Hot Job Opportunities for the Next Decade


HOT JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE NEXT DECADE

By Stuart Esrock, Ph.D.

General and operations managers, and nurses top the list of job opportunities for bachelor’s degree students during the next decade.  That’s according to new research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which also suggests a strong job market for lawyers.  

The Bureau forecasted the long-term job market up to the year 2029 for 800 different occupations at all education levels.  More than 17 million job openings are projected across all occupations annually during the time period. These openings come from two sources: when new jobs are created from employment growth and when workers leave an occupation permanently, such as to transfer to another occupation or to retire.

The following table shows the 10 occupations (and median annual wages) with the most forecasted opportunities for undergraduate students:

Occupations for Bachelor’s Degree Recipients Projected to Have the Most Openings

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Occupations for Bachelor Degrees


About 40% of all openings projected in the bachelor’s-level group are in the occupations in the above table. Each of the occupations in this table had wages that were higher than the median for all occupations. 

The next table shows the occupations with the most opportunities for master’s, doctoral, and professional degree recipients:

Occupations for Master’s/Ph.D./Professional Degree Recipients Projected to Have the Most Openings

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Occupations for Graduate Degrees

 

The occupations in this table account for about 46% of all openings projected in master’s, doctoral, and professional degree-level occupations. At the top of this list, the law profession openings are expected to be from the need to replace workers who leave the occupation.

You can learn more about all of these occupations and hundreds of others in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The OOH has great detail about career fields, including what workers do and their pay, job outlook, and typical education requirements.


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