"Cyberstates 2011: The Definitive State-by-State Analysis of the U.S. High-Tech Industry," a new report from the TechAmerica Foundation, found that Arizona is the fourth-largest state for semiconductor employment.

The report unveils state and national trends in high-tech employment, wages, and other important economic factors. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are included in the report.

Nationwide, the high-tech industry lost 115,800 jobs during 2010, but still employs 5.75 million workers in that sector. A separate report found that the U.S. added 115,000 jobs during the first six months of this year.

Despite losing 1,300 workers during 2010, Arizona's high-tech industry still employs a total of 105,600 workers, making it the 18th-largest Cyberstate in the nation. The average tech employees in the state earns $82,000 per year, which is 97 percent higher than the overall average salary.

In addition, Arizona remains a stronghold for the semiconductor industry, employing 18,900 workers in the field. That's despite the fact that the state lost a total of 500 semiconductor jobs between 2009 and 2010.

"Arizona's tech industry is heavily reliant on semiconductor manufacturing, so with job losses in that sector in 2010, it is no surprise to see an overall decline in tech jobs in the state," Kevin Carroll, regional vice president of TechAmerica, said in a statement. "Semiconductor manufacturing is still our mainstay and we need to support that industry with state and local education policy that encourages kids to pursue careers in science and engineering and tax policy that creates an environment that gives business the certainly to invest in Arizona."

Some highlights from the report about Arizona include:

• High-tech companies employ 54 of every 1,000 private sector workers in the state.
• Arizona is home to 7,200 high-tech companies.
• The state ranks fourth in semiconductor manufacturing with 18,900 jobs; fifth in space and defense systems manufacturing with 8,700 workers; and sixth in photonics manufacturing with 1,100 employees.

Earlier this month, 433 students graduated from the A.T Still University Arizona School of Health Sciences. Over 2,400 family members were on hand to see their loved ones graduate with master of science or doctoral degrees.

"In September 2010 we adopted a new university mission to be the preeminent university for the health professions, quite a lofty aim for a small private school," ATSU-ASHS Dean Barbara Maxwell, said in a statement. "So what is it that will make us preeminent? I would argue that what leads us to preeminence is our graduates. They will lead the way."

Of those graduating, 256 had taken online courses, while 177 were enrolled in residential programs. Degrees included human movement, occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, audiology, doctor of health sciences, physical therapy, and athletic training.

"You could have chosen a different, less challenging path. Instead, you found your calling in service to others who are vulnerable and often surprised by the situations in which they find themselves," Keynote Speaker Dianne V. Jewell, founder and CEO of The Rehab Intel Network, said. "They will depend on your knowledge, skill, expertise, compassion, and empathy. They will trust you to put their interests ahead of your own and to persevere when the odds against you appear to be overwhelming."

The "2011 Survey of Registered Nurses: Job Satisfaction and Career Plans" from AMN Healthcare found that a large number of nurses are planning to find jobs in a different field or switch to part-time hours in the coming years.

There are more than 3.1 million RNs throughout the U.S., making it the nation's largest healthcare position. It's projected that the number of nursing jobs will grow by 22 percent, or 581,500 workers, by 2018.

Although the economic downturn slowed nurse hiring somewhat, there are still tens of thousands of jobs being created. And we can still expect to see a nursing shortage - possibly up to 260,000 RNs - by 2025.

Here are some key findings of the survey:

• 24 percent of nurses plan to find a new place of employment, up from 15 percent last year.
• RNs are more likely to work at a hospital than any other healthcare institution.
• 32 percent of nurses plan to work fewer hours, find a non-nursing job, or retire in the next one to three years, an increase from 26 percent in 2010.
• 8 percent of RNs returned to nursing because of the economy, up from 3 percent last year.
• Only 7 percent of nurses are very confident that healthcare reform will create more jobs.
• 43 percent of nurses would not recommend a nursing career to young people, an increase from 36 percent last year.
• 74 percent of nurses are satisfied with their careers, down from 78 percent during 2010.
• 44 percent of RNs said they would not choose to be a nurse again, up from 41 percent last year.
• 14 percent of nurses plan to work as a travel nurse in the next one to three years, an increase from 9 percent in 2010.

A number of schools offer certification programs that can prepare massage therapists to work with cancer patients. The program teaches you how to use massage therapy to ease the psychological and physical pain that cancer patients experience.

According to Education-Portal.com, you can expect to take some of the following courses during your certification program:

• Aromatherapy
• Disease pathology
• Home and community care
• Integrating Eastern and Western practices
• Interrelated therapies
• Manual drainage of the lymph nodes
• Recognizing and understanding trauma
• Swedish massage

Once you obtain your certification, you can go on to work in doctors' offices, hospitals, infusion centers, or private massage practices. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 57 percent of all massage therapists are self-employed.

The Phoenix City Council recently approved plans to build a new laboratory research facility on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The lab is expected to create about 500 temporary construction jobs and 400 permanent biomedical jobs with an average salary of more than $57,000 per year.

