Best Careers for 2012
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Web Designer
Web designers are crucial in business today making them in high demand. Web designers aren't your typical graphic designer, they design websites that can be viewed by many different devices including phone, televisions, and computers. They design websites in a way that will help businesses represent themselves out on the web. They are responsible for the aesthetics of a site and how the content is presented. Web designers spend a lot of their time using programs like Adobe Photoshop and also coding websites using HTML and CSS. Many web designers also have a basic understanding on how to work with different programming languages. They will also find themselves using javascript libraries such as jQuery.
Salary Information
Established Web designers can make around $76,000 per year. Many web designers are self employed and make much more.
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Criminal Investigator
Criminal investigators are all over television and in books. Criminal investigator's lives are usually portrayed as exciting and never boring. But what do real criminal investigators do? Criminal investigators solve crimes with the help of informants, suspects, and witnesses. They take evidence gathered and use it to solve crimes that have been committed. They are in charge of keeping records and background information on criminals. Their main objective is to gather enough evidence to help convict criminals of their crimes. There are many different criminal investigation specialties depending on they types of crimes that are committed. Some of them include burglary, domestic violence, homicide, missing persons, narcotics, computer crimes, and fraud. Each type of investigation requires special skills and experience.
Salary Information
Established Criminal Investigators can make around $100,000 per year.
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Network Administrator
With the world becoming more and more connected, there is a need to keep the world connected. Computers, phones, and offices in general need to connect to networks, either wirelessly or through a wired connection. These networks are very important and data stored within the network are stored on servers. Some companies have their own server rooms solely dedicated to storing the company servers. The servers and the networks require network administrators to maintain the hardware and software that run these networks to keep connected to the world. When you become a network administrator, you will be in charge of maintaining these networks, and troubleshooting problems that may arise with the network. Most companies are very dependent on the people who keep their technology running so they can continue to run their businesses.
Salary Information
Established Network Adminstrators can make around $106,000 per year.
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CPA
Do you create detailed budgets and stick to them? If you answered yes, you may want to consider switching careers because you would make a great certified public accountant (CPA). Certified public accountants track the spendings and earnings of organizations. They create reports, analyze budgets, and make sure companies adhere to generally accepted accounting principals (GAAP). Certified public accountants keep records, and create reports for, management, the public, and the government. The information in these reports is vital to managers as they make decisions and decide on business strategies. The public needs reports prepared by accountants so they can make wise investment decisions and make the investments that many corporations depend on. Governments need these reports so they know how much a business must pay in taxes.
Salary Information
Established Certified Public Accountants can make around $105,000 per year. Many web designers are self employed and make much more.
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Environmental Engineer
Environmental engineers have emerged within the last 20 years or so. Environmental engineering is relatively new. Environmental Engineers typically solve problems that help preserve the environment, natural resources, and wildlife. The results of Environmental Engineers benefit the communities they work in, but their efforts may also have a larger reach into the world community as a whole. Science and engineering play a big part in this career. It is an excellent choice for people who love solving problems, improving areas, and making lives better. Environmental engineers depend on their working knowledge of biology, hazardous waste, statistics, geology, hydrogeology, public health ecology, chemical engineering, agricultural engineering, civil engineering, and so many more subjects.
Salary Information
Established Environmental Engineers can make around $116,000 per year.
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Forensic Psychologist
Do you have a passion for the criminal justice system and an interest in the workings of the human mind? Forensic psychologists have interesting careers that combines the criminal justice and psychology fields. This line of work is extremely rewarding because it allows you to help make individual’s lives better and help improve and protect communities. People with this job usually work in the criminal justice system and often act as expert witnesses. Forensic psychologists work with judges and attorneys to help them understand psychological aspects of court cases. To to this, they work in one of three areas: family court, civil court, or criminal court.
Salary Information
Established Forensic Psychologists can make around $117,000 per year.
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Software Developer
A software developer is one of the most important people in the creation of the electronic devices you use every day. They may be computers, phones, cameras, electronic books, and a host of other electronic devices, but most likely a day doesn’t go by without you using an electronic device running sophisticated software. To understand the job of a software developer, you need to understand the difference between software and hardware. As a software developer, you will use a variety of tools to create software. Careers in software development use a variety of programming languages such as C++, flash, and Java. There are many different tools out there for you to use as a software developer.
Salary Information
Established Software Developers can make around $132,000 per year.
