Early in November, CareerBuilder, the largest online employment website in the United States, published its report “America’s Job Outlook: Occupational Projections 2013-2017” and helped forecast the nation’s fastest growing occupations from the years 2013 to 2017.
Career Builder and Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI) explored projections over a five-year period by occupation, wage group, and education for the US and the 52 largest metropolitan areas, and from their research, the groups uncovered the top occupations over the 2013-2017 time period, while also highlighting the urban areas that best support this job growth. After determining that the U.S. workforce is expected to grow 4.4% from 2013 to 2017, Career Builder found that occupations requiring college degrees are growing significantly faster than those that do not.
Here are the top 7 jobs that Career Builder highlighted as the fastest growing. Of the 785 occupations investigated for its report, the company found that 329 of them are projected to grow 5% or more from 2013 to 2017.
1. Personal Care Aides
A profession similar to No. 2 on the list: personal care aids. These employees might not visit patients’ homes daily like the home health aids do, but they still help meet patients’ personal care needs. Together, personal care aids and home health aides are projected to add nearly a half million jobs through 2017, and they are gaining significance as the population ages and more assistance is needed. The average personal care aid makes around $9.77 an hour, and about 1,334,313 workers currently hold the position. That number will increase to 1,608,211 by 2017, reflecting a 21% change.
2. Home Health Aides
Coming up with the No. 2 distinction is a home health aide, or someone who visits the home of a disabled, chronically ill, or elderly patient who requires extra assistance. The number of jobs in this low-paying field is increasing exponentially and is expected to grow 21 percent by 2017, but the average worker in such a profession still only makes $9.97 an hour. There are currently 950,273 home health aides in the U.S., but by 2017, they are expected to total over 1 million, standing around 1,150,340.
3. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
Market research analysts and marketing specialists are next. Making around $29.10 an hour, these employees, often referred to as consultants, are expected to increase significantly in number by 2017 as more businesses and investors employ their expertise and market knowledge. There are currently around 438,851 positions in the U.S. for market research analysts and marketing specialists, but 60,889 jobs will be added within five years, eventually totaling 499,740.
4. Medical Secretaries
Staying in the medical field, next are medical secretaries for the No. 4 spot. This increasingly important occupation is expected to experience a 14% growth by 2017, as 76,386 more jobs in the position are added. There are currently 537,064 medical secretaries in the U.S., but by 2017, there will be around 613,450. These workers generally make around $15.17 an hour, reflecting another healthcare occupation in the medium-wage category.
5. Emergency Medical Techs & Paramedics
We come to an entirely differently field for the No. 5 spot, and it is in the healthcare division that emergency medical techs and paramedics fall. This healthcare occupation also falls within the medium-wage category, which is a segment that is expected to grow significantly over the upcoming years, and where workers generally make around $15.28 an hour. The number of positions available in the field is projected to increase 13% by 2017, from 238,658 jobs to 268,892. But, remember “” workers have to like blood.
6. Software Developers, Systems Software
Also making Career Builder’s list is a similar position: software developers for systems software, another division of the technology sphere. These developers make a slightly higher wage than their neighbors on the list, coming in at $47.64 an hour, but the number of jobs available for such a division is expected to grow 11% from 2013 to 2017, adding 48,291 positions. The number of software developing jobs for the systems software division currently stands around 420,109, while that number is expected to increase to 468,400 by 2017.
7. Software Developers, Applications
The seventh-fastest growing occupation projected for the 5-year period comes from an increasingly popular and lucrative field: software development. The number of software developing jobs in the applications sphere is expected to grow 11% from 2013 to 2017 in the U.S., and increase by 61,758 positions. At the time of Career Builder’s research, there were currently 626,262 jobs in this profitable line of the work, and that number is projected to total 688,020 by 2017.
It’s of little surprise that occupations in information and computer technology top the job growth list, as this kind of technology is one of the fastest growing and highly anticipated sectors in the United States. Still, careers in software development usually require a a significant amount of schooling and experience before one can secure such an opportunity, and the average hourly earning of a software developer is $43.34.