Hot jobs await recent grads

HARLINGEN - For everyone from a high school freshman to a college freshman, lists of available courses, pathways and majors may create a seemingly endless array of possibilities for a successful career.
As the school year begins, teachers and guidance counselors are preparing to smooth that road. Officials with the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, Texas State Technical College and the University of Texas at Brownsville are looking at projections for which jobs are expected to be in demand for students entering the workforce.
Careers in the health care, business and education fields top local, state and national lists of hot jobs, according to school officials.

HEALTH CARE
The most in-demand job out there today is registered nurse, according to three lists of top occupations.
Registered nurse leads the nationwide "Top 50 In-Demand Occupations" compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Education. That job is also at the top of an employment trend database for the state and reports of the labor market in the Rio Grande Valley.
Other health professions that top a list of occupations in targeted industries in the Valley include nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses and medical assistants, according to a report from Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc.
"As you can see, the health field is projected to grow at 28 percent, through 2012, compared to 16 percent growth in all other fields," said Barbara Bennett, TSTC-Harlingen Health Programs co-division director. "The large increase in demand is due to the aging population with the accompanying increase in chronic illnesses, the shortage of physicians and dentists, and the need to slow the rising cost of health care."
The Baby Boomer generation is getting older and their needs for medical services are increasing, said Juan Andrés Rodriguez, Career Services Program director at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.
At TSTC, nursing, dental hygiene and medical assisting are the programs with the most applicants, said Bennett, who also serves as the TSTC Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting Program department chairwoman.

EDUCATION
Teachers are also included in the top 10 spots on state and national lists.
According to the Career Voyages nationwide list, the demand for elementary school teachers, except special education teachers, is expected to increase between 9 and 17 percent in the next 10 years.
Preschool, elementary and secondary schoolteachers fill three slots on the Socrates statewide list.
Rodriguez said there is constantly a demand for teachers.
"The demand is very high, especially in ‘shortage' areas such as special education and technology education," states the 2008 Labor Market Information Report from Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc.
BUSINESS and TECHNOLOGY
In the lower Valley, general and operations managers, office clerks and customer sales representatives are in the top 10 targeted industries, according to the Labor Market Information Report.
Network and computer systems administrators, computer systems analysts, accountants and auditors and business operations specialists top a statewide list.
"There's always a need for computer science occupations," Rodriguez said.
Juan Garcia, division director for TSTC Computer Information Systems, said that as businesses take more advantage of technological improvements, the job demand will increase.
"In the area of computing, the future of these technologies is moving really fast," Garcia said.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Rodriguez said that after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the demand for criminal justice-related jobs skyrocketed.
The number of homeland security jobs increased, which increased pay offered by law enforcement agencies as they began competing for applicants, Rodriguez said.

GETTING AHEAD
Harlingen CISD offers programs of study for their students that allow them to earn college credits while taking high school classes, said Gil Tello, director of Career and Technology Education for HCISD.
"We try to get the kids as much ahead as we can while they are in high school," Tello said.
The programs of study available are similar to degree plans offered at colleges and universities, said Judith A. Nading, HCISD director of Advanced Academics.
Electives are geared toward these fields of study, Nading said.
District officials use the Tech Prep labor market information report to provide programs of study for their students to prepare them for in-demand industries in the area, Tello said.
Some students earn their high school diploma and associates degree as they graduate from high school, Nading said.
Dual enrollment and advanced placement courses are available to all students, Nading said.
"It's about equity and accessibility for all students," Nading said.
Whether students plan to attend college or enter the workforce after high school, they need the same basic skills, Nading said.
UTB/TSC officials encourage students to take at least 15 course hours per semester to graduate as soon as possible, Rodriguez said.
Students save money and begin earning more money after graduating because they can tap into job markets that require bachelor's degrees and pay more, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez recommends that students take plenty of math and science classes while they are in high school.
In addition to taking math and science, high school students should "strengthen their reading and writing skills to prepare for rigorous coursework," Bennett said.
In the Harlingen school district, officials begin challenging students as early as the eighth-grade level to begin thinking about their career paths and informing them of available programs, Nading said.
"No student should fall through the cracks," Nading said. "Every students should have the opportunity."