5 Hot Tips on Growth Industries
If you've been toiling in a shrinking industry, don't panic. There may be options for a second act to your career. Here are five surprising industries that are seeing a lot of growth:
Human resources
Consider yourself a true "people person"? Use your people skills in the expanding human resources sector, suggests Sandra Abbey, an MBA program instructor at the University of Phoenix Southern Arizona Campus and senior director for the Tucson Airport Authority. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects growth in this industry to reach 28.3 percent between 2010 and 2020.
How to get a leg up: A human resource management certificate may help provide you with the skills you need to seek a new career in corporate HR.
Teaching ESL
Recast your interest in providing service to others into the growing field of teaching English as a second language (ESL), Abbey says. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there has been a monumental swell in students who speak a language other than English as their primary means of communication at home, from 4.7 million in 1980 to 11.2 million in 2009.
"There is a tremendous need for ESL teachers because of the influx of immigrants," Abbey explains.
How to get a leg up: While requirements vary widely from state to state, those who are already educators can typically earn a certificate or endorsement for teaching ESL. Or make a bigger investment and get your master's in education.
Renovating old homes
With less demand for new homes and buildings, many construction jobs have fallen by the wayside. But by channeling your carpentry skills into the growth sector of renovating old homes, you can be back in business, Abbey says. "Since people can't afford to sell their homes, they're modernizing their older homes up to new standards for energy-efficient lighting and heating."
How to get a leg up: Many state governments have programs to train contractors to perform retrofits. Read about the latest Environmental Protection Agency protocols and check local government sites to learn about becoming a participating contractor.
Home health care aids
Have professional experience helping others? Take your nurturing skills into the health care industry where there is an increasing demand for home health care aids as baby boomers age.
How to get a leg up: Although in many states you don't need formal education to become a home health care aide, you may have an edge if you get certified by completing a training program offered by community colleges and vocational schools.
Interactive design
With the growth of the Internet, print publishing jobs are threatened by extinction. But in order to remain relevant, many people with print experience are adding online skills to their resumés. Designers, those in print production and photographers are refashioning themselves to fill the growing need for online interactive designers. Global Industry Analytics predicts that the market for graphic design services will exceed $35.2 billion by 2015.
How to get a leg up: To upgrade your hire-ability in the electronic era, design mavens can earn a visual communication certificate, which covers the visual corporate communications relevant to companies today.
-By Jenny Jedeikin
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