Let’s start things off with a quick question: what do a diagnostic medical sonographer, geographical engineer and a genetic counselor all have in common?
Well, the answer is simple: most of you probably don’t have an clue as to what skills they require, what they actually do. Heck, you probably don’t even care!
However, there is one similarity between these three professions that you’d probably be very interested in.
They all come with sky-high salaries.
The State of Employment in 2017
It seems like the economy has finally bounced back from the crash a decade ago. This year, US’s unemployment has dropped below 5%, according to data gathered by Recruitics. Furthermore, the country now has more than 181,000 new job openings every month.
It’s safe to say that the employment opportunities look bright this year. In industries like healthcare and retail, staffing levels are naturally expected to rise in the next twelve months. However, if you go past the “usual suspects” you’ll discover high demand for interesting jobs you may not even known existed.
Top High-Paying, Little-Known Jobs
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Medical Equipment Repairer
Who is it for: Mechanics, PC repairers, handymen…
Why it is growing: Well, the explanation for this is one is fairly simple. As we mentioned in the opening paragraph, there’s an increasing demand today for healthcare services, which ensures that this profession will see a rapid growth in the next couple of years.
What the job is exactly: The job tittle explains it all – it is a person who installs medical equipment, maintains it during the year and does repairs when needed. Since this equipment can be complicated, some repairers obtain a degree in biomedical technology. However, people who work on less complicated pieces of equipment like automatic beds and electric wheelchairs can learn the job entirely on the spot.
Average salary: According to US News, a medical equipment repairer earns around $46,000 per year, but can earn up to $76,000 every year.
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Health Educator/Wellness Instructor
Who is it for: Fitness trainers, nutritionists, rehabilitation workers…
Why it is growing: Basically, employers want their workers to improve their health in order to cut back on insurance costs and increase job satisfaction at the same time. As the Time reports, some companies are even tying money initiatives to health achievements, and discounting insurance premiums for workers who manage to lose weight, quit smoking or lower their blood pressure.
What the job is exactly: In the past, companies paid outside specialists to offer health and wellness services, but now, since people are more concerned about health more than ever, owners have started hiring in-house wellness experts. In most case, a company health instructor works with individual employees, in order to examine their health and create custom-made health programs that cater to each worker’s needs.
Average salary: According to statistics provided by PayScale, an average health educator makes more than $43,000 each year, and can make up to $60,000.
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Solutions Architect
Who is it for: IT experts, computer engineers, software developers…
Why it is growing: Jobs in this area are expected to grow around 30% due to lack of experts in the field by the end of the decade, you still need a bachelor’s degree in computer science – or any related field – to qualify for the job. Also, you have to be aware that this is a highly competitive field and the architect with the most experience and the best education will be at an advantage. Luckily, companies like Cisco and Microsoft are offering certification programs for solutions architects.
What the job is exactly: In this case, you have a job tittle that doesn’t actually live up to the job itself. In sort, solutions architects are people who work in teams on huge technical issues within the company. This is a complicated and a stressful job that requires years of practical experience in software engineering and development. That’s why some of these guys have great reputations among their IT colleagues and make so much money.
Average salary: According to data provided by State University, an average solution architect makes staggering $106.000 per year and can make more than $150,000 on a yearly basis.
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Geotechnical Engineer
Who is it for: Civil engineers or any other relevant undergrads…
Why it is growing: Once again, shortage of workers. The best thing about it this particular job is that the shortage of professionals in the field is so acute that a number of geotechnical engineering companies isn’t even looking for a master’s degree in geotechnical engineering for employment. Instead, respected geotechnical engineering companies are focusing more on communication skills, because a big part of the job is writing highly-detailed reports.
What the job is exactly: The “geological” part of the job title refers to geological components of earth, like the groundwater and soil. And a job of a geotechnical engineer is to examine these components of the earth and examine whether a site is good for a project or no. This job may appeal to some engineering majors, because it allows the person to step out of the office once in a while and do some field work.
Average salary: According to statistics from PayScale, a geotechnical engineer earns more than $64,000 per year on average, but can earn up to $92,000.
Final Thoughts
And those were just four exciting new jobs you can apply for today. As you can see, modern employers are looking for innovative ways to expand their businesses and are naturally allocating money to these new positions.
We’re slowly but steadily moving towards what experts call “information economy” which presents a great opportunity for a worker to translate his skills in a seemingly unrelated field.
Lastly, don’t worry about your credentials and level of educations – some of these jobs are so new that most universities haven’t had a chance to offer such specific degrees yet. Plus, some of them are so complex, that there is no standard set of credentials an employer can look for in a candidate.
Don’t let yourself be intimidated by over-complicated job titles either – you might easily fit the bill for some of these high-demand jobs but you just don’t know it yet.
