Markets 
If you’re looking to clear six figures, listen up: New research says certain careers stand apart as the fastest-growing and most lucrative in the land.
Data from the US Department of Labor reveals the 13 fastest-growing and highest-paying career paths, with opportunity for engineers, product managers, healthcare workers and data security pros landing the highest salaries — all of them over $100,000 a year.
While utilities is officially the fastest-growing sector of the US economy, its relatively small employment size translates to just 58,800 new jobs, making healthcare a strong second.
In July, the US unemployment rate — the percentage of Americans who are jobless and actively looking for work — dipped to 4.1%, its lowest level of the year and well below the 5.6% average since the end of World War II.
However, the labor force shrank by more than a quarter million people versus a year earlier, hitting its lowest level since the pandemic.
But the tide may soon be turning as demand for certain careers continues to rise.
Fueled in part by an aging population that is placing a high premium on health care and social assistance, the health sector is expected to add more jobs than any other category in the coming years.
Last year, a whopping 77% of payroll job growth came from healthcare and social assistance, a field that’s largely dominated by women, while male-majority industries like manufacturing and warehousing suffered declines.
And the trend will continue as the agency projects that health will add roughly 2.2 million positions through 2035, accounting for 37% of all new jobs.
“Strong employment growth is expected to stem from both the aging population and the increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes,” states the new report.
In terms of specific roles, nurse practitioner positions are projected to grow by 41% through 2035, a rate that is faster than any other occupation and nearly 12 times faster than total employment.
Though the median annual wage in the US was $51,000 last year, nurse practitioners made significantly more, with a median wage of $132,000.
Meanwhile, a talented, caring physician’s assistant can now pull in nearly $136,000 — almost as high as a computer scientist.
Recruiters are also anxious to fill roles for another related, albeit slightly less lucrative, healthcare career: sterile processing technicians.
These techs maintain the hygiene and safety of medical institutions by decontaminating, inspecting, packaging, and sterilizing the tools used in the facilities.
Other related titles include Certified Registered Central Service Technician, sterilization technician, medical equipment preparer, and Sterile Processing and Distribution Technician.
Conversely, AI has been cited in 184,538 layoff announcements since 2023. While tech leaders have argued that AI will create new jobs in the long term, the new technology is widely expected to disrupt entry-level roles in fields like tech, finance, and manufacturing.
But some tech professionals, including cybersecurity specialists and data analysts, remain in high demand. According to the USDL, data scientist hiring is expected to grow by 34.6%, with salaries hitting a yearly median income of $120,230.
The national average salary is $74,898 per year, with pay ranging from $57,113 to $98,221 per year.
The 13 fastest-growing jobs that pay over $100,000 a year
- Nurse practitioner — $132,300
- Data scientists — $120,230
- Medical and health services managers — $123,860
- Computer and information research scientists — $140,300
- Physician assistants — $135,880
- Information security analysts — $129,180
- Health specialties teachers, postsecondary — $107,310
- Computer and information systems managers — $175,140
- Occupational therapists — $100,330
- Medical scientists, except epidemiologists — $103,410
- Industrial engineers — $102,440
- Biochemists and biophysicists — $127,410
- Physical therapists — $102,760
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