When choosing your future professional occupation, it is important to consider not only what jobs are popular and the most highly paid, but also, whether your chosen profession will still have a strong demand for workers after you complete any necessary higher education. To help you predict if your chosen field will still have jobs available, you can use this list on JobTonic to find the most popular professions in the United States and where open positions are located across the country.
Here are the most popular job fields right now and a few facts about them:
Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical engineers develop medical equipment and appliances from artificial hearts to drug delivery systems. According to the US government, biomedical engineering will be the fastest growing profession in history thanks to latest developments in technology and the growing health care needs of an aging population.
Requirements for Biomedical Engineers: Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, or chemical engineering in conjunction with the basics of biology, or a degree in biomedical engineering.
Average salary: $ 76,000
Job growth over the next ten years: 72%
Telecommunications Network Engineering
These specialists plan, design, resolve issues, and supervise the construction and operation of telecommunications networks. These networks are used to transmit data, voice, and video communications. Again, due to the quick pace of advances in technology, jobs should be readily available in this field.
Requirements for Telecommunications Engineers: Bachelor’s degree in telecommunications engineering, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering.
Average salary: $ 87,000
Job growth over the next ten years: 53%
Physician Assistants
Physician Assistants perform daily inspections of patients, analysis, consultations, and can even prescribe medication under the supervision of a physician. Due to the shortage of doctors, because of baby boomers who are now in retirement and the health care reform, the number of patients is growing all the time, creating a huge demand for Physician Assistants.
Requirements: graduate from an accredited program (approximate duration is 26 months). The typical candidate has a bachelor’s degree and 4 years of experience in health care.
Average salary: $ 92,000
Job growth over the next ten years: 39%
Software Architects
Similar to how architects design buildings, software architects create software projects, perform software engineering, and work in programming. Architects often work with customers and product managers, and serve as a link between the technology department and the business department in large companies. Therefore, this profession is considered to be more diverse than a just software programming.
Requirements: A bachelor’s degree and master’s degree or significant work experience that demonstrates the ability to develop software and teamwork.
Average Salary: $ 119,000
Job growth over the next ten years: 34%
Environmental Engineering
Environmental engineers use engineering skills to protect the environment: solve the problems of air pollution, water treatment, waste recycling, alternative energy sources, and energy conservation. Jobs are available in both in the private and public sectors.
Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in any engineering degree and a master’s degree in environmental engineering.
Average salary: $ 81,000
Job growth over the next ten years: 31%
As you can see, the predicted major sources of job growth all require at least some additional schooling beyond just a high school degree. It is important to figure out where you are heading with your higher education before you begin pursuing a degree, and these jobs are all ones that are predicted to have large growth and demand for labor in the next few years.