Author Topic: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?  (Read 6213 times)

KarefulKactus15

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Okay guys, I summon the collective knowledge of this forum.

My cousin is finishing high school soon and is undecided on career direction.

He wants to go to college and improve his current life situation(he grew up very poor) He is indifferent on associates vs bachelors, he just wants to be sure he gets a useful degree and not a worthless one.

INTJ personality type, I see him excelling at anything in the STEM fields. 


***In your view and experience, what do you guys see as being up and coming, or current in demand career fields worth the investment in education, both time and money?***

Currently I'm a automation technician at a manufacturing facility. I like the work, the pay is decent (50-80k) and only requires an associates degree. Unfortunately I cant provide career outlook for him on any other fields other then the one I'm in.  But this career field is in demand from what I see.

I would like your opinions on other in demand fields, the average pay and level of education required.   Unfortunately googling " In demand jobs" doesnt seem to be as reliable as testimony from people actually in the field working.

onlykelsey

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2016, 03:30:03 PM »
INFJ - Maybe something in the accounting field?

And, as always, at pretty much every level, medical jobs!  Male RNs make a killing. He could also get a LPN and probably find someone to pay for the RN.  Would work well if he likes STEM stuff.

QuirkyNurse

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2016, 03:34:41 PM »
Male nurses seem to excel in the OR, ER, and ICU. He could get an associate's degree and then have his employer pay for the BSN completion. I wouldn't recommend an LPN. They're mostly outdated and confined to nursing home care, which doesn't pay very well. A BSN is the way nursing is going - it's not impossible to get a job with an ADN, but it's way easier with a BSN.

Most nurses also work 3 twelve hour shifts, which leaves four days a week to pick up overtime or pursue hobbies! And there really isn't much stigma to being a man in nursing. I love having them around when I've got big patients to move! Depending on which area you go into, a nursing career can net you $55-90,000 a year!

JZinCO

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2016, 03:38:21 PM »
Perhaps check out the BLS projections.

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/
Then you can weigh career prospects, potential pay, time it takes to study, and cost for study..
« Last Edit: April 12, 2016, 08:51:06 PM by JZinCO »

ketchup

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2016, 04:01:28 PM »
INTJ checking in.

Depending on his specific interests, us INTJs are usually well equipped for engineering, accounting, or anything computer-related (programming/problem solving etc.).  Also, if he's like me, my brain loves maps, so maybe something related to that?  Numbers, programming, and maps are what my brain likes.

I'm an IT guy with no degree, about 20% helpdesk-type work and 80% coding etc.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2016, 04:23:13 PM »
Chances are, whatever he will excel in, he's already doing somewhat. Does he have any history tinkering with websites? Networks? Network security is a hugely upcoming field. Does he do any caregiving (family, nannying, dog sitting, etc)? Nursing is an incredible career. Anyway, I would look at what he already does with his spare time as a helpful guide.

bobechs

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #6 on: April 12, 2016, 05:29:23 PM »
MMM has a couple of blog posts on a bunch of high-paying careers that don't require a college degree.

The one that sticks in my mind is scooping up dog poop for six hundred bux an hour or something like that...

Czech it out.

missleo

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #7 on: April 12, 2016, 07:01:30 PM »
INTJ also.

I was pretty much in the same boat when I started college, had no idea what I wanted to do but knew I wanted a practical degree that I'd always be able to find a job with and get paid fairly well. I chose accounting, which is pretty stable and everyone needs an accountant, so there's definitely a lot of different options out there in the field. As others said, anything with computers is also a good option. I've always thought architecture had an interesting mix of math, science, and a creative aspect, so if he has a creative side may that would be an option.

Another factor for me when I started school was the education requirement for the field I chose. At the time, I wasn't interested in spending more than the typical 4 years to get my degree, which led me away from some fields which often require a master's degree or higher. However, there are quite a few accelerated degree programs now, so if he is interested in a particular field but doesn't necessarily want to spend a whole lot more time in school (at least up front), those programs are definitely worth looking into.

Finally, if he's really unsure of what might interest him, this career interest profiler could be helpful and provides some useful information: https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip

fishnfool

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #8 on: April 12, 2016, 07:22:06 PM »
The Solar energy business is booming right now and I think it will only keep growing. Green energy design too.

Papa bear

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #9 on: April 12, 2016, 08:27:52 PM »
Skilled machinist.  Can be making 100k/year at 28 if he starts out of HS for an apprenticeship.


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Cognitive Miser

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2016, 02:21:52 PM »
Skilled machinist.  Can be making 100k/year at 28 if he starts out of HS for an apprenticeship.

