15 most promising jobs for employment and wage growth

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on SmartAsset.com.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the United States hard labour market, and its impact is likely to be felt for some time to come.

Following the publication of the 2019-2029 job forecasts, which did not cover the effects of the pandemic, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued alternative scenarios modeling how it could affect jobs if COVID-19 continued to have moderate impact. to the economy compared to the strong.

In all occupations, job growth is expected to be almost one percentage point lower in the moderate impact scenario (2.9% vs. 3.7%) and almost two percentage points lower in the strong impact scenario (1.9% vs. 3.7%). ).

Although long-term job growth in these scenarios is subdued and many jobs could be negatively impacted in the future, there are still others that offer stable opportunities. In this study, we classify the most promising jobs for employment and pay according to the methodology below.

Data and methodology

Over the next 10 years, we filtered a total of 808 occupations, described in detail by the BLS for those with more than 10% projected employment growth (under the moderate pandemic impact scenario). We also filtered by occupations with an average earnings for 2019 greater than $ 64,240 (which is the 75th percentile of annual earnings nationally). The remaining 40 jobs are the most promising for employment and pay.

For further ranking of these jobs, we considered four measures: 10-year expected percentage growth in employment, 10-year expected growth in the number of employees, average wages for 2019 and four-year wage growth from 2015 to 2019. Both 10-year expected percentage growth in employment and a 10-year expected growth in the number of employees stems from the BLS moderate impact scenario.

We ranked each profession in these four metrics and gave each the same weight. We then found the average ranking of each profession and used the average to determine the final score.

The profession with the highest average ranking received a grade of 100. The profession with the lowest average ranking received a grade of 0.

The most promising jobs for employment and pay follow.

1. Nurses

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 52.3%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 110.500

Average earnings in 2019: 111,840 $

4-year change in earnings: 10,45%

2. Heads of health and medical services

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 31.5%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 133,000

Average salary in 2019: 115,160 $

4-year change in earnings: 8,57%

3. Information Security Analysts

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 42.1%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 55.200

Average salary in 2019: 104,210 $

4-year change in earnings: 11,75%

4. Medical assistants

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 31.2%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 39.200

Average salary in 2019: 112,410 $

4-year change in earnings: 13,24%

5. Financial managers

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 15.3%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 106,800

Average salary in 2019: 147.530 $

4-year change in earnings: 9,83%

6. Statistics

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 35.4%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 15,100

Average salary in 2019: 95,680 $

4-year change in earnings: 13,31%

7. Teachers of higher health specialties

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 20.0%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 50,900

Average earnings in 2019: 121,620 $

4-year change in earnings: 6,21%

8. Computer and information research scientists

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 19.1%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 6,200

Average earnings in 2019: 127,460 $

4-year change in earnings: 10,28%

9. Heads of computer and information systems

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 11.0%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 50,700

Average earnings in 2019: 156,390 $

4-year change in earnings: 10,91%

10. Computer Network Architects

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 14.5%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 23.200

Average earnings in 2019: 115,110 $

4-year change in earnings: 11,65%

11. Nurse anesthesiologist

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 13.6%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 6,100

Average salary in 2019: $ 181,040

4-year change in earnings: 12,97%

12. Psychiatrists

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 11.9%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 3,300

Average salary in 2019: $ 220,430

4-year change in earnings: 13,81%

13. Actuaries

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 17.4%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 4,800

Average salary in 2019: $ 120,970

4-year change in earnings: 9,42%

14. Medical scientists other than epidemiologists

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 28.9%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 39,900

Average salary in 2019: $ 98,770

4-year change in earnings: 5,38%

15. Operational Research Analysts

Estimated growth rate, 2019–2029: 25.0%

Projected job growth, 2019–2029: 26.200

Average earnings in 2019: $ 90,600

4-year change in earnings: 7,63%

Healthcare professionals and technical professions

Among the 40 professions that are most promising for employment and pay, 13 fall into the category of health professionals and technical professions. Two closely related services – nurses and doctor’s assistants – rank first, 1st and 4th respectively.

Although average earnings for physician assistants are slightly higher than the average earnings of nurses ($ 112,410 vs. $ 111,840), the number of nurses is expected to grow faster over the next 10 years. The BLS predicts that in 2029, 110,500 nurses will be more than in 2019, or a growth rate of 52.3%.

For comparison, the 10-year expected percentage growth and growth in the number of employees for medical assistants is 31.2% and 39,200, respectively.

The two highest paid jobs among the 40 most promising for employment and pay fall into the category of health professionals and technical professions. They are psychiatrists and nurses anesthesiologists. According to the BLS, the average salary of psychiatrists in 2019 was $ 220,430, while the average salary of anesthesiology nurses was $ 181,040.

Computer and mathematical professions

Four computer and math professions rank among our 10 most promising jobs for employment and pay, and an additional three in our top 40. The most ranked computer and math professions are information security analysts in 3rd place and statistics in no. 6.

From 2015 to 2019, the average earnings of information security analysts and statisticians increased by 11.75% and 13.31%, respectively. In addition, the BLS expects the employment of information security analysts and statisticians to increase by 42.1% and 35.4%, respectively, over the next 10 years.

The five other computer and math professions that are most promising for employment and pay include:

• Computer and information research scientists
• Computer network architects
• Actuaries
• Operational research analysts
• Network and computer system administrators

Although earnings for these five occupations range from about $ 88,400 to about $ 127,500, earnings have increased in all five jobs over the past few years.

According to the BLS, four-year wage growth in all five occupations exceeds 7%. Although the BLS does not predict future wage estimates, it estimates that employment will increase by at least 14% for all five occupations from 2019 to 2029.

Life, physical and social sciences

Six of the 40 most promising jobs for employment and pay fall into the occupational category of life, physics and social sciences. They include:

• Medical scientists (except epidemiologists)
• Biochemists and biophysicists
• economists
• Epidemiologists
• Urban and regional planners
• Microbiologists

In these six occupations, economists have the highest average wages ($ 116,630), while biochemists and biophysicists recorded the largest four-year wage change, with average earnings increasing by almost 16%.

Over the next 10 years, employment in each of the six professions is expected to increase by more than 11%.

According to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BLS predicts that from 2019 to 2029, the number of epidemiologists in the U.S. will increase by 31.0%, the sixth highest rate for this measurement in all 40 occupations. It is closely followed by the profession of medical scientists (excluding epidemiologists) with an expected 10-year growth rate of 28.9%.

Let us mention that this is the second SmartAsset study on the most promising jobs for employment and pay. Take a look previous edition here.

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