Ever heard of steganography? How about genetic counseling? Maybe forensic nursing rings a bell? These careers all share one thing: Very few people know anything about them.

Yet due to the exploding use of technology in our day-to-day lives, these careers promise to be in high demand for quite some time.
 

Genetics
Although genetic counseling has been around since 1970s, "there are only about 2,000 of us in the country," estimates Beverly M. Yashar, Ph.D., MS.

Yashar, the head of the genetic counseling program at the University of Michigan, expects the career to come to the forefront in the next decade or two as the use of genetic testing increases.

The work is a perfect fit for someone looking for a science career with a personal side. A genetic counselor tries to help families make sense of genetic knowledge, helping to answer questions like "My mother died of breast cancer. How high is my risk that I'll develop the same disease?" or "My daughter has Tay-Sachs disease. Should I have another child?"

Genetic counselors, who must have master's degrees, can work in many places, including hospitals and research institutes, Yashar says. And the field covers a broad range of topics, from pediatrics to cancer and cardiovascular disease.

A related field to consider is pharmacogenetics, which is taught in schools of pharmacy and focuses heavily on research, considering questions like how medication can be adjusted based on genetic factors, or how introducing new genes might be used to treat disease.

Forensics
Forensic investigators worry about one thing: details, details, details. Although popular crime scene television shows suggest differently, the evidence is usually collected by law enforcement and brought to a lab. The investigator then takes over to glean as much evidence as possible using DNA analysis, ballistics testing, blood splatter examination, and chemical experiments.

Forensic nursing takes this same level of scrutiny and applies it to the human body, says Julie Jervis, M.D., lead instructor with Kaplan University's online Forensic Nursing Certificate program, and a forensic pathologist.

"The way in which injuries are described is very different in forensics. The goal is to have it hold up in a court of law," Dr. Jervis says. "You describe every bruise by its diameter in two dimensions and the location on the body."

Forensic nurses, who must earn an associate degree in nursing before obtaining their forensics certificate, can work for hospitals, medical examiners, disaster preparedness, and even law offices, helping to set up forensically accurate exhibits for court cases.

And there's a third forensic specialty that has emerged in recent years: Computer forensics, where electronic evidence is gathered for a legal or administrative proceeding. Two-year diploma programs and four-year bachelor degrees are emerging as well. Missouri Southern State University offers a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice with a computer forensics option, and Champlain University (Champlain, Vt.) has just started both an online certificate program and a four-year bachelor of science in computer and digital forensics. Similarly, Tompkins Courtland Community College has a related 62-credit associate of science program, and West Virginia University offers certificates for those with bachelor's degrees.

Cybersecurity
New computer-related careers don't end with forensics. All major companies need computer system administrators for cybersecurity, a field that includes other practical applications like antivirus software or credit card encryption. But cybersecurity can be heady and esoteric as well, like steganography.

Not to be confused with stenography, steganographers study computer files that look normal (perhaps a picture of your cat), but actually contain a hidden meaning (the map of security at the local airport). Unlike typical decryption efforts where it's already known that something contains a hidden meaning, steganography investigators must first figure out if an image is normal or not.

No matter what your specialty within cybersecurity, the field requires someone who can be flexible as the industry changes and think outside the box, says Sean Smith, director of the Cyber Security and Trust Research Center at Dartmouth's Institute for Security Technology Studies. Smith looks for someone who might get a model airplane kit, and makes a rabbit out of the pieces instead.

"So much of what's involved in defending [computer] systems involves how to creatively put the pieces together the wrong way," he says.

Educational opportunities in cybersecurity range from online certificate offerings to intensive master's or Ph.D. programs.

Homeland Security
And if a cutting-edge career is what you're after, you can't get any newer than a homeland security degree, which didn't officially exist before Sept. 11, 2001. Because it's such an unexplored field, training in it takes a variety of forms, from certificate programs to master's degrees.

The course content is also quite varied. In San Diego State's master's program, which just convened its first class of 28 students this past fall, two tracks have emerged: a technical one that focuses on security and communication, and one that focuses on epidemiology and public health.

"We aim to produce leaders who can mobilize appropriate community responses," said Florencia Davis, project coordinator of the program.

She expects graduates will work both for the government in the Department of Homeland Security or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as in private sector jobs for companies focused on security and communication.

Why Choose an Emerging Career?
When Diane Kelley, R.N., decided she wanted to work in the medical examiner's office in her hometown of Boston, she had no idea the challenge she would face. Three years ago she began Kaplan University's online certificate in forensic nursing while juggling a night job and kids. When she graduated a year later, she approached the medical examiner's office for a job, an atypical place for a forensic nurse.

"I was always being turned down because they didn't use nurses," says Kelley, who tried to get a job there for two years prior.

She was discouraged until someone at Kaplan suggested she consider a six-week internship offered with the ME's office last spring. She got the job and managed to convince the office that her skills could help them out beyond those six weeks.

Now a forensic investigator with eight other forensic nurses, Kelley performs cemetery views, checking on bodies before they are cremated to ensure there are no irregularities that could suggest foul play.

"This is the first time nurses have been involved in the chief medical examiner's office, so it's been a real breakthrough for us," Kelley says, with a note of pride in her voice.

Although specializing in something as new as forensic nursing meant Kelley had to fight for the job she wanted, she has experienced the thrill of being part of a groundbreaking role for nurses.

"I had a lot of people telling me there was no way I'd get into the medical examiner's office, and it took me over two years," she says. "A lot of what I've accomplished was by being persistent. I think it was good for [the ME's office]. They got to learn what nurses were able to bring to the table."

If you're thinking of launching a career that'll bring lots of opportunities to your table, why not think outside the career box (kind of like those steganographers!). By jumping into one of these emerging careers now, you'll be getting in on the ground floor, as your parents would say.