“Career transition” is on a lot of minds these days. The U.S. has more than 15 million unemployed — and if you count the discouraged and underemployed, the number is more like 27 million. You may be one of these people seeking a new job, or you may be one of millions of others who are employed, but trying to strategize a major career change in a tough market. No matter the specifics, the economic downturn is probably affecting your career.

As you craft your long-term plans, you’ll want to consider where the jobs are — and where they are going. Consumption drives these patterns, but so does technology. Don’t forget to account for older generations retiring and leaving needed jobs open, either. All of these elements affect which jobs are available.

Then, to maximize your future demand, think about adapting your strategy — be it higher education, government re-training, or developing a new area of expertise — to a field that is projected to grow.

To help you with your planning, we peeked into our “crystal ball” (actually, government projections) to share the latest statistics for the industries growing the most, and the occupations that will be adding the largest amount of workers, now through 2018.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published its 2010-11 edition of  the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a report on occupations and employment growth trends that is updated every two years. This particular update covers 2008-2018 — meaning it has data through the end of 2008, and projects out to 2018. This is notable because it does cover one full year of the downturn (2008), which began in December 2007. Nationwide, employment is projected to increase by 15.3 million (approximately 10%) over the decade between 2008 and 2018, and the OOH describes exactly where the growth will be. Here is the OOH’s list of the 20 “fastest-growing” professions through 2018, as measured by percentage of growth.

1. Biomedical engineers: Slated to add 11,600 jobs, a 72% increase
2. Network systems and data communication analysts: Will add 155,800 jobs, a 53% increase
3. Home health aides: Set to add 460,900 jobs, an increase of 50%
4. Personal and home care aides: Will grow by 375,800 openings, or 46%
5. Financial examiners: Slated to add 11,100 jobs, an increase of 41%
6. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists: 44,200 jobs will be added, a 40% growth rate
7. Physician assistants: This field will add 29,200 jobs, growing by 39%
8. Skin care specialists: Set to add 14,700 positions, growing by 38%
9. Biochemists and biophysicists: Will grow by 8,700 positions, or 37%
10. Athletic trainers: Set to add 6,000 jobs, a gain of 37%
11. Physical therapist aides: 16,700 jobs will be added, a gain of 36%
12. Dental hygienists: The workforce will add 62,900 jobs, an increase of 36%
13. Veterinary technologists and technicians:  Slated to add 28,500 jobs, a 36% increase
14. Dental assistants: Will be adding 105,600 jobs, growing by 36%
15. Computer software engineers, applications: Set to add 175,100 jobs, a growth rate of 34%
16. Medical assistants: Will grow by 163,900 personnel, an increase of 34%
17. Physical therapist assistants: 21,200 jobs will be added, growing by 33%
18. Veterinarians: Will add 19,700 jobs, an increase of 33%
19. Self-enrichment education teachers: Slated to add 81,300 positions, an increase of 32%
20. Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation: Will add 80,800 jobs, growing by 31%

The first thing to note about this list is that a smaller industry can show an explosive rate of growth, yet still add fewer jobs in total than a huge industry that is growing more slowly. This is shown by the top occupation, biomedical engineer, which is going up steeply (72%!), but in spite of this is still only adding one job for every 39 added of the #3 job, home health assistant.

Examining the above list, here are some big trends I observe in the fastest-growing industries:

Biological sciences: In the Top 20, we see a high demand for biomedical engineers (#1) and biochemists and biophysicists ( #9), which reflects medicine’s growing interest in genetic research and biologic drugs. If you are inclined toward the sciences, biology would be a strategic area to explore.

IT: Don’t overlook the second-fastest-growing job, network systems and data communication analysts, which is set to add more than 150,000 new jobs, while computer software engineers, applications, #15, is adding another 175,000. Together, this is 325,000 jobs, so people who can run networks and write software will definitely continue to be needed.

Health assistance: Home health aide is #3, while personal and home care aides are right behind at #4. It makes sense: our increasingly aging population has an independent spirit, values their health, and would like help with it at home rather than at an institution. Physician assistants (#7), dental hygienists (#12), dental assistants (#14) also reflect these demographics, plus increased access to and demand for medical and dental services. Could you grow a career around this?

Veterinary sciences: The pet is of ever-increasing importance in the U.S.: people devote more of their money to a pet’s needs than before, and rates of pet ownership are up. So it’s not surprising to see veterinarians at #18 and veterinary technologists and technicians at #13. If you love animals, veterinary medicine may be the path for you.

