A possible data driven solution to the question ‘What will I be?’

“When I was just a just a little girl, I asked my mother what will I be?”

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor?  Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief?  Butcher, Baker, Candlestick-Maker?

We are introduced to potential future jobs through songs, many familiar nursery rhymes, or even Richard Scarry books. But how are people to figure out which of these options are viable, or perhaps best? LEAD developed an easy way to assess and compare occupations for long-term career planning called Star Jobs.  Each occupation is rated based on its projected job growth and wages on a five-star scale, with one indicating the worst, and five representing the best career prospects. More information about Star Jobs can be found at: https://www.nccommerce.com/data-tools-reports/labor-market-data-tools/employment-projections#star-jobs

Below are some general findings regarding detailed occupations and Star Jobs:

Occupation findings:

• There are 6 occupations that have projected growth of over 10,000 additional jobs.  They are: (growth in parentheses)
  • Combined Food Preparation & Serving Workers, including Fast Food (29,252)
  • Home Health Aides (21,478)
  • Registered Nurses (21,133)
  • Retail Salespersons (19,905)
  • Customer Service Representatives (15,231)
  • Nursing Assistants (14,261)
• There are 15 occupations with above 3% annualized growth rates.  The top 5 include:
  • Wind Turbine Service Technicians (6.2%)
  • Statisticians (3.8%)
  • Home Health Aides (3.7%)
  • Operations Research Analysts (3.6%)
  • Occupational Therapy Assistants (3.5%)

Statewide, more than half of the new jobs will require either no formal education or only a high school diploma for entry.  The highest demand for occupations that typically require a Bachelor’s Degree for entry are found in the Greenville, Raleigh-Durham, and Charlotte regions.

Star Job findings:

Job growth and growth rates are only two of the factors determining our star rating.  Due to the inclusion of wage, 5-star jobs tend to often require more education.

• At the state level, 61 of 81 (75.3%) of the 5-star jobs require at least a Bachelor’s Degree for entry.
• The 20 5-star occupations for NC that do not require at least a 4-year degree are either supervisory or highly specialized and technical such as:
  • Computer occupations like Computer User Support Specialists
  • Healthcare occupations like Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
  • Blue collar occupations like Electricians or Industrial Machinery Mechanics
• At the Prosperity Zone sub-region level, the share of 5-star jobs requiring at least a Bachelor’s Degree for entry ranges from 68.8% in Pinehurst-Rockingham to 75.0% in Charlotte.
• Several occupations have 5-star ratings across all regions of the state.  These include:
  • Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
  • Computer and Information Systems Managers
  • Industrial Machinery Mechanics
  • Physical Therapists
  • Speech-Language Pathologists
  • Nurse Practitioners
• Some occupational categories generate more 5-star jobs than others.  Across the state and regions, the occupational groups with the most 5-star ratings include:
  • Healthcare Practitioners and Technical (256)
  • Management (178)
  • Computer and Mathematical (127)
  • Business and Financial Operations (121)
  • Installation, Maintenance, and Repair (51)

You can find out a lot of information in addition to star ratings at the star jobs page: http://nccareers.org/starjobs/index.html, including projections information, wage, openings, educational information, on-line job postings, related occupations, and career clusters and pathways.

As for the nursery rhymes:

• Tinkers (originally itinerant tinsmiths- today classified under 47-2211  Sheet Metal Workers) have more openings than Tailors or Sailors.  They also have a 4-star rating while Tailors and Sailors both have a 2-star rating.
  • Note: we do not have projections or star ratings for military jobs such as Soldiers.
• Doctors, Lawyers, and Indian Chiefs all appear to have high star ratings (4 and 5 stars).
  • Note: There are several occupations that represent Doctors, such as Anesthesiologists, Family and General Practitioners, and Internists.  Indian Chiefs do not make a U.S. Census Bureau index of occupation titles, but could be considered within a variety of management occupations that all rate highly.
• At the state level, while they have fewer total openings or openings due to growth, Butchers have a higher star rating (3) than Bakers (2).  This is due to Butchers’ higher median wages.
  • Note: Candlestick-Makers are classified in an ‘All Other’ occupational category (51-9199 Production Workers, All Other) that does not get a star rating.

By using the tools available from http://nccareers.org, you can use the data and information to chart your future.