When I worked for JIST Publishing, one of the more popular books I updated every few years was Best Jobs for the 21st Century. I say that I updated it rather than wrote it, because the idea for the book was originated by Mike Farr and Laverne Ludden, and my task was to update it with the latest career information from the U.S. Department of Labor. I believe that what made the book popular was the lists of “best jobs.” Now that the book is no longer being updated, I thought it would be useful to recreate the book’s central list using the latest labor market information.
First, for those who have never read any of the books in the
“Best Jobs” series, I should explain the rationale for the list. It is based on
three facts about the occupations: the median annual earnings (half earn more,
half earn less); the percentage growth projected for the period 2016–2026; and
the average annual job openings (both growth and replacement) projected for the
same time period.
These measures are useful in part simply because they are available
in quantitative form. But they also are useful because one of the chief
benefits that people expect to get from their work is income, and most people
consider that more income is better. Many other satisfactions of work are
harder to quantify than pay. As for the other two measures--job growth and job openings--the only way you
will get any of the satisfactions of work is by being hired, so a good
job outlook is a major consideration.
You may wonder, however, why I use two measures of job outlook:
growth and openings. Consider two occupations, Financial
Managers and Cartographers and Photogrammetrists. Both of these are projected
to experience job growth of 19 percent, which is a very respectable rate.
However, only 120 annual job openings are projected for Cartographers and
Photogrammetrists because it is a tiny occupation, whereas 5,680 annual job
openings are projected for Financial Managers. Or consider Cashiers, which is
actually expected to shrink by 1 percent over the projection period, but it is
such a large occupation that it is projected to create 65,390 job openings each
year because of turnover.
Ideally, you’d want to aim for an occupation
that not only is growing but also is creating lots of job openings and, best of
all, additionally pays very well. That’s what this “best bets” list aims to
show you.
To create the list, I rank-ordered the
occupations by their median income according to the most recently available
estimates (May 2016). Then I rank-ordered them two more times—by job growth and
by job openings. I summed the three scores and then sorted the list so that the
occupations with the best overall scores were highest. Finally, I limited the list to the top 100 of
the 733 occupations that I started with. (I had to eliminate some careers in
the performing arts, such as Actors, because their earnings are so variable
that no estimates of their average annual earnings are available.)
Understand that a difference of a few
positions on the list does not mean that one occupation is a much better bet
than another. The differences are often slight, and although the figures are
the best available, they are national averages. Pay or job outlook in
your region or community is likely to be somewhat better or worse. And don’t
forget that a job is not a good bet for you, no matter what its potential is,
if you lack the interest or ability to get through the preparation process.
