   +44.2

·        Dental Hygienist                                                      68,000                    +44.3

·        Computer Software Systems Engineers     146,000                   +43.0

·        Dental Assistants                                                  114,000                    +42.7

·        Personal & Home Care Aids                                287,000                   +41.0

·        Network & Computer Systems Administrators 107,000                        +38.4

·        Database Administrators                                        40,000                    +38.2

·        Physical Therapists                                                57,000                    +36.7

·        Forensic Science Technicians                                   4,000                     +36.4

·        Veterinary Technologists & Technicians                 21,000                    +35.3 

·        Diagnostic Medical Sonographers                          15,000                    +34.8

·        Physical Therapist Aids                              15,000                    +34.4

·        Occupational Therapist Assistants                            7,000                    +34.1

·        Medical Scientists, not epidemiologists       25,000                     +34.1

·        Occupational Therapists                                         31,000                     +33.6

·        Preschool Teachers, not special ed                       143,000                    +33.1

·        Cardiolvascular Technologists & Techs      15,000                    +32.6

·        Postsecondary Teachers                                      524,000                    +32.2

·        Hydrologists                                                            3,000                    +31.6

·        Computer System Analysts                                  153,000                    +31.4

·        Hazardous Materials Removal Workers                 12,000                     +31.2

·        Biomedical Engineers                                               3,000                    +30.7

·        Employment Recruitment Specialists           55,000                    +30.5 

·        Environmental Engineers                                        15,000                    +30.0

·        Paralegals & Legal Assistants                                6 7,000                     +29.7

    

 

 

 

      OCCUPTAIONS IN DECLINE

 

            Being aware of occupations on decline is important for career decision making purposes. The following are occupations the Department of Labor projects will decline during the next decade.

 

            Occupation

·        Farmers &Ranchers

·        Stock Clerks & Order Fillers

·        Sewing Machine Operators

·        File Clerks

·        Order Clerks

·        Mail Clerks & Mail Machine Operators, not postal service

·        Computer Operators

·        Secretaries, not legal, medical or executive

·        Cutting, Punching, & Press Machine Operators

·        Telemarketers

·        Word Processors & Typists

·        Credit Authorizers, Checkers & Clerks

·        Machine Feeders & Offbearers

·        Textile Winding, Twisting, Drawing Out Machine Operators & Tenders

·        Utility Meter Readers

·        Office Machine Operators, not computer

·        Extruding & Drawing Machine Setters & Operators

·        Switchboard & Answer Service Operators

·        Door to Door Sales Workers, News & Street Vendors