Maybe forensic nursing rings a bell? These careers all share one thing: Very few people know anything about them. But as tech becomes more mainstream, these careers will be in high demand.
Genetics
Although genetic counseling has been around since 1970s, "there are only about 2,000 of us in the country," estimates Beverly M. Yashar, who heads the genetic counseling program at the University of Michigan. Yashar expects the career to come to the forefront in the next decade or two as the use of genetic testing increases.
If you're looking for a science career with a personal side, genetic counseling may be for you. Genetic counselors help families make sense of genetic knowledge, helping to answer questions like, "My mother died of breast cancer. How high is my risk that I'll develop the same disease?" or "My daughter has Tay-Sachs disease. Should I have another child?"
Genetic counselors work in hospitals and research institutes, dealing with a broad range of topics, from pediatrics to cancer and cardiovascular disease. To pursue a genetic counseling career, you'll need to enroll in a related master's program.
Forensics
Do you have a great memory and an attention to detail that surprises others? Then you might want to consider becoming a forensic investigator. Although popular crime scene television shows suggest differently, forensic investigators typically work in a lab examining evidence collected by law enforcement, using DNA analysis, ballistics testing, blood splatter examination, and chemical experiments.
Forensic nursing takes this same level of scrutiny and applies it to the human body, says Julie Jervis, M.D., lead instructor with Kaplan University's online Forensic Nursing Certificate program, and a forensic pathologist. "You describe every bruise by its diameter in two dimensions and the location on the body," he says.
To become a forensic nurse, you'll need an associate degree in nursing before obtaining your forensics certificate. Then you can work for hospitals, medical examiners, disaster preparedness, and even law offices, helping to set up forensically accurate exhibits for court cases.
Cybersecurity
As hacking becomes a more pervasive problem, major companies are hiring computer system administrators for cybersecurity, a field that includes antivirus protection and credit card encryption. But cybersecurity can be heady and esoteric as well, like steganography.
Not to be confused with stenography, steganographers study computer files that look normal (perhaps a picture of your cat), but actually contain a hidden meaning (the map of security at the local airport). Unlike typical decryption efforts, steganography investigators must first figure out if an image is normal or not.
No matter what your specialty within cybersecurity, you'll need to be flexible as the industry changes and capable of thinking outside the box, says Sean Smith, director of the Cyber Security and Trust Research Center at Dartmouth's Institute for Security Technology Studies. Smith looks for someone who might get a model airplane kit, and makes a rabbit out of the pieces instead.
For a career in cybersecurity, education options range from online certificate offerings to intensive master's or Ph.D. programs.
Homeland Security
If a cutting-edge career is what you're after, you can't get any newer than a homeland security degree, which didn't officially exist before Sept. 11, 2001. Because it's such an unexplored field, training in it takes a variety of forms, from certificate programs to master's degrees.
The course content is varied. In San Diego State's master's program, two tracks have emerged: a technical one that focuses on security and communication, and one that focuses on epidemiology and public health. With a degree in homeland security, you can work both for the government in the Department of Homeland Security or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as in private sector jobs for companies focused on security and communication.
