10 Highest Paying Jobs in Demand for 2010

Posted in Careers by Kevin | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last year, I compiled a list of  the 10 highest paying jobs in demand…. this year, the economy has changed. Some sectors of the economy have added tons of jobs, while others struggle and still continue to lay off its workers.

Since we are all ambitious people, I am going to list you the best jobs that are in demand for the current year. In demand means “where employees are needed.”

Do you know any websites that show job demand or would like to add to the list? Please let me know.

Here is how this list is broken down- since yearly job growth is hard to predict due to fluctuations, we have included the number of jobs that will be opening from 2008- 2018 (one decade). The education factoid shown is not the required education, but the level needed for good job prospects. Finally, the earning range is from the 25%-75% percentile. If you have questions about any of these, please let me know.

I. Biomedical Engineers
Job Growth in Next Decade: 72% (#1 in all jobs)
Education: Master’s Degree
Earnings: $57,000 – $77,0000

Most of the growth seen in this field will be caused by the aging baby boomer population, which will rely heavily on medical devices and other equipment designed by biomedical engineers. This is especially true in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

II. Computer Systems Analyst
Job Growth in Next Decade: 53.4% (#2 in all jobs)
Education: Graduate Preferred, Bachelor’s with Experience also Preferred.
Earnings: $77,000 – $89,0000

As the Internet and IT becomes more common in many households and offices, the demand for CSA’s will increase heavily as experts are needed for computer networking and intranet responsibilities.

III. Physician Assistants
Job Growth in Next Decade: 39.0% (#7 in all jobs)
Education: PA degree required (2 years plus prerequisite coursework)
Earnings: $68,000 – $97,0000, average is $81,000

Doctor offices, hospitals and other institutions will employ more PA’s to provide care and to assist with medical and surgical procedures because PAs are cost-effective.

IV. Biochemists
Job Growth in Next Decade: 39.0% (#9 in all jobs)
Education: Graduate Preferred
Earnings: $59,000- $108,000

Growth in the field is due to continued development and reliance on newer biotechnological research. Positions are available in private science firms, academia, and federal laboratories.

V. Dental Hygienist
Job Growth in Next Decade: 36.1% (#11 in all jobs)
Education: Post- undergraduate (2 + 3 years) Dental Hygiene certificate
Earnings: $55,000- $78,000, average is $82,000

The projected growth of dental hygienists is the highest in the dental field in response to increasing demand for dental care and more use of cost effective hygienists, similar to PA’s for physicians.

VI. Computer Software Engineer

Job Growth in Next Decade: 34.0% (#14 in all jobs)
Education: Bachelor’s Degree
Earnings: $67,000- $104,000

New job growth is propelled by the need for rapidly evolving technologies and the increasing use of the world wide web for marketing and sales.

VII. Veterinarians

Job Growth in Next Decade: 33.3% (#17 in all jobs)
Education: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M) + Undergraduate Degree
Earnings: $61,000- $104,000

There are only 28 vet schools in the country and admission is very competitive. With the low number of graduates every year and increasing demand, vet’s are becoming one of the fastest growing jobs in the United States.

VIII. Environmental Engineers

Job Growth in Next Decade: 30.6% (#21 in all jobs)
Education: Graduate Preferred
Earnings: $56,000- $94,000

As public awareness for the environment increases, more environmental engineers will be needed to help companies comply with environmental regulations and to develop methods of cleaning up environmental hazards.

IX. Survey Researchers

Job Growth in Next Decade: 30.4% (#25 in all jobs)
Education: Bachelor’s
Earnings: $43,000- $85,100

People with backgrounds in science or math related fields have the highest pay and overall better job prospects. Private research firms are the best employers for survey researchers.

X. Physical Therapists

Job Growth in Next Decade: 30.3% (#27 in all jobs)
Education: Prerequisite coursework followed by 2- 2.5 year PT program
Earnings: $50,000- $104,000

The rapidly increasing elderly population will require a need for PT’s and need for cardiac and physical rehabilitation.

This concludes my top ten list for most demanding jobs, if you are thinking about a career change, look more into these jobs to see if they fit you. The US Department of Labor website, http://www.bls.gov , is a vast resource that you can look for more jobs.

What do you think will happen with the job market in the upcoming years, join in the conversation…


14 Comments to “10 Highest Paying Jobs in Demand for 2010”

  • I’m always searching into things about topics that I don’t know of. It’s hard to look for things that you do not know about, because what do you look for? 😉 This is the type of thing I love to read about on something new to me. Great post! Thanks.