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Registered Nurse
Nursing is the largest occupation in the health care industry, with more than 2.6 million nurses in the United States. Nurses are responsible for treating, educating, and helping patients. One of the reasons that nurses love their careers is because of the high level of interaction with patients, nurses often have more patient interaction than doctors or any other position in the health care industry. The majority of nurses work in hospitals.
Salary Information
Established Registered Nurses can make around $94,000 per year.
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Special Education Teacher
Special education teachers have the very rewarding job of teaching children and youth with cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities. These educators teach academic, social, and life skills so their students can reach their fullest potential. People with this career work with children who struggle with mental retardation, autism, brain injuries, hearing impairments, visual impairments, health impairments, or one of many other disabilities. Special education teachers can work in preschools, or elementary, middle, or secondary schools. Sometimes these teachers work with children in a classroom that is specifically for children with disabilities and sometimes they work with a child with special needs in a general education classroom. Special education teachers may also work with a general education teacher to teach a class with both general education and special education students. Teachers who work with younger children sometimes even work with children and their parents in their homes.
Salary Information
Established Special Education Teachers can make around $84,000 per year.
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Massage Therapist
Massage therapy is an exciting field where a massage therapist uses a variety of massage techniques to help others. If you become a massage therapist then you will reduce your client’s stress, treat injuries and pain. Many people also seek out a massage therapist for relaxation and consider it an essential part of recreation. Careers and opportunities in massage therapy are expected to grow. The demand for massage therapists is expected to increase due to the number and popularity of health spas is increasing. A massage therapist enjoys regular clientele, since people often receive massages on a regular basis. Massage therapy is a great career if you want to help people and you can even start up your own business with a steady client base.
Salary Information
Established Massage Therapists can make around $69,000 per year.
Guidance Counselor
A guidance counselor is often overlooked as one of the most influential careers shaping the future of young people. If you have an interest in counseling and helping young people, this may be a worthwhile career for you to consider. Not everyone is able to handle the challenges of this profession.
Guidance Counselor
Most successful guidance counselors possess a specific skill set and similar personality traits. You will be required to possess superior communication skills. You might be asked to write letters of recommendations on behalf of various students to a number of reputable higher learning institutions. You must be able to adapt your communication methodology to each particular student. You will not be able to successfully reach all young people the same way. You must be able to learn how each individual accepts advice. You might start by discovering what it is they like outside of school and relating it to other areas of their life, including education. You will also be required to speak with the parents of students. You must be able to effectively communicate with this group of individuals, as well. You will interact with parents of all kinds. You will encounter overly involved parents, absentee parents, parents who act more like children, parents who want to be their child’s friend rather than the parent, and even parents who are more involved in themselves than their child. You must be able to refrain from judgement and have an open mind as you will also work with family constructions of any kind imaginable. This is not a position for people who wish to impose their beliefs on others or you will never gain their trust.
You cannot do your job well without gaining the trust of the young people. This will be the most important aspect of your job. You will be a trained guidance counselor, so this should not be difficult. You can never inform another student of what someone else may have mentioned in another private session. You may be required to sit two students down to work out issues. You might be the only safe place for students to confide their most private thoughts and fears. If you earn the trust of a young person, you can never betray that trust or you could cause permanent psychological damage to said young person. You will have far more responsibility than people realize. You must also possess the trait of determination and possess a positive attitude. Even though these hormonal and troubled young people act as though they have no concerns, most are incredible insecure and terrified of the future. It is your job to keep them in line with their current educational pursuits to ensure they are prepared for the next level of educational demands.
Educational Requirements for Guidance Counselors
A guidance counselor has a tremendous amount of responsibility; therefore, they are required to have a greater amount of higher education. You will be required to complete a bachelor’s degree. Given the rising costs of tuition and the economic struggles of so many, you should consider taking online courses through online universities while you keep your current job. Online colleges and universities are often less expensive than bricks and mortar universities, which will also save you money. You should consider degrees in psychology, child psychology, early childhood education, or childhood development. You might be required to complete some hands-on training as a school guidance counselor under direct supervisor, of course.
Upon completing these initial educational requirements, you will then be required to complete a master’s degree. You might consider taking a job as a counselor in another area while you finish an online master’s degree. You could work with children in social service or work as a probation counselor. Again, upon completing your master’s degree, you will be required to complete some hands-on supervised training.
A guidance counselor is an unsung hero of sorts. If you wish to help young people during a terribly confusing and difficult time in their lives, this is the profession for you. Start online programs to make a difference in the lives of young people tomorrow.
