Careers in high demand in the US
Every career here is rated "very high demand" on its own page, from the same government outlook data the rest of the site uses; the sources are listed on each career page. Demand is a national rating and varies by region, so the career page is the place to check where the openings are.
113 careers in the United States
Health
47PsychiatristA medical doctor for the mind. Twelve years of training, and the only mental health job that can prescribe in every state.Typical pay$282kTo qualify12 to 13 yrsDemandVery highInternal Medicine DoctorThe adult body, all of it, and the complicated patients nobody else can sort out. Eleven years of training.Typical pay$257kTo qualify11 to 12 yrsDemandVery highNeurologistThe brain and nerve doctor who does not operate. Strokes, seizures, migraines, multiple sclerosis. Twelve years of training and a shortage almost everywhere.Typical pay$249kTo qualify12 to 13 yrsDemandVery highGeriatricianA doctor for people in their eighties and nineties, where the hard part is fewer pills, not more.Typical pay$244kTo qualify11 to 12 yrsDemandVery highGastroenterologistThe doctor for everything between the mouth and the other end. Fourteen years of training, and one of the best paid jobs in medicine.Typical pay$236kTo qualify13 to 15 yrsDemandVery highHematologistThe blood doctor. Leukemia, lymphoma, clots, anemia and transfusions, with a microscope on the desk and thirteen years of training behind you.Typical pay$236kTo qualify13 to 14 yrsDemandVery highOncologistThe cancer doctor. Thirteen years of training, some of the hardest conversations in medicine, and a field that gets better almost every year.Typical pay$236kTo qualify13 to 15 yrsDemandVery highOptometristTest eyes, catch disease early, prescribe glasses, contacts and medication. A four-year doctorate, no surgical residency, and clinics in every town.Typical pay$137kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandVery highPhysician AssistantExamine patients, order tests and write prescriptions, after about seven years instead of a doctor's eleven.Typical pay$136kTo qualify6 to 8 yrsDemandVery highMidwifeLook after people through pregnancy, birth and the year after, and provide their everyday reproductive health care too.Typical pay$134kTo qualify6 to 8 yrsDemandVery highNurse PractitionerA nurse with a graduate degree who can diagnose, order tests and prescribe. Six years of school, six figures, and one of the fastest growing jobs in the country.Typical pay$132kTo qualify6 to 8 yrsDemandVery highVeterinarianEight years of school to treat animals who cannot tell you what hurts. Loved by everyone, and heavy on debt.Typical pay$130kTo qualify7 to 9 yrsDemandVery highHealth Information ManagerOwn the medical record. Who can see it, whether it is correct, how it gets coded and billed, and what happens when a hospital changes systems.Typical pay$124kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highBehavior AnalystWork out why a behavior happens, then change the conditions around it. Six to eight years of school, mostly working with children.Typical pay$118kTo qualify6 to 8 yrsDemandVery highPhysical TherapistGet people moving again after injury, surgery or stroke. Seven years of school for a job that exists in every town.Typical pay$103kTo qualify7 to 8 yrsDemandVery highPsychologistYou test, diagnose and treat what is happening in someone's mind. A doctorate, an internship and a national exam stand between you and the title.Typical pay$101kTo qualify9 to 12 yrsDemandVery highPsychotherapistTalk therapy as a job. Most people get here with a master's degree and two years of supervised hours, not a doctorate.Typical pay$101kTo qualify6 to 8 yrsDemandVery highOccupational TherapistHelp people do the ordinary things again: dress, cook, write, drive, go back to work. Six years of school, a license, and work in almost every town.Typical pay$100kTo qualify6 to 7 yrsDemandVery highGenetic CounselorRead a family's DNA results, then sit with them and explain what it means for their lives.Typical pay$100kTo qualify6 to 7 yrsDemandVery highDental HygienistClean teeth, read gums and catch disease early. Around $98,000 a year for a two year degree.Typical pay$98kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highSpeech-Language PathologistYou help people talk, be understood and swallow safely, from toddlers to stroke patients. A master's degree is the price of entry.Typical pay$98kTo qualify6 to 7 yrsDemandVery highRegistered NurseThe biggest health profession in the country. Two years of college can get you licensed, and the license works in most states.Typical pay$98kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highSonographerYou run the ultrasound machine and are often the first person to see what is wrong. Two years of school for pay near six figures.Typical pay$97kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highAudiologistTest hearing and balance, then fit the devices that give it back. A four-year clinical doctorate, and a job in every town.Typical pay$96kTo qualify8 to 9 yrsDemandVery highEpidemiologistWork out why people are getting sick, and what would stop it. Mostly data, occasionally an outbreak.Typical pay$87kTo qualify6 to 8 yrsDemandVery highRespiratory TherapistKeep people breathing: ventilators, oxygen, blood gases and the worst nights in the hospital. Two years of college to get