jobs and internships by geographic areas

Want to know in which geographic location your major of study is most desired? The following gives an overview of the most in-demand jobs (requiring a bachelor's degree or higher) and internships in the four main regions of the United States: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.

Northeast
As defined by the Census Bureau, the Northeast region of the United States covers nine states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. (Some unofficial classifications of the region add Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, Virginia, and West Virginia to the Northeast region.) In the Northeast, the occupations projected to grow the fastest during the 2010-2020 time period are in finance, veterinary medicine, and engineering. For example, financial examiners and personal financial advisors are in high demand in this region, as well as, veterinarians. Moreover, if you are an engineering major, you should have good luck finding a job in the Northeast region because the demand for biomedical, civil, industrial, and environmental engineers should increase significantly by the year 2020. For those of you majoring in the arts, specifically performing arts, it's a good idea to migrate to the major metropolitan area of the Northeast region: New York City.

South
The Census Bureau defines the southern region of the United States as being made up of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. From 2010 to 2020, occupations in finance and engineering are projected to grow the fastest in the South region. Specifically, careers as personal financial advisors and biomedical engineers. Occupations in athletic training are expected to grow at a high rate as well. Athletic training jobs in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, and Virginia are among the hot spots for growth. If you are majoring in performing arts and want to live in the South region, Atlanta, GA is the major metropolitan area of this region with career opportunities in entertainment.

Midwest
The Midwest region comprises the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. For the Midwest region, the projected fastest-growing careers for the 2010-2020 time period are in finance, engineering, and biochemistry. In addition to the Northeast and South regions, personal financial advisors and financial examiners are and will continue to be in high demand in this region. Demand for engineers is high as well, especially biomedical, industrial, and environmental. For those of you majoring in biochemistry, look for high hiring activity in Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio.

West
The states included in the western region of the United States are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The fastest growing occupations in the West region are in health care, specifically in pharmaceutical sciences. The demand for pharmacists is projected to increase significantly by the year 2020. Look for very high demand in Alaska, Colorado, and Nevada. Careers in engineering are also growing as a fast rate in this region. The outlook is especially good for those of you who would like to be biomedical engineers and industrial engineers. Hiring activity is also likely to be strong in the finance, animal care, and athletic and sports industries. Similar to the Northeast and South regions, if you are majoring in performing arts, know that there are more entertainment opportunities in the major metropolitan area of the West region: Los Angeles, CA.

Information gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau and Career InfoNet.