Lately it seems I’ve run into several people trying to figure out what the best choices are for a career in the near future.  While it seems the economy has recently taken a downturn, there are at least two major industries that will be seeing growth over the next 10 years or so.  My advice, find a way to get into one of these two industries.

The first industry is the health care industry.  Whether the present government passes a health care reform package that places the US under a Government run health care system or not, one thing is for sure, the health care industry is going to grow.  One of the driving factors causing this is the, approximate 76 million baby boomers who are reaching the age where they need more health care.  Take into consideration that there are only around 300 million people in the US and you realize that the baby boomers account for close to a third of the population.

When you consider the fact that a third of the US will need increased health care over the next 20 years or so, you begin to realize the potential earnings for that industry.  It would be like saying a third of the population is going to need, not want, need blue pens and you happen to sell blue pens.  In other words, if you can get into the health care industry now or even in the next couple of years you still have the next 18 years or so to take advantage of this growing industry and the industry needs new people.

The second industry that will be growing is the internet or online industry.  If you can get yourself educated and get yourself into the internet business, you will have plenty of work to do.  The nice thing about the internet is there are so many options, from e-commerce, to entertainment, to advertising and sales.

According to the department of commerce, online spending grows hand in hand with broadband penetration. (E-commerce Growth)  In 2008, the US rated only 15^th in the world for broadband penetration, so we have a lot of growing to do.  (US Broadband Penetration Statistics) Also consider the internet is not just in the US, but is worldwide, so there are literally billions of potential customers who haven’t even begun to spend money online yet.

Consider also right now most of the small businesses in the US do not have an online presence, and yet when people are looking for a particular product or service, most people who have internet access use the internet to find the business they are looking for. With this in mind you can see the potential growth in helping new businesses gain an online presence; a presence desperately needed.

If you are looking for a new career and have the time, it will be worth it to look into the potential growth of these two industries and look at gaining the education you need to become a part of ether of them or both.  Imagine the possibilities of being a web developer specializing in health care.