Jeff Rogers is feeling hot, hot, hot.

As a registered nurse, he has one of the hot jobs of 2007.

"Absolutely, it is hot," said Rogers, who works in the cardiac cath lab at Florida Hospital Ormond Memorial.
Rogers thinks the medical field is so smoking he has influenced his twin daughters and a nephew to pursue health-related careers.
All government projections show the medical field will continue to explode, not only into the new year, but for years to come. The state Department of Labor projects education, health services, and professional and business services to add the most jobs in Volusia and Flagler counties by 2014.
Rogers has been a nurse for more than 20 years, but still finds it a challenging career. He has watched technology revolutionize the treatment of heart patients.
As a nurse in the cath lab, Rogers cares for patients with heart disease. Cardiologists use contrast in the patients' arteries to assess blockage and decide whether to put in stents, perform angioplasty or send patients for surgery.
"More patients would be sent for open heart surgery and bypass years ago," he said. "Now the technology has improved, so the number of patients going into surgery is down and the amount of stenting and angioplasty has increased."
Although most people may think of nurses as working by bedsides in hospitals, Rogers said being a nurse opens doors into lots of other careers. "There are so many different things a nurse can do. They can do sales, work in a doctor's office, go into case management or legal consulting," he said.
Sharon Warriner of the Workforce Development Board Center for Business Excellence said some people may be scared off by thinking they would need to go back to school and get a degree to enter the health-care field. It isn't necessarily so, she said.
"One of the biggest needs in our area is health care," she said. "There are opportunities to get into that industry through training programs and to get financial aid and support. People can become certified nurse assistants, for example.
"We don't want people just thinking R.N. or L.P.N. There are other ways to get into the health-care environment and work your way toward that," she said.
Tracey Emlich knows another hot job when she sees it.
She started working at David L. Tucker & Associates in Daytona Beach just six months ago, but already she is convinced the financial services field is lucrative.
Emlich, who spent 12 years in the Navy, was hired as the office manager, but now is studying to get her license in life, health and fixed annuities. Why would she want to do that?
"The money," she said.
"I've seen what it does for our clients, the money they make off of the products we offer them," she said. "It is amazing."
Robbie L. Kennerson, investment manager at David L. Tucker & Associates, isn't surprised financial services is a hot area. Jobs in funds, trusts and other financial vehicles are projected to grow more than 10 percent a year through 2014.
Among business services, Steven Oshinski, general manager of DME Holdings Inc., said the job outlook for marketing is bright.
"We continue to seek out new talent as we venture into technical fields for some marketing," he said. "We are in a growing dynamic market."
DME has about 500 employees in Volusia County and another 200 in its Tampa, Jacksonville and Orlando offices. Oshinski said the company would be looking for new employees in data analysis, data management and programming systems.
Labor department projections show very little growth -- less than 1 percent a year -- in manufacturing. But Rick Michael, economic development director in Volusia County, said not to write off manufacturing.
"Our biggest demand is for CNC (computer numerical control) operators and machinists," he said. "We need more than 100 of them."
Michael said the county has attracted new companies with hiring needs. "The new projects we already have committed will cause a 13 percent increase in manufacturing employment," he said. "In addition, by the end of 2007, we will need several hundred other positions in manufacturing."
Michael also cautioned that state job projections are based on modeling, which is keyed to posted job requests from employers.
"If all of a sudden, we have new office parks and large-scale offices, we will see new employers coming in and hiring 200 to 300 people in insurance, pharmaceutical businesses and office technology," he said.
Warriner said job growth in education and health services is directly tied to population growth.
"When you look at an area that is growing, education is impacted," she said. "The demand for health-care jobs is driven a great deal by population growth. The mix of the ages determines if the care is needed for nursing homes or in pediatrics."
The state's Industry and Occupational Employment Projections report shows the Volusia/Flagler market should net 4,627 more jobs, growing 2.16 percent a year from the 213,818 jobs in 2006 to 250,832 jobs by 2014.
The most job openings will be for retail sales people, customer service representatives and registered nurses.
"I think nursing is a great job," Rogers said. "You can go anywhere in the country. With nursing, there is job availability, job security and good wages."