licensed.Typical pay$82kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highOrthotist and ProsthetistDesign, build and fit artificial limbs and braces. Part clinician, part craftsperson.Typical pay$81kTo qualify6 to 7 yrsDemandVery highDietitianThe person hospitals call when food becomes medicine. A master's degree is now the entry ticket.Typical pay$76kTo qualify5 to 7 yrsDemandVery highAcupuncturistTreat pain and illness with needles at specific points on the body. A master's degree, a state license, and usually your own practice.Typical pay$76kTo qualify5 to 8 yrsDemandVery highRehabilitation AssistantDo the hands-on half of therapy: the exercises, the practice, the daily work of getting someone moving again. Two years of college.Typical pay$72kTo qualify2 to 3 yrsDemandVery highSurgical TechnologistSet up the operating room, guard the sterile field and hand the surgeon the right instrument before they ask. Two years of school.Typical pay$65kTo qualify1 to 2 yrsDemandVery highAthletic TherapistThe person on the sideline who decides whether an injured player comes off. In the United States the job title is athletic trainer.Typical pay$63kTo qualify6 to 7 yrsDemandVery highParamedicThe highest level of pre-hospital care. You make life-and-death calls in somebody's living room at 3am.Typical pay$61kTo qualify1 to 3 yrsDemandVery highKinesiologistUse movement as treatment. Test how a body handles effort, then build the program that gets it working again.Typical pay$59kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highAddiction CounselorSit with people at the worst point of their lives and help them get out. You can start this one without a degree.Typical pay$59kTo qualify1 to 6 yrsDemandVery highMassage TherapistLicensed in about a year, then paid per massage. The work helps people and it wears out your hands, so plan for both.Typical pay$58kTo qualify1 to 2 yrsDemandVery highMedical Records SpecialistTurn what happened to a patient into codes and clean records. Office work, health pay, and no bedside.Typical pay$51kTo qualify1 to 2 yrsDemandVery highDental AssistantWork chairside next to a dentist, often after less than a year of training.Typical pay$48kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandVery highVeterinary TechnicianThe nurse of the animal clinic. Two years of school, and you will do more hands-on medicine than you expect.Typical pay$47kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highSports CoachYou run practices, pick the lineup and teach the fundamentals. Most coaching jobs are part time and most coaches have another job.Typical pay$47kTo qualify1 to 4 yrsDemandVery highPersonal TrainerGet people stronger, one session at a time. No degree needed, but you have to sell yourself.Typical pay$47kTo qualify1 to 4 yrsDemandVery highDirect Support ProfessionalHelp people with disabilities live their own lives. You can start within weeks, and the pay is the hard part.Typical pay$46kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandVery highPharmacy TechnicianFill prescriptions, run the counter and keep the pharmacy moving. Under a year of training for a regulated health job.Typical pay$46kTo qualify1 to 2 yrsDemandVery highMedical Office AssistantRun the front of a clinic and help with patients at the back. About a year of training, and clinics everywhere are hiring.Typical pay$46kTo qualify1 to 2 yrsDemandVery highPhlebotomistDraw blood, label it right, keep the patient calm. The fastest way into a hospital job in the country.Typical pay$45kTo qualify1 to 2 yrsDemandVery highCertified Nursing Assistant (CNA)A few months of training to a job every hospital and nursing home in the country is short of. Hard, physical, human work, and the pay is modest.Typical pay$42kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandVery highLifeguardGet certified at 15, get paid to watch water, and learn how to keep people alive.Typical pay$34kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandVery high
Skilled trades
18General ContractorYou do not swing every hammer. You price the job, hire the trades, hold the schedule, and carry the risk.Typical pay$115kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highElevator MechanicBuild and maintain the machines that move millions of people a day, for the best pay in any trade you can enter from high school.Typical pay$110kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery highMakeup ArtistPaint faces for camera, stage, weddings and counters. The film and television side pays well, and getting in takes years of logged days.Typical pay$97kTo qualify1 to 5 yrsDemandVery highPower Line WorkerBuild and repair the high voltage lines that carry electricity to everyone else. Outdoors, dangerous, and paid like it.Typical pay$95kTo qualify3 to 4 yrsDemandVery highAvionics TechnicianThe electronics inside an aircraft: radios, radar, navigation and autopilots. High pay for a short path.Typical pay$82kTo qualify1 to 3 yrsDemandVery highInstrumentation TechnicianKeep the sensors, valves and control systems in a plant telling the truth. Two years of school, industrial pay.Typical pay$68kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highWind Turbine TechnicianClimb 250 feet up a tower and fix the machine at the top. One of the fastest growing jobs in the country, and not for anyone afraid of heights.Typical pay$64kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandVery