Picking an ideal career for yourself can be hard. You want to do work that you enjoy and take advantage of all your skills but, with all the career ideas out there, how do you make the right choice?
One of the best ways to find your next career is to consider all the opportunities available on the market. They can spark inspiration and interest in yourself, helping you find your dream career.
In this article, you’re going to learn about 20 rewarding and in-demand careers.
If you’re ready to find a new career or want to explore additional career ideas, we recommend ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter is free for job seekers and is rated the #1 job site in the USA!
20 Of The Most In-Demand Careers
Here are some of the most in-demand careers right now.
1. Occupational Therapist
Median National Salary: $85,570/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Occupational therapists help patients that suffer from physical and mental health illnesses and injuries regain motor function, through occupational therapy. Occupational therapists help patients perform daily activities like self-feeding, brushing teeth, using a smartphone, etc.
2. Web Developer
Median National Salary: $77,200/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Web developers build and maintain websites. They can plan the layout of the website, design the homepage and other web pages, and ensure functionality, and testing.They can work individually or in a team setting and perform job duties like website and usability testing, layout design, and developing site functionality.
3. Nutritionist
Median National Salary: $61,650/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Nutritionists work with people to help them lead healthier lives through nutrition planning. A nutritionist’s job duties may include:
- Consulting clients to evaluate nutrition needs
- Developing nutrition plans
4. Actuary
Median National Salary: $105,900/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Actuaries specialize in evaluating risk for organizations. They typically work for insurance companies, looking at multiple factors to measure risk and identify if insurance can be extended due to acceptable levels of risk.
Actuaries use math and statistics in their work. This job requires a postsecondary degree and certification to practice actuarial science professionally. Actuaries measure risk. They use math, statistics, and other tools to determine the amount of risk carried.
5. Financial Manager
Median National Salary: $131,710/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Financial managers are responsible for an organization’s finances. They’ll perform record keeping, identify and measure financial goals, and oversee the financial performance of the company. A financial manager monitors, measures, and manages the financial performance of the organization. Their job duties include:
- Financial reporting
- Developing long-term financial plans
- Evaluating, measuring, and monitoring financial performance over time
Related: Best Paying Jobs In Finance
6. Mechanical Engineer
Median National Salary: $95,300/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Mechanical engineers design and manage mechanical devices like engines, thermal sensors, etc. Mechanical engineers can work in a variety of industries including aerospace, manufacturing, and other industries. Mechanical engineers create, build, test, and maintain mechanical equipment.
7. Registered Nurse
Median National Salary: $77,600/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: A registered nurse provides healthcare to patients. Registered nurses can work in a variety of different healthcare settings like schools, prisons, nursing homes, doctor’s offices, hospitals, and other places. They provide healthcare-related services and support to patients.
For more information, check out our guide on how to become a nurse.
8. Technical Writer
Median National Salary: $78,060/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Technical writers specialize in the complex, technical document writing needed for industries like manufacturing, robotics, engineering, medicine, and other fields. Technical writers can create documents like:
- Whitepapers
- Press releases
- Manuals
- Job applications
A technical writer will have job duties like:
- Perform research
- Create and write traditional, end-user, and technical marketing content like medical studies, repair manuals, consumer product guides, and catalogs
Related: Best Writing Jobs
9. Marketing Manager
Median National Salary: $133,380/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Marketing managers prepare, organize, and execute marketing campaigns for organizations. They prepare and carry out the marketing materials behind a company’s advertising. Marketing managers have the following job duties:
- Prepare and organize marketing materials
- Execute marketing campaigns
- General leads
- Lead marketing team
- Review overall marketing performance
Related: Best Careers In Marketing
10. Public Relations Manager
Median National Salary: $119,860/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: A public relations (PR) manager is responsible for managing the organization’s point of view from a media perspective. They create and manage the brand’s image, respond to image crises, and make press releases, among other duties. The work of a public relations manager can include:
- Creating press releases
- Creating and managing social media content
- Building relationships with press and media outlets
- Reputation management, and
- Maintaining a positive brand appearance
11. Paralegal
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Median National Salary: $56,230/year
Education Required: Associate’s degree
Job Duties: Paralegals are legal assistants and their work helps support attorneys. Paralegals do work like:
- Perform legal research
- File organization
- Draft documents
- Caseload management
12. Market Research Analyst
Median National Salary: $63,920/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: A market research analyst studies market conditions, collecting and measuring data for consumer and competitor research. Market research analysts perform the following:
- Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data
- Look at market conditions to determine product performance
- Help organizations gain a competitive advantage over competitors
13. Real Estate Agent
Median National Salary: $61,480/year
Education Required: Real estate certification
Job Duties: Real estate agents are the representatives that help with the buying, selling, and rental of properties, including rental properties.
For example, if someone is trying to buy a house for their family to live in, they’ll likely use a real estate agent to help with property research, showing, placing an offer, and additional steps in the home buying process.
