Despite the recent economic downturn, there are a number of fields where jobs have been relatively easy to find. Those armed with the right degrees are poised to begin succeeding quickly, and those who prepare themselves while in college should be able to make the transition smoothly. Here are the five professions that are growing the fastest.

1. Social Workers

Increasingly, state and local governments are realizing that mental health and substance abuse care go a long way toward helping people reenter society as productive workers. As a result, social workers who specialize in mental health and substance abuse are poised to start working right out of college. While these jobs do not pay especially well, those who take them can go home at night realizing that they are helping people.

2. Personal Financial Advisers

The Baby Boomer generation is reaching retirement age, and many are working to determine how they will retire. As a result, the demand for financial advice has never been higher. Through 2020, experts are predicting that demand for this work will increase by nearly 33%. Those armed with finance degrees should expect significant job opportunities upon graduation.

3. Sales Professionals

Sales agents are always in demand, but the recovering economy combined with new medical and business technology is expected to increase demand even further. One area that is projected to do especially well is the sale of alarm systems. Security systems have risen in popularity dramatically, and those who can sell these systems will be prepared for success.

4. Medical Science

Recent medical technology will soon make it possible for engineers to create organs in the lab, and medical statistics has boomed. Again, the mass retirement of the Baby Boomers will help fuel demand in this field, and it is not just doctors and nurses who will benefit.

5. Translators

Thanks to the Internet and growth in developing countries, the world is shrinking. Businesses are looking to make contact with foreign businesses, and the demand for translation work will increase in the coming decades. Similarly, interpreters will be in high demand for in-person meetings. Mandarin Chinese will be important, but Arabic, Spanish, Farsi and Portuguese will be popular as well.