Five “Simple” Steps to Find High-Demand Jobs and High-Demand Majors
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My mission is to empower youth with: - The knowledge about career possibilities, and the education and training needed to attain them - The creative-thinking and emotional skills that make for good career decisions and which employers prefer; - And the resilience needed to flourish in life.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Five “Simple” Steps to Find High-Demand Jobs and High-Demand Majors
When deciding among over 20,000 job titles and over 3000 colleges, it’s important to best your best advocate. No one can tell you what’s right for you. The following steps sound easy, but will require you to do some reading and thinking about your own interests, values and skills before making final decisions. And you’ll probably have to back-track through these steps several times before you have information that feels actionable to you.
You’ll also have to carefully consider what you’re willing to do to attain these jobs. And realize that “everything depends”:
- on what you’re willing to do to get the job (including taking steps to increase and broaden some of your natural skills), and
- on the specific opportunities available from the specific employers in your area, and their hiring criteria.
Once you’re armed with the facts and a plan, you’ll be more motivated and confident, with the greatest chance of meeting your goals.
1. Research the high-demand jobs and high-demand majors can be researched for each state at http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco20024.htm
The Department of Labor currently publishes projections for growth, number of openings, and salary levels through 2016.
2. Once you know the projections for your state, you can read about the job requirements in the Occupational Outlook Handbook by plugging in the SOC code.
3. Learn about job requirements, including education by reading the job description.
4. If you’re college-bound, use a search engine like College Board’s Matchmarker to plug in the type of degree you need to get the job. If you register at this site, you can also create and save a list of potential colleges, using your criteria for cost, location, and many more factors.
If you’re not college-bound, or want to make a career change without returning to college, look into training programs at your local community or career colleges, or certifications available through professional associations.
5. Talk to faculty, not just the admissions folks, at the colleges or programs that you’re considering. Share your research and questions with your prospective instructors and get their reaction. The really “connected” faculty will be approachable and knowledgeable about where recent students are working today.
Remember, most hiring decisions are based on “soft skills,” so you must polish up your communication and team work skills. Nearly everyone thinks that they have these skills, but you must be able to show specific examples of your work style during interviews.
Write to us at info@whatsyourmajor.net for advice and workshops for college planning and success!
www.whatsyourmajor.net
Jill Bernaciak Linked In Profile
You’ll also have to carefully consider what you’re willing to do to attain these jobs. And realize that “everything depends”:
- on what you’re willing to do to get the job (including taking steps to increase and broaden some of your natural skills), and
- on the specific opportunities available from the specific employers in your area, and their hiring criteria.
Once you’re armed with the facts and a plan, you’ll be more motivated and confident, with the greatest chance of meeting your goals.
1. Research the high-demand jobs and high-demand majors can be researched for each state at http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco20024.htm
The Department of Labor currently publishes projections for growth, number of openings, and salary levels through 2016.
2. Once you know the projections for your state, you can read about the job requirements in the Occupational Outlook Handbook by plugging in the SOC code.
3. Learn about job requirements, including education by reading the job description.
4. If you’re college-bound, use a search engine like College Board’s Matchmarker to plug in the type of degree you need to get the job. If you register at this site, you can also create and save a list of potential colleges, using your criteria for cost, location, and many more factors.
If you’re not college-bound, or want to make a career change without returning to college, look into training programs at your local community or career colleges, or certifications available through professional associations.
5. Talk to faculty, not just the admissions folks, at the colleges or programs that you’re considering. Share your research and questions with your prospective instructors and get their reaction. The really “connected” faculty will be approachable and knowledgeable about where recent students are working today.
Remember, most hiring decisions are based on “soft skills,” so you must polish up your communication and team work skills. Nearly everyone thinks that they have these skills, but you must be able to show specific examples of your work style during interviews.
Write to us at info@whatsyourmajor.net for advice and workshops for college planning and success!
www.whatsyourmajor.net
Jill Bernaciak Linked In Profile
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