Employment in professional specialty occupations is projected to increase at a faster rate and have more job growth than any major occupational group.

• Within professional specialty occupations, computer related occupations and teachers will add 2.3 million new jobs, accounting for 15 percent of all new jobs from 1996 to 2006. Professional specialty occupations comprise the only group that will have a majority of job openings stemming from growth.

Little or no change is expected in employment in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and related occupations. All job openings in this cluster will stem from replacement needs. Office automation will significantly affect many individual administrative and clerical support occupations. Overall, these occupations will increase more slowly than average, though some are projected to decline.

Precision production, craft, and repair occupations and operators, fabricators, and laborers are projected to grow slower than average due to continuing advances in technology, changes in production methods, and overall decline in manufacturing jobs.

Five out of the 6 education and training categories projected to have the fastest growth require at least a bachelor's degree, and the sixth requires an associate's degree. All categories that do not require a college degree are projected to grow slower than average.

Table 1 presents the fastest growing occupations and those having the largest numerical increase in employment over the 1996-2006 period, categorized by the level of education and training.

Occupations usually requiring short-term on-the-job training accounted for 53.5 million jobs in 1996, more than any other education and training category. Occupations requiring a bachelor's degree or more education accounted for 22 percent of all jobs. Occupations in the four education categories not requiring postsecondary education accounted for about 70 percent of all jobs.

Occupations that require a bachelor's degree are projected to grow the fastest, nearly twice as fast as the average for all occupations. All of the 20 occupations with the highest earnings require at least a bachelor's degree. Engineering and health occupations dominate this list.

Education is essential in getting a high paying job. However, many occupations-for example, registered nurses, blue-collar worker supervisors, electrical and electronic technicians/technologists, automotive mechan-ics, and carpenters do not require a college degree, yet offer higher than average earnings.

Labor force groups with lower than average educational attainment in 1996, including Hispanics and blacks, will continue to have difficulty obtaining a share of the high paying jobs unless they raise their educational attainment. Although high paying jobs will be available without college training, most jobs that pay above average wages will require a college degree.

This chapter identifies sources of information about occupations and career planning, counseling, training and education, and financial aid. The Handbook also includes a section on sources of additional information, which lists organizations you can contact for more information about particular occupations as well as the training and education that they require.

Career information

Listed below are several places to begin collecting information on careers and job opportunities.

Personal contacts. The people close to you-your family and friends can be extremely helpful in providing career information. They may be able to answer your questions directly or put you in touch with someone else who can. This type of networking can lead to meeting someone who can answer your questions about a specific career or company, and who can provide inside information and other helpful hints. This is an effective way to learn the type of training necessary for a certain position, how someone in that position entered the field, the prospects for advancement, and what they like and dislike about the work.

Public libraries, career centers, and guidance offices. These institutions maintain a great deal of up-to-date career material. To begin your library search, look at the computer listings under "vocations" or "careers" and then under specific fields. Check the periodicals section, where you will find trade and professional magazines and journals about specific occupations and industries. Familiarize yourself with the concerns and activities of potential employers by skimming their annual reports and other information they distribute to the public. You can also find occupational information on video cassettes, in kits, and through computerized information systems. Don't forget the librarians; they can be a great source of information and can save you time by directing you to the information you need.

Check your school's career centers for programs such as individual counseling and testing, guest speakers, field trips, and career days. Also, read through any pamphlets that describe employment.

Always assess career guidance materials carefully. Information should be current. Beware of materials that seem to glamorize the occupation, overstate the earnings, or exaggerate the demand for workers.

Counselors. You may wish to seek help from a counselor. These professionals are trained to help you discover your strengths and weaknesses, guide you through an evaluation of your goals and values, and help you determine what you want in a career. The counselor will not tell you what to do, but will administer interest inventories and aptitude tests, interpret the results, and help you explore your options. Counselors also may discuss local job markets, and the entry requirements and costs of the schools, colleges, or training programs offering preparation for the kind of work that interests you. You can find counselors in:

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IACS, 101 South Whiting St., Suite 211, Alexandria, VA 22304. The Directory of Counseling Services, an IACS publication providing employment counseling and other assistance, may be available in your library or school career counseling center. A list of certified career counselors by State can be obtained from:

The National Board of Certified Counselors, 3 Terrace Way, Suite D, Greensboro, NC 27403-3660. Phone: (910) 547-0607.

Internet networks and resources. The growth of on-line listings has made available a wide variety of resources at your fingertips-24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Many companies, professional societies, academic institutions, and government agencies maintain on-line resources or homepages with the latest information on their organization and it's activities.

Listings may include information such as government documents, schedules of events, job openings, and even networking contacts. Listings for academic institutions often provide links to career counseling and placement services through career resource centers, as well as information on financing your education. Colleges and universities also offer on-line guides to campus facilities and admission requirements and procedures.

The variety of career information available through the Internet provide much of the same information available through libraries, carcer centers, and guidance offices. However, no single network or resource will contain all desired information, so be prepared to search a variety of different places. As in a library search, look through various lists by field or discipline, or by using particular keywords.

Professional societies, trade associations, labor unions, business firms, and educational institutions. These organizations provide a variety of free or inexpensive career material. Many of these are in an additional information section of the Handbook. For information on occupations not covered in the Handbook, consult directories in your library's reference section for the names of potential sources. You may start with The Guide to American Directories or The Directory of Directories. Another useful resource is The Encyclopedia of Associations, an annual publication listing trade as