Careers and Occupations in Demand

Texas' Targeted Occupations - Find out which occupations have been targeted as vital to high-growth, high-demand, and emerging industry sectors critical to state and local economies.

Reality Check - Find the expected salary for occupations of interest to you.

Occupation Info - Use Texas CARES to search for an occupation and view statistics on job openings, growth, and income for Texas and for your region.

Program of Study - Search for a program of study, then see what occupations the program can prepare you for, along with job openings and income statistics.

More about careers and occupations:

• Reality Check - Learn what salary you can expect from different occupations, explore your lifestyle expectations and learn what level of salary you will need to support that lifestyle. Explore careers and the types of education needed.
• Texas CARES - Use the World of Work to explore occupations that are in demand, growing, or in decline in Texas. Take a self-assessment to explore your work goals and interests. Match your interests and experience to occupations. Use the World of Learning tools to prepare for postsecondary education and programs of study for occupations of interest to you.
• Labor Market and Career Information - Try other TWC tools to view data on industries and jobs in demand.

Shop Wisely!

Which School or College is Right For You? - Useful advice to think about what you are looking for in a postsecondary school or college.

See also these links for useful information provided by the U.S. Department of Education, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Better Business Bureau on what to consider in choosing a postsecondary school or college.

Credit Transferability - A guide on how college credit transfer works. Before you enroll in a postsecondary school or college, think about the likelihood that you may need to transfer to another school, and ask the school about the transferability of their credits.

Consumer Protection - A page on degree granting schools from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Which School and Program? Search Listings and Compare.

There are many different search tools available to learn about postsecondary schools and programs - the most useful ones we are aware of are provided below. Many provide useful information you can use to shop wisely for the school or program best for you.

Public and independent universities, community colleges and technical colleges in Texas:

• College Locator - Use a map to link to an institution's website or Online Resume.
• Program Inventory - Find institutions that offer an program of interest, or look up all programs at an institution.
• Online Resumes - Look up enrollment, cost, financial aid, graduation, and employment information for an institution.
• College Match-Up - Select institutions on type, cost, setting, enrollment or keyword, then compare them on academic, graduation, employment, and cost statistics.
• College Costs - Look up average costs per 15 credit hours for an institution.
• Higher Education Accountability System - Look up enrollment, academic, graduation, cost, and research statistics for an institution.

Private schools and colleges:

• What is a Career School or College? (PDF) - Career Schools and Colleges are privately owned institutions offering classroom or on-line training in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job. This document explains which businesses are career schools or colleges, and therefore have to be licensed or granted an exemption to provide training in Texas/to Texans.
• Directory of Licensed Career Schools and Colleges - Explore and compare programs offered by private postsecondary career schools and colleges licensed in Texas. Now includes information on numbers of students enrolled, graduation rates, and employment rates of graduates, as well as program hours and cost.
• Accreditation - Explore the listings of the recognized accreditation bodies that accredit career schools and colleges in Texas.
• Career Schools Ordered to Cease Operation - Historical listing of school names and owners of schools that were closed due to a legal order by TWC to cease operations. These schools/owners are not permitted to operate a school in Texas again.

Public, independent and private institutions:

• State Training Inventory - Find institutions in Texas that offer an academic program of interest, or look up all programs offered at an institution. Look up information on enrollment, graduation, and occupations for a particular program.
• College Navigator - A national lookup tool for a wide range of postsecondary colleges, schools, and universities.

Apprenticeship - Apprenticeship training is designed to prepare individuals for occupations in skilled trades and crafts, consisting of on-the-job training supervised by a journeyman tradesperson and related classroom instruction.

Schools Approved for GI Bill Funding - Listing from the Texas Veterans Commission.

Planning and Paying for School

Planning for College - Tips on advance planning for college, from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).

Additional Planning Resources - Other useful links and resources on planning for school, from THECB.

College.gov - Portal for various resources on planning for college, from the U.S. Dept. of Education.

Texas Veterans Commission - Resources for veterans in Texas, including information on funding for education.

Looking for Funding for School? - Link to our resource page on Financial Aid.

Note: the Texas Workforce Commission regulates privately owned career schools and colleges and oversees Workforce Solutions offices and services, but we do not provide any funding for students. Some of the information provided on the financial aid page may be helpful to you in seeking funding assistance for training. You may also contact your local Workforce Solutions office to see what workforce benefits and training assistance you may be eligible to receive.