  • I have a Masters degree in Information Systems and have been out of work over 3 years.  I got downsized from IBM in 2004, and last contract I worked full time ended February 2007.  I did about 20 hours contract work over a 3 week period in 2009.Are you guys serious about this demand comment?  It looks the same as what was done before the Dotcom bubble regarding IT.  And it doesn’t look like it reflects AT ALL the use of the Internet and the outsource of work to China, Russia and India.  You do know people make decisions to borrow money based on information like this. 

  • Rich,

    This article is based on the information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hence the source at the bottom. Here is the link:
    Please refer to their “Most in demand jobs for 2009-2019” for a complete table.
    Obviously, these numbers are not made up.
  • I am with Rich. These numbers are inflated. Don’t trust hearsay. Go with experience, trial and error.

  • Please look at the above source and tell me how this is hearsay when I citing references.

    I am sure your trial and error does not trump the BLS reports. 
  • I did’t agree with it and i think that it is the time of do well what are u doing or what r u working. Every job is important and can be demanded if u r Master and not the jack of all trade.

  • The BLS statistics are incredibly out of sync with dental hygiene jobs. Your research should dig deeper than just BLS figures. I challenge you to go onto numerous dental hygiene forums such as indeed.com and amyrdh.com and read about the current state of affairs in dental hygiene. It is in NO WAY reflective of the rosy picture painted by BLS. Here are the facts: in the economic downturn the dental field has experienced a vast decrease in patient load. Patients put off routine care and are primarily coming in for emergency care. Also, due to these BLS figures for profit hygiene schools are popping up left and right causing there to be an oversupply of hygienists on the market which is causing wages to go down and many, many unemployed hygienists in Canada and in the US, particularly where these schools are located.  Further, many hygiene careers are part time. Over 50% of hygiensts have to work for two separate dental offices to obtain a fulltime workload and commensurate pay. I often see articles like this citing BLS stats without truly digging deeper to see if those stats are accurate or even in touch with today’s realities. Dental hygiene is a great field, but the job growth is not there right now, has been decreasing and pay is decreasing too in many areas. Please research further and I look forward to what you think.

  • Chris,I understand your concern. I will definitely try to dig deeper into each field and cite different sources the next time around.Kevin

  • These numbers are not correct. Dental hygienist do not make 80,000, my brother has been one for 20 years and made $14.00/hr , he now makes $40,00/yr as an instructor at the university. Poor research done here….

  • I agree with Rich. I don’t care if it comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or personal analysis, these information are usually misleading. What is the meaning of most demanding? Does it mean that most jobs are being created or does it mean that there are less people looking for a particlar job compare to the job are being created- making it most demanidng? I agree with Rich because I have countless number of friends who have been out of jobs in  IT fields many times and some are still out of jobs for many years, even having bachelor/masters degree in Inforamtion system/computer science. The reason, it is so diffuclt to get a job in IT field is because 1) 65,000 IT jobs are being filled every year through H1 visa, coming from overseas and 2) oursource- lot of IT development and support are done overseas.  I think  Bureau of Labor Statistics should do a better job providing this kind of information so that people have a better understanding of what field to choose.

  • # 7.  Veterinarianstarting salary is US $ 70,000-80,000.If you own a small animal practice – income is US $ 100000-400000.If you hold Internship – starting salary can be 120,000-140,000.If you are a Veterinary Specialist – salary US $ 150,000-350,000.Income increases with years of experience.

  • Veterinarians earn much more. Information provided here may be from US Labor statistics. Go and search on American Veterinary Medical Association website – AVMA . Get a better idea about Veterinarians, then put/ publish on internet. Dt put Veterinarians along with these fucking low class professions. Veterinarians are among  Top 10 professions in the USA.

  • Veterinariansand Job prospects are much better than dentists, pharmacists, and other professions. Their are only 28 Veterinary Medicine schools in the USA, who trains veterinarians (DVM). If you want to become a veterinarian , you need to be very / extremely intelligent to get into one of those 28 vet schools. Keep in mind. Job prospects are excellent. Veterinarians are high in demand in the USA.

  • i love how dr. brown states that you have to be extremely intelligent to become a veterinarian and downgrades all the other job listings, when he has to use words like fucking in a post. my niece is a physicians assistant and makes great pay and is respected in her community.

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