So, you're thinking about a career

By By Buddy Bynum / editor
Feb.15, 2004
Let's say you're in college taking courses you expect will help you land a good-paying job, maybe even a career in which you have a genuine interest. That's commendable.
Let's say you're in high school working your way through the math, language and sciences and really haven't decided on a career. You still have many options.
In fact, according to employment specialists, the options enjoyed by American workers don't end when a student's academic work is finished. Americans today are likely to change occupations at least seven times, and it isn't uncommon to take a whole different direction as one seeks a different type of mental stimulation.
That may help to explain why a high school classmate of mine (Meridian High, Class of 1970) who possessed a truly brilliant mind became a physician, practiced medicine for years and then became an Episcopal priest. An attorney friend of mine in Jackson enjoyed a very successful law practice and then resigned from his firm to head up a community food bank.
It seems that many Americans are working at jobs that provide a paycheck but don't fill more difficult to define psychological needs. So they shift careers, some seeking higher incomes, some seeking less stress or more personal satisfaction.
Listen up
But if you're in high school today, or know someone who is, listen up. As you ponder the future, here's a look at the 10 fastest growing jobs in Mississippi and their average annual salary, according to the Mississippi Employment Security Commission:
1. Computer support specialist, $34,110.
2. Computer software engineer, systems software, $63,490.
3. Home health aide, $18,010.
4. Medical assistant, $20,560.
5. Computer software engineers, applications, $53,250.
6. Network and computer systems administrator, $43,230.
7. Personal and home care aide, $14,840.
8. Medical records and health information technician, $21,380.
9. Speech-language pathologist, $43,230.
10. Dental hygienist, $34,820.
Quoting Jan Garrick, who speaks for the MESC, The Associated Press reported last week that Mississippi is seeing increasing demand for technology employees as the economy shifts from industrial to service jobs, and for health care employees as the population ages.
Paralegal, which once topped the list, is now out of the top 10. My personal belief is that paralegals are absolutely essential to our legal system, but that's beside the point.
Correlation
The point is that seven of the 10 fastest growing jobs require education beyond high school. Those that don't medical assistants and aides for home health and personal care are also the lowest paid.
See the correlation between education and getting a good job?
We are behind educationally because these jobs of the future require university degrees and most Mississippians don't have one,'' Garrick said. One in four Mississippians don't have a high school diploma … Things for them are grim as far as jobs.''
That said, there are exceptions. I don't know whether the HVAC technician who fixes my home heating system has a college degree or even a high school degree, and don't care. Same for the best auto mechanic in town.
If these guys are making the living they want doing a job working the hours they like, then I'm all for them.
Not all of us, myself included, can be a computer software engineer, but I have a healthy respect for people who can fix mechanical things. Thank goodness for technical education and places like Meridian Community College and Ross Collins.
I also have respect for people who can fix electronic things so I can write this column using a keyboard, a computer and my own imagination. No paper, no Wite-Out.
But we can't escape the fact that the highest paid job on the list, computer systems software engineer, pays an average annual salary of $63,490, and the job category is expected to grow by 70 percent.
This is something for students to think about on their way to class.