Will You Change Careers in 2015?

You know the saying: “A new year. A new you.” Why not apply that to your career, too? If you’re looking for a career change in the new year, then you might want to check out the top occupations the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects as the most promising, broken down by highest paying, fastest growing, and most new availabilities.

(Photo Credit: sacks08/Flickr)

After depressing you with our recent post about endangered jobs in 2015, we thought we’d lift your spirits and give you hope for a brighter future with these promising careers, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Highest Paying

This particular category is dominated by physicians and surgeons (taking up the top three spots on the list), followed by more occupations from the medical field, as listed below.

1. Oral Surgeons

PayScale Median Salary: $215,696

2. Physicians and Surgeons

PayScale Median Salary: $250,742

3. Surgeons

PayScale Median Salary: $240,463

4. Obstetricians and Gynecologists

PayScale Median Salary: $198,731

5. Internist, General

PayScale Median Salary: $171,258

The above list was gathered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, and the salaries listed are from PayScale’s Salary Data & Career Research Center (United States).

Fastest Growing (Projected)

Topping the list for fastest growing occupation is in the psychology field, followed by health care aides and, strangely enough, mechanical insulation workers. See below for BLS.gov‘s projected growth rates for each occupation for the years 2012 through 2022, as well as each occupation’s median pay in 2012, according to PayScale.

1. Industrial-Organizational Psychologist

Growth Rate (2012 – 2022): 53 percent

Median Salary: $73,529

2. Personal Care Aides

Growth Rate (2012 – 2022): 49 percent

Median Wage: $10/hour

3. Home Health Aides

Growth Rate (2012 – 2022): 48 percent

Median Wage: $9/hour

4. Insulation Workers, Mechanical

Growth Rate (2012 – 2022): 47 percent

Median Wage: $13/hour

5. Interpreters and Translators

Growth Rate (2012 – 2022): 46 percent

Median Wage: $19/hour

Most New Jobs (Projected)

It appears that healthcare occupations top the list for BLS.gov’s Most New Jobs category, too. Now that the economy is healing from the Great Recession it experienced back in 2008 onward, more consumer-based industries are picking up, namely retail and food/restaurant industries — we’re guessing Instagram has a little something to do with the boom in the fashion and foodie world.

1. Personal Care Aides

Number of New Jobs (2012 – 2022): 580,800

Median Wage: $10/hour

2. Registered Nurses

Number of New Jobs (2012 – 2022): 526,800

Median Wage: $26/hour

3. Retail Salespeople

Number of New Jobs (2012 – 2022): 434,700

Median Wage: $9/hour

4. Home Health Aides

Number of New Jobs (2012 – 2022): 424,200

Median Wage: $9/hour

5. Combined Food Preparation & Serving Workers, Including Fast Food

Number of New Jobs (2012 – 2022): 421,900

Median Wage: $9/hour

To view the complete list, check out the Most New Jobs section of BLS.gov’s Occupational Outlook Handbook. (Salary and wage data sourced here.)

If a career change is what you’ve been pondering, then consider one of the occupations above. Before making any rash decisions, be sure to set yourself up for success, first, and get yourself organized and centered for the big year ahead. Good luck!

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