The 100 Best Jobs
All jobs aren't created equal. In fact, some are simply better than the rest. U.S. News 100 Best Jobs of 2013 are the occupations that offer a mosaic of employment opportunity, good salary, manageable work-life balance, and job security. Some careers offer just the right mix of these components—for instance, our top tier is filled with tech and healthcare jobs—but the list also includes strong showings from occupations in the social services and business sectors. Even construction jobs enter the fray this year. Read more on how we rank the best jobs, and check out our full list.
Think of this profession as people-watching for a paycheck. Market research analysts watch people, listen, and study them to determine their habits and preferences. They then advise clients on how to package, brand, and sell products appropriately.
To do this job well, you’ll have to master the technical, like using medical equipment and making sure the patient is properly placed to get a just-right image, as well as the social, like interacting with nervous patients awaiting information on a medical condition. Sonographers are expecting liberal openings for the next few years.
Without the expertise of network and computer systems administrators, your office network would be hampered by a string of technological glitches. Aside from maintaining a healthy computer network, they also lend their tech knowledge to managing telecommunication networks. This profession is expected to add 96,600 new positions by 2020.
It’s simplistic to say these specialized practitioners are concerned with “breathing.” An RT’s purview could also extend to managing life support, administering anaesthesia, and stabilizing patients. The BLS forecasts nearly 30 percent employment growth in this career by 2020.
Medical secretaries become well-versed in insurance rules, billing practices, and hospital procedures. The reward for their diligence is job security, as the Labor Department projects 40 percent employment growth for this profession.
The concrete streets you walk, the asphalt highways your wheels caress, and the buildings you sit in were all planned by civil engineers. If you want to be the designer who keeps our society humming, this job is for you.
This is a stressful job where you'll get up close and personal with some of our society's ugliest issues. But this is also a rewarding position with good job security and room to grow. The most job openings will be for counselors willing to work in residential mental-health and substance-abuse facilities.
Most speech-language pathologist jobs require a master's degree. And while in school, you should try to do as many field placements as possible. Having a little extra experience will help you to get hired for one of the approximately 28,000 new positions available.
Having a hard time telling the difference between a landscaper and a groundskeeper? Landscapers plant trees, shrubs, and flowers, fertilize plants, and construct outdoor walkways, patios, and fences to surround their handy work. Groundskeepers might also garden and plant, paint fences, clean swimming pools, shovel snow, and handle refuse removal.
Technologists use X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment to assist physicians in diagnosing patients. As with other healthcare posts, this one will also expand—nearly 30 percent by 2020.
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- Best Jobs Rankings
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Best Jobs of 2013 — See our full list of industries and their jobs.
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Best Business Jobs — Expect nearly 4 million openings in this industry this decade.
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Best Creative Jobs — Three hot jobs where right-brain thinking truly pays off.
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Best Healthcare Jobs — The medical field is classified by good salaries and great job security.
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Best Social Services Jobs — These 30 jobs are more than a choice, they’re a calling.
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Best Construction Jobs — Ten great jobs that prove this field is coming back strong.
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Best Technology Jobs — Nine of the fastest-growing and top-paying jobs available now.
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