Those were the occupations with steep growth. If you’re more interested in which occupations will be adding the most jobs in terms of sheer numbers, the following list (also from the new edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook) delivers that. Here are the 20 occupations that will be adding the most new jobs, in individual openings:

1. Registered nurses (581,500)
2. Home health aides (460,900)
3. Customer service representatives (399,500)
4. Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food (394,300)
5. Personal and home care aides (375,800)
6. Retail salespersons (374,700)
7. Office clerks, general (358,700)
8. Accountants and auditors (279,400)
9. Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants (276,000)
10. Postsecondary teachers (256,900)
11. Construction laborers (255,900)
12. Elementary school teachers, except special education (244,200)
13. Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer (232,900)
14. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers (217,100)
15. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (212,400)
16. Executive secretaries and administrative assistants (204,400)
17. Management analysts (178,300)
18. Computer software engineers, applications (175,100)
19. Receptionists and information clerks (172,900)
20. Carpenters (165,400)

Observations on the list of occupations that are growing the most:

Healthcare: The need for registered nurses is #1. Although they didn’t make the Top 20, you should know that licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses came in at #24 on the list, and physicians and surgeons ranked #28. Being a doctor or nurse has always been an in-demand profession, and the demand will continue.

Services: The service sector is adding millions of jobs in the coming eight years. A large portion of them are adjacent to healthcare; home health aides are #2, while nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants is #9, and personal and home care aides is #5. Other growth areas in service are food preparation and landscaping.

Construction and carpentry: Good news! Building is projected to come back from its current slump, making construction laborer #11 on this list, and carpenter #20.

For more planning resources, be sure to visit the OOH website. There, you can read up on hundreds of jobs. For each job, you will find descriptions of the duties and working conditions, the skills and experience needed, projected earnings, and even information on the job in your region. It is a valuable resource for imagining, planning, and implementing your successful career transition.

The months of November and December are traditionally spent preparing for, and enjoying, holidays such as Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s. People who work in offices are often overloaded as they try to combine personal goals such as shopping, traveling, and hosting family with work goals such as finishing all of their projects before their holiday break. It’s a well-documented fact that stress and depression levels soar at this time of year.

At the same time, it’s a crucial period for businesses trying to achieve certain goals by year’s end. The clash of these important issues can be enough to bring even the best performer down.

We recommend that HR managers recognize that employees are likely to be distracted, stressed, and unfocused around the holidays, and take pro-active steps to minimize their stress and help keep their eyes on the prize at this challenging time of year.

Keeping work-related focus during the holidays is a issue that comes up annually, so we turned to the very best articles on the subject, written over the past few years, to glean the best ideas in the business. Some are Santa-like, and some have a touch of Scrooge about them, but all of them have been recommended by bloggers we know and respect.

• Set a good example as a manager. If “focus” is something you are asking of employees, don’t cheat by shopping online during working hours, and don’t skate out of the office early just because the in-laws are town. Take the high road, every time.
• Watch out for signs of the “winter blues.” As a manager, be on the lookout for signs among your people of “Seasonal Affective Disorder,” abbreviated SAD, a condition whereby a lack of sunlight causes depression. The short days of the winter months, combined with work anxiety and the stress of the holidays, can quickly add up to a serious medical problem. Fortunately, if diagnosed, SAD can easily be treated with light therapy and/or antidepressants.
• Celebrate together. It’s good for morale to acknowledge that it is a special season. Your celebration can be as simple as coffee and cake in the break room, or as elaborate as a holiday party in an upscale restaurant. Many workplaces enjoy a small gift exchange among employees, and employers who have had a good year often give out gift certificates or small tokens of appreciation.
• If you give year-end bonuses, tie them to performance. Oftentimes, these bonuses are taken for granted. Work around this false perception by setting up a clear expectation that bonuses are tied to performance to keep people focused until they actually get the check.
• Give the gift of time. Sometimes, a little free time in a busy season is even more precious than cash. Consider flexible scheduling at this time of year, or simply give everyone a certain afternoon off to do their cooking, cleaning, shopping, wrapping, and other holiday tasks. What it may cost you in a few hours’ wages is more than made up for by the goodwill it brings back.
• Engage people’s giving spirit – outside the organization. People tend to forget any petty concerns and stress when they focus on something bigger and outside of themselves. Build on their holiday spirit and willingness to give back with an employer-sponsored toy drive, charity partnership, or volunteer time spent at a soup kitchen. It will do good, and bring your team together. Together, you can do much more than any of you could do alone.

• 8 Simple Steps for Maintaining Employee Efficiency during the Holiday Season
• How to Stay Focused During the Holiday Season
• Holidaze: Beating the Holiday Blues and Stress
• Holiday Stress Hotspots: Manage Holiday Stress with Knowledge