According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fastest growing jobs through 2014 are:

1. Home health aides
2. Network systems and data communications analysts
3. Medical assistants
4. Physician’s assistants
5. Computer & software engineers (applications)
6. Physical therapist assistants
7. Dental hygienists
8. Computer & software engineers (systems)
9. Dental assistants
10. Personal aides

An interesting (but not surprising!) factoid about this list is that of the Top 10 fastest growing careers; 60% of them require a college education. What’s more, the earning potential for non-degreed careers (1, 3, 9, and 10) is rated as either low or very low.

Let’s look at it from another perspective. The unemployment statistics reveal that the jobless rate is inversely proportional to educational level. In other words, the lower a candidate’s education level, the less chance they have of finding a job. The following chart illustrates this important point: (more…)