

Summer is over and Americans are returning to work, so job-hunting season is shifting into high gear. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 30 million baby boomers will have hit age 65 by mid-2020, meaning many will retire in the next few years.

With unemployment at historically high levels, it's critical to know which industries and occupations will be in demand in the future. Here's a look at the industries expected to generate the most job growth in the next seven years:


The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that health care and social assistance will gain 5.6 million jobs during 2010-20, the most of any sector. That means jobs like registered nurses, physician assistants, radiology techs and home health aides.

Medium-skill jobs: While outsourcing has killed many of these jobs over the last two decades, there are still opportunities for noncollege grads that have career potential and pay well. These jobs combine technical and interpersonal skills that can't be outsourced or automated, says David Autor, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Job seekers check out companies at a job fair in Miami Lakes, Fla., last month. Associated Press

These "new artisan" jobs include tradespeople like plumbers and electricians, chefs, college coaches and construction supervisors.

Leisure and hospitality: Waiting tables isn't the most glamorous gig, but the industry will add 1.3 million jobs by 2020, says the bureau.

Vacation and business travel are picking up as the economy improves and international travel to the U.S. increases.

"There's always going to be a great need for folks" in this sector, says Brent Rasmussen, president, North America, CareerBuilder. "You really can't outsource a job in a restaurant or a job in a hotel to another country."

He warns, however, that wages won't increase much because many people are qualified to do these jobs.

Professional and business services: The BLS projects this sector—comprising consultants and other professionals skilled in areas such as legal services, accounting and advertising—will generate 3.8 million openings this decade.

Fueling growth: Companies are farming out more back-office functions and relying on consultants to cut costs, says Mark Waldman, executive-in-residence at the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington. The consulting sector can be good for someone who wants to go into business but earned a liberal-arts degree.

"With a general degree, if you're young, it's a very good experience to go into consulting," says Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, in Washington.

Getting into one of the big consulting firms can be an advantage because "that gives you a set of experiences across business functions," he says.

Technology and information services: With companies increasingly storing data off-site and integrating technology into their business, they need more people to keep everything operating smoothly, guard against cyber intrusions and analyze data to find business opportunities.

The bureau expects there to be 778,000 new jobs this decade in what it calls the computer and mathematical sector—jobs such as computer-systems analysts, information-security analysts and software developers.

As people spend more time on mobile phones and tablets, there will be increasing demand to develop advertising and applications for these devices.

"If you can educate yourself there, if you can train yourself in terms of being a valuable asset, whether it's a cloud developer, a software developer, a mobile developer, something around the IT-engineering space around that field, you're going to have a job in the United States for a long time, and probably a pretty good paying job," says Mr. Rasmussen.

Business and financial operations: This field is expected to add 1.17 million jobs this decade for jobs like credit counselors, compliance officers and financial examiners. Companies are ramping up staff to comply with tighter financial regulations and the new health-care law.


Competition for these positions can be tight. If you're young, often the best way to get hired is to do an internship during a summer break and try to get hired full time later.

But if you're middle-aged and feel your job isn't secure in the long term, there are ways to avoid being left behind.

Talk to your employer to see if it will pay for education or training programs to learn new skills. Become a skilled networker, make connections, and go to industry conferences to make more contacts. And don't be afraid to move to a different city or state for a better job.

Georgetown's Mr. Carnevale says it's often hard to switch occupations, but easier to move into a new industry and use the skills you've built up. If you decide to take the drastic step of going back to school to get a new degree, do your homework before making the leap.

"Before you invest in any sort of education…you must try to talk to potential employers about how they will view this degree," says Mr. DeLong, the consultant. "The worst thing in the world is in getting career-oriented education and coming out with a degree that an employer doesn't care about."

If you're at the end of your career but ready for a new challenge and notice your employer needs more people in sales or marketing, ask whether you can transition into one of those roles.

Working for a charity is also an option. "You might also be able to get a paid job in a nonprofit that needs people…to do certain jobs," says Tom Gimbel, chief executive of Chicago staffing firm LaSalle Network. "I think that's a great place to spend time, and a lot of the studies show that it's very rewarding emotionally."

Expect more part-time jobs
with Obamacare. See the
Barron's Insightcolumn.

Write to Daniel Lippman at daniel.lippman@dowjones.com

Email: daniel.lippman@wsj.com