Best Jobs for College Graduates
May 26, 2010
A lot of the best jobs for college graduates are in one of two fields, information technology or health care. Forbes just published a list of the best jobs based on how much demand there will be in the years ahead and technology and health care related jobs were by far the most promising for college graduates.
The top jobs were in the technology sector, with two of the top three jobs and four of the top seven being related to technology:
- #1 Health Information Technology
- #3 Data Mining
- #4 Embedded Engineering
- #7 Mobile Media
The best job from a demand perspective can actually be classified in both the techology industry and the health care industry, Health Information Technology. This, along with three other careers, gave health care four of the top eight best jobs:
- #1 Health Information Technology
- #2 Clinical Trials Design and Management for Oncology
- #6 Geriatric Health Care
- #8 Occupational Health and Safety
Health Care Technology
I think the convergence of technology and health care related jobs illustrates how valuable job skills in those two areas will be in the coming years. When I was in college I did an internship with an electronic medical records company and I saw first hand how much potential there is in that area.
The health care industry creates and relies on so much data during the process of caring for patients that creating tools to manage, organize, analyze, and protect that information provides benefits for everyone involved: hospitals, patients, insurance companies, doctors, etc.
The report behind these numbers was from UC San Diego and they describe a Health Information Technology job as a position that:
“organizes these records, ensuring that charts are complete, accurate and timely… technicians are needed, specifically engineers, analysts, consultants and support specialists.”
How would a college graduate prepare for a job in that area? The report suggests courses in medical terminology, clinical classifications and coding systems as well as database management. Even if you already have your degree almost done or completely finished, simply adding a concentration or getting a certificate by staying an extra semester can help you get a foot in the door.
Mobile Jobs
The mobile media and embedded engineering jobs point to another growing trend in our country, consumer consumption of information while on the go. The iPhone, Android phones, and now the iPad are the leading edge of a mobile paradigm that will create many thousands of jobs in the years to come.
As we want our devices smaller and more powerful, embedded engineers will be hard at work designing ever improving equipment. The report suggests that companies in need of these engineers:
“hire employees with a bachelor’s degree and experience with computer systems. Common majors include computer science, software engineering, control systems”
As the hardware and networks keep getting better, the variety of content that we can view on mobile devices will also grow. The Burea of Labor Statistics suggests that related careers for “Graphic designers, videographers, casual game/app developers and software engineers” will increase from 13–32%.
Best Jobs by Demand
This report didn’t look at the best paying jobs, but rather those that would have the highest growth in demand over the coming years. Of course jobs that are in demand do tend to pay more, and technology and health care jobs that topped the list typically pay pretty well. Here are the other jobs that made the list of best jobs for college graduates:
- Spanish/English Translation and Interpretation
- Sustainable Business Practices and the Greening of All Jobs
- Teaching Adult Learners
- Teaching English as a Foreign Language
- Marine Biodiversity and Conservation
- Health Law
All posts by Ben Edwards
Very informative article. A must read for students in this job crunch.