Career Energy, a career management and outplacement consultancy, has highlighting the top 10 career opportunities for people seeking to change their working lives in 2010.
The findings are based on research into current and projected business, social and economic trends, related labour supply and demand facts and interviews with leading bodies and employers from selected professions.
It covers key facts on demand, entry requirements, finances and pros and cons.
The top 10 careers 2010 in no particular order are:
- Commercial diver
- Counsellor
- Welder
- Maths or Science teacher
- Risk manager
- Chef
- Network architect
- Environmental consultant
- Entrepreneur
- Social worker
Career Energy research indicates more than one in four people working in established professions are unhappy with their career and feel they would be better suited to another.
Only 42% can say that they are happy with their career choice, with 30% unhappy some of the time. The main reason for unhappiness is being bored or unfulfilled, followed by poor work-life balance. Relatively small numbers are unhappy because of pay and benefits.
Harry Freedman, chief executive of Career Energy, said: "We think this guide is timely given this is our busiest time of year. Enquiries peak towards the end of January as people who are unhappy at work find themselves back in the same place at the start of a new year and feeling just as negative as they did at the end of the old one. However, with unemployment still over 2.4 million people, people are more aware than ever of the benefits of being employed in areas that are relatively recession-proof and with long-term prospects, so their priorities are more likely to include being in a growth area than used to be the case.
"It is no longer unusual for someone to have two or three very different careers in the course of their working life and this will become even more the case as we enter an age where people are also working longer. Most of the careers we have selected are suitable for career changers well into mid-life, with the exception of two or three where physical fitness or lengthy qualification processes are required.
"What we would stress, however, is that you spend a substantial part of your life working and, even if none of the careers we have highlighted appeals, the guide will help you in terms of the kinds of things you should think about when considering whether a new career choice will really fit in with your personality and priorities."
