Top Trending Jobs and How to Get Them

Some say our economy is in a "permanent slump," but it's still possible to find a job you love. Here's a look at today's top trending jobs and how to get one.

Health Care

Image via Flickr Southeastern Seminary

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the health care industry offers a wellspring of job opportunities, including careers in dentistry, dietetics, emergency medicine, fitness, genetics, mental health, and veterinary care.

Join the Field

In some states, you can land a job as a pharmacy tech, medical care assistant, or health care aide without any training. An associate degree can get you in the door as a nuclear medicine technologist, sonographer, or veterinary tech. A graduate degree can help you get a more specialized job, such as that of occupational health specialist, nurse practitioner, or physician/surgeon.

Take some time to read about different health careers. If you're considering going back to school, meet with an academic advisor at your local university. He or she will help you decide which field is right for you, how long your program of study would take, and what your prospects would look like upon graduation.

Business

If a high salary is your goal, a career in business could be your best move. A person with a four-year business degree can find entry-level work in accounting, marketing, insurance, public relations, management, and more. A person with an MBA enjoys even more career opportunities and a higher earning potential.

Join the Field

An associate degree in business can put you on the path to a career in office management, tax preparation, real estate, customer service, and more. A bachelor's degree could lead you to lucrative work in finance, human resources, and purchase management. An MBA is one of the most versatile and prestigious degrees you can get these days, and it often leads to job promotion. Many adults have used an online MBA program to reach their business goals.

Experts predict that 2014 will be another robust year for business grads. Before you embark on a program of study, spend some time evaluating your business savvy. If your heart belongs in the field, you'll know.

Technology

Technology is here to stay, and that's a blessing to IT fanatics who make their living with computers. Some of the best tech jobs for 2014 include software developer, web developer, and computer systems analyst, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Join the Field

You don't need a four-year degree to snag an IT job. Computer support specialists often have no post-secondary education. Web developers make upwards of $60,000 with an associate degree alone. A bachelor's degree in computer science might earn you more money, though: computer programmers, network architects, and database administrators raked in median incomes over $70,000 in 2012.

Talk to an advisor about the various certifications and degrees that could advance your tech career. He or she can help you select the academic track that best suits your needs.

Choosing a career is no small task. Arm yourself with an understanding of today's top industries and you'll have a much easier time finding a fulfilling job you truly enjoy.

Read more ...

Basic Terms of Forex Trading

What Is Forex?
Foreign exchange, commonly known as forex, is the trading of currencies in the foreign market, primarily by speculators and investors. The trading and exchange of currency goes back to ancient times. It was a vital practice that allowed people to buy and sell food and other materials. Averaging over $4 trillion in turnover per day, foreign exchange is the world's largest market. Working through international financial institutions, forex operates on different levels. By enabling currency conversion, the forex market helps international trade and investments. There is plenty of opportunity in forex trading for investors. However, success is contingent upon an understanding of the basics behind currency movements.

The Basics of Forex Trading
There are several theories explaining exchange rate fluctuations in a floating exchange rate regime. One is international parity conditions which include interest rate parity, International Fisher effect, and Relative Purchasing Power Parity. Second, there is the balance of model which mostly focuses on tradable goods and services. Finally, there is the asset market model, which considers currencies to be an important asset class for putting together investment portfolios. The aforementioned models have not successfully exchange rates and their volatility in a large time frame. Algorithms can be used to predict prices in a shorter time frame.

A simple example of forex tradings is as follows: There's a situation in which the value of the U.S. dollar is expected to weaken relative to the euro. In this situation, a forex trader will sell dollars and purchase euros. If the value of the euro strengthens, there is increased purchasing power to buy dollars. Now the trader can profit because they can buy back more dollars than they had to begin with. This shows some similarity to stock trading as a stock trader will typically buy stock if they think it will increase in price in the future and sell if the price is likely to fall in the future. A forex trader buys a currency pair if they expect the exchange rate to rise and will sell if they expect the rate to fall.

Key Terms And Concepts
When it comes to forex trading, there are some basic terms and concepts that should be understood:

• Exchange rate: Exchange rate is simply the price of one currency in terms of another's. There are two components, the domestic currency and the foreign currency.
• Pips: A pip is the smallest price change that a given exchange rate can make.
• Spread: The spread is the difference between the two prices on a currency pair. You have the ask price and the bid price.
• Leverage: This concept is used by both companies and investors. Companies use it for the financing of their assets. Investors use leverage to increase the returns they can get on an investment.
• Forex broker: Forex brokers are firms that provide forex traders with access to a platform that for the trading of foreign currencies. Brokers are used for access to the 24-hour currency market. They are usually compensated the spread of a currency pair.
• Face value: A familiar concept throughout investing and securities, face value is the stated dollar value of a security. In the case of stocks, it is the original cost of the stock as shown on the certificate.
• Rollover: This rate is the the net interest return on a trader's currency position. This rate converts net currency interest sales into a cash return for the position.

Read more ...

The Rise of Software in the Forex Era

During the last seven years, numerous automated trading systems that offer a wide range of charts and strategies have become available. Some of these software programs include expert advisers, platforms that allow customers to analyze and to mimic the trades of other investors and algorithms that use the recent fluctuations of a currency's value to identify potentially profitable investments. 

Customization 
When using an automated software program, the trader will be able to select the level of risk, the margin that the system uses and the currency pairs that the program trades. The user can also prompt the system to execute long-term trades or to place orders that are based on short-term trends. 

Following Experienced Investors 
Before analyzing the trades of another person, a customer can view the percentage of the trader's orders that have generated a profit, the average earnings of each trade and the number of people who are currently copying each order that the investor places. Moreover, the user will have the ability to see a list of the traders who have generated the most profits during the last several days. 

Signals
Seven years ago, a trader could only receive indicators in emails, and most companies that provided trading signals did not track the percentage of their indicators that produced profits. In 2014, a client who has signed up to obtain signals can receive SMS text messages, alerts from a software program that can be added to most computers or indicators in the member's area of a company's site, and the customer will be able to view charts and graphs that show the strategy that the provider is using. 

Autochartist
This business provides a wide range of information, such as the level of volatility of certain currency pairs during each hour of the day, a detailed analysis of the impact that economic events will have on a currency and a list of potential trades that could generate a large amount of profit. Instead of offering exact predictions of a currency's value, the company forecasts the price ranges of particular currency pairs. 

MetaTrader
Metatrader lets investors use expert advisers and signals of all types, and the patron can opt to link an untested system to a demo account in order to effectively test the software. Additionally, customers have the ability to create their own systems that are compatible with MetaTrader's programming language.

Read more ...