highGasfitterRun and test the gas piping behind every furnace, water heater and restaurant range. Get it wrong and a building comes down.Typical pay$64kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery highSprinkler FitterYou install and test the pipes and sprinkler heads that stop a building fire spreading. Paid apprenticeship, no college debt.Typical pay$64kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery highSteamfitter and PipefitterBuild the high pressure pipe systems inside power plants, refineries and hospitals. Paid from your first day of training.Typical pay$64kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery highElectricianWire houses, factories and data centers. Get paid from your first week of training and never owe tuition.Typical pay$63kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery highIndustrial ElectricianKeep the motors, controls and power systems of a factory or plant running, and get paid while you learn the trade.Typical pay$63kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery highHVAC (Heating and Cooling) TechnicianInstall and fix the furnaces, air conditioners and refrigeration that every building depends on.Typical pay$61kTo qualify1 to 5 yrsDemandVery highSecurity Systems TechnicianInstall and fix alarms, cameras, card readers and fire detection. Low voltage, high responsibility.Typical pay$60kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandVery highMarine MechanicFix boat engines, outboards and everything wired into them. About a year of training, then work at a marina or your own service truck.Typical pay$58kTo qualify1 to 3 yrsDemandVery highRooferTear off, dry in, shingle, flash. Hard money, earned outdoors, from your first week.Typical pay$55kTo qualifyup to 3 yrsDemandVery highEstheticianFacials, peels and hair removal. Licensed in under a year, then you build a client list.Typical pay$45kTo qualify1 to 2 yrsDemandVery highNail TechnicianManicures, pedicures and nail art. A few hundred hours of school, a state license, then you build a client list.Typical pay$36kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandVery high
Tech
13IT Project ManagerYou do not write the code. You make sure the right thing gets built, on time, by people who do not report to you.Typical pay$175kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highMachine Learning EngineerBuild the systems that learn from data, and keep them running once real people use them.Typical pay$140kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highDevOps EngineerBuild the pipes and servers other programmers ship on. Nobody starts here, everybody arrives here.Typical pay$136kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highMobile App DeveloperBuild the software people carry in their pocket, ship it to an app store, then keep fixing it on devices you have never held.Typical pay$136kTo qualify1 to 4 yrsDemandVery highSoftware DeveloperYou write the thing, then spend most of your time working out why it does not do what you meant.Typical pay$136kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highCloud EngineerBuild and run the servers, networks and storage that other people's apps live on, without ever touching a physical machine.Typical pay$134kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highCybersecurity AnalystWatch a network for attacks and shut them down. Certifications count as much as a degree here.Typical pay$129kTo qualify2 to 5 yrsDemandVery highPenetration TesterYou break into computer systems on purpose, with written permission, and then explain exactly how you did it.Typical pay$129kTo qualify1 to 4 yrsDemandVery highData AnalystTurn a company's messy data into answers people can act on. The most reachable job in the data field.Typical pay$120kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highData ScientistTurn messy company data into numbers a boss can act on, using code and statistics.Typical pay$120kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highUX DesignerDecide how an app or a website actually works. UX (user experience) design is well paid and nobody licenses it.Typical pay$104kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highBusiness AnalystWork out what a company actually needs, then write it down clearly enough to build.Typical pay$102kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highWeb DeveloperBuild the websites and web apps people actually use. The tech job with the shortest distance between learning something and being paid for it.Typical pay$93kTo qualifyup to 4 yrsDemandVery high
Business and money