Yes!  I'm an INTJ engineer working for a high tech company and we are always looking for good machinists.  We actually sponsor a scholarship and internships through the local trade school so we can snap up the good ones.
Reading blueprints and doing the math, programming the CNC machine are very INTJ pursuits.
You might also recommend he checks out Mike Rowe Works for other in-demand jobs that don't require expensive degrees.  He may even be able to apply for a scholarship through the foundation:
http://profoundlydisconnected.com/

Fishindude

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2016, 02:57:35 PM »
If you don't know what you want to do, going to college is silly and a waste of both time and money.  The machinist recommendation is great, and I would recommend many other skilled trades; electrician, IT technician installer, plumbing or HVAC tech, heavy equipment operator, heavy equipment repair tech, industrial maintenance,  carpentry, ironworker, etc.   Trades are starving for smart young people.   It's not back breaking work anymore either, very safe and good working conditions, plus you get to be outdoors frequently, move around job to job so you never get bored, etc.   Money is good, and the sky is the limit for someone with some drive and willing to take on responsibility.


ysette9

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2016, 04:12:15 PM »
My junior college offers a lot of certificate programs for trades as well as classes to help you assess your interest and skill set to find a job that would suit. Don't hesitate to hit up the counseling department for help on selecting a career that will pay and be a good fit. It probably isn't the place to get all of your questions answered but it is a good place to start.

mskyle

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #13 on: April 13, 2016, 04:29:58 PM »
For most people job markets are local and/or regional, and they're really hard to predict/time. Who's hiring where your cousin lives right now/where he wants to live?

ETBen

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #14 on: April 13, 2016, 07:58:13 PM »
Statistics.  The range of options across a wide variety of industries continues to grow.  Someone needs to be out there analyzing big data.  He could go into statistics and then pick an industry to aim for internships etc. 

JZinCO

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #15 on: April 13, 2016, 08:13:21 PM »
Statistics.  The range of options across a wide variety of industries continues to grow.  Someone needs to be out there analyzing big data.  He could go into statistics and then pick an industry to aim for internships etc.
There is alot of value in going into a basic field for an AA or BS and then gaining industry-specific knowledge later on the job or in graduate studies. I had a colleague who came into my field knowing nothing (about my field) from the mathematics discipline. She picked it up in no time, given that my field is 90% content knowledge and 10% hard math/stats/physics skills. I could not do the reverse. For another example, physicists and mathematicians pioneered quantitative finance to build models, of which now programmers are being hired to develop software for.

tyir

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #16 on: April 13, 2016, 09:10:20 PM »
Computer science / software engineer can lead to a ton of interesting jobs with high pay.

DebtFreeBy25

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #17 on: April 13, 2016, 09:21:51 PM »
Male nurses seem to excel in the OR, ER, and ICU. He could get an associate's degree and then have his employer pay for the BSN completion. I wouldn't recommend an LPN. They're mostly outdated and confined to nursing home care, which doesn't pay very well. A BSN is the way nursing is going - it's not impossible to get a job with an ADN, but it's way easier with a BSN.

I think nursing is the best paying and most stable career field someone can enter with only an associates degree. There are associates programs that graduate RNs. I definitely agree with QuirkyNurse that it worth the extra time and money to qualify to take the boards for a RN license, not just a LPN. Nursing is one of the few fields where a degree alone really can get someone a job. If the student understands what they're signing up for and can do the coursework (lots of anatomy, physiology and bio sciences), it's a pretty safe bet.

andy85

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #18 on: April 14, 2016, 05:48:43 AM »
If i could do it again i would do computer science and learn a bunch of programming languages. On top of that, I would also get into data mining and statistical analysis.

1) write the code/manage/manipulate the databases that contain data
2) know wtf you are looking at once the data is pulled and be able to relate that to a real world problem

Most people can do one or the other it seems...in my workplace anyways (I can do the 2nd, but not the 1st)

edit: we are becoming a data driven world. So 'big data' seems like a great field to get into.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #19 on: April 14, 2016, 06:26:56 AM »
Male nurses seem to excel in the OR, ER, and ICU. He could get an associate's degree and then have his employer pay for the BSN completion. I wouldn't recommend an LPN. They're mostly outdated and confined to nursing home care, which doesn't pay very well. A BSN is the way nursing is going - it's not impossible to get a job with an ADN, but it's way easier with a BSN.

I think nursing is the best paying and most stable career field someone can enter with only an associates degree. There are associates programs that graduate RNs. I definitely agree with QuirkyNurse that it worth the extra time and money to qualify to take the boards for a RN license, not just a LPN. Nursing is one of the few fields where a degree alone really can get someone a job. If the student understands what they're signing up for and can do the coursework (lots of anatomy, physiology and bio sciences), it's a pretty safe bet.

Depending on the area of the country, it really is prudent to do a BSN instead of an ADN. Magnet hospitals, or those hoping to qualify for it, only hire BSNs from outside the company as a general rule.

acroy

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #20 on: April 14, 2016, 06:35:54 AM »
 IT procurement manager with the specialization "Statistical analysis and data reconfiguration"


hehehe

MrsDinero

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Re: In demand career fields for upcoming High school graduate?
« Reply #21 on: April 14, 2016, 06:38:58 AM »
For most people job markets are local and/or regional, and they're really hard to predict/time. Who's hiring where your cousin lives right now/where he wants to live?

This is a very good question.  Does he plan to to live in the same area or is he open to relocation for employment or school?