U.S. News & World Report, known for its rankings, analysis, and consumer advice, has released its 2018 Best Jobs.
The rankings look at best jobs across 15 categories, taking into account the most important aspects of a job, including growth potential, work-life balance, and salary.
Methodology
To identify professions for the 2018 rankings, U.S. News started with data on jobs with the largest projected number of openings from 2016 to 2026, as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The jobs that topped the list were then selected for the 2018 Best Jobs analysis and rankings.
U.S. News then ranked the jobs in an overall list, as well as 12 mutually exclusive occupational categories: Best Business Jobs, Best Construction Jobs, Best Creative and Media Jobs, Best Education Jobs, Best Engineering Jobs, Best Health Care Jobs, Best Health Care Support Jobs, Best Maintenance and Repair Jobs, Best Sales and Marketing Jobs, Best Science Jobs, Best Social Services Jobs, and Best Technology Jobs.
Careers are ranked based on calculated overall score, which combines multiple components.
These components, several of which rely on BLS data, are median salary; employment rate; 10-year growth volume; 10-year growth percentage; future growth prospects; stress level; and work-life balance.
Health Care Hot
The top five jobs on the 100 Best Jobs List are:
- Software Developer
- Dentist
- Physician Assistant
- Nurse Practitioner
- Orthodontist
U.S. News points out that this is the first time since 2015 that a health care job has not topped the list, though health care positions continue to dominate the 2018 rankings due to a combination of high salaries and low unemployment rates. Nearly half, 47, of the 100 Best Jobs are in health care—and the majority of the Best-Paying Jobs are in health care.
The top five jobs on the Best-Paying Jobs list are:
- Anesthesiologist
- Surgeon
- Obstetrician and Gynecologist
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
- Orthodontist
The top five jobs overall Best Health Care Jobs are:
- Dentist
- Physician Assistant
- Nurse Practitioner
- Orthodontist
- Pediatrician
“Health care jobs are prominent on our list year after year and are predicted to continue growing rapidly within the job market by 2026,” said Rebecca Koenig, careers reporter at U.S. News. “Health care goes beyond doctors and nursing professions – there is high demand for people to fill positions available in health care technology, at hospitals and elsewhere within the industry that tap into a variety of the categories we rank and that offer a low unemployment rate, a high median salary, and robust job growth.”
Tech Talent in Demand
Jobs in technology continue to receive high rankings as well.
In addition to Software Developer, which holds the No. 1 spot as the overall Best Job, Information Security Analyst (No. 32), IT Manager (No. 42), and Computer Systems Analyst (No. 46) made the overall Best Jobs list, as problem-solving skills in technology and data analytics are necessary and in high demand across most industries today.
“Technology is the backbone of many of our jobs across the board this year,” said Kim Castro, executive editor at U.S. News. “Nearly every type of company is looking for people who can analyze and interpret data to solve problems. This technological boom is creating new opportunities for statisticians, engineers, and software developer – these workers are developing the algorithms that are rapidly changing the global job market.”