Each year, U.S. News faces a tall task: Ranking jobs to highlight those that
are better than most. The problem? There isn't one type of worker who wants one
type of job to fit one type of lifestyle. But whether you're drawn to work in
health care or IT, in a creative field or the business world, certain things
ring true:
The best job for you holds your interest and pays for your
lifestyle. And it's an occupation for which you could get hired to do.
That reasoning fuels U.S. News' Best Jobs rankings. The occupations selected
are those the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts
will grow the most between 2012 and 2022. Those
top 100 jobs, from the industries of business, creative,
construction, health care, social services and technology, are then ranked based
on projected openings, rate of growth, job prospects, unemployment rates, salary
and job satisfaction.
According to that recipe, health care and technology jobs rise to the top --
in fact, seven out of our top 10 occupations are from health care. Here are the
10
Best Jobs of 2015.
No. 1: Dentist In 2014, dentist had a hiatus from being
U.S. News' No. 1 job. But it's now back on top, rising from it's No. 3 slot in
2014, because it provides a nice blend of factors that make all the difference
in the rankings: One, a low unemployment rate of 0.9 percent. Two, decent
work-life balance, especially compared to other health care jobs. Three, the
take-home pay is simply phenomenal -- in 2013, dentists earned an average salary
of $164,570 and a median salary of $146,340. And four, the BLS predicts there
will be 23,200 new job openings cropping up at a rate of nearly 16 percent
between 2012 and 2022.
No. 2: Nurse Practitioner Nurse practitioners record
medical histories, make diagnoses and prescribe medications. And they have
excellent job prospects, since health care reform has escalated hiring demand.
According to the BLS, employment growth for U.S. News' No. 2 job will swell at
lightning speed; by the numbers, expect 37,000 new openings appearing at a rate
of 33.7 percent between 2012 and 2022.
No. 3: Software Developer Yes, two health care positions
rose above software developer, last year's No. 1 job. But software developer has
by no means been ousted. This occupation, which involves overseeing the design
and implementation of computer operating systems and applications, is still
coveted among
information technology jobs. The employment rate is good,
as is the salary -- average annual earnings for 2013 were above $96,000, and
developers earned a median salary of $92,660 that same year. The BLS predicts
there could be more than 139,000 new software developer jobs by 2022.
No. 4: Physician Being a physician is more than good on
paper. Job prospects are outstanding, particularly if you're willing to work in
a rural and low-income area, the BLS reports. Plus, openings should spike by
nearly 18 percent between 2012 and 2022. For 2015, this occupation rose four
slots to the No. 4 position due to two things: its current, ultralow
unemployment rate of 0.7 percent and
the very attractive paycheck. Internists, or the
physicians who diagnose and treat diseases and illnesses, made an average salary
of $188,440 in 2013 and a median salary of $186,850.
No. 5: Dental Hygienist The BLS predicts new dental
hygienist positions will open at a rapid-fire rate of 33.3 percent. Vanity
inspires us to visit the dentist more -- members of the baby boomer population,
their kids and grandkids all take better care of their teeth than previous
generations -- but that same vanity also spurs increased openings for dental
staff to clean and treat teeth.
No. 6: Physical Therapist This is a versatile
profession. Physical therapists might work in a private practice, a health
clinic or a hospital. Their patients range from athletes, to people recovering
from stroke to those in cancer treatment. The BLS predicts employment for the
No. 6 job will grow 36 percent between 2012 and 2022 because more qualified PTs
are needed to work with the vast, aging baby boomer population.
No. 7: Computer Systems Analyst In layman's terms,
computer systems analysts are IT project managers. They must have the expertise
to do cost-benefit analysis of the best software and hardware to use for a
particular organization or project. They have to be the liaison between the
programmers, engineers and key business stakeholders. And they must be able to
get in the weeds to test and analyze computer systems. It's intense work, and
the skills needed to do this job right are in demand. The
BLS predicts 24.5 percent employment growth for the No. 7 job.
No. 8: Information Security Analyst We as a
tech-dependent society constantly volley our personal information out into the
ether, better known as the Internet, so of course security issues arise. And of
course professionals are needed to better safeguard the computer networks that
house all our secrets. The BLS predicts our No. 8 job will grow at an astounding
rate of 36.5 percent between 2012 and 2022.
No. 9: Registered Nurse Registered nurses are the
personnel patients have the most interaction with and can sway the experience of
receiving quality medical care from exceptional to disastrous simply on the
strength of their skills. But this isn't why this job ekes the No. 9 spot. It's
the occupation's low unemployment rate of 2 percent and the BLS' staggering
prediction that more than 525,000 new nursing positions will be created between
2012 and 2022.
No. 10: Physician Assistant Physician assistants aren't
also-ran
medical professionals who treat you when the doctor is too
busy. They're well-trained personnel who diagnose ailments, analyze test
results, monitor patient progress and prescribe treatment and medicine. Their
skills and training are imperative to fulfill the growing need to see and treat
more patients due to an aging population and the flux of health care reform. The
BLS predicts 38.4 percent growth for the No. 10 job between 2012 and 2022.
Check out the complete
list
of the Best Jobs of 2015, then dig deeper by browsing the rankings by
industry.
New Year have you thinking about a new job? Join us at 1 pm ET Tuesday at
facebook.com/yahoofinance for a live chat with U.S. News
& World Report about the jobs it ranked as 2015’s best.
