U.S. News & World Report has unveiled its 2017 Best Jobs report, offering a look at the year’s best jobs across 15 categories—from best-paying jobs to diverse sectors like business and technology. The rankings take into account the most important aspects of a job, including growth potential, work-life balance and salary.
Healthcare tops the list
Healthcare jobs dominate the 2017 rankings, with 52 of the 100 Best Jobs in health-related fields. Dentist ranks as the Best Job overall, followed by nurse practitioner at No. 2, and physician assistant at No. 3. The majority of the Best-Paying Jobs are also in healthcare, with anesthesiologist topping the list, followed by surgeon at No. 2, and oral and maxillofacial surgeon at No. 3.
“Healthcare jobs often require a human element, so they can’t be exported or entirely replaced by robots—at least not yet,” said Susannah Snider, personal finance editor at U.S. News. “Continued growth in the healthcare sector, low unemployment rates, and high salaries make these jobs especially desirable. Plus, individuals can pursue a range of healthcare positions that require varying levels of skill and education.”
Analysts needed
Statistician (No. 4) and mathematician (No. 20) also make this year’s list of the Best Jobs, in large part due to the explosion of data and use of advanced analytics to solve problems across sectors.
“Almost every type of company is hiring people to collect, analyze and provide insights on data to improve their operations,” said Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer. “These roles—along with technology positions—are going to be important to almost any business in the future.”
How the list is compiled
To calculate Best Jobs, U.S. News draws data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify jobs with the greatest hiring demand. Jobs are then scored using seven component measures: 10-year growth volume, 10-year growth percentage, median salary, employment rate, future job prospects, stress level, and work-life balance. (For more information about the methodology, please click here.)
The rankings
5 best jobs overall
- Dentist
- Nurse Practitioner
- Physician Assistant
- Statistician
- Orthodontist
5 best-paying jobs
- Anesthesiologist
- Surgeon
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
- Obstetrician and Gynecologist
- Orthodontist
5 best healthcare jobs
- Dentist
- Nurse Practitioner
- Physician Assistant
- Orthodontist
- Nurse Anesthetist
*See the full list of the Best Jobs here.
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