• Posted October 9, 2007

• 2) Top Ten Most Popular Careers for 2012

• As societies evolve, the economic and employment markets change continuously. Changing population ages, wowan re-entering employment and medical advances have a dramatic effect on certain job sectors, the most obvious of these being healthcare, housing and pensions.

• Technological development has opened up a whole new field of jobs, while affecting the nature of almost every area of our society, and particularly the workplace.

• On a more local level, certain careers can suddenly become popular for specific reasons. TV shows on interior design or veterinary hospitals can lead to a sudden interest in those areas, while media coverage about skills shortages can prompt an interest in other areas.

• Here are the top ten most popular careers for 2012 in the US, Canada and the UK. The numbers of people entering employment in these areas is predicted to rise faster than in other career areas over the next five years.

• If you are looking for the best paying careers (click here).

• US Top Ten Most Popular Careers for 2012

• Network Systems Analysts: The development of IT has led to an increase in organizations seeking installation and maintenance of networked communications. Systems analysts solve problems related to networked computer technology.

• Physician's Assistant: Physician assistants are trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic and preventative healthcare services, as overseen by a physician. Primary healthcare settings include family medicine and pediatrics.

• Medical Assistants: The growing healthcare sector means more administrative and clinical tasks need to be performed. Other medical assistants can help with clinical tasks. Typically, work takes place in the offices of physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, ophthalmologists and other health practitioners.

• Medical Records and Health Information Technicians: Case and healthcare records are increasingly used for organizational management and ongoing evaluation of healthcare progress. Records might include patient medical history, symptoms, treatments, tests, outcomes, etc. Medical tests and information management are major growth areas.

• Software Engineers: As IT continues to evolve, so does the work of computer software engineers, who design and develop new computer software systems. The engineer analyses users' needs and designs software or programs to meet these needs.

• Physical Therapist Aides: The number of individuals with disabilities or limited physical function is growing, so the number of assistants who provide services to alleviate the difficulties is set to increase.

• Fitness Trainers: Aerobics instructors and fitness trainers lead groups and individuals in a range of exercise activities. More people are spending time and money on their leisure activities, meaning employment opportunities for fitness instructors will grow.

• Database Administrators: Many organizations now depend on the instant availability of data. Database administrators work with the relevant software to retrieve and present data. They need to understand every aspect of an organization's database system, from its performance to security and the platform it runs on.

• Veterinary Technicians: Expectations for leading edge veterinary care are rising as healthcare in general progresses. Veterinary technicians perform tests, and treat and diagnose medical conditions in animals. Work can take place in domestic pet surgeries, livestock management, wildlife medicine, or pharmaceutical sales or biomedical research.

• Dental Hygienists: As our healthcare involves an increasing emphasis on oral health and retention of natural teeth, work opportunities for dental hygienists are set to grow. Hygienists examine patients' gums and teeth, remove deposits, administer x-rays, and more.

• Top Ten Most Popular Careers for 2012 in Canada

• In-Home Nurse: Under the supervision of doctors and more highly trained nurses, Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses take care of individuals with health problems, whether they are sick, dying, or disabled. As the preference for care moves to the home, there will be more opportunities for In-Home Nurses.

• Nurse Practitioner: As healthcare provision continues to grow in non-hospital settings, the openings for nurse practitioners, who provide a level of direct medical care to patients and acts as a consultant to other practicing nurses, continue to increase.

• Programmer Analyst: Computer programmers write, test, and maintain the detailed instructions, called programs, which computers must follow to perform their functions. As digital technology continues to advance, the need for skilled analysts and programmers will continue to grow.

• Physician and Surgeon: The expansion of both the public and private healthcare sectors leads to an increasing number of specialist areas and an ever increasing need for physicians and surgeons.

• Teacher, Special Education: The greater awareness and development of educational approaches for students with special needs is leading to the expansion of this educational sector.

• Pharmacist: Today's pharmacists work with patients to determine what the patient's needs are and what care should be provided. This is called "pharmaceutical care", and it is all about identifying, resolving and preventing medication-related problems. Increasingly, pharmacists are working in a range of settings.

• Psychiatrist: Psychiatrists are physicians (medical doctors) who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and emotional disorders, and act as consultants for other physicians. Psychiatrists work in hospitals, mental health clinics and private offices.

