Highest Earnings, Highest Hirings

Posted by ERUDIO in Inspiration on Jan 4th, 2010

It begins with your own self-image, your self-respect, your self-belief… and perhaps most of all, your own power of self-command.

College is a refuge from hasty judgment. --- Robert Frost

Around the world, we all want the occupation with highest earnings, with the most prestige, with the most security for our future and the futures of those whom we love.

But since everyone wants those top jobs, with the most pay and security, obviously the competition will be fierce.

So, let’s get down to the basics, the numbers, the stats, the probabilities. What are projected to be the high-paying occupations that are expected to have the most openings?

Wherever you live in our world, your government can help inform you. For example, here is the US Bureau of Labor’s list of “pure college” occupations (with the most job openings) for college graduates.

Projected to year 2014, this list starts at the top, with highest average salaries:

Management analysts
Lawyers
Physicians and surgeons
Middle school teachers
Computer software engineers, applications
Secondary school teachers
Accountants and auditors
Elementary school teachers
Postsecondary teachers

Prestigious list, isn’t it? These are what we usually call “professionals”. They put in their years of study, and now they are in demand.

They have pushed themselves hard. Their self-demands, typically, have been brutal, but somehow they got those degrees.

Still don’t want to go to college? You still aren’t convinced it’s possible in your case?

Okay, fine,… so what are the best choices for you, without college?

Bottom line, to get ahead, to have any kind of security in pay and employment, you still need training.

To start with, you know which work is most rewarding, and which work has the best chance of continual demand.

Here is the US Bureau of Labor’s list of highest-earning occupations (with the most job openings) for workers who do not have a bachelor’s degree, projected to year 2014:

Maintenance and repair workers, general
Maids and housekeeping cleaners
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers
Executive secretaries and administrative assistants
Food preparation workers
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor trailer
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants
Receptionists and information clerks
Childcare workers
Stock clerks and order fillers
Customer service representatives
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
Office clerks
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food
Waiters and waitresses
Retail salespersons

Look for yourself. You already know of these jobs which pay more, and which pay less. And which are the most secure and least secure.

Yes, many of these jobs will get you through life. They involve honest labor, and people skills, and proud contributions to any society. Many require hard labor— muscle.

As you age, muscle will fail. But educated minds will keep enlarging, as you learn and evolve in your skills sets.

It’s true, these non-college-required jobs are always going to be necessary to our way of life. But they will also be the jobs first to be cut during recessions— like the one we are mired in right now, and clawing our way out of, as best we can.

Without college, the best jobs need technical skills. You can work your way up, but you still need on-the-job training, college courses, or vocational classes.

graduate

Without that degree, your chances of higher-pay go down fast, but maybe you can eventually become a supervisor. Training (after high school) greatly boosts your chances.

Without that degree, here’s your biggest hurdle to advancing in whatever career you choose— you’re going to be competing with people who do have college degrees.

When an occupation includes workers who have different levels of education, workers with more education are often better able to compete for jobs. This is particularly true if the occupations require academic skills, such as mathematics or science.

Still, even without a bachelor’s degree, you can increase your competitiveness— if you have work or volunteer experience, or if you take high school or college courses that relate to an occupation, or if you complete a certification for an in-demand type of work.

Contact your government’s employment or labor offices. Do your homework at your own local level, wherever you live.

pediatrician

Your local institutions of higher learning may have information offices to help you as well. Find out what will help you most— about local work, volunteer, education, and training opportunities.

What’s in the most demand where you live? What does it take to get that kind of work?

Use GRAD2B’s many links to explore all our options.

Education is the only way out, the only way up. Either college, or technical training. Or both.

Do you want more pay and more security in your life?

Ask yourself, ask yourself right now, “Is this my future?”

Everyone wants the best job. But what does that mean? How do we get from here to there?

If you are unwilling to choose your future, others will choose it for you.

Educate, educate, educate!