Los Angeles Jobs: The Fastest Growing Careers in LA
The top fastest growing careers in Los Angeles all have one thing in common a college degree is required. Whether you have a veterinary degree or one in computer science, your services will be needed in L.A. in the years to come. The top careers run the gamut from network systems and data communications analysts to pharmacy technicians, with veterinary technicians and home health aides also on the list.
To become a pharmacy technician, you have to have completed a certification program. Pharmacy techs assist the pharmacist by dealing with customers, verifying prescriptions before they are dispensed, and compiling a short medical history of each customer to make sure that the medications given do not have adverse reactions to each other. The annual median wage of a pharmacy technician in Los Angeles is $34,860. That breaks down to an hourly salary of $16.67.
Home health aides and occupational therapists are also in demand. The average home health aide makes $20,410 per year, whereas an occupational therapist makes $83.200 in that same span of time. The difference is in the degree. An occupational therapist has a four-year degree and must become certified. A home health aide tends to be a nursing student who is still in training.
On the other side of things, veterinary technicians work with animals, not people. A veterinary technician makes $34,460 a year, and has to have completed a training program. Veterinary technicians help the veterinarian with tasks like taking x-rays and giving medications to the animals.
Several of the in-demand careers in Los Angeles require a degree in computer science. Network systems and data communications analysts draw an average salary of $69.250. Networks systems analysts design and build computer networks. Once the network is built, they test it and refine it. If something goes wrong with that network, they are the ones responsible for repairing it.
Computer software engineers are also needed. They are the people who come up with the idea for a program or game and then they design and build it out of code. The average salary for a computer software engineer in Los Angeles is $87.520.
Dont forget the other quickly growing career in the Los Angeles area. This one is perhaps the most important one of all that of a teacher. Post-secondary teachers, also known as professors, teach at colleges. Some colleges require that a professor has a PhD in the field that he or she is teaching in, while other schools, like trade schools or community colleges, only feel that a Bachelors or Masters degree is necessary. The average salary of a post-secondary teacher is $81,680, but it varies slightly depending on the specialty.
Middle school, also known as junior high, teachers are one of the top-growing career fields. The students range in age from 10 to 14, depending on the school and the size of the district. Usually middle school teachers have one particular subject that they have specialized in, but depending on the grade level, that may not be the case.
The average middle school teacher has at least a Bachelors degree, and has passed the needed certification tests. Some school districts require that the teacher is continuing with their education, either working towards a Masters degree or further certification. Salaries for middle school teachers range from $59.120 to $58,140.
If you have a teaching degree, a medical certification or a computer science degree, you are lucky enough to belong to one of the fastest growing careers in Los Angeles. In the years to come, your services will be needed more than ever. Consider that when you are deciding what to study in school.
References:
California Jobs - Career, Salary & Employment Statistics Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale Jobs - Career, Salary & Employment Statistics
Long Term Occupational Projections, California - /lt_search.aspx