Have you ever thought about whether your job is a “hot” one? Depending on what’s going on around campus, some days my job is hotter than others. But I’m not talking about the kind of “if-you-can’t-stand-the-heat-get-out-of-the-kitchen” type of job, I’m talking about jobs that are hot because they are high demand and pay high wages.

In December, Iowa Workforce Development updated its Hot Jobs list. For our region, 13 occupation areas were listed. What’s really hot is that Marshalltown Community College can help you enter any of these career areas.

First on the list is elementary school teachers, followed closely by middle school teachers at number four. While it is true that you need a bachelor’s degree to teach, you can earn a teaching degree right here in Marshalltown by receiving your associate degree from MCC and completing your elementary or secondary teaching degree through our partnership with Buena Vista University on MCC’s campus.

An obvious hot job is nursing. Registered and licensed practical nursing careers are no surprise in the top five. By earning your nursing degree at MCC, you can expect top quality instruction and a history of 100% passage rates on the national licensing exam compared with an 84% statewide average.

Our industrial trades programs in construction technology, industrial maintenance technology, and utility technician (begins Fall 2012) can help you get to high salary careers as electricians, carpenters, maintenance workers, and team assemblers. Nearly 350 jobs are projected to be added in these fields in our area between now and 2018.

Business occupations such as executive secretaries and administrative assistants; bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks; and customer service representatives fill out the Workforce Development list. The degrees offered in the business and computers division at MCC are designed to train you for hot careers in this area including accounting, business administration, computer applications in business, and marketing.

With salaries ranging from $28,970 to $51,326, you are sure to find a hot job that is a cool fit for you maybe even one that keeps your days sizzling like mine does here at MCC. Give us a call at 866-622-4748 or visit www.MarshalltownCommunityCollege.com to let us help you find your next high demand, high salary hot job!

Dr. Robin Lilienthal is the Provost at Marshalltown Community College, which is operated by Iowa Valley Community College District.