Lynn O'Shaughnessy

The College Solution

10 Hottest Careers for College Graduates

By Lynn O'Shaughnessy | Jul 1, 2009 |

Worried about finding a job after college? Then look in the right places.

To get you started, the University of California,  San Diego, has compiled a list of the hottest careers for college graduates after researching national employment statistics and talking with 750 experts in the business world.

Here are 10 fields that made the list of the hottest careers:

1. Casual game development. About 200 million people play these games on iPhones, iPod Touches, and other mobile devices. My 16-year-old can tell you how addicting games like Peggle can be.

2. Oncology clinical trial design and management.
There’s a great need for people who can put together clinical trials to find better ways to treat cancer.

3. Data mining. While businesses and governments are collecting breathtaking amounts of information about people, experts are needed to sift through it all and make sense of it.

4. Embedded engineering. This type of engineering could be an option for skilled software coders who burn out.

5. Web feature writing.
As newspapers continue to decline, the web is showing an insatiable appetite for content, but it requires a new approach to writing.

6. Geriatric healthcare. As the boomers continue to age, they will require ever more trips to the doctor, hospital and various therapists.

7. Mobile media. Graphic designers who have experience with Web design and animation are in great demand for interactive media for mobile gaming and smart phones.

8. Occupational health and safety.
The demand for emergency preparedness experts continues to grow while more specialists are needed to cope with tech advances in safety equipment, as well as regulatory changes.

9. Specialized Spanish/English translation. Bilingual skills are highly marketable in such fields as law, business and medicine.

10. Sustainable business practices. Companies need sustainability experts to navigate them through the new green economy.

iPod game image by blog1e, CC 2.0.

 
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  •  
    1

    komoney4

    07/02/09 | Report as spam

    The Hottest Career option from the list

    #11 Entrepreneurship/Start-Up.... jobs used to be associated with security and that was the only reason people would stick with them...but now not only do we not stick to a company let alone a career in our lifetime, but companies don't stick to us and if you aren't the best, which there usually isn't enough incentive to even try at many of these jobs then your job is gone outta the country!
    So while people still say entrepreneurship is risky, which it is and always will be...now taking a job as a career is also risky (in my opinion), what sounds better to you?

  •  
    2

    GageX

    07/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Hottest Careers for College Graduates

    Thanks for the information, At least I will have an idea what I will take. I was scared that I might not be able to have a work after I have graduated. Lucky that the course I like is in one of the top 10. Thanks. It is a relief to have something like this. For mow, I need a fast cash for me to be able to graduate.

  •  
    3

    a1638735@...

    07/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Hottest Careers for College Graduates

    I find this article lacks reaseach about the software and technologies - and the people - that currently exist to complete jobs/careers you listed; provided you have a picture of the iphone platform and that number 1,3,4,5,7 foucs on technology careers.

    Simply by saying that embedded engineering is for coders who burn out is ludacris at best, at least google embedded devices ..

    The career path itself is really not suited for ' burnouts' , device drivers and general use software written for the devices can take hundreds of man hours. Not to mention the task of trial-and-error coding with propreitary hardware and closed source appliances.

    Electronic Home Cycling machines, errrm OnStar ring a bell?, AutoCAD production equipment, you know those scanners at the grocery store some of them embed software that can be found is your computer at home and run a tiny little linux kernel, [ http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=19250 ], please google intel.. Developing software for embedded device is not for burnouts, infact the inverse is true.

    Finding an embedded device ( in terms of software engineer ), could be as easy as looking in your own pocket, TRUE; yet to say that the field is for burnouts lacks insight..

    Please visit: http://www.arm.com/
    =====================

    10. Sustainable business practices
    ->Embedded Device
    [ http://news.cnet.com/greentech/?tag=rb_content;overviewHead ]


  •  
    4

    cash fast

    11/02/09 | Report as spam

    hottest carears for college graduates

    I find the internet marketing a good way to make a living although that's not what I studied in college. At least working from home gives me time to stay with my kids while working. Have alook at this.

    www.income4learners-ad130.webs.com

  •  
    5

    FreddyBraun

    11/18/09 | Report as spam

    RE: 10 Hottest Careers for College Graduates

    You forgot to include bus drivers because gas as high as it is people will be taking the bus more often and more bus drivers will be needed in the future. You won't believe it, but some bus drivers have Degrees and prefer doing something else because of something that happen and they lost interest in their old job.
    Payday Cash Loans

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Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Lynn O'Shaughnessy is a financial journalist and the author of a critically acclaimed book, The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price. She has been a contributor to such publications as BusinessWeek, USA Today, Money Magazine, Medical Economics, The New York Times, Consumer Reports MoneyAdvisor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, AARP: The Magazine and Kiplinger

Lynn O'Shaughnessy

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