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 Jobs
Guidance counselor jobs are one of the most important and personally rewarding jobs in the education system. A guidance counselor must be able to promote a level of trust within students who are at an age where the last person they want to trust is someone who works for the school. Earning this trust can be a difficult task, although the rewards make the considerable effort to gain a student’s trust well worth it. In order to qualify for one of the numerous guidance counselor jobs, you need to determine if you are willing to perform the duties associated with the job. After you determine your compatibility with this career, you will have to enroll in a counseling master’s degree program. Some states also require that guidance counselors have a certificate that qualifies them to teach high school level classes.
Guidance Counselor Jobs Description
High school guidance counselor jobs ensure students have a resource in the school to go to when they have questions and concerns about their future educational and career paths. It is up to the guidance counselor to help students figure out what their best course of action is to prepare for the future. For example, if a C average student proffers the long-term goal of attending a college that typically only takes students with a B average, the guidance counselor will provide help the student with tips on how to raise his or her C average to a B average. In addition, guidance counselors assist students in determining what type of career best matches their personality, interests and talents. Aptitude tests provide keen insight into answering the question as to what career best fit a student’s goals and skills.
A guidance counselor is a great resource for students to turn to when they have questions, concerns, or just need someone to talk to about their plans and goals. Guidance counselors also assist students during the college financial aid application process. They ensure students meet the qualifications for receiving financial aid. They will also help the students locate student housing and apply for scholarships.
Required Education for a Guidance Counselor
The requirements for entrance into the guidance counselor jobs starts out with typically a bachelor’s degree in education, after which, the aspiring counselor may begin teaching at the high school level. After earning a bachelor’s degree, the aspiring counselor will need to attend a master’s degree program. A master’s program should take the counselor about two years to complete. The program will consist of a combination of hands on training and book work that you can complete via distance education. This delivery method allows future counselors to remain employed, while they complete their studies on their own time, instead of taking time off work or quitting the job altogether to go back to school and earn this top degree.
Guidance Counselor Career Outlook
The career outlook for guidance counselor jobs is excellent. Many people shy away from the job of the guidance counselor because they feel that the salary does not match the job stress. Since it does take a person with the right personality to become successful in a guidance counselor career, there are many available jobs out there waiting for the right person. Most guidance counselors feel the personal reward they get when their students achieve goals is the best form of payment they can receive.
Qualified and caring guidance counselors are always in high demand. Therefore, once you earn a master’s in school counseling, you will have no problem securing one of the many guidance counselor jobs. These jobs help teenagers at the high school level figure out what they want to do with their lives, as well as how to achieve the goals they have set for themselves. These kids need the help of their guidance counselor to succeed in their future career.
