Which of These Fastest Growing Careers Is Right for You?

You've had enough of your job. It's time to reach higher, earn more and be fulfilled in your profession. Lucky for you, some of the fastest growing jobs offer excitement, prosperity and the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. Acquire the knowledge and skills in high demand in these industries, and you’ll be a degree closer to making your dreams a reality.

Which field most captivates you?

Education

With about one in four Americans enrolled in educational institutions, educational services is the second largest industry, accounting for about 12.7 million jobs. Most teaching positions -- which constitute almost half of all educational services jobs -- require at least a bachelor's degree. Some require a master's or doctoral degree, much like the position to which Aretha Rhone-Bush aspired.

Serving as assistant principal at Hilton Head High School (Hilton Head, S.C.), Rhone-Bush saw the opportunity she'd been waiting for -- one that would not only enhance her career, but ultimately her education, too.

"I saw the proposal for the bond referendum to build the [new] school," she says. "When I was hired as an assistant principal at Hilton Head High School, I told my principal I wanted the opportunity to lead the school."

Investigate these rapidly expanding fields:

* Education
* Nursing
* Information Technology
* Business
* Criminal Justice

And, after she led a 55-member committee through the design and build process of Bluffton High School, a state-of-the-art technology school, Rhone-Bush was unanimously chosen as principal. At age 34, she is one of the youngest high school principals in the nation.

"This position is my destiny," says Rhone-Bush. "I didn't just happen upon this job." Which is why she decided to expand on her existing knowledge by enrolling in an online Ph.D. program in Leadership for K-12 Programs Specialization through Capella University.

Nursing

It's time to help others and help yourself by exploring a career in health care, specifically nursing. With almost 500,000 health care establishments across the country, professionals who can fuse human compassion with advanced medical technology are in great demand. From cleansing a child's scraped knee and caring for the terminally ill to working side by side with doctors and surgeons, professionals like yourself work hard to improve the lives of those around them and are recognized accordingly. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing is among the top 10 occupations with the largest estimated job growth. Choosing an educational program that fits your life is an excellent prescription for advancement in this flourishing industry.

Take Terri Welborn, RN, manager of trauma services at a 415-bed hospital in Midland, Texas, for instance. She completed a legal nurse consulting certificate online at Kaplan University last April, and is now enrolled in Kaplan's newly launched online bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN) program. "I am married and have three kids, and three grandkids under the age of 7. And, my husband is a police officer and is looking at retirement in about five years," says Welborn. "So I'm looking for a way to take my career in a direction that allows me to utilize the experience and knowledge I've acquired in the past 25 years, but not to be tied to the hospital 40 hours a week."

Information Technology

If you're driven by the digital world, why not capitalize on your cyber-savviness? With fast-growing fields such as Web design and development, systems engineers, and database management, you can connect to a career opportunity that is exciting, cutting-edge and creative.

One stepping stone to an IT degree that many are taking advantage of is certificate programs. In fact, computer systems design and related services industry is cited by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as one of the top 10 fastest growing industries in the economy, adding more than 600,000 jobs between 2002 and 2012.

Statistics like that are encouraging, especially to someone like Debra Wall-Czech. When she got laid off, she immediately faced difficulty finding another job because she didn't have a college degree. With so many responsibilities to juggle -- taking care of a family and traveling the world with a country/rock band -- the 41-year-old decided the best option for her was to get a degree online.

"I can log onto classes from home or when I'm traveling." In fact, Debra has even accessed her classes at Internet cafés and military-base computer labs. Even with her demanding schedule, Wall-Czech successfully earned two bachelor's degrees from DeVry -- one in computer information systems and one in business information systems. She has since enrolled at DeVry's Keller Graduate School of Management where she'll complete a master's degree in project management this year.

Business

If you're intrigued by all things business -- yes, even beyond 'The Apprentice' -- it's time to make your corporate mark. Power your pursuits with a degree; advanced study is especially impressive in the boardroom of any business. MBA earners are consistently courted by corporate bigwigs, and with some programs offered entirely online, there are more options from which to choose. You can specialize in areas such as accounting, project management, marketing and more.

Deb Hagan wanted to succeed in the boardroom and knew that a master's degree would help her do that. Having a full-time job and being a busy mother of two wasn't going to stop her from getting it. In fact, neither was giving birth to her third child, which happened right in the middle of her online coursework at the University of Phoenix.

Two days after her son was born, she wrapped up a statistics class; less than one week after that, she registered for two more courses. Crazy? Ambitious is more like it. Deb saw an opportunity to make professional and personal advancements through online learning, and now that she's latched on, she's not letting go.

Criminal Justice

Crime prevention, litigation and legal disputes -- and the need to protect confidential information and property of all kinds -- will always create opportunities for people with degrees in criminal justice. In fact, employment of private detectives and investigators is expected to grow faster than the average occupation across the next decade. Accordingly, various certificate and degree programs focusing on theses exciting and important career avenues are flourishing.

For Brenda McGreevy of Guilderland, N.Y., the convenience of distance learning allowed her to earn her associate's degree in criminal justice almost entirely online, while working full time for the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, and volunteering 20 hours a week as an emergency medical technician for the Western Turnpike Rescue Squad in Guilderland. "I decided to go to school for a degree after my youngest daughter went to college and that left me being the only one in the household that hadn't gone to college," says the now 49-year-old McGreevy, who's a mother of two grown daughters. The academic fit she found helped her graduate with a 4.0 G.P.A.

In addition to state and other public service career opportunities, the field of criminal justice is booming in the private sector as well. Attorneys always need assistance from skilled professionals with a working knowledge of the field, not to mention the endless demand for investigators in the corporate world. Corporate investigators monitor the tumultuous financial activity of the world's businesses and are experts at assessing internal and external financial losses and preventing industrial spying by competitors. Additionally, two newer fields -- cyber-security and homeland security -- are rapidly growing alternatives for those looking to apply their business degrees to criminal justice.