You will need to get certification before you’re hired, which costs between $3,000–$7,000 and can be completed in as little as three months. You can usually get a student loan to cover tuition.
Financial analysts
Since you’re reading this site, you’re probably interested in money and math. Ever thought of making a career out of it?
Financial analysts study stocks and bonds, market trends, and the performance (or projected performance) of companies. They make recommendations to buy or sell based on careful research, construction of computer models and, at times, gut instinct.
The best thing about the financial analyst career path is that you can get started with only a bachelor’s degree, and the median employee was earning $78,380 per year in 2012.
Unlike accountants, whose profession has a high likelihood of being replaced by automated systems, financial analysts create automated tools and then interpret the results using human creativity to solve complex problems. As computers continue to take over our financial systems, the analysts will be sitting behind these computers making them run.
Related: What your parents don’t understand: 3 ways the working world has changed for millennials
But remember, no job is completely safe
Nothing is guaranteed, and your ability to adapt to an ever-changing job landscape is your most valuable asset. “Continually upgrade your skills” Alison suggests. “Jobs change over time, so be sure that your skill set keeps pace.”
Summary
Always keep an eye out for new trends in automation and outsourcing. If you start to feel concerned that your current job could be easily replaced, start solidifying other skills that can’t be performed by a robot or a person 5,000 miles away.
Even within your current field, there may always be opportunities to shift into a more secure position. For example, travel agents are no longer needed to book tickets or compare hotel prices, but those remaining in the field are pulling in record revenues by helping business travelers make good choices and feel safe on the road.
While repetitive tasks are easy to replace, the ability to build relationships, interact with people, design creative solutions, and negotiate will almost always need to be done by a real person.
Salaries are 2012 median pay as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I also wanted to add hairdresser to this list, because we all (except for the bald people in our lives) need a trim from time to time. What other careers do you consider “safe bets?”
This article was republished with permission from Money Under 30.