What are the best jobs of 2008?

The increasing growth in nursing, as in the social services and health fields at large, can be attributed to the upswing in retirees in need of medical care, according to the BLS. In 2008, the first of the baby boom generation will reach age 62, qualifying them for early retirement. From there, roughly 70 million more Americans will begin enjoying ever-lengthening life-spans, often with the assistance of medical staff — many of whom will graduate from college this year.

If you haven't studied nursing as an undergraduate, it's likely you'll be lured into teaching, accounting, or software engineering. Those three fields represent the biggest market for college grads, with software engineers leading the compensation race with a median salary of almost $80,000. Among candidates with Bachelor's degrees and a few years of experience, jobs involving management analysis, financial management and computer/systems management will be big needs for employers.

There may be no way to know what the Class of 2008 is thinking, but according to Katy Piotrowski, a career counselor and author of The Career Coward's Guide to Changing Careers, one thing is for sure: they are thinking. "These days, there is much more awareness and acceptance of 'changing what you're doing.' A lot of older people are waking up and realizing they need to restructure their lives to fit what they want — but Gen Y isn't going to do that. They're not going to put in 20 years and say, 'Yuck!' Instead, they might put in two years before deciding to switch."

School Loan Busters: Jobs with top salaries
For workers who have graduate school degrees, the clear leader in job growth is the position of college professor. In 2008, roughly 38,000 of these jobs will be created in colleges and universities nationwide. The runner-up job in demand for graduate degree holders: physicians. There will be a new demand of up to 9,000 this year in that field. Attorney jobs come in a close third in growth, followed by clergy and pharmacist positions. As a college-level teacher, you'll make a median $56,000 annually, while doctors will see an annual compensation that the BLS lists as "greater than or equal to $145,600." Lawyers and pharmacists come in at a median of $102,000 and $94,000, respectively, while new clergymen and women will see a median of about $39,000.

Going Solo: The future of self-employment
The percentage of self-employed workers in the U.S. is predicted to stay the same over the next ten years, and that means that new forms of white-collar self employment are replacing farming — the shrinking mainstay in this segment. According to the BLS, the demand for farming jobs will suffer from improvements in technology; as workers and machines get more efficient, drastically fewer individuals will be required to maintain the same level of output.

Replacing farmers in the self-employment demographic are growing numbers of people "who don't want to be employees anymore," says Katy Piotrowski. "I'm seeing a lot of people buying franchises, or setting up arrangements that involve multiple online businesses," she continues, invoking author Tim Ferriss's philosophy on the 4 Hour Work Week as shorthand for this multi-faceted strategy. As a career counselor who deals largely with adults interested in mid-life career switches, Piotrowski reports growing numbers of workers "trying to escape the desk job format," and workers who express weariness of taking new positions that promise little job security — jobs Piotrowski likens to "black holes" of employment.

The trends
So what does 2008 hold for job seekers? On the whole, the workforce is retiring and re-prioritizing, becoming more technology-oriented and less dependent on agriculture and manufacturing.

If you're a younger worker, it's within your generational prerogative to shop around, switch jobs, keep one eye on the environment and another eye on your aging parents. Management and leadership are the new hot commodities, so if you're an aspiring business person look for companies with corporate rotation programs or leadership programs for the most forward-looking career opportunities.

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