• Radiological Technician: Radiologic technologists - also known as x-ray technicians - explain procedures to patients, make images for physicians to interpret, and keep records of patients' treatments. Government economists expect job growth for x-ray techs to be faster than the average for all careers.

• Registered Nurses: Changes in the healthcare system continue to broaden the opportunities for nurses. An especially important trend is the increasing number of services that emphasize illness prevention and health promotion programs. Many of these are planned and staffed by registered nurses.

• Physiotherapist: Physiotherapists assess patients and plan and carry out individually designed treatment programs to maintain, improve or restore physical functioning and alleviate pain. Employment in hospitals, clinics, sports organizations, extended care facilities and private practice continues to expand.

• Top Ten Most Popular Careers for 2012 in the UK

• Data Communications Analysts: More and more organizations now stay in touch internally and externally with other sites via networked communications. Analysts are responsible for overseeing the installation and maintenance of such networks, which are now becoming critical to the economic and social infrastructure.

• Marketing Officer: Once existing solely in the private sector, the marketing function is also now an intrinsic aspect of organizational life in the public and voluntary sector. The development of the Internet has served to add to the marketing role, meaning that marketing opportunities continue to grow.

• Software Engineers: The IT job sector grows in size as technological advances continue to be made. Computerized systems are ever more present in every area of organizational activity. Software engineers, who design and develop new applications to meet specific needs, are in ever greater demand.

• Medical Administrator: There is an increasing need for administrators and clerical staff in the healthcare sector, which continues to grow.

• Community Nurse: The development of primary healthcare sees more nursing activities taking place in the local community than ever before. The openings for community nurses, who perform non-surgical tasks in the home or other local settings, are increasing year on year.

• Advertising Agency Account Executive: The media sector is becoming ever more specialized and complex, with an increasing number of specialist publications, broadcast channels and online media. An increasing level of targeted marketing through advertising is seeing growth in the number of opportunities for advertising executives.

• Customer Services Assistant: The growth of Customer Relationship Management has led to the establishment of many more customer service teams, who are dedicated to responding to customer queries and fulfilling services requested by the telephone or online.

• Information Officer: Digital technology has enabled organizations to store more data more efficiently than in the past. Consequently, more personnel are needed who can offer specialist skills in operating database software and information networks, retrieving and disseminating information as necessary.

• Administrator: Secretarial jobs may be decreasing as the personal computer changes the shape of office processes, yet administrative jobs are growing, largely due to the centralization of organizational systems.

• Engineer: There is a growing demand for highly trained, skilled personnel who are able to meet the needs of the mechanical, electrical, electronic, automotive, biomedical and civil engineering sciences.

3) South Korea economic growth hurt by global slowdown

South Korea's economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly three years as the global slowdown hurt demand for its exports and firms cut their investment.

The economy grew at an annual rate of 1.6% in the July to September quarter. That is down from 2.3% in the previous quarter.

Compared with the previous three months, the economy expanded by 0.2%.

South Korea has cut interest rates to spur growth and the weak data may prompt it to take further measures.

Im No-Jung, chief economist at IM Investment and Securities, said the central bank may lower its rates further in the coming months as "the recent series of rate cuts have not had a profound effect on boosting the economy".

The Bank of Korea, cut interest rates twice in the past four months. The latest of those cuts, announced earlier this month, saw the key lending rate lowered to 2.75% from 3%.

Economic boost?

South Korea's exports, which account for nearly half its economic output, have been hurt by a slowdown in key markets such as the US and eurozone.

Meanwhile, policymakers have found it difficult to boost domestic consumption enough to offset the decline in foreign sales.

As economic conditions in its key markets remain uncertain, South Korea has unveiled a series of measures to try and boost domestic demand.

Last month, it announced a $5.2bn (£3.2bn) stimulus package, which included tax breaks on personal incomes and purchases of homes and cars.

Some analysts said that the measures, coupled with the series of interest rate cuts, were likely to have a positive impact on growth in the current quarter.

"Recent stimulus measures announced by the Korean government will... kick in during the fourth quarter," said Lee Chul-Hee, chief economist at Tong Yang Securities.

He said the economy was expected to show a 0.8% quarter-on-quarter growth in the September to December period.

4)

When I first learned to clean my own place, I thought Saturday had to be an all day clean-a-thon. I didn't really have a concept of how to balance the work load during the week so weekends could be reserved for larger projects or even you know…fun! Now I clean in 20 minutes a day — every day — and things just seem to take care of themselves. Here's a glimpse at the schedule I use!