The lab will benefit the biomedical campus as a whole by creating another opportunity for employees to collaborate. Everything from oncology jobs (http://azjobs.cancercenter.com) to RN jobs Arizona (http://nursingjob.abrazohealth.com) to physical therapy jobs Arizona (http://rehabjob.abrazohealth.com) could benefit from this project.

"This project is exactly what this city needs right now," Mayor Phil Gordon said in a statement. "Hundreds of new construction jobs to create a cutting-edge research facility in the heart of our downtown."

The 150,000-square-foot, six-story facility will be located on Fifth Street between the Translational Genomics Research Institute and the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative facilities. About 40 percent of the lab will be used for research space, including wet labs.

"The TGen/IGC building at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus is 100 percent leased," City Manager Rick Naimark said. "There is demand for wet lab space where researchers can safely work with chemicals, drugs or other materials that require special equipment and ventilation. This project meets that demand and allows for bioindustry expansion in Phoenix."

The project is expected to cost about $50 million, but will be privately funded. That means the city will not be responsible for any financial assistance but will receive up to $3.3 million in lease revenues.

The Boyer Company is heading up development of the lab. Construction of the facility is expected to begin in mid-2012 and the lab should be open by early 2014.

"The Boyer Company is pleased to have the opportunity to work with the City of Phoenix on this exciting project," Matt Jensen, partner at The Boyer Company, said. "We have a great team, including SmithGroup Architects, DPR Construction and Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial that bring an unmatched level of experience to the project and we look forward to working with the companies in the collaborative research opportunities presented by the existing campus."

A recent report from Smith Travel Research found that the hotel industry in Scottsdale is performing better than the nation's top 25 hotel markets. During March, hotels in the Phoenix suburb saw an occupancy rate of 86.9 percent, and brought in $166.05 for each available room.

About 8 million tourists visit Scottsdale every year and generate about $3.6 billion for the local economy, supporting thousands of local employees. Part of the city's draw is the number of professional sports teams that practice nearby during training or regular season, including the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, and Colorado Rockies.

Scottsdale fared better than top-ranked Miami, which had an occupancy rate of 85.7 percent during March 2011. The city also outperformed second-ranked Phoenix's occupancy rate of 83.2 percent and the national average occupancy rate of 61.4 percent.

The top 25 hotel markets and their occupancy rates during March include:

1. Miami - 85.7 percent
2. Phoenix - 83.2 percent
3. Tampa - 81.1 percent
4. Orlando - 80.6 percent
5. Oahu Island - 79.2 percent
6. New Orleans - 78.7 percent
7. New York - 78.2 percent
8. Anaheim - 76.8 percent
9. San Francisco - 74.1 percent
10. Los Angeles - 72.3 percent
11. Washington - 70.6 percent
12. San Diego - 70.2 percent
13. Philadelphia - 69 percent
14. Houston - 66.6 percent
15. Seattle - 66.3 percent
16. Boston - 65.2 percent
17. Atlanta - 64.7 percent
18. Nashville - 63.4 percent
19. Minneapolis - 62.1 percent
20. Denver - 61.6 percent
21. Dallas - 61.5 percent
22. St. Louis - 60.4 percent
23. Chicago - 60.1 percent
24. Detroit - 56.7 percent
25. Norfolk - 50.8 percent

In terms of room pricing, the national average was $101.72 per night during March 2011. New York had the most expensive hotel rooms among the top 25 markets at an average of $206.84 per night, while Norfolk had the least expensive room rates at an average of $74.28 per night.

Recent figures from the Arizona Department of Revenue show that retail sales throughout the state increased by 8.4 percent to $3.77 billion during February, marking the fourth month in a row that retail sales grew in Arizona.

Between January 2010 and January 2011, retail sales increased by 10 percent, marking the first double-digit growth since June 2006 and ending nearly three years of stagnant growth in Arizona's retail industry. The majority of that growth is being driven by increasing motor vehicle and furniture sales.

"Of particular importance is the pace of growth in consumer durables like automobiles, furniture and fixtures and yes, even contracting, as both new home construction and home improvement have begun to grow again albeit from historically very low levels," Dennis Hoffman, an economist with Arizona State University, told The Arizona Republic.

Over the last year, motor vehicle sales increased by 22.5 percent to $445 million, while furniture and home furnishing sales grew by 4.5 percent to $245 million. Tax revenues from contracting increased by 19 percent, while restaurant and bar revenues increased by 5 percent and hotel and motel taxes grew by 2 percent.

The increase in retail sales revenue, which will lead to more jobs and better pay for employees, is good news for the local economy. The state has continued to see a drop in unemployment and an increase in jobs over the last few months.

During March, Arizona's unemployment rate decreased to 9.5 percent after sitting at 9.6 percent for four consecutive months. However, the state's rate is still above the national average of 8.8 percent.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arizona employed roughly 2,385,300 workers during March, which is up from 2,381,800 workers during February and a .1 percent increase from last year.

