What do I want to do with my life? It is one of the most pressing and often overwhelming questions for America’s youth —and CareerBuilder is working to help them find the answer. Recently, CareerBuilder launched Find Your Calling Month, a nationwide initiative taking place throughout March that encourages students to discover possible career and education paths and get them excited about the future.
CareerBuilder research shows that nearly one in four high school students pick their career based on something they saw on TV or in a movie, and that 33% of full-time workers regret the college major they chose. As college debt rises, the skills gap widens and a significant number of workers fall prone to unemployment or underemployment, it is important to start educating students early about their options.
CareerBuilder’s month-long initiative centers around its free national website FindYourCalling.com, which enables students to instantly view a wide range of careers based on their individual interests. Students can see job growth projections, salary ranges, companies hiring, educational programs and more, and can easily share that information on social media to get their friends to discover their own career paths as well. The initiative also enlists schools throughout the country to host Find Your Calling days and encourages parents and businesses to participate.
In conjunction with Find Your Calling month, CareerBuilder is releasing a series of studies that provide surprising insights into labor market and hiring trends. CareerBuilder focuses on top occupations for younger workers based on jobs that are growing quickly, pay a good wage, and have a solid concentration of workers ages 19 to 24.
| Occupation | Number of 2017 jobs | Growth in jobs from 2013 to 2017 | Average hourly earnings | Percentage of workers employed who are ages 19-24 |
| Social Science Research Assistants | 29,494 | 5% | $21.96 | 28% |
| Coaches and Scouts | 233,107 | 7% | $19.50 | 22% |
| Adult Basic and Secondary Education and Literacy Teachers and Instructors | 68,590 | 5% | $25.90 | 22% |
| Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health | 35,352 | 7% | $22.28 | 20% |
| Forensic Science Technicians | 15,033 | 12% | $29.04 | 18% |
| Camera Operators, TV, Video and Motion Picture | 20,616 | 7% | $27.85 | 15% |
| Physical Therapist Assistants | 87,426 | 13% | $26.59 | 15% |
| Biological Technicians | 76,615 | 5% | $21.77 | 14% |
| Film and Video Editors | 30,073 | 18% | $38.89 | 13% |
| Electronic Home Entertainment Equipment Installers and Repairers | 27,818 | 7% | $19.12 | 13% |
| Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics | 656,896 | 7% | $19.65 | 12% |
| Surgical Technologists | 106,195 | 7% | $22.17 | 11% |
| Sound Engineering Technicians | 15,755 | 8% | $29.87 | 11% |
| Public Relations Specialists | 240,660 | 7% | $31.66 | 9% |
| Web Developers | 142,682 | 19% | $34.09 | 8% |
“There is a world of opportunity open to younger workers in business, technical and creative fields,” said Rosemary Haefner—chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder—in press release. “When choosing a potential career, you want to ask yourself two questions: 1) What am I passionate about? and 2) Does data show that this occupation is growing and pays well? The more informed you are about your options and what it takes to get to where you want to be, the better the outcome.”
The study is based on data from Emsi, CareerBuilder’s labor market analysis arm, which pulls information from nearly 100 national, state, and local employment resources.