Planning ahead a career is fun for some and daunting for others. Regardless of what you might feel about it, it’s wise to be prepared. So what are the highest demand jobs that are worth considering?
I’m glad you’re curious because that’s what you’re going to find out in this post. There’s a myriad of fantastic occupations that could provide you with the financial security and peace of mind you crave.
Read on to get the lowdown of the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs in the future.
How I Came Up With This List?
O*NET, The Bureau of Labor Statistics, and PayScale were used to produce this list.
Specific metrics, like potential growth and a good income, were utilized to whittle the list down from nearly 1000 jobs.
According to studies, a “decent” wage is between $65,000 and $70,000.
Those studies inspired the minimal pay criteria for the jobs on this list.
Growth, on the other hand, is pretty self-explanatory. Automation, pandemics, outsourcing, and recessions pose no threat to the jobs listed here.
Related Reading: How to Win – Learn To Win Here
Highest Demand Jobs That Are Worth Considering
If you’re considering a career change or deciding on a college major, these are some high-paying jobs for the future:
Software Developer
Projected Job Growth: 24% (>400,000)
Average Salary: $103,560
The main goal of software development is to solve issues. Finding ways to automate activities and improve human-computer interaction will be part of your everyday responsibilities.
A relevant degree can be beneficial, but it’s not always required. Many successful software developers work without a degree and make a good livelihood.
To be prudent, you’ll need to invest in a course or some certification to demonstrate that you have the pertinent abilities.
Above all technology will continue to forge ahead at a breakneck speed. Consider becoming a software developer if you want a piece of the action (and money).
Auditor or Accountant
Projected Job Growth: 10% (>138,000)
Average Salary: $69,350
Accountants, contrary to widespread assumption, no longer work in cubicles, hunched and crunching numbers.
Your role as an accountant is to interpret the meaning of the figures and communicate it to clients or management.
You’ll also have the opportunity to offer advice and make decisions that will impact their financial condition.
To work as an accountant, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field. Then, depending on the field of accounting, you’ll need to become certified.
Financial Manager
Projected Job Growth: 19% (>107,000)
Average Salary: $125,000
A financial manager is solely responsible for a company’s economic well-being.
This position is all about focusing on a company’s internal operations.
You’ll ensure that budgets are followed, that earnings are protected, and that costs are kept under control. Monitoring these parameters allows the company to operate as profitably as possible.
In addition, making investment decisions, providing financial reports, and devising methods to affect future financial goals are all possible tasks.
You’ll need a bachelor’s degree and expertise in a similar financial function to earn that coveted six-figure pay.
Health Service Manager
Projected Job Growth: 20% (>72,000)
Average Salary: $98,350
You don’t have to give up your ambitions of working in healthcare just because med school isn’t for you.
You can manage the facility and oversee those wealthy physicians and surgeons as a healthcare administrator. All medical and health services will be planned, directed, and coordinated by you.
All you need is a bachelor’s degree in a related field, a master’s degree, and some work experience.
Compensation can potentially rise to the high six figures over time, enough to live a more than comfortable life.
Nurse Practitioner
Projected Job Growth: 31% (>64,000)
Average Salary: $110,930
NP’s are essentially registered nurses who have received advanced training in primary care.
They can conduct various tasks customarily performed by doctors, such as ordering prescriptions, x-rays, and laboratory tests.
As a nurse practitioner, most of your work will revolve around health promotion, illness prevention, and episodic illness management.
This job gives you a lot of freedom and flexibility. This is reflected in the compensation package, which easily exceeds six figures.
However, getting to that level will necessitate a master’s degree, industry experience, and licensure. So plan, plan, plan!
IT Manager
Projected Job Growth: 12% (>44,000)
Average Salary: $139,220
As an IT manager, you’ll be in charge of various responsibilities, many of which involve keeping information available. This implies you’ll be responsible for keeping a company’s computer systems up and running.
To do so, you’ll collaborate with other department managers to oversee and guide their projects.
You’ll also be expected to assess the company’s technology needs, set budgets, and work with upper management.
Because of all of your responsibilities, you’ll be earning more than $100,000 each year.
Please note that an IT-related bachelor’s degree and experience may be required.
Financial Advisor
Projected Job Growth: 15% (>40,000)
Average Salary: $90,640
You get to assist people in managing their money and prevent financial catastrophe as a financial counselor.
You can also provide guidance on investing, paying for college, retirement, purchasing a home, and even death planning.
A bachelor’s degree should suffice if you want to work as a financial advisor. A master’s degree and certification, on the other hand, can significantly increase your income.
