Welcome to the 2008-2009 Edition of Alabama’s Career Exploration Guide produced by the Alabama Department of Labor, Labor Market Information Division. This product is designed as a guide for anyone seeking a job or considering a career direction. An array of information on approximately 212 occupations is included in the publication. Topics listed for each occupation include working conditions, education requirements, licensing information, and a job outlook for the occupation in the State of Alabama. In addition to these topics, there is a notation for occupations that fall within the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative. This information gives readers an idea of how many people are employed in an occupation; what employment should look like in the next decade; where to get training for each occupation; how many openings are estimated in Alabama each year; and the entry, mean, and experienced wages for a particular occupation. Choosing or changing careers requires a lot of planning and thought. This online publication should provide people with a great place to start. Select an occupation from the alphabetical or Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code listings.
Alphabetical Listing
SOC Code Title
13-2011 Accountants and Auditors
17-2011 Aerospace Engineers
53-2021 Air Traffic Controllers
49-3011 Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
53-2011 Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
39-3091 Amusement and Recreation Attendants
13-2021 Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate
17-1011 Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
17-3011 Architectural and Civil Drafters
19-2011 Astronomers
    
Soc Code Listing
SOC Code Title
11-3021 Computer and Information Systems Managers
11-3031 Financial Managers
11-3051 Industrial Production Managers
11-9021 Construction Managers
11-9032 Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary
11-9061 Funeral Directors
11-9081 Lodging Managers
13-1023 Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
13-1051 Cost Estimators
13-1111 Management Analysts
    

  Data Source
  Information in the publication was compiled from several different sources, some national and some statewide. To allow our users to benefit from the wide range of information these resources offer, an explanation is provided below.
   
Occupational Information
  Each occupation begins with a brief definition or description of the occupation. This information originates in the O*NET database. This database includes information on skills, abilities, work activities, in-demand industries, etc. for over 950 occupations. O*NET uses an interactive skills-based database and everyday language to describe employee skills. O*NET offers an online application to allow everyone easy access to its valuable information. To access the website log on to http://online.onetcenter.org.
  Following the description, the publication provides information on education, working conditions, job outlook and licensing. The main resource for this information is the 2008-2009 Edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. This book is revised every 2 years and is designed to assist people in making well-informed decisions about their future careers. The information in the book is much more detailed than the information provided in this guide. Individuals seeking more specifics about an occupation can access this information on the OOH website at http://stats.bls.gov/oco .
  The licensing information is taken from the Licensed Occupations Guide, which is another publication developed and published by the Alabama Department of Labor, Labor Market Information Division. Information regarding occupational descriptions, minimum qualifications, application procedures, fees, and agency contact information, was compiled from over 55 agencies, boards or commissions. This publication will be updated on a biennial basis and is available in hard copy by contacting the Labor Market Information Division.
  National High Growth Industry
  This feature provides data about the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative, which aims to prepare workers to take advantage of new and increasing job opportunities in high growth, high demand and economically vital sectors of the American economy. For each occupation, sectors where the occupation exists will appear under National High Growth Industry. Some occupations may exist in more than one sector. The High Growth Job Training Initiative identified the following 14 sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Automotive, Biotechnology, Construction, Energy, Financial Services, Geospatial Technology, Health Care, Homeland Security, Hospitality, Information Technology, Retail, and Transportation. More information on this initiative can be found at http://www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative.
  Employment Outlook
  All of the statewide data appearing in the Employment Outlook section is gathered and published by the Labor Market Information Division of the Alabama Department of Labor. Alabama’s wage data is compiled through an annual survey which measures occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers. The resulting data is published online in the Alabama Wage Survey.
  Alabama’s projected employment data is produced every two years for a 10-year period. The results are published in the Statewide Occupational Projections publication. Both of these publications are available on the Labor Market Information website at http://www.labor.alabama.gov/lmi . Base year and projected year employment are rounded to the nearest 10.  Average annual openings are rounded to the nearest 5. Zero may be reported when there are less than 3 openings.
  Postsecondary Institutions
  Many of the occupations found in this publication require some degree of training after high school graduation. Once a person has an idea which occupation he/she would like to be employed in, he/she must find institutions in his/her area that provide training.  This publication provides a list of training sites in the State of Alabama. The data is provided by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education’s (ACHE), Alabama Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAICW), and also programs approved through the Workforce Investment Act.
  Related Occupations
  Related occupations are taken from two sources: The Occupational Outlook Handbook and the O*NET database.< This list will give people a glance at some additional occupations which possess similar duties, skills, education and training. In some cases, this data may be unavailable when the occupation is newly defined in the O*NET data collection program.
  Labor Market Informatiom
  > The Labor Market Information Division of the Alabama Department of Labor can provide a plethora of information to employers, job seekers, displaced workers, career planners, etc.  The division’s website, http://www.labor.alabama.gov/lmi , provides links to many of the resources listed above and offers many of its publications online.  We encourage people to take some time to peruse our site, and take advantage of the information we have to offer.
  Missing Data
  In some instances you will observe missing data in place of numerical data. Information may be missing under Alabama wage and projections data for two reasons. In some cases, this indicates that the occupation in reference earns a salaried wage; therefore, the data will not be reported in this publication. In other cases under the wage or projections data section, the data for the respective occupation cannot be reported due to various Bureau of Labor Statistics confidentiality standards.