For Your College Bound Student: 5 Top Rated College Majors
As employment demographics have stalled and shifted over the past few years, a significant number of unemployed Americans have decided to go back to school. If you are among this group, or if you have a graduating high schooler bound for college in the fall, it is a good time to take an in-depth look at where the jobs are before deciding on a college major.
A 2012 study by Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workplace zeroes in on the five college majors most likely to result in steady employment:
1. Information technology – It should come as no surprise that an IT degree is valued by a host of employers. IT grads, who study such specialties as computer hardware and software support, research and communication, and/or the relationships between computers and humans, had an unemployment rate of 5.4 per cent last year as opposed to am 11.4 per cent rate in the general population.
2. Health care administration – The unemployment rate of graduates in this field has been as low as 2.9 percent in recent years – and the growing need for preventative care as well as a generation of aging baby boomers will continue to make health care administrators a valued and sought-after group of employees for hospitals, nursing homes and more.
3. Criminal justice – Growing demand for public safety will call for more police officers, but also for employees with a broad knowledge of public administration. Students who focus on law, psychology, and/or sociology should find steady employment in the field of criminal justice.
4. Marketing and communications – Wordsmiths and creative thinkers who can design and market new products and services already are a valued commodity. The Georgetown study says students of consumer behavior, international markets, market research and communication can expect to meet a growing call in related fields like market research analysts, public relations specialists and social media experts.
5. Accounting – Math proficiency and a bachelor’s degree in accounting will prepare job-seekers for a great variety of jobs in financial markets over the next few years, especially as employers in the financial sectors seek to comply with new standards and a host of stricter laws and regulations.
By Barbara Pronin