Civil Engineer
Projected Job Growth: 11% (>32,000)
Average Salary: $84,770
Civil engineers don’t get enough credit, but they make a difference in people’s lives every day.
It’s a career that’s critical to a country’s development and the well-being of its population.
You are essentially in charge of finding solutions to society’s most challenging problems.
For example, after a calamity, you must establish solutions to ensure that people have access to clean water.
Design, operation, management, creation, maintenance, productivity enhancement, and other project-related responsibilities are usually included.
Because the world is full of complicated problems, you can practically specialize in many subjects.
While it’s a lucrative career with room for advancement, you’ll need specific certifications to get started.
A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, a master’s degree, and certification are all necessary.
Operations Research Analyst
Projected Job Growth: 27% (>31,000)
Average Income: $81,390
These analysts are similar to civil engineers, but they work for businesses. You would be in charge of weighing the costs and benefits of various solutions to a company’s complex difficulties.
You can determine how any modifications might affect results by using analytical tools to mimic present and future events.
By talking with personnel, monitoring activities, and more, you’ll be expected to gather all necessary data.
Senior management then uses this data to make resource allocation decisions, design production, manage the supply chain and determine prices. Of course, you’ll be highly compensated for your degree of responsibility.
However, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in business or a job that requires a lot of analysis.
This career may be perfect for you if your life revolves around statistics and numbers.
Dentist
Projected Job Growth: 19% (>29,000)
Average Salary: $158,120
Anything that has to do with treating teeth, gums, and other areas of the mouth falls under this field.
It’s essentially your role to provide healthcare advice and education to patients to encourage proper oral hygiene.
Dentists earn far over $100,000 per year, which is unsurprising. You could make a lot more if you work in a partnership with other dentists or in a high-end medical practice.
Dentists give folks something to smile about, not just make them look better. So you’ll need a doctoral degree and licensing to do that, and you’ll be well compensated for it.
Information Security Analyst
Projected Job Growth: 28% (>27,000)
Average Salary: $95,510
Your duty as an information security analyst is to keep a business safe from itself.
It’s a formula for catastrophe when a corporation builds IT networks and systems, but its staff is aging or tech-averse.
This is why they’ll need someone to come in and put security measures in place to safeguard the computer network.
Yes, this includes safeguarding the network against external threats such as hacking.
The majority of data breaches, on the other hand, occur within a business.
Some employers are still particular about bachelor’s degrees in IT. However, if you’re a computer whiz with enough experience, you may easily earn more than $40 per hour.
Industrial Engineer
Projected Job Growth: 10% (>25,000)
Average Salary: $85,880
Industrial engineers are hired by businesses to help them streamline production processes.
You are the link between the company’s goals and the work required to attain those goals in this position.
You must essentially solve difficulties. That means coordinating people, machines, materials, information, and energy is a must.
You also get to employ analytical software, cost analysis, financial planning, quality control, and build distribution plans to increase profits.
If all of this interests you, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in engineering to benefit from the job’s benefits.
Marketing Manager
Projected Job Growth: 10% (>23,000)
Average Salary: $129,380
Advertising a company’s product or service to potential clients or customers is the focus of this profession. A large part of this has to do with branding.
You’ll need to think of new ways to influence people’s attitudes and perceptions of a business.
Working with advertising managers, creative directors, sales managers, and financial personnel are examples of this.
You’ll also be in charge of a company’s marketing team. They do market research, establish pricing strategies, and locate the proper customers.
Therefore a bachelor’s degree and related job experience are required to earn a six-figure salary.
Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
Projected Job Growth: 17% (>20,000)
Average Salary: $65,620
As a sonographer, you’ll project high-frequency sound waves into a specific area of a patient’s body using specialized medical equipment.
These waves generate moving images (sonograms), which allow you to look within specific body systems.
Doctors utilize sonograms to assist them in making a diagnosis. You can choose to specialize in certain body parts, gynecology, or obstetrics.
To do so, you’ll need a postsecondary certificate or associate’s degree, as well as professional certification.
Veterinarian
Projected Job Growth: 19% (>15,000)
Average Salary: $90,420
Vets work in animal healthcare. Your responsibilities will include diagnosing, treating, and studying animal ailments.
Preventative medicine is also a part of this to keep animals healthy. Essentially, veterinarians are to animals what doctors are to humans.
To become a veterinarian, you’ll need a doctorate in veterinary medicine as well as a license.
In private clinics and hospitals, veterinarians often work with animals daily. If you’ve always been an animal lover, this could be the job for you.
Statistician
Projected Job Growth: 33% (>14,000)
Average Salary: $87, 760
Because statisticians use numbers to solve real-world problems in a variety of businesses, they’re usually well-compensated.
As a statistician, you’ll spend your days evaluating data, developing statistical models, and forecasting results that affect manufacturing processes.
Upper management will also rely on you to simplify complex data to make critical financial decisions.
To become a statistician, you’ll need a master’s degree supposing you’re not the next Ronald Fisher.
However, it’s not unheard of for someone to get by with only a bachelor’s degree.
If you can interpret numbers into answers, you should consider pursuing a career as a statistician.
Optometrist
Projected Job Growth: 18% (>7,000)
Average Salary: $110,300
This industry is all about making people’s visions clearer, but you already knew that.
So you will examine a patient’s visual system to diagnose vision issues and diseases as an optometrist.
You can also write prescriptions for glasses or contact lenses. Another aspect of your employment will be using medical equipment to assess eye health, coordination, and visual focus.
You’ll also evaluate visual acuity, color perception, and depth perception. As an optometrist, you can easily make $100,000 per year. Please note, though, that you’ll need a bachelor’s degree, a doctorate, and licensing to do so.
Technical Writer
Projected Job Growth: 11% (>5,700)
Average Salary: $70,930
Technical writers translate complex material into easy-to-understand language for end consumers.
Instruction manuals, how-to guides, and other supporting paperwork must all be written in a clear and understandable manner.
You could, for example, write the manuals that a software business creates for its customers.
It could also be the installation manual that came with your new smart TV.
Some people believe that this is strictly a career for English majors, but that’s not the case.
Any bachelor’s degree, on the other hand, will suffice. It isn’t always necessary, though.
If you have familiarity with a product and can adequately explain its features, you can work as a technical writer.
Computer Scientist
Projected Job Growth: 19% (>5,400)
Average Salary: $114,520
Discovering fresh ways to use computing to suit human needs is the focus of this vocation. The majority of your time will be spent researching and solving complex computing challenges.
These solutions could be employed in various fields, including business, medical, science, and others. You’ll also have to manage tasks to meet a company’s or client’s priorities and goals.
It will also be your obligation to assess project ideas for feasibility difficulties. Because most high-paying positions are in the government and private sector, a bachelor’s degree is required. Many computer scientists do, however, hold a master’s degree.
Petroleum Engineer
Projected Job Growth: 15% (>5,000)
Average Salary: $132, 280
Essentially, this career entails scouring the Earth for oil or natural gas deposits. You’ll need to build and develop techniques for harvesting those riches from under the Earth’s surface after you’ve discovered them.
To accomplish this, you’ll need to collaborate with experts such as geologists to verify that the extraction is environmentally responsible.
However, acquiring new resources isn’t the only goal. You might also need to come up with new solutions to replace existing processes and systems.
As you can expect, this is a highly technical and professional position. As such, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering or related engineering subject, as well as some practical experience.
Registered Nurse
Projected Job Growth: 15% (>400,000)
Average Salary: $70,000
Did you know that RN’s make up the majority of healthcare workers?
Patients and families will expect you to provide patient care, emotional support, and health education as an RN.
You’ll also be responsible for administering medicine, completing diagnostic duties, and educating patients on managing injury and disease.
An appropriate degree or diploma is required to become a registered nurse. Most significantly, you’ll have to obtain a license.
It goes without saying that this is a difficult job. For that reason, RNs are well compensated, and no one will ever mistake them for a mundane desk job.
Physician or Surgeon
Projected Job Growth: 13% (>90,000)
Average Salary: $220,000
The need for physician services is predicted to increase as the population grows and ages.
Patients will demand high-quality treatment that incorporates the latest technology, diagnostic tests, and therapies as time goes on.
Despite constraints that may limit growth, demand for physicians and surgeons is likely to rise.
Physicians should be able to treat more patients in the same amount of time thanks to improved IT and remote monitoring.
Above all new technologies, if implemented, have the potential to minimize the number of physicians required to complete the same activities, too.
Physicians who are down to practice in rural and low-income areas should have the best chances.
Those who specialize in health issues that primarily affect aging baby boomers should also have good job prospects.
Cardiologists and radiologists, for example, will be in high demand as the risk of heart disease and cancer rises.
Physical Therapist
Projected Job Growth: 28% (>67,000)
Average Salary: $86,350
Physical therapists assist patients with various issues, including physical disabilities, diseases, and chronic pain.
Your focus may be on prevention, maintenance, long-term treatment, and other aspects of physical therapy, depending on the industry.
It is also a very dynamic profession. You spend most of your time on your feet, assisting patients with improving their mobility and managing their pain. You’ll also have to provide the encouragement they need to keep to a regimen.
