Top 100
Money and PayScale.com rate the top 100 careers with great pay and growth prospects.
Rank Job title Job growth
(10-year forecast)
1 Software Architect 34%
2 Physician Assistant 39%
3 Management Consultant 24%
4 Physical Therapist 30%
5 Environmental Engineer 31%
6 Civil Engineer 24%
7 Database Administrator 20%
8 Sales Director 15%
9 Certified Public Accountant 22%
10 Biomedical Engineer 72%
11 Actuary 21%
12 Dentist 15%
13 Nurse Anesthetist 13%
14 Risk Management Manager 24%
15 Product Management Director 12%
16 Healthcare Consultant 24%
17 Information Systems Security Engineer 23%
18 Software Engineering / Development Director 17%
19 Occupational Therapist 26%
20 Information Technology Manager 17%
21 Telecommunications Network Engineer 53%
22 Environmental Health & Safety Specialist 28%
23 Construction Project Manager 17%
24 Network Operations Project Manager 23%
25 Emergency Room Physician 22%
26 Information Technology Business Analyst 20%
27 Director of Nursing 16%
28 Information Technology Consultant 17%
29 Psychiatrist 24%
30 Test Software Development Engineer 20%
31 Information Technology Network Engineer 23%
32 Senior Sales Executive 15%
33 Information Technology Program Manager 17%
34 Primary Care Physician 22%
35 Computer and Information Scientist 24%
36 Hospital Administrator 16%
37 Programmer Analyst 20%
38 Applications Engineer 34%
39 Research & Development Manager 15%
40 Regional Sales Manager 15%
41 Project Engineer 24%
42 Training Development Director 23%
43 Human Resources Consultant 21%
44 Speech-Language Pathologist 19%
45 Business Development Analyst 24%
46 Physical Therapy Director 16%
47 Structural Engineer 24%
48 Nursing Home Director 16%
49 Systems Engineer 13%
50 Healthcare Services Program Director 13%
From the November 2010 issue
Sources: PayScale.com, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and MONEY research
* Job growth is estimated for 2008-2018 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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How we picked the Best Jobs
MONEY and compensation experts PayScale.com used Bureau of Labor Statistics growth forecasts for 7,000 jobs, and identified industries with the biggest increases in jobs requiring bachelor’s degrees. Ranked them by 2008-18 growth and pay. More

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