Believe it or not, even with the unemployment rate stubbornly high and many indu stries reluctant to staff

up, there are employers out there who still can't find enough qualified applicants. Some are offering six-figure salaries to the right job seekers. The trick, of course, is unearthing these hidden opportunities. We started by asking CareerBuilder to mine its vast employment database to ident ify promising occupations that are experiencing an under-supply of qualified app licants relative to the number of available jobs. The resulting ratio is a good indicator of hiring demand -- the lower the ratio, the greater the need for appl icants. A ratio of 10.0, for example, means there are ten job seekers for every open position. A ratio of 0.5 means there are two open positions for every job s eeker. We also took a hard look at pay and growth prospects, based on U.S. Bureau of La bor Statistics data. Annual salary ranges reflect the rates in the 25th and 75th percentiles. Ten-year growth projections are based on BLS's expected change in the number of positions between 2008 and 2018. Finally, we filtered our choices to represent a range of industries and educational requirements. Check out our l ist of ten of today's hottest jobs. 1. Nurse Practitioner Hiring demand: 0.25 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $52,980-$79,020 10-year growth projection: 22% Job description: A picture of health. The first baby-boomers are reaching retire ment age at a time when there's a shortage of primary-care physicians. Nurses ar e needed to close the gap. They perform many duties, from medical histories to d isease management, previously handled by doctors. While hospitals are the larges t employers of nurses, the fastest growth -- and best pay -- can be found in phy sicians' offices. At minimum, you'll need to complete a formal training program. Some nursing positions call for an associate's, bachelor's or even master's deg ree. 2. E-Mail Marketer Hiring demand: 0.65 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $43,840-$84,430 10-year growth projection: 28% Job description: Spam I am. The fragmenting of the information market makes it h arder and harder to get the attention of consumers. Just as a fisherman has bett er luck if the bait ends up where the fish are, more companies are turning to ta rgeted e-mail efforts to get the right message to the right audience. Technical and quantitative skills are a plus to manage large distribution lists and analyz e reports on the success or failure of electronic campaigns. A bachelor's degree typically is expected of job applicants. 3. Network Security Engineer Hiring demand: 1.07 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $57,240-$97,660 10-year growth projection: 30% Job description: Climbing a firewall of worry. The Internet has made information more accessible, but it has also created a rich environment for identity thieve s, hackers and others looking to profit by misappropriating sensitive data. Spec ialists in network security must be well-versed in the latest technologies for f ending off cyber-attacks. A formal degree is less important than relevant comput er skills. Knowledge of all aspects of information technology, from software and hardware to networks and databases, pays dividends. 4. Environmental Engineer Hiring demand: 1.15 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $61,500-$99,180 10-year growth projection: 31% Job description: It's easy being green. This isn't a fancy title for a trash col lector, a la sanitation engineer. The interest in all things environmental -- an d the public and private funding that's fueling that interest -- is creating ope nings for engineers to solve problems in a variety of areas, including pollution control, recycling and, yes, waste management. State and local governments are

among the biggest employers, but oil and gas companies pay the best salaries. A bachelor's degree usually is sufficient to get started, but some positions requi re graduate work as well. 5. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver Hiring demand: 1.39 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $30,270-$46,920 10-year growth projection: 13% Job description: Keep on truckin'. Getting behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler tak es more than just a love of the open road. It also takes a commercial driver's l icense and, in some cases, a union card. Many aspiring long-haul drivers enroll in a course at a vocational school to learn the ropes. Prospects are much bright er for drivers of tractor trailers and other heavy trucks than for drivers of li ght trucks who deliver small packages, merchandise and the like. Piloting big ri gs also pays a lot better. 6. Physician Assistant Hiring demand: 1.45 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $73,040-$101,690 10-year growth projection: 39% Job description: The doctor's assistant is in. Known as a P.A., a physician assi stant does many of the same things as an M.D.: conducts exams, makes diagnoses, performs procedures, and sometimes even prescribes medications. Formal training is mandatory, as is a passing grade on a national exam, but the process is less rigorous (and costly) than med school. In the hierarchy of today's health care, the P.A. resides between a nurse practitioner and a full-fledged doctor. Just do n't confuse physician assistant with medical assistant. The latter is a low-payi ng, albeit fast-growing, occupation that involves basic clerical and clinical ta sks, such as coding claim forms and recording vital signs. 7. Social Media Manager Hiring demand: 1.50 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $38,960-$71,820 10-year growth projection: 24% Job description: Update your status. Facebook, Twitter and other "share" sites a ren't just for friends anymore. They're integral components of professional and corporate communications strategies, too. Companies are throwing money at folks who understand how to use social media to build brands and expand markets. Look at Facebook's more than 750 million active users and it's easy to see the potent ial in this relatively new field. A bachelor's degree in journalism, marketing o r communications is preferred. 8. Financial Analyst Hiring demand: 1.50 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $56,310-$99,230 10-year growth projection: 20% Job description: Crunch the numbers. Financial analysts provide guidance on inve stment decisions, mostly to businesses. Banks, pension funds, securities firms, insurers and similar institutions are typical employers. Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs are, not surprisingly, cities synonymous with high finance: Stamford, Conn.; Boston; New York; Wilmington, Del.; and San Fran cisco. A related and even faster-growing field is personal financial adviser. MB A's are common, and professional licenses may be required. 9. Software Engineer-Mobile Applications Hiring demand: 1.67 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $69,090-$109,210 10-year growth projection: 34% Job description: There's an app maker for that. As computer users become increas ingly untethered from wired networks and smart phones become increasingly indisp ensible, demand for software engineers who can keep the mobile trains running on time will only increase. You'll probably need a bachelor's degree or higher to penetrate this field, but more important is proven experience with the latest mo bile technologies. California is home to the most jobs overall, thanks to Silico n Valley, but Washington state has the highest concentration of jobs, thanks to

Microsoft. 10. Home Health Aide Hiring demand: 1.74 active job seekers for every open position Annual salary range: $17,900-$24,020 10-year growth projection: 48% Job description: Home is where the health care is. As America starts to show its age -- the first baby-boomers just turned 65 -- the need for workers to help pe ople age gracefully will only become more apparent. That's where home health aid es come in. Aides visit residences to help the elderly, disabled and severely il l with everyday living tasks (bathing and grooming, for example) and provide ver y basic medical services (checking pulse rates and monitoring medications). Ther e's no minimum education level, but training may be required, depending on where you work and agency demands. More from Kiplinger.com: 10 Jobs That Didn't Exist 10 Years Ago Quiz: Will You Ace Your Next Job Interview? 8 Warning Signs You Might Get Laid Off