Now is a great time to either begin a new career or advance your existing career in the healthcare industry, which continues to add jobs on a monthly and yearly basis in Arizona and throughout most of the nation as a whole.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arizona's education and health services industry employed roughly 355,600 workers during March, which is up from 354,900 workers during February and a 4.1 percent increase from last year.

There are plenty of colleges and universities throughout the state that offer degree programs in more advanced nursing fields. These range among everything from adult nurse practitioner to adult clinical nurse specialist to clinical nurse specialist.

The following advanced practice nursing programs are approved by the Arizona State Board of Nursing:

• Arizona State University College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation - Adult nurse practitioner, family nurse practitioner, neonatal nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner, adult psychiatric nurse practitioner, child and family psychiatric nurse practitioner, womens' health nurse practitioner, acute care nurse practitioner, and geriatric nurse practitioner.
• Grand Canyon University - Family nurse practitioner, acute care nurse practitioner, and adult clinical nurse specialist.
• Northern Arizona University - Family nurse practitioner and adult clinical nurse specialist.
• University of Arizona College of Nursing - Family nurse practitioner, adult nurse practitioner, adult psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, acute care nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner.
• University of Phoenix College of Nursing - Family nurse practitioner.
• Midwestern University - Nationally-accredited nurse anesthesia program.

Physical therapists diagnose and treat people who have health problems that limit their abilities to function normally on a daily basis. Although this is a very rewarding career, both morally and monetarily, it takes a lot of preparation.

Most physical therapists are required to obtain a bachelor's degree in a pre-health or pre-physical therapy program, a master's degree in physical therapy, and a state or national license before they can even begin working as a physical therapist.

As the job takes so much preparation, it's important to make sure that you attend the right school and take the right classes when preparing for your future career. Luckily, there are many undergrad and graduate programs for physical therapists throughout the nation.

Some of the most important classes you can expect to take while earning your degrees, according to Education-Portal.com, include:

• Anatomy - Usually taken during your undergraduate degree program, this class teaches students about the major body systems, with specific instruction on bones and muscles.
• Kinesiology - This course, which also is usually covered during your undergrad program, focuses on the scientific study of how the human body operates. In particular, students will learn about the typical uses and limitations of the body.
• Physiology - This course focuses on major body systems and teaches students about the nervous, endocrine, reproductive, and other common body systems.
• Psychology - This course focuses more on human behavior and explaining why people act in certain ways. It's meant to help students learn about memory, perception, and abnormal psychological development.
• Statistics - The main goal of this class is to prepare students to complete graduate-level academic research. It teaches students how to collect and analyze data and how to work with variables, standard deviations, probabilities, linear regressions, and correlations.

Sales engineers are essentially a combination of sales representatives and traditional engineers. They use their knowledge of technology and science to determine how products and services should be designed or modified to meet customers' needs.

Just like a normal sales rep, a sales engineer is responsible for selling a product, negotiating a price, and helping customers learn how to use the product. However, they are generally more knowledgeable about the products they are selling than most other salespersons.

That's why most employers require applicants for sales engineering jobs to have a bachelor's degree in engineering, as well as some previous experience working as an engineer. Most entry-level employees also have to take on-the-job sales training.

If you're considering becoming a sales engineer, rest assured that there will be plenty of job openings in the coming years, with employment expected to increase by 2.3 percent to 1,458 workers by 2018. There will be an average of 54 jobs available every year.

Depending on your interests, you can most likely find a job as a sales engineer in a field of your choosing. That's because sales engineers work in a variety of industries, from aerospace and electronics to telecommunications and architecture.

According to the Arizona Workforce Informer, the top 15 industries that employed sales engineers in Arizona during 2008 include:

1. Aerospace product and parts manufacturing - 17.3 percent
2. Machinery and supply merchant wholesalers - 15.9 percent
3. Commercial goods merchant wholesalers - 15.4 percent
4. Semiconductor and electronic components - 10 percent
5. Electronics and appliance stores - 7.1 percent
6. Wired telecommunications carriers - 6.5 percent
7. Electronic goods merchant wholesalers - 4.6 percent
8. Electronic instrument manufacturing - 3.7 percent
9. Electronic markets and agents and brokers - 3.7 percent
10. Other telecommunications - 3.6 percent
11. Hardware and plumbing merchant wholesalers - 2.7 percent
12. Computer systems design and related services - 2.3 percent
13. Wireless telecommunications carriers - 1.1 percent
14. Architectural and engineering services - 1 percent
15. Commercial machinery repair and maintenance - .8 percent

You also can rest assured that you will earn a very competitive salary as a sales engineer. During 2009, the average wage for sales engineers in Arizona was $34.49 per hour. That same year, entry-level employees earned $19.69 per hour, while employees with some experience earned $41.89 per hour.