6 Hot Careers With Lots Of Jobs

With an aging baby boomer population, it should come as no surprise that seven of the 20 fastest-growing occupations are healthcare related. In fact, three of every 10 new jobs created in the U.S. economy by 2014 will be in healthcare services. But even in the promising healthcare field, there are a few key careers that really stand out.

1. Pharmacist

Job Duties: Distribute prescribed drugs, advise patients on medications, and monitor patient health and progress.

Required Education: A Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an accredited college or school of pharmacy. This four-year programs requires two years of postsecondary study for admission, along with a good score on the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT).

Pay: Median annual salary of $94,520

2. Physical Therapist Assistant

Job Duties: Assist physical therapists by providing patient treatment - such as exercises, traction and ultrasound - under supervision.

Required Education: A two-year associate's degree from an accredited physical therapy assistant program. Some states also require licensing.

Pay: Median annual salary of $41,360

3. Dental Hygienist

Job Duties: Perform basic clinical care for dental patients (examine teeth and gums, basic cleaning etc.), take x-rays, prepare tests for dentists' interpretation and teach preventive dental care.

Required Education: A minimum of a two-year associate's degree or certificate from an accredited dental hygiene school as well as a state license. Bachelor's or master's degrees are required for positions involving research, teaching or clinical practice in public or school health programs.

Pay: Median hourly pay of $30.19

4. Dental Assistant

Job Duties: Work under the supervision of dentists to sterilize and disinfect instruments and equipment, prepare and lay out instruments, obtain patients' dental records, provide assistance to dentists during treatment, and instruct patients on postoperative and general oral healthcare.

Required Education: Minimum of a high school degree, and preferably a dental-assistant training program accredited by the American Dental Association (ADA) through either a one-year certificate or a two-year associate's degree from a community or junior college.

Pay: Median hourly earnings of $14.53

5. Personal or Home Healthcare Aide

Job Duties: Provide housekeeping and routine personal care services such as laundry, meal-planning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc. for elderly, disabled, ill or mentally incapacitated individuals at home or at residential care facilities.

Required Education: Varies by state - some states require only on-the-job training, while others require completion of coursework through community college, home healthcare agencies or vocational schools.

Pay: Median hourly earnings of $8.54

6. Medical Scientist

Job Duties: Study biological systems to understand the cause of diseases, develop treatments and design research tools for medical applications.

Required Education: A Ph.D. in biological science and typically postdoctoral work in a senior researcher's lab.

Pay: Median annual earnings of $61,680

6 Career-Killing Facebook Mistakes

With more than 400 million active visitors, Facebook is arguably the most popular social networking site out there. And while the site is known for the casual social aspect, many users also use it as a professional networking tool. With that kind of reach, Facebook can be a valuable tool for connecting to former and current colleagues, clients and potential employers. In fact, surveys suggest that approximately 30% of employers are using Facebook to screen potential employees – even more than those who check LinkedIn, a strictly professional social networking site. Don't make these Facebook faux-pas – they might cost you a great opportunity.

1. Inappropriate Pictures
   It may go without saying, but prospective employers or clients don't want to see pictures of you chugging a bottle of wine or dressed up for a night at the bar. Beyond the pictures you wouldn't want your grandparents to see, seemingly innocent pictures of your personal life will likely not help to support the persona you want to present in your professional life.
   
   
2. Complaining About Your Current Job
   You've no doubt done this at least once. It could be a full note about how much you hate your office, or how incompetent your boss is, or it could be as innocent as a status update about how your coworker always shows up late. While everyone complains about work sometimes, doing so in a public forum where it can be found by others is not the best career move. Though it may seem innocent, it's not the kind of impression that sits well with a potential boss.
   
   
3. Posting Conflicting Information to Your Resume
   If you say on your resume that your degree is from Harvard, but your Facebook profile says you went to UCLA, you're likely to be immediately cut from the interview list. Even if the conflict doesn't leave you looking better on your resume, disparities will make you look at worst like a liar, and at best careless. (Social networking can also be used as its own job.
   
   
4. Statuses You Wouldn't Want Your Boss to See
   Everyone should know to avoid statuses like "Tom plans to call in sick tomorrow so he can get drunk on a Wednesday. Who cares that my big work project isn't done?" But you should also be aware of less flamboyant statuses like "Sarah is watching the gold medal hockey game online at her desk". Statuses that imply you are unreliable, deceitful, and basically anything that doesn't make you look as professional as you'd like, can seriously undermine your chances at landing that new job.
   
   
5. Not Understanding Your Security Settings
   The security settings on Facebook have come a long way since the site started. It is now possible to customize lists of friends and decide what each list can and cannot see. However, many people do not fully understand these settings, or don't bother to check who has access to what. If you are going to use Facebook professionally, and even if you aren't, make sure you take the time to go through your privacy options. At the very least, your profile should be set so that people who are not your friend cannot see any of your pictures or information. (These rules apply to Twitter as well, and you can also use Twitter to find a new job.
   
   
6. Losing By Association
   You can't control what your friends post to your profile (although you can remove it once you see it), nor what they post to their own profiles or to those of mutual friends. If a potential client or employer sees those Friday night pictures your friend has tagged you in where he is falling down drunk, it reflects poorly on you, even if the picture of you is completely innocent. It's unfortunate, but we do judge others by the company they keep, at least to some extent. Take a look at everything connected to your profile, and keep an eye out for anything you wouldn't want to show your mother.

