Alaska Colleges and Universities: Find College Degree Programs

Most of Alaska's business is located in Anchorage, its largest city. Among Anchorage's largest employers are Providence Health System Alaska, with 3,518 employees, and Alaska Airlines, with 1,638 employees. Oil company BP Exploration is another major employer in the city. Oil is an essential component of Alaska's economy, along with shipping, fishing, and tourism.

Students interested in career training in Alaska, should be familiar with the state's large and growing industries. The tourism industry is Alaska's second largest employer, catering to the 1.1 million visitors who come to the state each year. Alaska also produces about 20 percent of the nation's oil.

Other essential industries in Alaska are:

• Timber: lumber and pulp
• Mining: coal, silver, zinc, lead, and gold
• Agriculture: one million acres for livestock and vegetables

Alaska's natural environment is important to its economy, and workers trained in the environmental field are valued. Salary.com estimates that entry-level environmental engineers make $59,400 on average, while foresters earn about $69,400.

Workers looking for stable careers away from the exposure to Alaska's harsh weather may prefer to pursue career training in fields such as business management, computer network security, and computer-aided drafting. These popular fields enable workers to succeed in Alaska's largest industries without specializing in a particular product or industry. Alaska's 5.9% unemployment rate, which is higher than the national average, points to a need for increased education among Alaska's residents, so they can work in a range of occupations.

Sources:

• Alaska Business
• Salary.com
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics