Top 25 Jobs with an Associates Degree

I recently read an article that listed the top 25 jobs that you can have with an associates degree.  The following jobs were listed with the national median wage average for 2009.  I thought I would expand on that list for this blog and share some additional information.

Illinois workNet has a component that explains about the 5 Key Sectors in which employment will be in a high-demand high-growth situation.  They include Agriculture (AG), Healthcare, Information Technology (IT), Manufacturing (Man), and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL).  Green jobs are included on the list but are found in all of the key sectors. Find out more here.

Additionally, there is a great deal of information on jobs and career paths on O*NET.  You can find Standard Occupation Codes (SOC) to describe or associate with any job or career path.   All of this information is especially helpful if you are trying to determine what career path you want to follow if you are in the midst of a career change.

Also listed is the wage - hourly and annually for our more localized area.  LWIA stands for Local Workforce Investment Area which, for our definition is bounded by Kane, DeKalb and Kendall counties in Illinois.  EDR is for the Economic Development Region that is the Northeast quadrant of Illinois.  Some of the occupations could not be found within a reasonable geographic area so I included the State wages.  I can't imagine commercial divers in the middle of an agricultural zone.

And if you notice as  you look over the numbers, there are only a couple of the jobs that are rapidly growing on this list that are not high paying or included in one of our other Key Sectors. But sometimes you just need to go with your passion.  If you love your job, is it really considered work?

#	Occupation	Illinois Key Sector	SOC Code	Median Wage Illinois or Local 2009			Median Wages National 2009
		SECTOR	CODE	Hourly	Annual	Area	Hourly	Annual
1	Computer Specialists, All Other	IT	151099	$35.53	$73,915	LWIA	$37.02	$77,600
2	Radiation Therapists	Health	291124	$34.13	$72,668	EDR	$35.66	$74,200
3	Nuclear Medicine Technologists	Health	292033	$34.94	$72,668	EDR	$32.65	$67,900
4	Dental Hygienists	Health	292021	$34.61	$72,000	LWIA	$32.38	$67,400
5	Nuclear Technicians	Green	194051	$41.32	$85,947	EDR	$32.37	$67,300
6	Commercial Pilots	TDL	532012	N/A	$76,179	LWIA	N/A	$65,800
7	Fashion Designers		271022	$8.03	$16,704	LWIA	$30.90	$64,300
8	Registered Nurses	IT	291111	$30.03	$62,446	LWIA	$30.65	$63,800
9	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	IT	292032	$38.49	$80,074	LWIA	$30.30	$63,000
10	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay		492095	$21.13	$43,952	LWIA	$29.94	$62,300
11	Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other	Green	173029	$30.26	$62,952	LWIA	$27.66	$57,500
12	Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians	TDL	173021	$20.20	$42,012	state	$27.39	$57,000
13	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	Man	492022	$28.90	$60,100	LWIA	$26.71	$55,600
14	Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage		131032	$23.43	$48,722	LWIA	$26.63	$55,400
15	Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technicians	Green	173023	$25.78	$53,619	LWIA	$26.36	$54,800
16	Funeral Directors		119061	$31.09	$64,680	EDR	$26.14	$54,400
17	Respiratory Therapists	IT	291126	$24.85	$51,676	LWIA	$25.64	$53,300
18	Geological and Petroleum Technicians	AG/Green	194041	$30.98	$64,430	EDR	$25.60	$53,200
19	Radiologic Technologists and Technicians	Health	292034	$30.81	$64,092	LWIA	$25.59	$53,200
20	Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians	TDL	493011	$25.14	$52,295	LWIA	$25.39	$52,800
21	Commercial Divers	AG	499092	$14.48	$30,108	state	$25.26	$52,100
22	Electrical and Electronics Drafters		173012	$28.91	$60,139	LWIA	$25.04	$52,100
23	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment	Man/Green	492094	$18.69	$38,881	LWIA	$24.39	$50,700
24	Avionics Technicians	TDL	492091	$30.07	$62,540	LWIA	$24.31	$50,600
25	Occupational Therapist Technicians	Health	291122	$37.71	$78,453	LWIA	$24.16	$50,300

Let me know what you think.