14. Dental Assistant
Median National Salary: $38,660/year
Education Required: Vocational training
Job Duties: Dental assistants help dentists perform patient care. The work duties of dental assistants can include:
- Taking x-rays
- Record keeping
- Appointment scheduling
- Providing general patient care
15. Physical Therapist
Median National Salary: $95,620/year
Education Required: Doctoral or professional degree
Job Duties: Physical therapists provide diagnosis and treatment to promote healing and help patients regain mobility. Physical therapists assist patients with physical therapy. Physical therapy helps increase mobility and lessen pain in patients that have suffered from illness or injury.
16. Genetic Counselor
Median National Salary: $80,150/year
Education Required: Master’s degree
Job Duties: Genetic counselors work in the field of genetics to assess inherited conditions. This is a rapidly growing field and an exciting job to have, with the advancements being made in genomics. Genetic counselors work as patient advocates, helping assess individual and family risks like genetic conditions. Some of the job duties of genetic counselors include:
- Ordering genetic testing
- Data interpretation
- Counseling individuals about test results
17. Physical Therapy Assistant
Median National Salary: $49,180/year
Education Required: Associate’s degree
Job Duties: A physical therapy assistant provides assistance and support to physical therapists. Physical therapy assistants work with patients under the supervision of physical therapists helping patients regain mobility and function through therapeutic treatment.
18. Speech Language Pathologist
Median National Salary: $79,060/year
Education Required: Associate’s degree
Job Duties: Speech-language pathologists work with people to help diagnose and treat speech problems. Speech-language pathologists can work in a variety of different settings like schools, hospitals, medical practices, etc. They help provide speech therapy services to people who have suffered speech disorders due to developmental issues, illness, or injury.
For example, stroke victims might work with speech-language pathologists to relearn how to speak.
19. Nurse Anesthetist
Median National Salary: $123,780/year
Education Required: Master’s degree
Job Duties: Nurse anesthetists assist during anesthesia treatment that patients undergo. They perform job duties like:
- Administering anesthesia
- Providing patient care
20. Substance Abuse Counselor
Median National Salary: $48,520/year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Job Duties: Substance abuse counselors provide help to patients that are battling substance abuse. Substance abuse counselors are mental health professionals that provide support to people fighting addiction to drugs and/or alcohol.
How To Find The Career That’s Right For You
52% of American workers are considering a career change with most of those, around 44% with actual plans in place to make the change!
So, switching careers isn’t uncommon. The process can take some time and even some failed attempts to realize the right trajectory for your career. If you feel stuck, you aren’t alone. Here are some tips for finding your next career.
1. Talk to a career counselor
Speaking to a professional career counselor is a great place for you to start your quest for finding the right career. They can help you identify your skills, interests, strengths, and weaknesses so you can figure out your career path.
Career counselors can also help with:
- Career strategy
- Resume and interview prep
- Job shadowing
- Internship opportunities
For resume help, check out our guide to the best resume writing services.
2. Take a career assessment
A career assessment is like a personality test for jobs. It can reveal career paths that you may not have considered.
The point of a career assessment is to provide insight and an opportunity for you to reflect on your skills and interests. It can also help match you with careers that work well for your personality type.
Career assessments you can look into are:
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- MAPP (Motivational Appraisal Personal Potential) Career Assessment Test
- John Holland’s Self-Directed Search
- MyPlan
3. Identify your skills and interests
Sitting down to identify your skills and interests is a great opportunity for self-reflection. This is a good starting point to brainstorm possible career paths you can take.
Alongside your list of skills and interests, make a list of your goals and career options. Try to make this as expansive as possible so you have plenty of options.
At this stage, you would’ve mapped out a list of:
- Skills
- Interests
- Goals
- Career options
With this information, you can begin to filter down the list until you get to a smaller group of possible career paths that you can explore further to find a potential fit.
Related: How To Choose A Career
4. Network
Did you know that 70% of jobs available aren’t even posted online?
The workers that snag these unpublished job openings get in through the magic of networking.
Networking is about mixing and mingling with peers in your industry to get some insight into the job and industry. It gives you a great behind-the-scenes look at what the work is really like.
You can network in-person or online. LinkedIn is a great place to network online.
Attend networking events like conferences, and meetups, and join career-based online groups and communities like LinkedIn or industry-specific Facebook groups or subreddits.
When you’ve identified the career you want to go for, networking can really help you tap into that field. Beyond this, your next step is to start your job search.
For more information, check out Mike Gardon’s guide to networking with anyone on the internet.
Where To Find Your Next Career
Here are the best places to find your next career.
ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter is one of the leading job search websites. Jobseekers get access to tons of tools to conduct a thorough job search including salary search tools along with jobseeker reviews and more.
To learn more, check out our ZipRecruiter review.
Indeed
Indeed is a free job search website that lets you search for thousands of jobs online. Indeed is easy to use and provides a wealth of helpful information about jobs like salary, benefits, job description, and more. You even get an option to apply for the job online, right through the site.
To learn more, check out our Indeed review.
CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder is a job search bank that you can use to find and apply for jobs online. You can also access career resources like salary tools and more.
To learn more, check out our CareerBuilder review.
The Bottom Line
Trying to find your dream career path isn’t easy but once you get there, it’s worth it. I hope these career ideas and tips help you get one step closer to finding your dream career. For more inspiration, read about the highest-paying jobs in the U.S.
When you’re ready to begin your job search, visit ZipRecruiter to get started.
