So, where are all the jobs? Here's some food for thought:

Jobs on the rise: Between 1998 and 2008, U.S. employment will rise to 160.8 million from 140.5 million. This is a 14 percent increase, or 20.3 million jobs! Many of these new job opportunities will be in computer and health-related occupations, social services, legal services, natural science, teaching, and financial areas.

Check out computer-related occupations: Computer engineers, systems analysts, database administrators, data processing equipment repairers - to name just a few jobs in this area - will grow at a very fast rate in the coming years because computer technology continues to improve. Computer fields tend to require more education and offer higher earnings than health services.

Healthy growth in health care occupations: These occupations got a shot in the arm from a large aging population that will require more health care. It's also a wealthier population that can afford better health care and new advances in medical technology.

Some of these occupations include: medical technicians and assistants (such as medical assistants, medical records and health information technicians), physical therapy assistants and aides, and dental assistants.

Nurses will continue to be in high demand...by the year 2020, the Journal of the American Medical Association projects that the nation will have 20% fewer registered nurses (RNs) than it will need!

Occupations with the largest job growth: Most occupations with the largest projected job growth are concentrated in four sectors - retail, business services, health services, and public and private education. They will account for more than three-fifths of total job growth from 1998 to 2008.

Seek size: Because of their large size, many occupations are predicted to have average or less than average growth rates. But don't count them out! They still provide more job openings than some faster growing occupations because of the number of companies involved! Some examples: cashiers, retail salespersons, general office clerks, truck drivers, general managers and top executives.

Small is Beautiful: There are now 24 million small businesses across the United States and all signs point to that number increasing. A sector of small business is self-employment, an increasingly attractive employment option for people with disabilities. Self-employment offers people with disabilities the opportunity to work at home and control their work schedules and work environment. Some examples of what people with developmental disabilities are doing include:

• Desktop Publishing
• Auto Body Repair
• Medical Billing
• Coffee Shop Owner
• Dog Biscuit Manufacturing
• Woodworking
• Commercial Fishing
• Lawn Care/Snow Removal
• Chiropractic Services
• Word Processing
• Bicycle Shop
• Sign and Graphics Business
• Welding Business
• Tree Farming
• Home Inspection
• Used Clothing Store
• Glass Installation

As you can see, the sky's the limit!