The 30 Best High-Paying Jobs of the Future The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released job projections predicting how employment in various occupations could change between 2019 and 2029.
By Andy Kiersz and Madison Hoff Edited by Frances Dodds
Our biggest sale — Get unlimited access to Entrepreneur.com at an unbeatable price. Use code SAVE50 at checkout.*
Claim Offer*Offer only available to new subscribers
This story originally appeared on Business Insider
The novel coronavirus pandemic has had a major effect on employment in nearly every industry over the past few months. However, the future of work is still looking pretty bright for medical and tech jobs, based on data and projections from the US Labor Department.
As Americans look forward to finding their next potential job, Business Insider decided to look at high-paying jobs that have bright futures ahead of them.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Projections program publishes estimates for job growth across hundreds of occupations. The most recent release came out this month and compares how many people worked in each occupation in 2019 with the Bureau's projections for 2029.
We combined those job growth projections with 2019 median annual earnings for each occupation from the Bureau's Occupational Employment Statistics program, using the geometric mean of the two numbers, to find roles that are both growing and high-paying.
Since we are focused on high-paying jobs, we restricted our ranking to occupations with 2019 median earnings above the median among all occupations of $39,810.
Here are the 30 best jobs of the next decade or so:
30. Marketing managers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 19,100
Median annual earnings in 2019: $136,850
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
29. Industrial engineers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 30,000
Median annual earnings in 2019: $88,020
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
28. Computer user support specialists
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 54,800
Median annual earnings in 2019: $52,270
Typical educational requirements: Some college, no degree
27. Human resources specialists
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 46,900
Median annual earnings in 2019: $61,920
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
26. Elementary school teachers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 51,400
Median annual earnings in 2019: $59,670
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
25. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 65,700
Median annual earnings in 2019: $47,480
Typical educational requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award
24. Speech-language pathologists
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 40,500
Median annual earnings in 2019: $79,120
Typical educational requirements: Master's degree
23. Industrial machinery mechanics
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 62,300
Median annual earnings in 2019: $53,590
Typical educational requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
22. Electricians
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 62,200
Median annual earnings in 2019: $56,180
Typical educational requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
21. Sales representatives of services (except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel)
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 64,200
Median annual earnings in 2019: $56,130
Typical educational requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
20. Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 79,000
Median annual earnings in 2019: $46,240
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
19. Ophthalmologists (except pediatric) and all other physicians
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 18,500
Median annual earnings in 2019: $206,500
Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree
18. Construction managers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 40,400
Median annual earnings in 2019: $95,260
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
17. Lawyers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 32,300
Median annual earnings in 2019: $122,960
Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree
16. Information security analysts
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 40,900
Median annual earnings in 2019: $99,730
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
15. Physical therapists
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 47,000
Median annual earnings in 2019: $89,440
Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree
14. Computer systems analysts
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 46,600
Median annual earnings in 2019: $90,920
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
13. Physician assistants
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 39,300
Median annual earnings in 2019: $112,260
Typical educational requirements: Master's degree
12. Accountants and auditors
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 61,700
Median annual earnings in 2019: $71,550
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
11. Postsecondary health specialties teachers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 52,100
Median annual earnings in 2019: $97,320
Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree
10. All other project management specialists and business operations specialists
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 79,800
Median annual earnings in 2019: $73,570
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
9. Computer and information systems managers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 48,100
Median annual earnings in 2019: $146,360
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
8. Management analysts
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 93,800
Median annual earnings in 2019: $85,260
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
7. Market research analysts and marketing specialists
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 130,300
Median annual earnings in 2019: $63,790
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
6. Nurse practitioner
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 110,700
Median annual earnings in 2019: $109,820
Typical educational requirements: Master's degree
5. Medical and health services managers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 133,200
Median annual earnings in 2019: $100,980
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
4. Financial managers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 108,100
Median annual earnings in 2019: $129,890
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
3. General and operations managers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 143,800
Median annual earnings in 2019: $100,780
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
2. Registered nurses
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 221,900
Median annual earnings in 2019: $73,300
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree
1. Software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers
Projected new positions between 2019 and 2029: 316,000
Median annual earnings in 2019: $107,510
Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree