The Top Ten Jobs in America

CNN lists the top fifty jobs in the country on their website this week, based on salary and job growth prospects. A few interesting facts emerge from a glance at the top ten: only one requires a doctoral degree and it’s not in medicine.

1. Systems Engineer is in the top slot, with a projected 10-year growth rate of 45%. It’s a role that has become important for diverse fields such as medical equipment, digital networking and the auto industry. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree in engineering, probably electrical engineering.
2. Physicians Assistant is a rapidly growing position as MDs increasingly move from everyday practice to diagnosticians and treatment specialists. PAs make diagnoses, prescribe treatment and in most states can prescribe medication as well. It takes a masters’ degree from a physician assistant school and licensure from the state.
3. College professor is the third ranked job: at most universities full professorship requires a PhD. However the financial problems plaguing traditional universities may create a more rapid growth rate in online education and private schools, where a PhD isn’t as important as experience for instructors. The field is projected to grow 23% over the next decade.
4. Nurse practitioners have job descriptions very similar to physician’s assistants, which is to say that they practice medicine without MD status in many clinics and HMOs. The career requires masters’ degree and licensure from the state. Projected growth rate is 23% over the next 10 years.
5. IT Project Manager: this position requires both business savvy and IT experience. You can break into this field with a systems analyst degree, or you can be the person with business administration training who just happens to handle the company computer network. Growth projection is 16% over ten years.
6. A Certified Public Accountant, or CPA, can work in a small accounting firm or go corporate and become a risk manager or budget analyst. The projected growth rate is high at 27% over the upcoming decade. Many schools offer a five year program culminating in a Master’s in Accounting with the necessary training to take the CPA exam.
7. Physical Therapist is an expanding job category principally because of the aging of the baby boomer population. There are also a growing number of sports injury treatment centers, so it’s not just gerontology driving this career. It requires a masters degree in physical therapy and licensure in most states. Growth rate will be 27% over the upcoming decade.
8. Computer Network Security Consultant is also going to have a steep growth curve, because every business needs data security expertise and not all of them can afford an in-house expert. The best education for this job is a bachelor’s in computer science, but IT professionals with all sorts of degrees gravitate to this field.
9. Intelligence Analyst is a selective career option – the required education is usually a bachelor’s degree of some sort but experience is often the key. Foreign language fluency is a valuable asset; so is military experience in a related field. These are all government jobs and the field won’t be shrinking, although growth projection is modest.
10. Sales Director is a management job that is at the top of the marketing and sales food chain. People in this position oversee sales staff, advertising campaigns, annual sales budgets and sales goals. A degree in marketing is useful, but not imperative. Experience and drive that are the mandatory characteristics. Growth rate won’t be huge but it’s a management position that pays well.

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