5 BIGGEST TRENDS IMPACTING THE JOB MARKET

Whether you're about to graduate from high school or are a working adult looking for a career change, choosing a college major can be confusing. It's challenging to select a career path that matches up with your personal passions and still puts food on the table. Understanding some of the trends that shape the job market can help narrow your search. If you're looking for job security and growth, you'll want to focus on the industries that are adding the most new jobs in the coming decade.

Aging Baby Boomers

The largest demographic group in the United States is heading for retirement. Of course, this will mean something very different for many baby boomers than for older generations. Boomers have maintained their health and stayed in the job market longer than any other generation of citizens in our country's history.

As they grow older, baby boomers will require more frequent, specialized medical care. They will also want to maintain connections with careers and family for as long as possible. Therefore, expect to see continued growth in fields that cater to their wishes. The assisted living industry will continue to outpace other areas of healthcare, while growing teams of social workers will help care for less fortunate baby boomers.

Better Medicine

The high output of the pharmaceutical industry, combined with constant innovation in the rest of the medical field, helps us live longer, more productive lives. New treatments for previously fatal diseases require new approaches for rehabilitation. Likewise, many adults expect to work far beyond the traditional retirement age. Therefore, patients demand a new generation of physical therapists and other specialists to help prolong their quality of life.

Increased Costs of Child Care

As today's parents demand higher quality from their child care providers, the marketplace has responded with a variety of programs to help meet parents' needs. The explosive growth of pre-kindergarten educational programs call for highly trained educators who command more competitive salaries than their predecessors. Therefore, especially in major cities, the cost of caring for young children has skyrocketed. As a result, early childhood education has become a more lucrative and more stable profession than ever before. Though it has traditionally been a low-paying job, child care specialists today can expect to earn far more money today than peers who entered the field even a few years ago.

On a related note, the rising cost of child care has encouraged many parents to seek opportunities to work from home. Taking advantage of distributed work options, professions that allow parents to spend time with young children have enjoyed rapid growth. Even when those positions pay less than office jobs, the savings created by avoiding paid child care adds tremendous value for families.

Rapid Technology Growth

Despite fears that many American companies look overseas for development of new technology, the rapid advance of ideas and the need for constant upgrades assure U.S. technology professionals of consistent job security over the next ten years. Businesses of all kinds have found themselves locked into the equivalent of an arms race with their competitors. Companies must provide their teams with the best equipment and resources, or face defeat.

Likewise, continual innovation assures technology workers that new machines, cables and other equipment will have to be installed every few years. Even Internet infrastructure, which was designed to provide nearly limitless connections, is being overhauled to accommodate a previously unimaginable number of new devices. Therefore, IT professionals who specialize in networking, installation and support will remain in demand as more businesses rely on new technology to help them compete.

Distributed Work

The giant factories and smokestacks of a hundred years ago are fading into the pages of history books. Many of today's workers report for duty at smaller offices or manufacturing plants, connected by information networks and sophisticated shipping infrastructure.

A growing number of employees, especially specialized consultants and leaders, divide their time among multiple locations at companies or client organizations. This trend has led to the use of "hot desking," where workers report to a different workstation at the start of each shift, instead of keeping their own desk or cubicle. Many workers telecommute, allowing them to reinvest time spent commuting into more productive work or family time.

As a side effect, more workers are relocating to larger homes, farther away from city centers. Whether they want to enjoy more peaceful surroundings or they simply want to reconnect with family or friends, these shifting workers create demand for home construction, renovation and infrastructure development.

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