Choosing the right career would be so much easier if you could tell the future. Seriously, you could just look into your crystal ball, see what the highest-paying jobs would be around the time you graduate, and boom — a successful career path is yours.
But since no one can predict the future, we’re forced to rely on job forecasts and good old-fashioned research to guide our career choices. Sound boring? Don’t worry, we did some digging for you. Here are seven of the fastest-growing careers that don’t require an advanced degree, meaning you can start earning sooner without taking on extra years of student debt. Each role promises an annual salary well above the 2024 median of $59,384 and offers not just impressive job growth, but also — most importantly — a fulfilling career path. Best of all, you can get started with a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree, technical training, or apprenticeship, giving you more bang for your educational buck.
Source: Department of Labor Statistics (2024)
1. Wind Turbine Service Technician
- Median Annual Pay in 2023: $61,770 per year
- Job Growth: 60% between 2023 and 2033
- Education Needed: Technical School
You’re not scared of heights, are you? If the answer is no, consider a rewarding career as a wind turbine service technician. The wind energy industry is booming thanks to a combination of government incentives for wind energy and technological advances making wind turbines cheaper. As a wind turbine tech, you’ll scale upwards of 300 feet to maintain and fix wind turbines to keep them running. Of course, you’ll be wearing a safety harness to keep you safe, but let’s just say that you’ll have plenty of content to submit to Reddit’s r/SweatyPalms.
2. Data Scientist
- Median Annual Pay in 2023: $108,020 per year
- Job Growth: 36% between 2023 and 2033
- Education Needed: Bachelor’s Degree
Ever wonder who makes sense of all those TikTok trends and Netflix recommendations? Meet the data scientist – part detective, part mathematician, and part fortune teller. With a stellar 36% growth rate through 2033, these digital sleuths turn mountains of data into actionable insights. If you get excited about finding patterns in chaos and don’t mind explaining correlation vs. causation for the thousandth time, this could be your calling. Warning: May cause friends to roll their eyes when you start explaining algorithms at dinner parties.
3. Information Security Analyst
- Median Annual Pay in 2023: $120,360 per year
- Job Growth: 33% between 2023 and 2033
- Education Needed: Bachelor’s Degree or Apprenticeship
Think of these folks as the digital world’s bodyguards. With cyber threats increasing faster than you can say “password123,” it’s no wonder this field is growing at a whopping 33% through 2033. You’ll be the person who keeps hackers out of systems and helps organizations avoid becoming tomorrow’s data breach headline. If you love solving puzzles and have a slightly paranoid attention to detail, this career might be perfect for you. Plus, you get to say “I’m in” while dramatically typing on your keyboard.
4. Medical and Health Services Manager
- Median Annual Pay in 2023: $110,680 per year
- Job Growth: 29% between 2023 and 2033
- Education Needed: Bachelor’s Degree
Imagine being the conductor of a healthcare orchestra, where instead of musicians, you’re coordinating doctors, nurses, and staff. Growing at 29% through 2033, these managers keep healthcare facilities running smoother than a well-oiled machine. You’ll need to juggle budgets, regulations, and staff schedules – all while keeping everyone happy (or at least professionally satisfied). Perfect for those who love organizing chaos and don’t mind having their lunch interrupted by three different crises.
5. Operations Research Analyst
- Median Annual Pay in 2023: $83,640 per year
- Job Growth: 23% between 2023 and 2033
- Education Needed: Bachelor’s Degree
Love solving puzzles? How about solving puzzles that save companies millions of dollars? Growing at 23% through 2033, these number-crunching wizards use data to help organizations make better decisions about everything from supply chains to staffing. Think of yourself as a business detective, using mathematical clues to crack cases of inefficiency. If spreadsheets make your heart skip a beat and you enjoy explaining complex problems in simple terms, this might be your dream job. Just be prepared for your friends to ask you to optimize their fantasy football teams.
6. Actuary
- Median Annual Pay in 2023: $120,000 per year
- Job Growth: 22% between 2023 and 2033
- Education Needed: Bachelor’s Degree
Growing at 22% through 2033, actuaries are the fortune tellers of the financial world – except they use statistics instead of crystal balls. These professionals calculate the probability of events like natural disasters, accidents, or even how long someone might live (cheery stuff, right?). If you’re the type who gets excited about statistics and can explain probability to people without making their eyes glaze over, this career could be your perfect match. Plus, you’ll never have to answer “when will I ever use this?” about your math classes again!
7. Occupational Therapy Assistant
- Median Annual Pay in 2023: $65,450 per year
- Job Growth: 21% between 2023 and 2033
- Education Needed: Associate’s Degree
As the world becomes more advanced, we need talented people who can install the innovative technologies of the future. Workers in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry have long enjoyed a steady income and a stable living. But now, with new developments in HVAC such as home automation, HVAC techs are seeing a surge in demand. The best part is that you don’t need much schooling to score a job as a HVAC tech. Just enroll in a one-year accelerated program and you’re ready to launch a hot career in a cool industry.
Position Yourself for Career Success
We all want to score a stable job with a good salary. But the best careers of the future offer more than a paycheck and stability — they also provide a sense of fulfillment. If you can land a job with this winning trifecta, you can set yourself up for long-term success.
