The Ten Hottest Careers for the Future

The ten hottest careers in the future may give you some ideas on the best careers for you.

How do we know what the 10 hottest careers will be?

One way is to examine the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projections...

They have ranked the best careers from 2002 to 2012 both by speed of growth and by amount of growth.

Ten Hottest Careers: Fastest Growing

Actually, we've listed more than 10 hottest careers here. These are the careers that the BLS predicts will grow the fastest over the next few years:

Medical assistants

Network systems and data communications analysts
Physician assistants
Social and human service assistants
Home health aides
Medial records and health information technicians
Physical therapy aides
Computer software engineers for applications
Computer softrware engineers for system software
Physical therapy assistants

As you can see, many of the ten hottest careers in terms of how fast they're growing will be in the health care industry, with the IT industry close behind.

Here are the next 10 fastest-growing careers...

Fitness trainers and aerobic instructors
Database administrators
Veterinary technologists and technicians
Hazardous materials removal workers
Dental hygienists
Occupational therapy aides
Dental assistants
Personal and home care aides
Self-enrichment education teachers
Computer systems analysts

See anything is that list that sparks your interest? There are definitely some intriguing possibilities.

The next ten hottest careers in terms of fast growth would include:

Occupational therapy assistants
Environmental engineers
Postsecondary teachers
Network and computer systems administrators
Environmental science and protection technicians, including health
Preschool teachers, except special education
computer and information systems managers
Physical therapists
Occupational therapists
Respiratory therapists

Now, obviously, if you see a career that you'd like to pursue, it's not always as easy as just making a decision. In many cases, you'll need to go back to school or at the very least get some additional training.

Ten Hottest Careers: Most New Jobs

Another way to look at the hottest careers is by how many new jobs they'll produce in the next 10 years or so.

Here is the BLS prediction for which careers will yield the most jobs...

Registered nurses

Postsecondary teachers
Retail salespersons
Customer service representatives
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food
Cashiers, except gaming
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
General and operations managers
Waiters and waitresses
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants

The next 10 hottest careers in terms of number of jobs are:

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer
Receptionists and information clerks
Security guards
Office clerks
Teacher assistants
Sales representatives
Home health aides
Personal and home care aides
Truck drivers, light and delivery services
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers

Many of the top 20 best careers for amount of jobs are entry-level type positions, which is good news if you don't have a lot of job experience or an advanced degree.

The next ten hottest careers in this category include:

Elementary school teachers, except special education
Medical assistants
Maintenance and repair workers
Accountants and auditors
Computer systems analysts
Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education
Computer software engineers in applications
Management analysts
Food preparation workers
First-line supervisors/managers of retail workers

Hopefully, you see many opportunities for exploration among these ten hottest careers lists, if you're looking to make a career change in the near future. Of course, you'll also need to find careers that make sense for you, in terms of your interests, skills and education.

But, isn't it fun to know your options? Top of Ten Hottest Careers