To become a physical therapist, you’ll need a master’s degree in physical therapy and a license.
Postsecondary Educator
Projected Job Growth: 15% (>195,000)
Average Salary: $76,000
Professors in college serve as the final link between young adults and the actual world.
As a professor, you’ll instruct students in academic and technical disciplines that will help them prepare for the workforce.
Research, publishing, or writing the next costly college textbook could all be part of your responsibilities.
To become a university professor, schools often require a master’s degree or a Ph.D. It’s even better if it’s in a subject you’re passionate about. So that art career you’ve always wanted might just come true.
It’s a somewhat flexible job that pays well and comes with a slew of perks. Plus, every year or two, you get to meet new people.
Construction Manager
Projected Job Growth: 11% (>44,000)
Average Salary: $91,370
Companies employ construction managers to build shopping malls, high-rise apartments, factories, and other structures.
You’ll be in charge of overseeing the project, making operational choices, and staying under a strict budget in this position.
You have complete control over the construction process. Companies want you to have both a bachelor’s degree and on-the-job experience at that level of responsibility.
You’ll be spending the majority of your time in the field, planning plans, collaborating with people, and handling mayhem.
Physician Assistant
Projected Job Growth: 37% (>39,000)
Average Salary: $104,860
PAs are medical professionals who collaborate with a medical team of nurses and doctors to treat patients.
This job also allows you to have some independence. This signifies that you’ll be able to do things like write prescriptions and perform treatments.
In most circumstances, your supervising physician determines these actions. You can examine, diagnose, and treat patients as long as you’ve been trained and given permission.
You don’t need years of medical school to make six figures, by the way. With a master’s degree and state licensure, you’re on your way.
Occupational Therapist
Projected Job Growth: 24% (>30,000)
Average Salary: $83,200
As an OT, your job is to assist people in acquiring the tools they need to overcome disease and disability.
You’ll also be responsible for assisting patients in their development, recovery, improvement, or maintenance.
You’ll need a postgraduate degree in occupational therapy and licensing to earn more than $40 per hour.
While the pay is good, the best aspect of this profession is helping folks live more fulfilling lives.
Speech-Language Pathologist
Projected Job Growth: 18% (>25,000)
Average Salary: $76,610
These specialists, often known as speech therapists, assist clients in improving their communication skills.
Even though you might specialize in various fields, your tasks are essentially the same.
As an SLP working with children, you may need to assist them with their pronunciation and communication.
Adults may benefit from your support if you examine, diagnose, or treat any communication disorders they may have.
While the income is decent, being a speech-language pathologist requires a master’s degree and license.
Web Developer
Projected Job Growth: 15% (>24,000)
Average Salary: $67,990
These tech-savvy individuals construct, maintain, and design a company’s website.
It’s not just about starting a blog.
You must also look after the technical parts of a website as a web developer. This involves things like performance optimization, content creation, and ensuring the site serves a valuable purpose.
You’re also in charge of the user’s experience and engagement.
The word on the street is that if you want to make a decent living, you’ll need an associate’s degree.
But, honestly, all you need to do is enroll in a good course and then start improving your skills.
You can utilize your portfolio to get employment or establish your own web design agency.
Psychologist
Projected Job Growth: 14% (>22,000)
Average Salary: $77,030
Psychologists help patients with adjustment issues, emotional disorders, and mental illness through counseling and psychotherapy.
As a psychologist, people will look to you to help them normalize or prosper in some element of their lives.
They may be depressed for a long time and looking for solutions to cope with or overcome their problems.
To aid someone, you must first examine and identify their situation. Then you’ll have to suggest a therapy plan that works.
Individual or group therapy sessions and a behavior modification program could be part of the program.
Because it’s such a large field, you’ll most likely specialize in one area. Specialty areas include clinical, counseling, and school psychologists, to name a few.
Being a psychologist with only a master’s degree is unusual. To make a solid living as a psychologist, you’ll almost always require a Ph.D. degree as well as licensing.
Database Administrator
Projected Job Growth: 11% (>13,000)
Average Salary: $87,020
These administrators are in control of a company’s database server(s). Essentially, you’ll be in charge of managing enormous files, including client and product data.
It is your responsibility to make such information public and accessible to everyone in the organization who needs it.
While some folks have bachelor’s degrees in IT, others do not. The qualifications for becoming a database administrator differ from one business to the next.
If you don’t have a bachelor’s degree, you’ll need to have a lot of experience and exceptional talent to get the position. Because this is yet another employment in IT, the pay is excellent.
