Sourinhong Laaw, an immigrant from Laos, switched to the same profession one year ago so he can give his three children opportunities he never had.

Their career of choice? Long-haul truck driver.

It might not sound glamorous, but driving big rigs across the country is one of the hottest jobs in Utah - one with excellent opportunities and pay. Utah Department of Workforce Services projects 900 openings in the state this year.

According to the agency, the average salary for semi-truck drivers is $36,000, but trainers and independent operators such as Smith and Laaw can top $100,000. Job candidates typically complete a three-week training program and four weeks of supervised driving, earning their commercial drivers licenses during the process.

Registered nurses, general and operations managers, retail sales supervisors and financial managers also top the list of jobs with the best prospects in 2006, according to DWS labor market economist John Mathews. Those jobs with the poorest prospects are discussed below, but when it comes to the industries that have the most to offer, some things never change.

"It sounds like a broken record, but it's still health care and business services," Mathews says. "Health care is still a strong industry and will continue to be as the boomers age."

Utah will need to fill 1,000 openings for registered nurses this year, according to DWS. But that's just one health care job in high demand, says Paul Jackson, assistant vice president of human resources at Intermountain Health Care.

The health care giant has more than 500 openings, including 180 for registered nurses. IHC also has a great need for workers in pharmacy, respiratory therapy, lab services, radiological services and medical coding, Jackson says.

"These are excellent careers. [They] provide flexibility, job and career mobility . . . and good pay."

Management positions round out the top five. There will be 840 openings for general and operations managers, and 260 openings for financial managers this year, according to state data. These jobs require at least a bachelor's degree and pay average salaries of $72,000 to $80,000.

For those without college educations, first-line supervisors and managers of retail sales workers typically need only on-the-job training and earn $34,000 per year. These managers are also in high demand. There will be 770 openings this year, according to Workforce Services.

Also in demand are truckers, but driver Laaw hopes that some day one or two of his children will become doctors. For now, every mile on the road drives him closer to paying for all of their educations. Before joining West Valley City-based CR England, he was earning roughly $450 a week as a local delivery driver. Now he makes up to $2,000 per week. He leases his truck and serves as an on-the-road trainer for new drivers.

"I love it . . . I pretty much get to be my own boss out there," Laaw says. "Plus, I get to help other new drivers [and] give them the right tools to go out and make money and help their families."

The trade-off for Laaw's job is less time spent with his family. Drivers typically are home only one or two days per week or every two weeks. But they can take a week off every few months, if they choose.

Any candidate with a good driving record and a commercial driver's license is basically guaranteed a job, says Mike Skousen, director of management services at CR England. The company, which has 3,600 drivers nationally and close to 400 in Utah, plans to hire 120 drivers every week in 2006.

"We have a never-ending need for drivers," Skousen says. "It's not for the faint of heart. But for those who do it, it gets into their blood."

Smith loves the job, which he compares to watching the Travel Channel all day long. He plans to complete his bachelor's degree on the side, but won't be switching to computer science - that would mean a pay cut, he says.

So which jobs are on the other end of the spectrum, the end that holds fewer prospects in 2006? Word processors and typists, computer operators, telephone operators, farmers and ranchers, and in-house mail clerks and mail machine operators are among the most rapidly declining occupations in Utah, Mathews says.

"These jobs are primarily being impacted by technology," he explains. "Those functions are being performed by machines . . . [or] they've become an integral part of everyone's own occupation."

For example, fewer businesses need someone to process incoming and outgoing mail because more and more transactions are handled electronically. Some large institutions may still operate on a computer mainframe and require computer operators, but most businesses now run on remote servers. Few business professionals need someone else to type for them - that has become an essential skill.

Each of these occupations has been forecast to lose 100 to 300 jobs in the decade between 2002 and 2012. That doesn't mean mass layoffs, but a gradual transition as workers leave there jobs and businesses switch to new technologies. There will still be a few replacement openings as some employers continue to staff these jobs.

rwinters@sltrib.com