A report from Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas shows that health care jobs are at the top of a national list of occupations that are in the highest demands and offer the highest salaries. The report was the result of a study tracking 800 different occupations in America’s most populous metropolitan areas.

Health care “support” occupations including home health aides, dental assistants and pharmacy technicians, scored an astounding projected growth rate of more than 250 percent in the study. Health care careers also were noted as having the greatest need for new workers.

This data should not come as a surprise to employers in the health care industry as well as savvy followers of the field, who know that 78 million baby boomers are fast approaching retirement age. This means the mass retirement of health care workers across all occupations, from phlebotomists and medical imaging technicians to medical secretaries, dental assistants, home health aides and health care administrators.

The other edge of this double edged sword is that with retirement age comes increased medical needs.  In other words, the workers are apt to become patients. A whole new crop of health care workers are desperately needed to take the boomers’ places and care for them. Aging is a natural part of life, but unfortunately illness often comes along for the ride.

This may sound a bit morbid, but for those considering a career in health care, this is all good news. Health care careers offer better job security, benefits, stability and the potential for future career growth, than most other industries could dream of, especially right now.

This means that enrollment in health care training is at an all time high. Many school applicants may even find themselves on waiting lists to start their health care training. If this is you, here is something to keep in mind. Because of the varied demands in the field, many colleges are constantly adding new health care courses. They may be adding the courses so quickly that your best bet is to call around and find out which health care courses are currently accepting new students. Be proactive!