Five Promising Career Fields – No Matter What the Economy Does

The following is a post by MPFJ staff writer, Kevin Mercadante, who is a freelance professional personal finance blogger for hire, and the owner of his own personal finance blog, OutOfYourRut.com. He has backgrounds in both accounting and the mortgage industry.

As the economy moves forward it destroys certain career fields, but creates entirely new ones. Those new careers are certainly promising since they’re on the cutting edge. But there’s no way to predict the longevity of brand-new career fields. If you are looking for a promising career field, there are five that have withstood the test of time, and are likely to prosper no matter what the economy does.

Those include healthcare, computers, sales, education, and financial services, particularly those related to retirement. For statistics we’ll be relying on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Healthcare

When we think of healthcare, we immediately think of doctors and dentists and a variety of high level specialists. In truth, the healthcare field is strong almost across the board.

Registered Nurse is an obvious choice. Median pay is $65,470, and the field is expected to add 526,800 jobs, or a 19% increase in employment. That’s well above the rate of growth for the job market in general (about 12%). Just as important, RN’s can work in a wide variety of environments, including hospitals, nursing facilities, clinics, schools and private practices.

Some other healthcare careers to consider:

• Dental Hygienist:
  Median income: $70,200
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 64,200
  Percent increase: 33%

• Pharmacists:
  Median income: $116,670
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 41,400
  Percent increase: 14%

• Physical Therapists:
  Median income: $79,860
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 73,500
  Percent increase: 36%

• Occupational Therapists:
  Median income: $75,400
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 32,800
  Percent increase: 29%

Almost any field in healthcare offers not only strong earnings, but also a very secure future as the number of jobs increase to meet the demand of an aging population.

Computers

This is another field that’s much more diverse than it seems to the average person. Computer Programmers, perhaps the most visible computer specialists, have a median income of $74,280. But somewhat surprisingly, the field is expected to add just 28,400 jobs by 2022, an increase of only 8% which is below the rate of growth for the overall US job market.

Other niches in the computer field are expected to fair much better. For example:

• Database Administrators:
  Median income: $77,080
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 17,900
  Percent increase: 15%

• Computer Network Architects:
  Median income: $91,000
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 20,900
  Percent increase: 15%

• Computer Systems Analysts:
  Median income: $79,680
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 127,700
  Percent increase: 25%

• Information Security Analysts:
  Median income: $86,170
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 27,400
  Percent increase: 37%

• Software Developers:
  Median income: $93,350
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 222,600
  Percent increase: 22%

Even though prospects have slowed for Computer Programmers, the rest of the computer field looks very promising.

Sales

Sales is something of a career mixed bag. There is a sales category connected with just about any and every industry in the country. According to the BLS, most sales fields will grow no faster than the general job market, and some will grow even slower. Incomes meanwhile are all over the map. Travel agents earn a median income of $34,600 per year, while sales engineers earn a median of $91,830.

But when it comes to sales, median income levels and future job prospects vary widely. In fact, generally speaking, the success or failure of a given sales position depends mostly upon the skills, ability, knowledge, and dedication of the salesperson. A good salesperson can easily make six figures in just about any industry niche. Underperforming salespeople can end up doing little better than minimum wage.

But the reason that sales is a promising career field is based on pure necessity. Virtually every business that exists to sell a product or service needs skilled salespeople to keep their income flowing. If you are good at sales, you’ll not only have an above average income, but you’ll also have an almost unlimited future. Many companies promote successful salespeople to top management positions, such as sales director, and even chief operating officer.

If you are naturally good at sales, there are few other career fields where you can earn as much money and enjoy the level of career stability.

Education

Education doesn’t pay as well as health care, the computer field, or even certain sales positions. And as a rule, job growth is expected to be at or below the rate for the entire job market. So why include education as a promising career field? Not only are there literally millions of jobs in education, but the career stability tends to be higher than average. Not only are people who work in the field less likely to lose their jobs in a bad economy, but they typically also enjoy better employee benefits as a result of being part of the public system.

Here are some of the more typical career fields in education:

• Career and Technical Education Teachers:
  Median income: $51,910
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 21,400
  Percent increase: 9%

• Adult Literacy and High School Equivalency Teachers:
  Median income: $48,590
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 6,700
  Percent increase: 9%

• Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers:
  Median income: $53,090
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 188,400
  Percent increase: 12%

• High School Teachers:
  Median income: $55,050
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 52,900
  Percent increase: 6%

• Instructional Coordinators:
  Median income: $60,050
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 18,500
  Percent increase: 12%

• Middle School Teachers:
  Median income: $53,430
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 76,000
  Percent increase: 12%

• Librarian:
  Median income: $55,370
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 11,000
  Percent increase: 7%

• Post-Secondary Teachers (Includes College Professors who can earn upwards of $100,000 per year):
  Median income: $68,970
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 236,400
  Percent increase: 19%

• Special Education Teachers:
  Median income: $55,060
  Number of new jobs expected through 2022: 26,600
  Percent increase: 6%

Financial Services – Especially Retirement Planning

Financial services, like sales, encompasses a wide range of career fields, from accountants to real estate appraisers, to insurance underwriters. Future prospects income levels for all of the careers within the field vary incredibly. But one area that’s growing rapidly are personal financial advisors, especially those involving retirement planning.

According to the BLS, the median pay for personal financial advisors is $67,520 per year. But the field is expected to add 60,300 positions by 2012, an increase of 27% over the current level.

The reason for this growth is simple: there is an aging population with a greater need for financial planning services. There are not only more people in or approaching retirement than ever before, but they are expected to live a lot longer than in the past. There is a huge need for financial planners who work specifically in the retirement area.

We should expect this trend to continue for the next two or three decades, making this one of the more promising career fields available, no matter what the economy does in that time.

If you’re planning your future career – or contemplating a career change – any of these fields hold a lot of promise, no matter what the economy does.

How about you all? Are you planning a new career or career change? Are you in or moving into a career that has promise regardless of what the economy does that was not listed above?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

**Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/tulanesally/6881550355/sizes/n/