The Top 10 Career Fields in America

Career

It is never too early to start thinking about your future and subsequently, your career. Knowing which career field you want to be in can help you develop skills in college which will benefit you when you get there. It is a bit difficult to decide which career path is right for you. It depends a lot on the passions and skills required, but it is equally important to consider the state of the industry you are interested in pursuing. Consider whether the demand for those roles will grow, and if so, whether the payment will be adequate. To get started, here are some of the top career fields in the United States from 2020 ranked based on their employment growth rate and their higher than average salaries.

Healthcare

Healthcare

Jobs in the healthcare sector never go out of style. Employment among healthcare occupations is estimated to grow by 14% in the decade 2018 to 2028, adding around 1.9 million new jobs within the said decade. If that number sounds like an awful lot, it is because it is a lot. As a matter of fact, no other profession or occupational group is projected to add as many jobs as healthcare within that time frame. Jobs in the health care sector are both lucrative as well as highly rewarding. The average annual wage for healthcare professionals and technical jobs related to it, such as registered nurses, surgeons, dental hygienists and physicians, was 68,190 dollars in May 2019. The possible careers in the health care sector are the role of doctor, nurse, dietician, physical therapist, radiologist etc. While some healthcare professionals require not more than just a bachelor’s degree, some other professions require highly advanced degrees and years of experience, training and licensing.

Teaching

Education is an industry which, just like health care, will always stay relevant. Employment in the fields of education, training, and library occupations is estimated to grow by 5% in the decade 2018 to 2028, statistically adding around 512,900 new jobs. Enrollment is also estimated to increase at the college, university, public elementary and secondary school levels which means that adding to postsecondary teachers, elementary, secondary and preschool school teachers will be greater in demand. The average pay for teachers at the high school level and the elementary level was $60,320 and $57,980 respectively in the month of May 2019. In the same amount of time, school principals earned an average of $95,310.

Information Technology

Information Technology

The information technology field is pretty massive already and is only continuing to grow. Employment among computer and information technology professionals is estimated to grow 12% in the decade 2018–2028, which is much faster than the mean for all other job roles. The IT sector is also thought to add about 546,200 new jobs. With more emphasis on big data, information security and cloud computing, it is no wonder that the demand for IT jobs is increasing. The mean annual wage for information technology roles was 88,240 dollars in May 2019.