We have well and truly entered spring, and with it will come thoughts of proms, graduations, summer jobs and post-secondary choices for high school seniors. It’s also time to brace for the inevitable “So, what are you going to study?” from friends and relatives curious about what comes next.

It’s an overwhelming question, even for students who have a very good idea of what they want to do when they finish their education.

For those who haven’t yet decided, it’s important to follow your interests and go into a field that makes you feel productive and content; but it’s also a good idea to find a career in which there are available jobs at a good wage that will offer better quality of life.

In West Virginia, data-driven news outlet Stacker determined the top 50 fields in which job growth is expected — from office supervisors and administrative support workers to educational, guidance and career counselors and advisors. The top ten fields (ranked by the percentage increase in employment between 2022 and 2023) were: telecommunications line installers and repairers; computer occupations; interviewers, except eligibility and loan; emergency medical technicians; residential advisors; court, municipal and license clerks; claims adjusters, examiners and investigators; computer systems analysts; miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators; and, in the top spot, loading and moving machine operators, underground mining.

Not what many of us might expect, is it?

Oh yes, we’ll need health care professionals, teachers, attorneys, engineers and business professionals, too. Meanwhile, the youngest Baby Boomers will reach retirement age at about the time many of this year’s high school seniors may be graduating from their four-year college programs.

But the point is, the opportunities are vast and diversified here. All kinds of job fields are looking for people just like the bright and energetic students who are about to choose their field of training or study.

We’ve got to remind them it’s worth learning AND staying here — even if a few lawmakers take it upon themselves each year to come up with reasons to look elsewhere. There are good people in good communities and there are good employment opportunities if we know where to look.

It’s true, those same pesky lawmakers could be doing more to attract large employers and good-paying jobs. But their sluggishness doesn’t have to narrow our students’ horizons. Remind our young people this spring, the possibilities in West Virginia are endless.