Learn more about the nation’s fastest growing occupations…use the rankings for career guidance
Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics updated its list of the 30 fastest growing occupations in the United States. The revised version of the rankings estimates growth in the country’s industries between 2006 and 2016, providing an intuitive guide for anyone who’s just beginning or reentering college, searching for a new job, or contemplating a career change.
Technology-based jobs had a strong showing on the list, with network systems and data communications specialists grabbing the top spot. The number of positions in this field is expected to increase by 53.4 percent between 2006 and 2016. Software engineers specializing in computer applications came in at number four, with a 44.6 percent jump in jobs anticipated. Computer systems analysts, database administrators, and computer systems software engineers helped round out the top 30 as well. All of these jobs were categorized as having very high annual salaries (at or above $46,360). These positions are most often filled by professionals with bachelor degrees.
Unsurprisingly, health care occupations dominated the rankings, as well as comparable positions in social rehabilitation and veterinary care. Personal and home care aides placed second on the list (at 50.6 percent projected growth), while home health aides were ranked as the third fastest growing profession. The placement of these two careers so high on the list is a direct result of the aging baby boomer population, a group that will undoubtedly need health care assistance within their homes over the next decade. Short-term, on-the-job training was cited as the most common source of postsecondary instruction for workers involved in both of these occupations.
Other health care positions that made the fastest growing list include medical assistants (#8), physical therapy assistants (#15), pharmacy technicians (#16), dental hygienists (#18), dental assistants (#22), physical therapists (#29), and physician assistants (#30). Social rehabilitation occupations such as substance abuse counselors, social and human service assistants, mental health counselors and social workers, and marriage and family therapists also placed high in the rankings. Veterinarians (#9) and veterinary technicians (#5) appeared within the top ten as well.
If you want to browse the list of promising occupations for yourself, click here. As a warning, the text in the HTML version is ridiculously tiny, so if you can’t burn holes through walls with your eyes, and you didn’t eat a lot of carrots when you were younger (yes, I continue to embrace my mother’s lies), you might prefer reading the text file. I was squinting for a good 15 minutes before I endeavored to find an easier version to read. See how I do all the work for you?
The BLS rankings provide a concise overview of the future of the U.S. job market. You will find significant statistics like the thousands employed in each field in 2006 versus projections for 2016, the percent change in positions anticipated, the median annual wage for each career, and the most common level of education or training that the professionals working in these fields possess. Even if you aren’t interested in these occupations specifically, it’s always important to have a grasp of what’s going on in terms of national employment. Popular fields will have busy facilities, and facilities need professionals from every type of industry to operate effectively. So happy degree/job hunting!
January 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
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