Make the Most of a Job Fair

I recently had a booth at a very large job fair in the area.  Many of the attendees were dressed in suits or other professional attire.  I cannot stress enough that the way you present yourself is your first impression.  So, do you want a business owner or hiring managers first impression of you to be in jeans and sneakers?


Granted, when running errands, I may not have perfect hair, make-up and outfit, but, I am not going to a job fair.  If you cannot afford to go to Neiman Marcus for a new business suit or other professional clothing, there are less costly alternatives.  Some organizations offer unemployed job seekers assistance with clothing for interviews, Goodwill often has clothing that still has the original tags on it, and many resale shops have great bargains, not to mention, one suit with different shirts or blouses can carry you through many interviews.  If nothing else, a freshly laundered pair of khakis and a dress shirt, along with a shave and haircut can show that you value the interviewers time and your own pride.

If you haven't ever seen the tips we offer to "Make the Most of a Job Fair" here are the highlights:

• Dress for a business interview.
• Bring pens and paper to make notes.
• Bring extra resumes, enough to leave at least two with every recruiter.
• Keep yourself and your materials organized. You may want to use a portfolio, folder and/or small bag.
• When you meet with the recruiter:
• Introduce yourself. Express confidence with a firm handshake and a smile, and by maintaining good eye contact.
• Be interested. Briefly explain what you like about the company and give your “elevator speech.”
• Ask the questions you prepared.
• Ask about the application and hiring process. What is the timeframe? Is there a good time for you to make a follow-up call?
• Do not ask about salary and benefits; discuss this only if the recruiter brings it up.
• Ask for a business card or ask for a contact name, phone/fax numbers, and/or email address. Take brochures or other information available at the recruiter’s booth.
• At the end of your conversation, offer a firm handshake and a thank you, making sure to address the interviewer by name.
• Keep a list of the employers you meet. After each conversation, make notes about the company and the conversation you had with the recruiter.
• Pace yourself. Take a breather after each conversation to collect yourself and reorganize for the next one.

 What do you think is appropriate job fair attire?

How non-traditional are you?

At the fall Working for the Fox Valley job fair the Today Show filmed some of the job seekers for a piece that they were working on for Monday, September 20, 2010 http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/39267648#39267648  while none of the footage appeared in the segment, we did notice there were several men being filmed and interviewed for the piece. This clip noted that there are more women in the workforce today than men.


The Today Show discussion was based on an article in Newsweek this week on the new masculinity. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/20/why-we-need-to-reimagine-masculinity.html  But let's discuss what non-traditional means. Jobs throughout history have been segmented toward a particular gender. During World War II, for example, while the men were overseas fighting the war, there was a large push for women to fill the jobs previously held by the soldiers. Hence the name, Rosie the Riveter. When the men returned, most of the women went back to their stay at home lives. By today's definition, non-traditional occupations would be:

Men - nursing, home health care, teachers, customer service reps and stay-at-home dads.
Women - construction, truck driver, airline pilot, CEO, CFO, and many, many more.

Have you ever heard the term blue job or pink job? It was explained to me as blue jobs are those jobs around the home that would traditionally be performed by the male in the household - lawn work, home repairs, garbage to the curb, and a pink job would be those performed by the female - laundry, childcare, cooking, cleaning, errands, shopping, etc. What happens in a non-traditional experience is that the household duties are shared, as should the work world duties.

While the world is still a long way from having employment areas not be defined by "non-traditional", a quote from the Newsweek article states: In fact, men dominate only two of the 12 job titles expected to grow the most between 2008 and 2018: construction worker and accountant. The rest, including teachers (501,000 new positions), registered nurses (582,000), home health aides (461,000), and customer-service reps (400,000), remain heavily female. All told, the social sector of the economy will gain 6.9 million jobs by 2018.


There are emerging jobs in the market place.  One of our partners explains them well - http://www.illinoisworknet.com/VOS_PORTAL/industry/en/home/EmergingJobs. If you are currently unemployed and determining whether you need to update your existing skills or find a new career path, you may wish to research the Key Sectors of employment defined in Illinois as Agriculture, Healthcare, Information Technologies, Manufacturing and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics.  Perhaps you might find an area that would interest you.

If you are interested in more non-traditional careers, an entire list can be found on this website: http://www.quintcareers.com/non-traditional_careers.html

Employed or not, perhaps you will investigate moving into one of those more non-traditional areas of employment.