Staff Writer
Through advancements in technology, we often see new careers emerge in industries across the board. From education to health services, from transportation to social services, there are few industries that are not affected by advancements and the resulting jobs they create. Even universities and educational institutions find themselves adding new degree programs and certifications to meet the growing need for these careers. Here we take a look at some of these jobs.
Many of us may be familiar with the term curator as it relates to museums. These were the jobs for those with a background or interest in history, archaeology and anthropology. Their primarily responsibility was for overseeing the museum's collections and planning and running museum tours, workshops and fundraisers for visitors and museum members, as well as cataloging collection items.
From the description above, it is simple to see how the job of content curator came about. If one views the web as a collection of items, mainly information, for those visiting the web, the job of sorting out the most relevant information and resources about the topic they may be researching can be virtually terrifying. Certainly there are sites, using long algorithms, which attempt to vet out the most pertinent content. However, because the internet operates in real-time, it can be difficult to continually determine the most up-to-date information on a topic, separating out the pieces of erroneous and irrelevant information that appears in your search. That is where the role of a content curator comes in.
Because computer algorithms cannot determine the context of an individual's search, the role of content curator will need to have the ability to offer more than one type of cataloging. They may need to determine straight content versus context. No matter to the user who relies on an internet experience that meets their personal needs. For those with strong written and verbal communication skills and a keen ability to dissect all of the information captured on a specific topic and group it into a so-called catalog that presents only the most valuable information, this may be the perfect future job.
Crossing over with the traditional role of an editor or manager at a newspaper, magazine or other media outlet, the curator will be responsible for analyzing the best content on the web and cataloging it for users. They will need to determine the most notable and trustworthy content for its users, depending on their community. They may work for a social networking site or a specific brand, sorting through the overabundance of information on any one subject or topic, extracting out the information deemed most relevant in an attempt to communicate with its users while meeting the objectives of the brand.
As this is an emerging occupation within the area of media, according to SimplyHired.com, since November 2008, there has been a 137% increase in jobs. Most positions are for various news media sites, social networking sites or specific brands. Occasionally, the position may currently be known as a Web Content Manager. Medial salaries for this position range from $35,795 - $64,939 according to Payscale.com and require a bachelor's degree. The more common degrees are in communications, English, and Journalism but don't rule out a related field such as a bachelor's degree in new media.
Traditionally a scribe was known as someone who, by hand, would keep notes, documenting and ensuring the preservation of information. But what was once seen as an ancient role has quickly morphed into other fields. Sure, most of us are familiar with courtroom reporters and paralegals. These legal careers have been around for decades. Now we can add to that the job of a medical scribe.
This is somewhat of a new job description and is mainly being utilized in emergency rooms at hospitals by emergency medical physicians who need to be focused on treating urgent care and less on non critical support tasks. With the anticipated changes in healthcare and the necessity to document all treatments, the benefit of utilizing the skills of a scribe may very well result in this role being used by private practice physicians. Most companies that are placing medical scribes extol the advantages of utilizing a scribe, of which the main advantage is that it allows physicians to operate more efficiently, resulting in better patient care and reduced errors due to illegible doctor's notes and a more thorough patient file.
Typically, medical scribes are pre-med students who work part time for an emergency medical physical group. They do not have clinical training and are not permitted to perform clinical duties. They are responsible for taking patient histories, transcribing the details of the physical exam and patient order, documenting procedures performed by the physician or another healthcare professional and transcribing the results of all medical treatments, tests and other pertinent data into a patient's chart, and recording physical diagnoses, prescriptions and instructions for follow up.
The physician saves time by only having to verbally report their findings and the scribe gets the benefit of having the experience of working closely with the doctor. Training for this position takes approximately three months followed by continuing classroom training and an apprenticeship with an experienced scribe.
Scribes can earn up to $15 per hour and are typically recruited from current undergrad students looking to pursue a career in medicine whether that is nursing, pre-med or a physician assistant career.
According to SimplyHired.com, the average salary for medical scribe jobs is $35,000. Average medical scribe salaries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits. Whether this job will catch on and grow remains to be seen. Opponents cite the cost involved and the fact that the use of medical students to fill these roles does not result in the same benefits available by hiring a medical transcriptionist whose training usually takes place at a vocational school, community college or distance learning program through a two year associate degree or one year certificate program followed by continuing education credits to remain certified.
That position, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics is projected to grow by 11 percent from 2008 to 2018 with median hourly wages of $15.41 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $13.02 and $18.55. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $10.76, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $21.81.
There may be room for both roles in the healthcare industry but this is definitely one job that is expected to see healthy growth
It is projected that spending on digital marketing and advertising will surpass print for the first time in the history of marketing. That is a remarkable milestone for a medium that was born less than twenty five years ago. And that growth is expected to increase as digital media options expand to mobile, social networks, HD video and more.
What this means is that digital marketing will continue to offer potential careers for those interested in this field. While all of the jobs include a technology aspect to them, some will be in the marketing field as well.
Today advertising campaigns can be launched from any number of media options: television, news print, radio and the world wide web. Because of the varied options, determining which media outlet is the best for reaching the target audience is one of the critical components of a strong advertising/PR campaign. So specialized is the internet that specific positions have been created based on reaching users. Media planners need to understand search, social networking sites and brand sites in order to determine how a campaign is to be rolled out successfully.
So specialized has the internet become, considered to be the fastest growing advertising medium that there are specific degrees relegated to working within this medium. There are various degree options including earning a bachelor's degree in marketing. Other options include a degree in e-commerce as well as a degree in interactive media. From there, once can choose various career paths including that of an interactive media planner.
According to Payscale.com, the median annual salary for this position is between $35,539 to $$48,412 with variations based on location, experience, and size of the company. And, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the advertising and public relations services industry is projected to grow 8 percent over the 2008-18 period. While this is for the overall industry, those that understand the internet medium will have the leg up for open positions.So much so that many of the advertising agencies that service their clients have created departments solely around their clients' electronic advertising needs on the internet, reflecting, the growing number of Internet users.
With many industries losing employees nationwide, the outlook for the aforementioned jobs is on the upswing. Search the web as there are many resources to assist you in nailing down a college to attend to study one of the above fields. With the right education and a foot in the door, it is possible to train for a good paying job that is projected to be stable for years to come.