In fact, seven of the top twenty fastest-growing careers are in health care. Here’s where the opportunities are (with data from BLS):

1. Home care aide
Expected job growth: 53%

There are minimal requirements to become a home care aide — and it’s one of the most in-demand jobs in the country. Home care aides care for people who are disabled in their own homes. Besides assisting with laundry, meals and household tasks, home health aides may also advise patients and their families on nutrition, cleanliness, and other household activities. If you’re looking for a health job that doesn’t require special training, this is a great place to start. Typical salaries range from $17,895 to $23,481 a year.

2. Medical assistants
Expected job growth: 36%

Medical assistants help with essential administrative and clinical tasks that keep hospitals and clinics running smoothly. They update medical records, fill out insurance forms, handle billing and bookkeeping, and take patients’ vital signs. Medical assistants make between $24,317 and $36,987 a year and can be trained on the job or through a short certification program.

3. Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants
Expected job growth: 33%

Physical therapists help people recover from injuries and prevent permanent physical disabilities. While becoming a physical therapist requires a master’s degree, you can get certified as a physical therapist assistant in just two years and begin earning $44,762 to $61,139 a year right away.

4. Pharmacy technicians
Expected job growth: 32%

Pharmacy technicians help pharmacists provide medication to patients by preparing prescriptions, maintaining patient records, organizing insurance claim forms and stocking inventory of medications. Pharmacy technicians enter the field through on the job training, and typically make $30,085 to $40,285 a year.

5. Dental hygienists
Expected job growth: 31%

Dental hygienists clean teeth, look for oral disease and provide preventative care. Since they often work with the dentist during treatment, dental hygienists also have to be familiar with various instruments including ultrasonics, X-ray machines, and syringes. Dental hygienists must complete a two-year certification program before entering the field and they earn between $60,654 and $93,475.

6. Physician Assistants
Expected job growth: 30%

Physician assistants perform tasks typically performed by a doctor. They take medical histories, examine and treat patients, order and interpret laboratory tests and X-rays, make diagnoses and prescribe medications. They also treat minor injuries and may supervise technicians and assistants. This job requires a master’s degree and brings a salary of $70,390 to $98,751.

7. Occupational Therapists
Expected job growth: 29%

Occupational therapists help people with mental or physical disabilities develop or recover the skills they need for work and daily living. Occupational therapists are required to earn a master’s degree and make a salary of $64,402 to $88,664. However, if you are looking to get into the field more quickly and still make some money, consider getting a two-year certification as an occupational therapist assistant and making $43,337 to $59,404.

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What Jobs Will the Stimulus Create?

By John Rossheim, Monster Senior Contributing Writer

?In his first address to Congress, President Barack Obama put his top priority for America’s beleaguered workers in simple terms: “Now is the time to jumpstart job creation.”

The work of reversing the labor economy’s slide will not be so simple. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act seeks to bring timely relief to 11.6 million unemployed Americans and 734,000 discouraged workers — so called by the Bureau of Labor Statistics because they have given up looking.

The jobs created by the Recovery Act will make a world of difference in the lives of millions, even though it can’t put everyone back to work tomorrow.

“The approximately 3.5 million jobs created or saved will reflect the current distribution of jobs across the economy,” touching all industries, says Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. Due to the severity of the recession, “that’s not going to fill in the employment gap entirely,” she says. About 3.6 million jobs have already been lost in the recession that began December 2007, according to a February 2009 BLS report, and no one expects the losses to stop anytime soon.

Four strategic sectors will receive money targeted for job creation, either directly or indirectly: energy (459,000 jobs), infrastructure (377,000), education (250,000) and healthcare (244,000), according to a report by Obama administration officials.

And the broader stimulus created by government work, recession relief and tax relief is projected to create even greater numbers of jobs across the economy.

Alternative Energy Jobs Get a Jolt

The stimulus package calls for unprecedented spending on clean energy, including $60 billion in loan guarantees for alternative energy projects such as wind turbines and coal gasification.

