Here is an especially interesting article now featured by the BigFuture website in which experts predict where the jobs will be in 2018. (Wish I had seen it sooner because I know so many recent and imminent school and college students.) Government economists estimate which occupations will have the most job openings between 2008 and 2018. Openings occur because new jobs are created and because workers retire or leave the field for other reasons.
Check out these top 10 lists of occupations, sorted by the level of education typically required:
Graduate degree
Bachelor’s degree
Associate’s degree or postsecondary vocational award
Occupations with the Most Job Openings: Graduate Degree
Occupation Total Job Openings 2008–2018
Postsecondary teachers 553,000
Doctors and surgeons 261,000
Lawyers 240,000
Clergy (Imams, Nuns and Monks, Priests, Protestant Ministers, Rabbis) 218,000
Pharmacists 106,000
Educational, vocational, and school counselors 94,000
Physical therapists 79,000
Medical scientists, except epidemiologists 66,000
Mental health and substance abuse social workers 61,000
Instructional coordinators 61,000
Occupations with the Most Job Openings: Bachelor’s Degree
Occupation Total Job Openings 2008-2018
Elementary school teachers (except special education) 597,000
Accountants and auditors 498,000
Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education 412,000
Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education 251,000
Computer systems analysts 223,000
Computer software engineers, applications 218,000
Network systems and data communications analyst 208,000
Computer software engineers, systems software 153,000
Construction managers 138,000
Market research analysts 137,000
Occupations with the Most Jobs Openings: Associate’s Degree or Postsecondary Vocational Award
Occupation Total Job Openings 2008-2018
Registered nurses 1,039,000
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants 422,000
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses 391,000
Computer support specialists 235,000
Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists 220,000
Automotive service technicians and mechanics 182,000
Preschool teachers, except special education 178,000
Insurance sales agents 153,000
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration technicians 136,000
Real estate sales agents 128,000
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics