20 Occupations with the Most Projected Growth: What careers are hot?

As we entered the year 2025, I wondered what jobs my clients would be applying for this year. What job categories would offer the most opportunities for those seeking work now, or those that will be seeking work after finishing school in the next few years?

Most of the websites I checked emphasized AI, healthcare, and a few other highly skilled jobs. They seemed to base their analysis on jobs with the highest percentage growth rates. It turns out, though, that the answer is different when one looks at jobs with the largest anticipated numerical growth rates. High-tech jobs are still on the list, but so are jobs in restaurants, personal care, driving trucks, stocking, and material handling among other things.

Each year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at the US Department of Labor (DOL) updates its ten year job market projections to help jobseekers, career changers, students, and hiring teams. Now, the DOL has extended its projections to the year 2033. Job categories the Department projects to have the greatest numerical increase in employment by 2033 include information technology, healthcare, stock work, food service, truck driving, management analysis, accounting,, financial management, and skilled trades.

Salaries for the top 20 growth occupations varied widely in 2023. Fast-food workers earned a median salary of about $29,000 per year while computer information system managers earned a median annual salary of nearly $170,000 annually. BLS does not project future salaries

The top 20 job categories, updated by DOL on August 29, 2024, are included in the table below, along with median salaries:

2023 DOL job title	Employment change, numeric, 2023–33	Employment change %, 2023–33	Median annual wage, $, 2023
1. Home health and personal care aides	820.5	20.7	33,530
2. Software developers	303.7	17.9	132,270
3. Cooks, restaurant	244.5	17.0	35,780
4. Fast food & counter workers	212.5	5.7	29,540
5. General & operations managers	210.4	5.8	101,280
6. Registered nurses	197.2	6.0	86,070
7. Stockers & order fillers	168.6	5.9	36,390
8. Medical & health services managers	160.6	28.5	110,680
9. Financial managers	138.3	16.5	156,100
10. Nurse practitioners	135.5	46.3	126,260
11. Laborers, freight, stock, &  material movers	125.7	4.2	37,660
12. Medical assistants	118.0	15.0	42,000
13. Construction laborers	115.4	8.2	45,300
14. Management analysts	107.9	10.6	99,410
15. Computer  information systems managers	106.9	17.4	169,510
16. Heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers	102.0	4.6	54,320
17. Light truck drivers	96.3	8.8	42,470
18. Accountants,  auditors	91.4	5.8	79,880
19. Substance abuse, behavioral disorder,& mental health counselors	84.5	18.8	53,710
20. Electricians	84.3	10.8	61,590

Last Modified Date: August 29, 2024

Source: US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projection Program Website

Many high-growth jobs cannot be outsourced.

The first thing that jumped out at us when we looked at the listing was that several service industry jobs were near the top. Specifically, three of the top four jobs include home healthcare aides, restaurant cooks, and fast-food counter workers. Other “high-touch” jobs on the list include stockers, material-handlers, construction laborers, heavy truck drivers, light-truck drivers, substance-abuse counselors, and electricians.

All baby-boomers will be 65 years of age or more in 2030, according to the US Census, so it’s no surprise that demand for caregivers will increase by about 820,500 workers, or more than 20% between 2023 and 2033.

Homecare jobs cannot be outsourced. We doubt anyone wants a robot to care for them, either.

Restaurant cooks, fast-food workers, construction laborers, truck drivers, substance abuse counselors, and electricians also have to work onsite.

Highest salaries are found in technology and leadership roles.

High-growth occupations in software development, operations management, and healthcare management had median salaries near or above $100,000 per year in 2023. Jobs in software development require skills that not everyone possesses. Management jobs normally require many years of experience, and the talent to lead people.

Important professional jobs are also on the list.

The mid-range on our top 20 growth list, from a salary point of view, includes jobs such as registered nurses, with a median wage of more than $86,000 per year, accountants with median salaries of nearly $80,000, and management analysts with median annual earnings above $99,000 per year.

Heavy truck and tractor-trailer driving jobs also made the list with median wages in excess of $54,000 annually.

Although truck drivers earn less than many in professions requiring college degrees, it is a category that, based on our experience in workforce development programs, is perennially in demand. Some clients who started careers as truck drivers have advanced to leadership roles including company ownership.

Electricians, skilled tradesmen (and women) that learn through apprenticeships rather than college earned about $61,500 in 2023.

Concluding comments.

There is good news and bad news in the latest statistics. Our good news is that the information economy of the 21^st Century continues to generate jobs at all skill levels, partly due to an aging population. The bad news is that the service jobs available for those without the aptitude or training for high-wage technical, leadership, and healthcare jobs offer much lower salaries.  Fast-food counter workers earned about 17% of the salary a computer and information system manager earned in 2023. Although the 21^st Century economy offers high-growth jobs to those at all skill levels, the best paying roles continue going to those with unique skills and qualifications.