Close to half of the nation’s top 100 jobs for 2021 are in healthcare. This is the finding of the U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Best Jobs“ list. To determine the list of best jobs, they use the following criteria: salaries, employment rates, job openings, growth, stress, and work-life balance. With the global pandemic highlighting the value of healthcare professionals in today’s world, it is worth noting that many of these important healthcare jobs are considered top jobs.
This year, physician assistant is ranked the number one best job by U.S. News and World Report. Physician assistants (PAs) diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medication, and often serve as a patient’s principal healthcare provider. They usually hold master’s degrees and typically work alongside a licensed physician or surgeon. The field is expected to continue growing with more PA jobs being created all the time.
Other top health care jobs as ranked by U.S. News include nurse practitioner (#3), medical and health services manager (#4) and physician (#5).
Listed below are the top 20 jobs on U.S. News’ list of the best jobs for 2021:
- Physician assistant
- Software developer
- Nurse practitioner
- Medical and health services manager
- Physician
- Statistician
- Speech-language pathologist
- Data scientist
- Dentist
- Veterinarian
- Orthodontist
- IT manager
- Physical therapist assistant
- Anesthesiologist
- Information security analyst
- Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselor
- Financial manager
- Oral and maxillofacial surgeon
- Occupational therapist
- Marriage and family therapist
Click here for the full ranking.