I’m always interested in learning where the job market is going next. Skill sets come and go. USA Today recently wrote about some interesting statistics, listing jobs that are growing fast, dying, and the highest paying.
10 Fastest Growing Jobs
The really interesting thing here is how much fossil fuel related jobs are growing. The world’s ever-increasing demand for oil is ramping up even more. Music directors were a surprise but sound is becoming ever more important in all aspects of media and marketing.
1. Service Unit Operators, Oil, Gas and Mining
2. Petroleum Engineers
3. Music Directors & Composers
4. Interpretors & Translators
5. Massage Therapists
6. Human Resources Specialists
7. Coaches & Scouts
8. Personal Financial Advisors
9. Personal Care Aides
10. Skin Care Specialists
10 Dying Jobs
A lot of classic construction-related skills are becoming obsolete. With the popularity of mobile devices like iPads and smart phones, people are doing their own typing or dictation. And as Egon said in Ghostbusters, “print is dead.”
1. Advertising and promotions managers
2. Carpenters’ helpers
3. Plasterers and stucco masons
4. Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
5. Brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, tile and marble setters
6. Computer operators
7. Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators and tenders
8. Word processors and typists
9. Prepress technicians
10. Semiconductor processors
9 Highest Paid Jobs
Lawyers have the greatest number of people with that skill set (over 500,000). No surprise on CEO’s (we’ve been hearing about their “overpay” for years). I’m shocked politicians didn’t make the list. Health services are on the rise with the continued aging of the baby boomers.
1. Lawyers
2. Financial Managers
3. Sales Managers
4. Computer & Information System Managers
5. Pharmacists
6. Chief Executives
7. Architectural and Engineering Managers
8. Marketing Managers
9. Family and General Practitioners
Best Job Skills to Have
Based on the above details, here’s a list of what’s going to be hot for the foreseeable future:
1. Engineering (structural design, fossil fuels)
2. Health services (doctors, long term care)
3. Foreign languages (the more the better)
4. Technology (programmers, user interface designers, usability, hardware design)
5. Human Resources (training, education, personal & organizational development)
It seems like about every five years or so, skill sets like this shift. Some are here to stay for a long time like health services. Others may have an inevitable end (petroleum). Regardless, the best thing to do is constantly keep learning, growing, and stay competitive.