Many of the occupations near the top of the list require a bachelor’s degree or
higher, and some require considerable experience in a related job.
Given these caveats, here are the “best bets”
according to the latest data from the Department of Labor:
Rank
|
Occupation
Name
|
Median
Earnings
|
Growth
|
Average
Annual Openings
|
1
|
General and Operations Managers
|
$99,310
|
9.0%
|
21,080
|
2
|
Financial Managers
|
$121,750
|
19.0%
|
5,680
|
3
|
Managers, All Other
|
$104,970
|
8.0%
|
7,870
|
4
|
Lawyers
|
$118,160
|
9.0%
|
4,190
|
5
|
Computer and Information Systems Managers
|
$135,800
|
12.0%
|
3,250
|
6
|
Sales Managers
|
$117,960
|
7.0%
|
3,620
|
7
|
Management Analysts
|
$81,330
|
12.0%
|
8,130
|
8
|
Medical and Health Services Managers
|
$96,540
|
20.0%
|
3,640
|
9
|
Marketing Managers
|
$131,180
|
10.0%
|
2,130
|
10
|
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary
|
$99,360
|
26.0%
|
2,580
|
11
|
Registered Nurses
|
$68,450
|
15.0%
|
20,360
|
12
|
Chief Executives
|
$181,210
|
-3.0%
|
2,010
|
13
|
Construction Managers
|
$89,300
|
11.0%
|
3,340
|
14
|
Accountants and Auditors
|
$68,150
|
10.0%
|
14,180
|
15
|
Business Operations Specialists, All Other
|
$69,040
|
9.0%
|
10,420
|
16
|
Personal Financial Advisors
|
$90,530
|
14.0%
|
2,540
|
17
|
Nurse Practitioners
|
$100,910
|
36.0%
|
1,440
|
18
|
Pharmacists
|
$122,230
|
6.0%
|
1,530
|
19
|
Architectural and Engineering Managers
|
$134,730
|
5.0%
|
1,360
|
20
|
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and
Manufacturing
|
$78,980
|
5.0%
|
3,720
|
21
|
Education Administrators, Kindergarten
through Secondary School
|
$92,510
|
8.0%
|
2,120
|
22
|
Civil Engineers
|
$83,540
|
11.0%
|
2,590
|
23
|
Financial and Investment Analysts
|
$81,760
|
11.0%
|
2,900
|
24
|
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural
Managers
|
$66,360
|
7.0%
|
8,480
|
25
|
Physician Assistants
|
$101,480
|
37.0%
|
1,060
|
26
|
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales
Workers
|
$73,150
|
6.0%
|
3,980
|
27
|
Physical Therapists
|
$85,400
|
25.0%
|
1,680
|
28
|
Human Resources Managers
|
$106,910
|
9.0%
|
1,240
|
29
|
Mechanical Engineers
|
$84,190
|
9.0%
|
2,120
|
30
|
Industrial Engineers
|
$84,310
|
10.0%
|
1,970
|
31
|
Market Research Analysts and Marketing
Specialists
|
$62,560
|
23.0%
|
7,670
|
32
|
Education Administrators, Postsecondary
|
$90,760
|
10.0%
|
1,570
|
33
|
Electrical Engineers
|
$94,210
|
9.0%
|
1,390
|
34
|
First-Line Supervisors of Construction
Trades and Extraction Workers
|
$62,980
|
13.0%
|
6,850
|
35
|
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight
Engineers
|
$127,820
|
3.0%
|
810
|
36
|
Dentists, General
|
$153,900
|
17.0%
|
610
|
37
|
Industrial Production Managers
|
$97,140
|
0.0%
|
1,170
|
38
|
Securities, Commodities, and Financial
Services Sales Agents
|
$67,310
|
6.0%
|
3,800
|
39
|
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and
Manufacturing
|
$57,140
|
6.0%
|
15,910
|
40
|
Engineers, All Other
|
$97,300
|
6.0%
|
950
|
41
|
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics,
Installers, and Repairers
|
$63,540
|
7.0%
|
4,340
|
42
|
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer
|
$99,210
|
4.0%
|
920
|
43
|
Sales Engineers
|
$100,000
|
7.0%
|
830
|
44
|
Natural Sciences Managers
|
$119,850
|
10.0%
|
520
|
45
|
Purchasing Managers
|
$111,590
|
6.0%
|
630
|
46
|
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
|
$80,530
|
13.0%
|
1,210
|
47
|
Nurse Anesthetists
|
$160,270