10ActuaryPut a price on risk. A math degree, a long ladder of exams, and one of the best paid desk jobs in the country.Typical pay$130kTo qualify7 to 12 yrsDemandVery highProject ManagerKeep a big piece of work on schedule and on budget, across a team that does not report to you.Typical pay$102kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highManagement ConsultantCompanies hire you to study a problem they cannot fix themselves, then tell them what to do about it. Long hours, fast learning, good pay.Typical pay$102kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highAccountant (CPA)Count, check and explain the money. A four year degree, one hard exam, and a job in every town.Typical pay$84kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highSupply Chain AnalystWork out how a product gets from a factory to a shelf on time and for less money, then prove it with numbers.Typical pay$82kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highMarket Research AnalystFind out what people actually buy and why, using surveys and data, then tell a company what to do about it.Typical pay$79kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highMarketing SpecialistPlan and run the campaigns that get a product in front of people, then prove with numbers whether it worked.Typical pay$79kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highHuman Resources SpecialistHire people, pay them right and keep the company on the correct side of employment law.Typical pay$76kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highRecruiterMatch people to jobs for a living. No license and no set degree, but your pay rises and falls with the hires you make.Typical pay$76kTo qualifyup to 4 yrsDemandVery highPublic Relations SpecialistYou decide what an organization says in public and who it says it to. No license, so your work samples are the whole interview.Typical pay$75kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery high
Law and public safety
1Education
1Engineering
8Aerospace EngineerDesign the things that fly. Four years of hard math, then aircraft, rockets, satellites or missiles.Typical pay$135kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highElectrical EngineerDesign the circuits, chips, motors and power systems that everything else quietly depends on.Typical pay$121kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highPower Systems EngineerPlan and protect the grid: the substations, transmission lines and controls that keep the lights on.Typical pay$121kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highMaterials EngineerDecide what things are made of, and find out why they broke. Four years of chemistry and physics, then good pay in industry.Typical pay$113kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highMechanical EngineerDesign anything that moves, heats, cools or carries a load. The broadest engineering degree there is.Typical pay$104kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highIndustrial EngineerMake a factory, hospital or warehouse work better. Four years of school and no licensing gauntlet.Typical pay$102kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery highAgricultural EngineerEngineering for food, water and land. Machines, irrigation, grain storage and the systems that feed the country.Typical pay$99kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandVery highHealth and Safety OfficerFind the thing that is going to hurt somebody, and get it fixed before it does. Unpopular some days, and the reason people go home whole.Typical pay$90kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery high
Transport
4Marine Engineering OfficerRun the engine room of a ship. Four years at a maritime academy, a Coast Guard license, then months at sea and months at home.Typical pay$112kTo qualify4 to 5 yrsDemandVery highLogistics CoordinatorKeep freight, trucks and warehouses moving, and fix it when they stop.Typical pay$107kTo qualifyup to 4 yrsDemandVery highFlight AttendantSafety crew first, service second, paid by the flight hour and living by a seniority list.Typical pay$64kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandVery highDelivery DriverDrive a van or light truck, run a route, and get paid without a degree or a license exam.Typical pay$45kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandVery high
Food and hospitality
7Restaurant ManagerRun the floor, the schedule, the money and the people. You can get here with no degree, and most managers started as servers.Typical pay$69kTo qualifyup to 4 yrsDemandVery highChefRun a kitchen: the menu, the orders, the crew and the food. You get there by cooking for years, not by graduating.Typical pay$62kTo qualify4 to 10 yrsDemandVery highEvent PlannerMonths of spreadsheets and contracts, then three days where everything happens at once.Typical pay$61kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery highOutdoor Adventure GuideTake people down rivers and up mountains for a living. Low pay, seasonal work, and an office nobody else gets.Typical pay$38kTo qualifyup to 3 yrsDemandVery highCookRun a station in a working kitchen. Hired on attitude, trained on the line, paid from day one.Typical pay$37kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandVery highRestaurant ServerTake orders, run food, get paid in tips the same night. The most common first job in America.Typical pay$35kTo qualifyunder 1 yrDemandVery highSommelierYou own the wine list in a restaurant, buy the bottles and sell them at the table. The exams are famously hard and the pay is mostly tips.Typical pay$35kTo qualify1 to 5 yrsDemandVery high
Science and environment
3StatisticianDesign the study, run the numbers, and say honestly how sure you are. One of the best paid math jobs that is not finance.Typical pay$106kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highFood ScientistWork out why food spoils, how to stop it, and what has to change before a new product reaches a shelf.Typical pay$89kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery highForensic ScientistAnalyze evidence in a crime laboratory and then defend your findings under cross examination.Typical pay$72kTo qualify4 to 6 yrsDemandVery high