This column, which is about where today's jobs are, comes with my usual warning: Just because these are the jobs most needed to be filled, doesn't mean you should be the one to fill any of them.

You may not enjoy or have any inclination for these professions and the cultures in which they function. So it's important to notice if at the thought of these jobs, you feel queasy, bored out of your skull or inclined to move back home with your parents instead of taking on such work.

On the other hand, some of these jobs might be perfect for you. You decide.

First, according to folks who track projections and trends, these are some of the most need-to-fill jobs in government.

Based on its survey of 35 federal agencies, Partnership for Public Services projects in its report, "Where the Jobs Are 2009: Mission-Critical Opportunities for America," that the federal government must hire 273,000 new workers in these critical jobs over the next three years (http://www.data.wherethejobsare.org).

The biggest demand is, not surprising, in the medical and public health fields where 54,114 jobs need filling. That's 31,455 nurses, 10,626 doctors, thousands of nursing assistants, pharmacists, nutritionists, consumer safety and other public health specialists.

Up next is a need for security and protection with 52,077 jobs available worldwide. They range from police officers to transportation security officers. Also in high demand are jobs in legal areas: attorneys and paralegals at federal agencies such as EPA, FDA and Department of Justice.

Also wanted: compliance and enforcement professions such as border patrol agents, customs officers and food inspectors; more than 5,000 human resource professionals; biological science experts, accountants, tax examiners, auditors and budget and financial analysts, information technology experts and engineers.

But beyond government jobs, and not typically mentioned these days, are positions requiring skills that have taken years to hone. "Employers are begging for qualified applicants for certain occupations, even in hard times," wrote Louis Uchitelle in a New York Times article.

They include welder, critical care nurse, electrical lineman (particularly those skilled in stringing high-voltage wires), special-education teachers, geotechnical engineers, respiratory therapists and civil engineers.

But what's needed are not necessarily newly graduated civil engineers. Uchitelle cites Larry Jacobson, executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers who says, "What's missing are enough licensed professionals who have worked at least five years under experienced engineers before taking the licensing exam."

For these types of jobs, employers are looking for experienced people "who have acquired an exacting skill, first through education — often just high school vocational training — and then by honing it on the job," Uchitelle writes.

There may be more nurses recently trained than there are jobs for them, but, Uchitelle's article points out, there are openings for nurses with the highest level of skill and experience. The same holds for geological engineers who, for instance are particularly skilled in petroleum.

If just entering school, author Laurence Shatkin cites college majors connected to jobs with a high average of annual openings in his book "50 Best College Majors for a Secure Future." They include nursing, business education, secondary education and graduate study for college teaching.

And don't forget that small businesses still create millions of jobs that as the Herman Group points out, will likely lead the recovery.

So investigate the good, the bad and the ugly of any of these professions before you decide one of the most need-to-fill jobs should be filled by you.