Economic Growth & Trending Career Projections To Know

Online learning certainly isn’t a new phenomenon, but its availability and popularity skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students, teachers and administrators alike are all experiencing the wealth of benefits that accompany virtual learning. In fact, 95% of postsecondary students say they’d recommend it to others.

At the same time, certain industries are also experiencing rapid economic growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), five out of the 20 fastest-growing industries are in the field of healthcare, with support staff positions ranking within the top 15 jobs on the rise this year. In less than three years, these roles have increased by more than 34%.

Information technology (IT) is another growing industry, with employment projected to grow 11% in the coming decade, adding more than half a million new jobs.

Here are some facts and figures on trending jobs in both fields.

Trending Careers of 2021: Healthcare

Some of 2021’s best jobs in the healthcare field include:

Physical Therapist Assistant

This position involves helping patients complete their therapy alongside a licensed physical therapist. It has a median salary of $58,790, with 32,000 projected jobs in the next decade. Similarly, there's a projected job growth of 29% for physical therapist aides. This entry-level position is a great way to join the industry and work your way into an assistant position or a future career in PT.

Occupational Therapy Assistant

People in this position help occupational therapists treat patients and ensure that the facility operations run smoothly. There's set to be a 35% increase in these jobs between 2019 and 2029.

Home Health and Personal Care Aide

These roles typically only require a high school diploma or the equivalent. They involve monitoring the conditions of persons with disabilities or illnesses and helping them perform their daily tasks. A whopping 1,159,500 new positions will be introduced before 2030.

Medical Assistant

Medical Assistants complete clinical and administrative duties in a variety of healthcare settings. Most people with this job title obtained a non-degreed form of postsecondary education, such as a certificate from a training program. These positions are expected to grow by 19%.

Trending Careers of 2021: IT

In the IT world, here are some of the jobs coming out on top:

Computer Network Architect

The introduction of the Cloud meant that organizations no longer needed to design their own in-house networks. Now, they can rely on second-party cloud network architects, so the demand for this position is expected to increase.

Programs that offer this kind of training include:

IT Manager

The shift from traditional workplace setups to digitalized operations led to an increased demand for IT managers. Their duties involve analyzing computer needs, maintaining software, implementing new technologies and securing networks. It’s ranked the 12th best job with a median salary of $146,360.

Information Security Analyst

As the concern for cybersecurity continues to increase, so too does the need for information security analysts and specialists. According to the BLS, the growth rate for these workers stems from a greater emphasis on cloud computing, information security and the collection and storage of data.

The median salary for this role is a hefty $99,730 and there are 40,900 projected jobs.

How Case Managers Can Set Their Clients up for Success

If you’re a case manager, the best thing you can do for your client is to put them on the path towards a lucrative and rewarding career.

Considering the intense economic growth in the healthcare and IT sectors, as well as the uptick in remote education, you can’t go wrong by helping your clients enter the high-quality online training programs geared toward the many different careers in these fields.

A better future starts here.