Chiropractor
Projected Job Growth: 12% (>5,900)
Average Salary: $68,640
Chiropractors assist patients in recovering from injuries and illnesses caused by natural or unnatural factors.
After analyzing their conditions, you’ll be able to treat a patient’s nerves, bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
You may also need to make manual adjustments to their spine and other joint locations to rectify their improper alignment.
Because of the personal nature of this employment, you’ll require physical abilities and empathy to deal with patients.
You’ll also need expertise, which a doctoral degree program will provide. The final step in becoming a chiropractor is to obtain a license.
Once you have that, you can begin earning a modest living by assisting people in living pain-free lives.
Natural Sciences Manager
Projected Job Growth: 10% (>5,600)
Average Salary: $118,970
Natural sciences managers are responsible for creating projects that benefit society through science.
You’ll have to oversee the operations of several scientists to ensure that they adhere to a company’s objectives.
Supervising corporate and developmental research activities is part of this. Interacting with upper management to provide feedback, updates, and project results is another component of the role.
It’s pretty uncommon for you to be in charge of processes such as planning, budgeting, hiring, and staff management.
To earn a large salary, you must first have a bachelor’s degree and several years of experience.
Actuary
Projected Job Growth: 22% (>5,300)
Average Salary: $101,560
Actuaries use historical data to evaluate risk and assign a monetary value to unknown future outcomes.
In case you’re curious, that necessitates a significant amount of arithmetic, statistics, and financial theory.
These are the techniques you’ll use to assess the risk of occurrences that are unlikely to occur.
Companies then utilize your findings to develop policies to mitigate that risk. It should come as no surprise that insurance companies provide highly competitive wages to entice actuarial scientists to join up.
However, you’ll need a good aptitude for statistics, a bachelor’s degree, and certification to secure the position.
Management Analyst
Projected Job Growth: 14% (>110,000)
Average Salary: $82,450
A management analyst’s job description is relatively simple. It’s a position where you’ll be in charge of providing management with solutions.
I’m referring to the type of solutions that boost revenue while lowering costs, allowing the organization to become more lucrative.
A bachelor’s degree will be required at the very least. However, if you have years of expertise in a particular industry (or are a genius), your experience may surpass the degree requirement.
To put it another way, companies may value degrees, but they will never put them ahead of generating money.
While this job pays well, it does necessitate a lot of travel. As a result, be prepared to rack up frequent flyer miles.
Financial Analyst
Projected Job Growth: 11% (>30,000)
Average Salary: $84,300
Financial analysts assist companies in making informed investment decisions. People don’t have time to assess the numerous types of assets because there are so many.
As a result, they require someone like you to conduct research and review the financial records of a potential company.
This could entail looking at projections and significant competition. The data must then be simplified and presented to clients for them to determine if it’s a wise or risky investment.
The majority of the work is computer and phone-oriented, so this is clearly a desk job. The income, though, makes it worthwhile.
University Administrator
Projected Job Growth: 10% (>18,000)
Average Salary: $92,360
Education administrators include personnel like deans, registrars, and department heads. These are the people in charge of academics, faculty research, and student services on campus.
Thus it’s a vocation where you can anticipate working in a similar capacity at a university or college. You’ll have to put in some effort in addition to earning a good salary and having job stability.
You might be in charge of things like student guidance, housing, orientation, and discipline. Other duties could include assessing academic programs to ensure that standards and deadlines are fulfilled.
Because we’re talking about a university, you’ll require a master’s degree or higher education, as well as appropriate professional experience.
Administrative Service Manager
Projected Job Growth: 10% (>28,000)
Average Salary: $94,020
These individuals are handsomely compensated for ensuring that everyone in an organization completes their tasks. You’ll be in charge of coordinating and supervising a wide range of support services and staff in this position.
Similarly, budgeting, secretarial duties, office management, and facility upkeep are some of the other responsibilities.
Because it’s such a significant profession, your responsibilities will vary based on the organization you work for.
So, while a bachelor’s degree and job experience are required, the criteria can differ from firm to company. After all, it’s still a management position.
This could be your next career if you like the idea of planning, directing, coordinating, and leading.
Related Reading: Unique Business Ideas – Read The Ideas Here
Final Thoughts
All of these highest demand jobs can be monetarily fruitful and provide a lot of room for advancement. However, that doesn’t mean they’re the only viable options – especially if they all sound tedious to you.
Pursuing your passion may not be the best career option. It makes even less sense to spend two or more years training for a job that you won’t care about.
You need a job that does more than just pay the bills to be the ideal fit for you. It should also be a career that you enjoy and find worthwhile.
Thinking about your likes and skills then selecting professions that fit well can help you land your dream job. Good luck!
