Top 10 Jobs in the U.S.
U.S. News and World Report recently ranked the top 25 jobs based on salary, satisfaction, and unemployment rates. The report compares projected growth to the year 2020 to their industry’s employment rate. Also contributing to a job’s overall score is its average salary, predicted job prospects, and a quantitative assessment of job satisfaction. Here are the top ten jobs listed from the Top 25.
1. Nurses
The nursing profession will almost always have great hiring opportunity because of its expanse (from pediatric care to geriatric care, and everything in between). And as a substantial chunk of our population ages, the necessity for qualified RNs intensifies.
| Growth: | 711,900 |
| Unemployment: | 5.5% |
| Median Salary: | $64,690 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
2. Software Developer
These tech-smart professionals who design, construct, test, and maintain software should see abundant job growth up to the year 2020. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 27.6 percent expansion, or 143,800 new positions.
| Growth: | 143,800 |
| Unemployment: | 7.9% |
| Median Salary: | $87,790 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
3. Pharmacist
With a fairly solid job satisfaction score and a very solid average salary, the pharmacist profession nabs the no. 3 spot on our list. Possessors of a Pharm.D can anticipate nearly 70,000 available jobs this decade.
| Growth: | 69,700 |
| Unemployment: | 5.5% |
| Median Salary: | $111,570 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
4. Medical Assistant
If you’d like to join the more than 520,000 professionals who work as medical assistants, you can expect to earn approximately $28,860 per year and to find generous job opportunities. There will be more than 160,000 new positions in this field by 2020.
| Growth: | 162,900 |
| Unemployment: | 5.5% |
| Median Salary: | $28,860 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
5. Database Administrator
The more digitized our society becomes, the more important the role of “database administrator” becomes. By 2020, we’ll need about 33,900 new ones to store, organize, manage, and troubleshoot all the content we store on computers.
| Growth: | 33,900 |
| Unemployment: | 7.9% |
| Median Salary: | $73,490 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
6. Web Developer
“Web developer” might seem like a generic term, but a lot of schooling and skill goes into making a website look good and operate well. According to the Labor Department, about 65,700 new Web developers will enter the working world by 2020.
| Growth: | 65,700 |
| Unemployment: | 7.9% |
| Median Salary: | $75,660 |
| Satisfaction: | HIGH |
7. Computer Systems Analyst
Having a hard time distinguishing one tech job from another on this list? Think of a computer systems analyst as the one who keeps the trains running on time. They’re often a liaison between the IT department and a client.
| Growth: | 120,400 |
| Unemployment: | 7.9% |
| Median Salary: | $77,740 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
8. Physical Therapist
Use your training period to start networking and begin your search for physical therapist jobs. Although there will be more than 77,000 jobs in this field this decade, the early birds will be more marketable.
| Growth: | 77,400 |
| Unemployment: | 5.5% |
| Median Salary: | $76,310 |
| Satisfaction: | HIGH |
9. Computer Programmer
C++, Python, and other computer languages should be second-nature for an ambitious computer programmer. Some of the most proficient could earn up to $114,000 a year
| Growth: | 43,700 |
| Unemployment: | 7.9% |
| Median Salary: | $71,380 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
10. Occupational Therapist
An occupational therapist’s skills range from building ramps for those with physical impairments to formulating rehabilitation regimens for amputees. For the immediate future, the most opportunities in our No. 10 profession will be for those working with the elderly.
| Growth: | 36,400 |
| Unemployment: | 5.5% |
| Median Salary: | $72,320 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
“The 25 Best Jobs.” Business News and Financial News. Web. 03 May 2012. <http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-25-best-jobs>.
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