A Big NH Employer

So, who are the biggest employers in New Hampshire? With unemployment rising and the economic future looking uncertain it makes one wonder where the upcoming jobs are going to be. What if you get laid off? Shouldn’t you be thinking of a Plan B? Now there is some risk in looking at the current big time employers and speculating that they will be the future big time employers, but it’s not unreasonable to think that if they’re demonstrating viability now while things are a mess, that they very well could be around down the road.

One place to look is the NH state profile largest employers list on America’s Career InfoNet. What jumped out at me is the following… of the twenty-five largest NH employers thirteen of them are hospitals and medical centers! Well, I guess it’s safe to say that medical care and related jobs is an industry to pay attention to if you want to know where a lot of jobs are.

And if you’re a Plan B type of person, then you’ll want to know that. And think about it, although we’re a relatively healthy state we’re also an aging state. Aging means more healthcare. It’s unlikely that we’re going to see a significant decline in the medical and healthcare field anytime soon. In fact, according to the U.S. Labor Department Health Care is a high growth industry.

To be sure, the medical field hires more than doctors, nurses, and other health care personnel delivering direct service. There are administrators, maintenance, information systems, food service, and a whole lot of support staff needed to run these facilities. But for now, let’s focus on those providing medical and health services. Might you be good at this type of work? Looked at from a skills perspective we can examine four positions in the field, Physician Assistant, Medical Assistant, Physical Therapist, and Nurses Aide. Here are some of the skills needed to do all of these jobs:

Be an active intentional listener

Speak and convey information clearly

Read well

Detect how others are feeling and understand why

Think critically by knowing the strengths and weaknesses of various solutions

Solve complex problems

Coordinate oneself in relation to the actions of others

Are you seeing yourself here? Visualization is the first step. Maybe you’ll want to consider exploring this area further. It can help knowing that we will all want and need qualified and competent medical and health care professional for years to come.

Bill Ryan