Upon graduating high school, many people transition directly to a four-year college or university. However, with rising college costs, this may not be the best choice for everyone. Plenty of trade and vocational jobs need qualified candidates -- and the qualifications for some of those jobs may only involve having an associate degree.
Use RWM.org's Top Vocational Jobs tool to explore your career interests, to see which industries are set to experience growth in the coming years and to learn about the required levels of education for different jobs. You may possibly even determine which associate degree to pursue, or which career you may want to apply for if you already have a degree.
Fastest-Growing Vocational and Trade Careers: How RWM Gathers the Data
The information on this page is a compilation of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov), the Occupational Information Network and the U.S. Labor Department. Use this data to learn which vocational careers are expected to grow the most nationally between 2012 and 2022.
Best Vocational Jobs for the Future: How to Explore Top Trade Careers
There are many ways to use the RWM Top Vocational Jobs tool. Select the interactive graphs to explore: states with the highest salaries, jobs by educational attainment, projected employment growth and median salary estimates. (Hover over the charts to see industry-specific details.) You can also view occupations by industry to find out how your preferred career ranks and what you might need to qualify. Lastly, you can compare related careers side-by-side to see what education, certification or work experience you may need to earn to move onto the next level.
RWM.org puts growing careers at your fingertips
Utilizing tools such as these can help you understand our nation's current and future trade careers so you can build your own career path. These career profiles help outline not only careers with the highest projected employment rates but also what each career can entail, the necessary education or training required for employment, and national and state salary trends.