The money is sorely needed, because the green sector has been especially hard-hit in the downturn. “Since November, hiring has been in a lockdown,” says Doug Scott, regional managing director for recruitment firm the Mergis Group. “It’s starting to improve, because companies who have the money to make a play are now doing so.”

Engineers and tradespeople should see demand for their services rise when federal funding reaches their prospective employers. “Electrical, electronic and mechanical engineers will transfer their skills the quickest to alternative energy, to work on solar panels and wind turbines, for example,” says Scott. “Technical salespeople will be needed, as will skilled tradespeople to work in installation, infrastructure and field service.”

Learn more about energy-related opportunities and search for jobs.

Construction and Infrastructure Win Major Support

“Job growth from the stimulus will be heavier in industries that have been hit harder,” says Shierholz. “Those industries have the most opportunity for bounce-back.”

Construction, with its free-falling housing sector, desperately needs that bounce. So hardhats and their coworkers should be somewhat reassured to see that Recovery Act infrastructure spending will be measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars, and so-called shovel-ready projects will receive funding as soon as this spring. For example, the infrastructure stimulus will include billions of dollars for public transit, encompassing projects ranging from railway repairs to the purchase of hybrid buses.

Learn more about construction-related opportunities and search for jobs.

Education Gets into the Rebuilding Act

Recovery Act funding for education is projected to create or save hundreds of thousands of jobs, from teaching positions to bricklayers. This may give school officials across the country a breather as they struggle to balance budgets while state and local funding dwindles.

Education spending will include a variety of initiatives, from billons of dollars in school repairs to additional millions for programs for students with learning disabilities.

Learn more about education-related opportunities and search for jobs.

Healthcare Gets a Shot in the Arm

The stimulus package includes many billions of dollars for healthcare, including $21 billion for healthcare information systems and technology.

“The new administration will emphasize capturing information to better deliver pharmaceuticals and healthcare services,” says Jason Hersh, managing partner of Kline Hersh International. “Professionals in medical informatics will be in demand over the coming years. Job seekers who are looking to transition skill sets into this environment should look into healthcare IT,” he says.

Learn more about healthcare-related opportunities and search for jobs.

Millions More Jobs to Be Added Across the Economy

Beyond the four strategic sectors, some 2.3 million jobs are projected via other components of the stimulus package, such as extensions of unemployment benefits, aid to states and tax cuts. These jobs will be born in diverse industries, including retail, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, professional and business services, government, financial, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information technology and services, mining and utilities.

Employment in these areas will likely come online sooner than jobs created in the strategic sectors. “Because it takes time to carry out new spending programs authorized by legislation, we expect the jobs created by spending on infrastructure, education, health and energy to be concentrated in 2010 and 2011” rather than this year, the administration report notes.

Even given this jobs-building program of historic proportions, the rising tide of unemployment is unlikely to reverse itself in the near term. “If we can start adding net jobs in early 2010, we can say the stimulus did its job,” says Shierholz.

Get Ready to Land a Stimulus Job

Whether you are hoping to find a job in one of the four strategic sectors — energy, education, infrastructure, healthcare — or one that is indirectly created by the stimulus package, you can take action right now to be ready to stand out as the jobs are posted.

• Research: Narrowing in on the types of jobs you want and are most qualified for will help you keep your job search on task. Check out Monster’s Career Snapshots to learn about different jobs and get insiders’ perspectives on what it is like to work in these fields. This can also help you identify any skills gaps you may have so you can seek the appropriate training.
• Update Your Resume: Now that you have some potential career goals in mind, you need to make sure your resume will get you there. Be sure your resume is ready to go with your most up-to-date skills and accomplishments, and consider customizing your resume to the different jobs you plan to apply for.
• Keep an Eye on Jobs: As the stimulus begins to have its impact on the economy, the job postings will trickle in. Set up saved job searches now for your different target jobs so that Monster can notify you as they are posted. And look for when Monster’s Keep America Working Tour will come to a city near you, so you can take advantage of the on-site career-building opportunities.