No one said you had to do everything at once and even when time seems short, if you can manage one task a day, things should start to work themselves out. Adjust this list as your family's needs require (those with more or less children might require doing certain activities more or less). If it's easier, take a blank calendar and fill it in accordingly so easier tasks are on days where your day is go, go, go and reserve the more difficult ones for days when things are a little lighter. Here's 5 tips to help make this 30 days a success:

1) Dealing With What Comes Through The Door Set up a small area by the front door to act as a "landing strip" for incoming items into your home. If you're a long time reader this is nothing new to you. If this is the first time you've heard this phrase outside of reference to personal grooming habits, then make sure to check out Maxwell's latest Home Cure video on the topic.

2) Do Your Dishes After Every Meal This will help you stay on top of your kitchen instead of having it turn into a monster! No one really wants to do them (after all, you probably cooked dinner to boot). But waiting for another meal or until you have enough to fill the dishwasher just makes things feel overwhelming and easier to put off. The same goes for take out trash as well. If you need to take the trash out, place it by the front door to go out in the morning or dispose of it that night so it's over and done with.

3) Laundry If you have a washer and dryer at home, do a little bit each day. Spread things out so you don't feel bogged down by 200 towels and stinky socks. If you take things to a laundromat, sort clothes as you go so things are easier to load up into machines when you get there. Fold them before you come home so you aren't dumping baskets out on your sofa or bed and they can go straight into drawers and closets.

4) Whistle While You Work: Those who are happiest when cleaning are few and far between. Singing, humming, whistling or turning up the stereo are all great options to keep the beat in your feet and have fun while working. Here's a few past posts on killer cleaning soundtracks.

5) Set a Timer: Most items on the list below should take no more than 20 minutes total. It's easy to rationalize 20 minutes, but it's also easy to get distracted by phone calls, emails, children and other projects that call your name as you tackle each chore. Set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes (which ever works best for you) and that way when it sounds you know exactly how much time you have left. If you find yourself off task it's easy to get back on track.

1. Surface clean living room and kitchen (pick up stray items, dust, sweep, vacuum)

2. Clean bathrooms (toilets, showers, floors, walls, mirrors)

3. Surface clean bedrooms (put away toys, clothes, dust)

4. Surface clean "extra" rooms (basement, office, play room)

5. Surface clean living room and kitchen

6. Clean bathrooms

7. Clean all interior windows (white vinegar and newspaper works great and is cheap!)

8. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house (don't forget stairs)

9. Surface clean bedrooms

10. Deep clean living room (mirrors, baseboards, dust artwork)

11. Clean bathrooms

12. Clean out closets (hang up clothes, mittens, jackets, hats)

13. Surface clean "extra" rooms

14. Deep clean bedrooms (organize drawers, check under bed, tidy closet, dust artwork, fans, lights, mop)

15. Surface clean living room and kitchen

16. Deep clean bathrooms (clean inside drawers, inside of trash cans, tops of mirrors, tile, mop)

17. Clean all door knobs, phones, entertainment equipment (remote controls), switch plates, banisters and other things that are repeatedly touched.

18. Clean out the refrigerator, take stock of food, organize pantry

19. Clean entryway, sweep porch (if you have one), clean out car (because they're often our home away from home)

20. Surface clean living room and kitchen

21. Surface clean bathrooms

22. Surface clean bedrooms

23. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets or regular closet if not applicable

25. Surface clean living room and kitchen

26. Deep clean kitchen (scrub appliances, wash trash cans, base boards, wipe down and straighten cabinets)

27. Surface clean bathrooms

28. Surfaces clean bedrooms

29. Clean one item you've been meaning to get to and haven't (deep clean your stove, wipe down all light fixtures, tackle a particularly unruly area)

30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

To this list you can also add chores that are to be done monthly or quarterly. It's easier to plan for larger tasks like steam cleaning a sofa or heavy traffic hallway, then it feels like part of the routine instead of that thing you keep putting off and dreading.

Habits are formed by doing and one of the best ways to change a bad habit is to replace it with another action. So if the time spent right when you come home from work is usually filled with email reading and a small nap, try switching it out with your cleaning instead. Making the 20 minute time slot routine will build good habits and help you stay on top of the game without feeling like it's a real chore.

Do you have anything to add to the list above? What cleaning tasks would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments below!