Hybrid cars will be a reality in 10 years, but they may not look like today's early forays into the hybrid market. It is questionable whether the largest car companies will be headquartered in the USA in spite of last gasps by American unions to attempt to cling to the past. Why? Changing demographics and new technologies. The global industry will use more robots than are used today and technology will replace many more workers, especially those that are not willing to learn. Who will create the new technology? Is the relatively new science of nanotechnology a good bet for a career in the automotive parts business? You'll be happy to hear that some States' leaders are getting a message from the future. In Missouri, for example, the ribbon was just cut for a new biofuels/biodiesel plant.

Step forward to the near future. Ask yourself&hellip which industries and what jobs are guaranteed to grow in just the next 10 years?

Did you know, for instance, that Healthcare is already the number #1 industry in America?

If America capitalizes on innovation, science and the latest technology, the healthcare industry may give America (and you) the most opportunity to remain economically competitive in the next 10 years.

Take a look at some of the close-term future's hot spots!

PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENTISTS AND SALES. Look for new classes of drugs for diabetes, leukemia, osteoporosis, breast cancer, hypertension, multiple sclerosis and macular degeneration. Expect cell-culture based influenza vaccines to fight world pandemics. In fact, Novartis is building a plant in North Carolina for the express purpose of developing this type of vaccine. Some of the best openings, aside from scientists, will be found in pharmaceutical sales.

PHARMACISTS AND PHARMACISTS' ASSISTANTS. Mature pharmacists will find that flexible careers abound because these new drugs are market-ready (or close to market ready today). Related high-growth careers will spring forward to support these new pharmaceuticals. Pharmacists Assistants, similar to the high growth area of Physician Assistants, will find many new opportunities in highly flexible arrangements in order to serve the growing public demand for these drugs.

NURSES, SPECIALIZED ASSISTANTS AND THERAPISTS. We need more nurses (now) and we need PA's and Dental Assistants now. We need therapists – both physical and occupational – now.

All these jobs/careers require specific knowledge. Some require advanced degrees. Many offer opportunities after a short 9 months to 2 years of investment in additional education and/or highly specialized certification. If you are 50 or 55 today, consider taking the relatively short time out and return to school. Remember that you'll be 2 years older very soon – whether or not you invest in re-tooling or re-schooling!

ENVIRONMENTAL/ENERGY EXPERTS. America will struggle mightily as cities compete for water and natural resources in the intervening years on the journey to 400 million. Careers in the environmental industry will be plentiful, as much of America will be caught up in trying to sustain a quality of life in tandem with population growth and re-distribution of this population. Some states, fueled by rapid population expansion in the early 21st century, will have grown beyond sustainable growth no matter what we do. One immediate challenge, for example, is the result of America's annual growth of nearly 3 million people. Water tables are actually falling across the Great Plains and the Southwest (which itself has seen a population explosion), with lakes and rivers running dry.

NEW SCIENCES. The advances in medicine, and in fields such as nanotechnology and biotechnology, are almost too great to imagine…but…let's look at one effect that is predictable. Both of these sciences will further extend lifetimes and, as one result, full-out retirement will happen at 80 (if at all).

EDUCATION. Education itself is being revolutionized as you scan this newsletter. In fact, there is a school of thought that suggests 24/7 learning is the wave of the future from middle school through your favorite university's extension courses. Distance learning and learning on-demand experiences may dominate classroom learning experiences within the next 5 years.

Corporations will enter the educational market in ways not thought of a few short years ago. Learning will become integral to career and job development – far beyond your wildest imagination – and people will be rated on their willingness to learn new skills and methodologies as well as to perform in their current job.

Stay young at heart and learn something new! Time is on your side… for now.