Top Careers in demand:
Seven of the 10 fastest-growing
jobs in the country are related to the medical profession,
according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
or BLS.
The bureau's Occupational Outlook Handbook projects employment
will grow 50 percent or more between 2004 and 2014 for
home-health aides, medical assistants and physician assistants.
Over the same period, job growth will climb in excess
of 40 percent for physical therapist assistants, dental
assistants and personal and home-care aides.
"As the population gets older, there is a higher
demand for all types of health-care services, so more
workers are needed," says Debra Stock, vice president
of the American Hospital Association in Chicago. "The
other thing fueling demand in the industry is the fact
that many current health-care workers are getting older
themselves and starting to retire. You put those two trends
together and it means huge opportunity in terms of employment."
Demand for skilled workers in the dental industry, meanwhile,
is largely a result of the growing number of hygienists
and assistants performing services previously provided
by dentists. Hygienists, who often work part-time for
several offices, earned a median hourly wage of about
$26.59 in 2002, the most recent year for which data are
available from the bureau. Assistants, who perform more
clerical duties, earned a median $13.10 per hour.
Job prospects for dental hygienists and assistants "are
expected to remain excellent," writes the BLS in
its Career Guide to Industries. "As dentists' workloads
increase, they are expected to hire more hygienists to
perform preventive dental care, such as cleaning, so that
they may devote their own time to more profitable procedures."