|
16.0%
|
280
|
48
|
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special
and Career/Technical Education
|
$58,030
|
8.0%
|
7,950
|
49
|
Operations Research Analysts
|
$79,200
|
27.0%
|
1,070
|
50
|
Computer Hardware Engineers
|
$115,080
|
5.0%
|
510
|
51
|
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special
Education
|
$55,800
|
7.0%
|
11,280
|
52
|
Petroleum Engineers
|
$128,230
|
15.0%
|
280
|
53
|
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution
Managers
|
$89,190
|
7.0%
|
970
|
54
|
Occupational Therapists
|
$81,910
|
21.0%
|
970
|
55
|
Human Resources Specialists
|
$59,180
|
7.0%
|
5,760
|
56
|
Aerospace Engineers
|
$109,650
|
6.0%
|
460
|
57
|
Compliance Officers
|
$66,540
|
8.0%
|
2,590
|
58
|
Loan Officers
|
$63,650
|
11.0%
|
3,050
|
59
|
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers
|
$59,680
|
7.0%
|
4,950
|
60
|
Logisticians
|
$74,170
|
7.0%
|
1,560
|
61
|
Art Directors
|
$89,820
|
7.0%
|
800
|
62
|
First-Line Supervisors of Office and
Administrative Workers
|
$54,340
|
3.0%
|
15,300
|
63
|
Orthodontists
|
$999,999
|
17.0%
|
30
|
64
|
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
|
$999,999
|
16.0%
|
30
|
65
|
Business Teachers, Postsecondary
|
$77,490
|
18.0%
|
1,040
|
66
|
Training and Development Managers
|
$105,830
|
10.0%
|
350
|
67
|
Air Traffic Controllers
|
$122,410
|
4.0%
|
240
|
68
|
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary
|
$97,530
|
15.0%
|
450
|
69
|
Dentists, All Other Specialists
|
$173,000
|
12.0%
|
30
|
70
|
First-Line Supervisors of Production and
Operating Workers
|
$57,780
|
0.0%
|
5,950
|
71
|
Physicists
|
$115,870
|
15.0%
|
170
|
72
|
Prosthodontists
|
$126,050
|
22.0%
|
-
|
73
|
Optometrists
|
$106,140
|
17.0%
|
200
|
74
|
Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates
|
$125,880
|
6.0%
|
140
|
75
|
Law Teachers, Postsecondary
|
$111,210
|
12.0%
|
190
|
76
|
Actuaries
|
$100,610
|
22.0%
|
210
|
77
|
Producers and Directors
|
$70,950
|
12.0%
|
1,400
|
78
|
Podiatrists
|
$124,830
|
10.0%
|
70
|
79
|
Advertising and Promotions Managers
|
$100,810
|
6.0%
|
340
|
80
|
Speech-Language Pathologists
|
$74,680
|
18.0%
|
1,030
|
81
|
First-Line Supervisors of Police and
Detectives
|
$84,840
|
7.0%
|
710
|
82
|
Mathematicians
|
$105,810
|
29.0%
|
30
|
83
|
Postsecondary Teachers, All Other
|
$64,400
|
9.0%
|
2,070
|
84
|
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and
Career/Technical Education
|
$56,720
|
8.0%
|
5,050
|
85
|
Electricians
|
$52,720
|
9.0%
|
8,210
|
86
|
Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and
Investigators
|
$63,680
|
-1.0%
|
2,450
|
87
|
Compensation and Benefits Managers
|
$116,240
|
5.0%
|
120
|
88
|
Veterinarians
|
$88,770
|
18.0%
|
450
|
89
|
Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
|
$76,930
|
4.0%
|
970
|
90
|
Cost Estimators
|
$61,790
|
11.0%
|
2,440
|
91
|
Chemical Engineers
|
$98,340
|
8.0%
|
240
|
92
|
Economists
|
$101,050
|
6.0%
|
160
|
93
|
Statisticians
|
$80,500
|
33.0%
|
440
|
94
|
Financial Specialists, All Other
|
$69,470
|
9.0%
|
1,290
|
95
|
Training and Development Specialists
|
$59,020
|
11.0%
|
3,170
|
96
|
Nuclear Engineers
|
$102,220
|
4.0%
|
140
|
97
|
Nurse Midwives
|
$99,770
|
20.0%
|
50
|
98
|
Political Scientists
|
$114,290
|
1.0%
|
70
|
99
|
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
|
$89,780
|
14.0%
|
350
|
100
|
Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale,
Retail, and Farm
|
$63,300
|
-6.0%
|
2,380
|
