Some students may soon be juggling several job offers, but some faculty members caution that high-demand jobs often come with high stress.

“There are always lots of opportunities in Education, Nursing, and Civil Engineering,” said Zachary Jones, assistant director of the Career Center. “Those three stick out to me as being very high-demand at the moment.”

The problem is that high demand is often the product of high turnover.

Diana Underwood Gregg, who teaches Math Education, is confident her students will find work in public education. 

“There is a huge shortage of elementary and secondary school teachers in the state, and in the nation,” she said. “Anyone can walk out right now and get a job teaching.” 

The question is how long they will stay with the job.

“Though it’s easy for anyone to get a job teaching, most teachers will end up leaving the profession before the five-year mark. There are many things right now that make this an unpleasant profession to be in,” Gregg said, “The field has changed from when I was younger.”

Aaron Cioe, a sophomore studying Elementary Education, is not concerned about that. He is considered by some to be a unicorn in his field.

“I feel like it’s part of our culture for men to not be involved in early education,” Cioe said. “When I was in the elementary-ed vocational program in my high school, the principal said she would hire a male teacher on the spot because they’re so rare and in such high demand.”

Cioe is one of only a handful of men in the Elementary Education major. He began learning inside elementary school classrooms while he was still in high school, and as a sophomore, already spends multiple hours a week training in the field. Cioe feels that he does not have to worry about finding work once he’s completed his time at PNW.

“I’m in a very high-demand major, especially for males. I’m very confident I’ll easily be able to find a job upon graduation,” he said.

He doesn’t worry about losing interest in teaching.

“The main reason I am in this major is because I love to help other people and teaching young kids that are so full of life brings me a lot of joy,” he said. “Another big reason is that I feel I can be a male role model that a lot of children may be lacking otherwise.”