Career Advice & News Center

A new report by University Alliance (UA), an organization that secures online enrollments for colleges and universities like Villanova, Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business and Tulane University's Freeman School of Business, aims to identify career fields with promising opportunities in 2010.

According to Adrian Marrullier, UA's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, "The combination of traditional top-ranked universities and convenient online professional education has proven particularly important to many people who have lost their jobs in the recession."

He added, "Whether you're just starting out or you're an experienced pro, now is the ideal time for a career training makeover."

The Online Executive Education report recognizes government contract management jobs as a prime area for growth in the new year. UA predicts that due to considerable stimulus spending, the government will need new professionals to track and report on the expenditure of public funds through local, state and federal agencies.

The salary of these jobholders can vary with experience, though the National Contract Management Association approximates that government contract managers earn more than $100,000 in salary each year.

While most employers in the private sector seek to fill managerial roles with professionals who hold a master's degree in business administration or related fields, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that some government agencies may hire people with bachelor's degrees and little work experience for entry-level management analyst jobs.

Furthermore, the report places project management jobs among the fastest-growing fields in the country, as employers recognize that most business ventures significantly benefit from rigorous analysis of cost, time, scope and human resource management.

The BLS indicates that across all fields, the employment of management analysts is expected to grow by about 24 percent in the next nine years, specifically predicting that government officials and business executives will increasingly rely on outside consultants to improve their organizations.