High Paying Jobs Still in Demand for 2009

Even during a rough economy, there are always booming job sectors for the qualified candidate. Recently, I was watching Nightline’s episode on the Repo Man, a man that made about 800 dollars a day repossessing cars from owners who defaulted on their payments. Here was a man, at the crossroads of two sinking industries (finance and automobile), but actually benefitting. After watching this show, I decided to give my visitors an opportunity to read about more booming jobs in 2009. Everyone knows that economists measure the health of a nation’s labor force by the unemployment rate (the percentage of people that are capable of working who don’t have a job). Even with the current job cuts and downward economic spiral, the total number of jobs in the USA will actually increase by about 11 million people due to a growing population. Of course, these job probably won’t be distributed evenly throughout different industries (sorry finance majors).

These are the best jobs of 2009 in terms of potential for job growth:

1] Public Relations Manager
Average Salary: $72,000
Public relations specialists handle organizational functions such as media, community, consumer, industry, and governmental relations; political campaigns; interest-group representation; conflict mediation; and employee and investor relations. They do more than “tell the organization’s story.” They must understand the attitudes and concerns of community, consumer, employee, and public interest groups and establish and maintain cooperative relationships with them and with representatives from print and broadcast journalism.

2) Purchasing Agent
Average Salary: $47,000
Purchasing managers, buyers, and purchasing agents shop for a living. They buy the goods and services the company or institution needs to either resell to customers or for the establishment’s own use. Wholesale and retail buyers purchase goods, such as clothing or electronics, for resale. Purchasing agents buy goods and services for use by their own company or organization; they might buy raw materials for manufacturing or office supplies, for example. Purchasing agents and buyers of farm products purchase goods such as grain, Christmas trees, and tobacco for further processing or resale.

3) Claims Adjuster
Average Salary: $57,500
Individuals and businesses purchase insurance policies to protect against monetary losses. In the event of a loss, policyholders submit claims, or requests for payment, seeking compensation for their loss. Adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators deal with those claims. They work primarily for property and casualty insurance companies, for whom they handle a wide variety of claims alleging property damage, liability, or bodily injury. Their main role is to investigate the claims, negotiate settlements, and authorize payments to claimants, all the while mindful not to violate the claimant’s rights under Federal and State privacy laws.

4) Budget Analyst
Average Salary: $62,000
Efficiently distributing limited financial resources is an important challenge in all organizations. In most large and complex organizations, this task would be nearly impossible without budget analysts. These workers develop, analyze, and execute budgets, which are used to allocate current resources and estimate future financial needs.

5) Computer Programmer
Average Salary: $60,050
Computer programmers write, test, and maintain the detailed instructions, called programs, that computers follow to perform their functions. Programmers also conceive, design, and test logical structures for solving problems by computer. With the help of other computer specialists, they figure out which instructions to use to make computers do specific tasks. Many technical innovations in programming – advanced computing technologies and sophisticated new languages and programming tools, for example – have redefined the role of a programmer and elevated much of the programming work done today.

6) Electrical Engineer
Average Salary: $71,000
design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacture of electrical equipment. Some of this equipment includes electric motors; machinery controls, lighting, and wiring in buildings; automobiles; aircraft; radar and navigation systems; and power generation, control, and transmission devices used by electric utilities. Although the terms electrical and electronics engineering often are used interchangeably in academia and industry, electrical engineers have traditionally focused on the generation and supply of power, whereas electronics engineers have worked on applications of electricity to control systems or signal processing. Electrical engineers specialize in areas such as power systems engineering or electrical equipment manufacturing.

7) Pharmacist
Average Salary: $89,000
Pharmacists distribute prescription drugs to individuals. They also advise their patients, as well as physicians and other health practitioners, on the selection, dosages, interactions, and side effects of medications. Pharmacists monitor the health and progress of patients to ensure the safe and effective use of medication. Compounding – the actual mixing of ingredients to form medications – is a small part of a pharmacist’s practice, because most medicines are produced by pharmaceutical companies in a standard dosage and drug delivery form. Most pharmacists work in a community setting, such as a retail drugstore, or in a health care facility, such as a hospital, nursing home, mental health institution, or neighborhood health clinic.

8 ) Audiologist
Average Salary: $57,000
Audiologists work with people who have hearing, balance, and related ear problems. They examine individuals of all ages and identify those with the symptoms of hearing loss and other auditory, balance, and related sensory and neural problems. They then assess the nature and extent of the problems and help the individuals manage them. Using audiometers, computers, and other testing devices, they measure the loudness at which a person begins to hear sounds, the ability to distinguish between sounds, and the impact of hearing loss on an individual’s daily life. In addition, audiologists use computer equipment to evaluate and diagnose balance disorders. Audiologists interpret these results and may coordinate them with medical, educational, and psychological information to make a diagnosis and determine a course of treatment.

9) Private Detective
Average Salary: $33,000
Private detectives and investigators assist individuals, businesses, and attorneys by finding and analyzing information. They connect small clues to solve mysteries or to uncover facts about legal, financial, or personal matters. Private detectives and investigators offer many services, including executive, corporate, and celebrity protection; pre-employment verification; and individual background profiles. Some investigate computer crimes, such as identity theft, harassing e-mails, and illegal downloading of copyrighted material. They also provide assistance in criminal and civil liability cases, insurance claims and fraud, child custody and protection cases, missing persons cases, and premarital screening. They are sometimes hired to investigate individuals to prove or disprove infidelity.

10) Statistician
Average Salary: $65,000
Statistics is the scientific application of mathematical principles to the collection, analysis, and presentation of numerical data. Statisticians apply their mathematical and statistical knowledge to the design of surveys and experiments; the collection, processing, and analysis of data; and the interpretation of the experiment and survey results. Opinion polls, statements of accuracy on scales and other measuring devises, and information about average earnings in an occupation are all usually the work of statisticians.

Sources: MSN Money, BLS.gov