College and University Blog

Rumor has it the job market is not appearing to be too promising for many graduates. In many cases, that has been true. If you are a concerned college student, the good news is that with the evolution of technology and demand, new well-paid careers are coming to the surface that you just might want to consider.

According to Yahoo! HotJobs, there are 12 new careers that have popped onto the Occupational Information Network (O*Net), which is the nation’s leading source of occupational information and resources.

Laurence Shatkin, employment expert and author told Yahoo HotJobs that “O*Net officially recognizes job titles once there is a critical mass of workers in those jobs and a clear road map for attaining the positions” (Buhl) More and more companies world wide are experiencing demand for what these positions have to offer. Now is the perfect time to gear up and jump toward opportunity for more secure employment.

New Jobs, Growing Industries

Industries that are seeing a development in new employment positions are business, education, entertainment and media, green energy, and health care. Most of these jobs require a bachelor’s degree or more and strong to extensive knowledge or experience in the respective field.

The enticing part is the salaries. Statistics are showing these careers offer very comfortable starting salaries ranging from near $40k to $90k with chances for a doubled increase 2-10 years after start. See for yourself:

Business

Business Continuity Planner

Description: Develops plans to recover from cyber or terrorist attacks or natural disasters. They are also responsible for companywide business impact analysis and risk assessment that includes IT systems, building facilities, personnel and supply chain. (Perez, IDG)

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in business or disaster management as a minimum.

Salary: $60,000/year average (O*Net)

Spa Manager

Description: Hired by resorts, health clubs, hotels, etc., spa managers have a similar role to a hotel manager with a primary purpose to make guests feel comfortable. Technical aspects include: maintaing product inventory, new-hire training, supervising cleaning/maintenance crews, handling employee schedules, purchasing, accounting, and marketing/advertising. (EducationPortal.com)

Requirements: Depending on the company, a four-year degree may not be required. However, other companies may require a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree in hotel, restaurant, and/or institutional management. In the least, a high school diploma or GED with 5 years or more experience in related work.

Salary: approx. $35,000/year (O*Net)

Education

Distance Learning Coordinator

Description: The role of a distance learning coordinator is preparing, running, and managing distance learning classroom activities. They also provide logistical and technical support to users and work in part with the IT department for the overall technology needs of the campus.

Requirements: Some campuses may require a master’s degree in instructional and curriculum design and development, while others may just require a bachelor’s degree in technology or the equivalent. A distance learning coordinator must have strong proficiency in web-based technologies.

Salary: $34/hour (O*Net)

Entertainment/Media

Video Game Designer

Description: Video game designers create design documents that comprise of each characteristic of a video game—mission, plot rules, flow charts, sound, artwork, and special features in order for graphic artists, sound designers, and other software programmers to complete the game. (CourseAdvisor)

Requirements: Video game designers must have a bachelor’s degree in computer sciences or art. Experience or skills in computer programming and engineering, software development, computer animation, graphic design or computer graphics is helpful.

Salary: $75,000 per year (O*Net)

User Experience Designer

Description: A specialty position, user experience designers, as opposed to video game designers, direct their attention to improving user dealings.

Requirements: See Video Game Designers

Salary: $50,000-$80,000 (Yahoo HotJobs)

Company Blogger

Description: Typically hired on as part-time employees, company bloggers develop and maintain corporate blogs by researching and writing articles related to the company. They use on-line and off-line social networking techniques for collaboration with people inside and outside the organization. Additionally, they promote company objectives with each blog article. (C.E. Reid)

Requirements: A company blogger position does not necessarily require a degree, but experience is helpful. Strong, professional, and engaging writing skills are a must and Internet adeptness is also beneficial for online research. Some companies hiring bloggers may want to see published blogs with confirmed reader visit statistics from an accredited organization. (C.E. Reid)

Salary: less than $20/hour on average (Yahoo HotJobs)

Social Media Manager

Description: Social media managers coordinate online media outreach and develop and manage pages on social networking websites such as Linkedin, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, etc., to promote company messages that increase familiarity and/or push traffic to the site. They are responsible for coordinating social media activities by taking part in industry conferences, blogs, online video sharing, wikis, etc., to encourage site traffic. Additionally, social media managers hire, train, and manager bloggers/editors.

Requirements: A bachelor’s degree is usually required at minimum as well as strong writing skills, online marketing, public relations and new media concepts.

Salary: $50,000/year avg. (Yahoo HotJobs)

Director of Social Media

Description: The role of the director of social media maintains answerability for the quality and strategy of social media plans and collaborates with company media teams to integrate social media operations via facebook, blogging, twitter, etc.

Requirements: A bachelor’s degree or more is, again, typically required as well as superior oral, writing and interpersonal communication skills. Solid understanding of digital marketing, social media, and project management is also a must.

Salary: $70,000-$120,000/year avg. (Yahoo HotJobs)

Green Energy

Wind Farm Engineer

Description: Wind farm engineers are involved with the designing and operation of wind farms or wind farm modules.

Requirements: A bachelor’s degree in engineering with an emphasis on construction, civil or structural engineering is required.

Salary: approx. $43/hour or $89,000/year avg (O*Net*

Solar Thermal Tech

Description: A quickly emerging career position, solar thermal technicians install and perform routine maintenance on solar heat systems, domestically and commercially.

Requirements: A 2-4 year degree is helpful but some companies do offer apprentice programs.

Salary: approx. $15/hour or $32,000/year avg. (O*Net)

Health

Informatics Nurse Specialist

Description: According to O*Net, an informatics nurse specialist applies the “knowledge of nursing and informatics to assist in the design, development, and ongoing modification of computerized health care systems.” They also are responsible for training staff on the system’s implementation.

Requirements: This position requires a nursing degree with graduate level knowledge on informatics. Related experience may also be required.

Salary: approx. $36/hour or $75,500 annually on average (O*Net)

Anesthesiologist Assistant

Description: Anesthesiologist assistants aid in the issuance of anesthesia for medical treatment and as well as other preoperative tasks. They are also responsible for providing support therapy, patient care, and monitoring patient status during and after surgical treatment.

Requirements: A master’s degree in nursing is required along with a certification by the National Commission for the Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants.

Salary: $39/hour or $80,000 per year. Salaries are typically doubled after 10 years in the position (O*Net)

Posted on 18 Oct