Help Wanted: Top 25 Most Wanted Professions

They say we're headed into a recession ("they" referring to various pundits who get paid to tell us how great or lousy we're doing at any given point in time), and yet we keep hearing that there is a serious shortage of skilled workers in various industries. So in the interests of offering career-enhancing advice to those thinking of changing professions before their professions change them, here is the list of the Top 25 Most Wanted U.S. Professions, according to Jobfox, along with median salary ranges:

1 Software Design/Development ($95K-$105K)
2 Nursing ($35K-$45K)
3 Accounting/Finance Executive ($65K-$75K)
4 Sales Representative/Business Development ($65K-$75K)
5 Administrative Assistant ($35K-$45K)
6 Corporate Finance ($75K-$85K)
7 Networking/System Administration ($75K-$85K)
8 Intelligence ($75K-$85K)
9 General Accounting ($45K-$55K)
10 Technical Customer Support ($45K-$55K)
11 Testing/Quality Assurance ($65K-$75K)
12 Project/Engagement Management ($85K-$95K)
13 Business Analysis (Software Implementation) ($85K-$95K)
14 Product Management ($95K-$105K)
15 Database Administration ($85K-$95K)
16 Technology Management ($125K-$135K)
17 Business Analysis ($75K-$85K)
18 Account/Customer Support ($35K-$45K)
19 Advertising (Online and Offline) ($65K-$75K)
20 Semiconductor Test Engineer ($55K-$65K)
21 Training ($55K-$65K)
22 Retail Banking ($45K-$55K)
23 Semiconductor Design/Verification Engineer ($105K-$115K)
24 Help Desk ($45K-$55K)
25 Medical Technologist/Technician ($35K-$45K)


Jobfox also polled more than 100 corporate recruiters to find out what the current trends are in job placement:

43% of corporate recruiters say staff levels at their organizations will significantly or slightly increase during 2008

19% say staffing levels will remain about the same

21% say staffing levels will significantly or slightly decrease

17% are unsure if staffing levels will increase, decrease or remain the same during 2008.