Facebook Can Help You Get Hired … Or Fired
The best advice is to lock down your personal profile so that only friends you approve can see anything on that profile. Then, create a second, public profile on Facebook purely for professional use. This profile functions like an online resume, and should only contain information you'd be comfortable telling your potential employer face to face. Having a social networking profile is a good thing – it presents you as technologically and professionally savvy. Just make sure your profile is helping to present your best side – not the side that got drunk at your buddy's New Year's party.

Five Ways to $70k Careers You Can Fetch with a Bachelor's Degree

News reports recently highlighted a government communications job that pays $70,000 per year for a professional to post to Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, that's a very rare and unusual position, and it requires moving to Oregon. For the rest of us, earning over $70,000 per year requires crafting a rare skill set, usually combining knowledge from more than one discipline. Moving past the $34 per hour mark also requires leveraging experience from a previous job. Accredited online degree programs can help you prepare for one of the following exciting careers:

Environmental Engineer

With government agencies requiring builders and businesses to ensure compliance with environmental regulations, more companies are looking for assistance from environmental engineers. Department of Labor statistics show the median annual salary in 2008 for environmental engineers was over $70,000. In addition, labor analysts expect job openings for environmental engineers with advanced degrees to increase faster than for other specialized engineering professionals. Online degree programs can help engineering graduates develop careers in this crucial niche.

College Professor

During economic downturns, career counselors often suggest searching for recession-proof careers. Looking to the ivory tower for a job might seem strange, especially for professionals with little advanced academic training. However, soaring college and university enrollments have forced schools to replace retiring faculty while hunting for talented instructors. In many states, a bachelor's degree can qualify many subject matter experts for jobs as adjunct professors. Completing an advanced degree can boost your earning potential even more. Although professors' salaries can vary wildly by region and specialty, a leading industry 2006-07 survey estimates that most post-secondary instructors earn annual salaries above $73,000.

Physician Assistant

America's need for high quality health care has created numerous job opportunities over the past few years. To bridge the gap between emergency room visits and regular examinations, insurance companies, drugstores, and private businesses have expanded the number of health clinics across the country. Physician assistants handle most of the routine diagnoses in these clinics, as well as in a growing number of private medical practices where doctors have become overwhelmed with their caseloads. Online undergraduate degree programs can help nurses and other health care workers prepare for certifications necessary to earn jobs that often pay more than $74,000 per year.

Interior Designer

It's easy to absorb the wisdom of home makeover shows and call yourself an interior decorator. However, to become a licensed interior designer, you must combine formal design and engineering training with the real world experience gained from apprenticeships and entry-level jobs in established design studios. Online degree programs allow aspiring interior designers to condense the time it takes to prepare for industry certification and state licensure. Government statistics indicate that one in four interior designers are self-employed, with the top 10 percent of professionals earning over $78,000.

Software Developer

Hackers and hobbyists often point out that in the past, little formal training is necessary to become a software developer. Earning an IT bachelor's degree online helps prospective software developers learn the discipline and the industry conventions required for lucrative corporate assignments as the market becomes more competitive. Likewise, an experienced software developer who earns a business degree can better understand how to market his or her creations. According to government data, many developers working as independent publishers earn over $79,000 per year. Privately employed developers may earn slightly less, but can also benefit from company perks and stock options not tracked by salary surveys.

While you can earn some bachelor's degrees entirely online, some programs require occasional project work in a lab or seminar setting. Making time to build some real-time networking into an online degree program can help develop the kinds of connections that lead to real world job leads. The very best bachelor's degree programs provide internships, job placement assistance, and other career counseling that leverages the quality of their alumni networks. By combining your personal passion, your life experience, and the structured learning of a degree program, you can put yourself on the path to an interesting career and a strong salary within the next four years.

Career Resources For Lawyers in Transition

If you’re looking for work as a lawyer, or hoping to transition into an alternative career, be sure to check out the resources available through your state and local bar associations. Most bar associations have a career portal on their websites, and many have established committees specifically to deal with the recession’s impact on the profession. For example:

• The American Bar Association has an Economic Recovery Resources web page with a plethora of information, from job search and networking advice and articles on practice management and career transitions, to tips on managing stress and student loan debt.
• The New York State Bar Association Committee on Lawyers in Transition, formed prior to the recession, now focuses on helping attorneys who have been laid off as a result of the economic downturn. Among other resources, the committee has a Lawyers in Transition blog and a series of webcasts on career strategies and development.
• The Los Angeles County Bar Association has a career site devoted to Career Transition Resources, including a Resource Guide for Unemployed Lawyers.
• The New York City Bar Association has a variety of resources for lawyers looking to start their career or to make a transition.

Some upcoming events:

• September 14 and 16, 2010, New York: The NYC Bar’s Center for CLE, the Committee on Career Advancement and Management, and the Committee on Law Student Perspectives are holding a Boot Camp: Basic Training for Lawyers, a two-day program “to provide recent law graduates and current law students with career planning information particularly relevant in today's economy, as well as practical and substantive insights into the practice of law.” (Note: the program is free to students and alumni of sponsoring law schools).
• September 15, 2010, Massachusetts: The Lawyers in Transition Committee of the Massachusetts Bar Association is sponsoring a program by Stephen Seckler on “Revving Up Your Fall Job Search.“ Seckler is a law firm marketing coach whose services include a new program called SLC Jump Start ^SM — Making the Transition from Associate Who Does the Work to Partner Who Generates the Work.