131. EDUCATION IN CAREER JOBS:

Education is growing at a healthy clip in 2008. The industry added more than 126,400 jobs during the first eight months of the year. Many factors are contributing to the industry's surge. The movement toward universal preschool and all-day kindergarten will require more preschool and kindergarten teachers.

A necessity for more special education teachers is the result of a greater emphasis on classroom inclusion of disabled students. To meet the needs of special education and ESL students, classrooms will need additional teacher assistants. More high school graduates will attend college and professionals will return to school to enhance or update skills therefore feeding the demand for postsecondary teachers.

Mining/Oil and gas extraction Although the U.S. crude oil production has declined by 20 percent in the last decade, employment in mining rose by about 48,600 workers in the first seven months of 2008. Support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction accounted for most of the increase, adding 30,900 and 9,800 jobs respectively, but coal mining saw a small boost, too.

What's contributing to the rise in demand for some of today's most dangerous jobs? Three key factors: the U.S. government's goal to reduce dependence on foreign oil, new drilling techniques and technologies, and the prospect of opening federal lands to oil exploration. Working with such organizations as the United Way, Multiple Sclerosis, the Shriners, the Salvation Army, and the American Heart Association gives our employees the opportunity to show their good “corporate citizenship”.