Career Outlook article page

Education level and projected openings, 2023–33

Elka Torpey | August 2024

Whatever your education level or goal, you have lots of career options. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) can show you which occupations are expected to have the most openings for new entrants with various levels of education.  

BLS makes 10-year employment projections for more than 800 detailed occupations. Each occupation is assigned to the education level that’s typically required for workers to enter. This article highlights the occupations that BLS projects to have the most openings each year, on average, from 2023 to 2033 for five education levels:

• No formal educational credential
• High school diploma or the equivalent
• Postsecondary education, but not a bachelor’s degree
• Bachelor's degree
• Graduate degree

Across all occupations, BLS projects more than 19 million openings each year, on average, from 2023 to 2033. Most openings come from the need to replace workers who leave permanently, either to exit the labor force or to transfer to a different occupation. But others are from employment growth: that is, newly created jobs.

Keep reading to see charts showing projected openings, along with data on median annual wages, at each of the education levels. For comparison, the median annual wage for all occupations was $48,060 in 2023. (A median wage is the point at which half of workers made more than the amount, and half made less.)

The charts also include data to indicate whether workers typically need experience in a related occupation for entry and whether on-the-job training to attain competency is typically required. And for selected occupations, the text highlights new BLS information about skills.

No formal educational credential

BLS classifies 108 occupations as not typically needing any formal educational credential. Chart 1 shows the 10 occupations in this group that are projected to have the most openings each year, on average, from 2023 to 2033.

The occupations in chart 1 account for nearly 7 out of 10 openings projected at this education level. Fast food and counter workers is projected to have more openings than any other occupation in the economy: 912,400 each year, on average, from 2023 to 2033. Among the important skills that BLS identifies for workers in this occupation are customer service, attention to detail, and interpersonal communication.

Each of the occupations in chart 1, like most at this education level, had wages below the median for all occupations. The occupations in the chart may not require formal education, but they typically involve training on the job, often for 1 month or less.

High school diploma or the equivalent

There are 327 occupations that typically require a high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)—nearly twice as many occupations as at any other level of education. Chart 2 shows occupations at the high school level that are projected to have the most openings annually, on average, from 2023 to 2033.

The occupations in chart 2 account for about 4 out of 10 openings expected in occupations at the high school level. With 718,900 openings expected each year, on average, over the decade, home health and personal care aides is projected to have the most openings of the occupations in this chart. Having strong interpersonal skills, as well as being adaptable and detail-oriented, are important for these aides.

Although none of the occupations in chart 2 had wages higher than the median for all occupations, almost half of the occupations at this education level did. In addition to a high school diploma or the equivalent, most of the occupations in chart 2 also typically require on-the-job training for workers to gain competency in their tasks.

Postsecondary education, but not a bachelor's degree

Fifty-one occupations typically require a postsecondary nondegree award, such as a certificate; 48 typically require an associate’s degree; and 7 typically require some college but no degree. Chart 3 shows the 10 occupations at these education levels that are projected to have the largest numbers of openings each year, on average, over the decade.

The occupations shown in the chart account for about 6 out of 10 openings projected at these education levels. Heavy and tractor trailer truck drivers is projected to have the most openings of the occupations in chart 3: about 240,300 each year, on average, from 2023 to 2033. It’s helpful for these truck drivers to have good manual dexterity and other fine motor skills and to be detail oriented and adaptable.

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers is 1 of 2 occupations in chart 3—the other being licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses—with wages that were higher than the median for all occupations. Almost three-quarters of occupations at these education levels had wages above the median. On-the-job training to attain competency is typically required for several of the occupations in the chart.

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor’s degree is typically required for entry in 178 occupations. Chart 4 shows the occupations at this education level that are projected to have the most openings each year, on average, from 2023 to 2033.

About 4 out of 10 openings projected in the bachelor’s-level group are in the occupations shown in chart 4. General and operations managers is projected to have the most openings (320,800) annually, on average, of any occupation that typically requires a bachelor’s degree for entry. Important skills for these managers include leadership, problem-solving and decision-making, and writing and reading.

Each of the occupations in chart 4 had wages that were higher than the median for all occupations. That’s not surprising, given that most occupations at this education level had wages higher than the median. Some of the occupations in the chart typically require work experience in a related occupation in addition to a bachelor’s degree, but none typically requires on-the-job training for workers to attain competency.

Graduate degree

In 40 occupations, a master’s degree is typically required for entry; 73 occupations typically require a doctoral or professional degree (such as a Ph.D. or J.D.). Chart 5 shows the 10 occupations at these education levels that are projected to have the most openings annually, on average, from 2023 to 2033.

The occupations in chart 5 account for about half of the openings projected in graduate-level occupations. With 48,900 openings each year, on average, from 2023 to 2033, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is projected to have more openings than any other occupation at these levels of education. These counselors usually need strong speaking and listening skills, interpersonal skills, and the ability to adapt.

Wages for each of the occupations in chart 5 were higher than the median for all occupations—and this holds true for almost all graduate-level occupations. In fact, the 15 occupations with the top-published median annual wage in 2023 (greater than or equal to $239,200) typically require a doctoral or professional degree to enter. Although not shown in the chart, most of these were physicians and surgeons, a group of occupations that collectively is projected to have 23,600 openings each year, on average, over the 2023–33 decade.

For more information

Learn more about the occupations in this article, and hundreds of others, in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). The OOH has information about what workers do, their work environment, pay, job outlook, and typical entry requirements.

The BLS Employment Projections (EP) program has additional information on education and training, as well as occupational openings. For example, Table 5.4 shows the typical entry-level education and training assignments for all occupations, according to BLS, and Table 5.3 shows workers’ educational attainment within occupations based on data from the American Community Survey.

A new EP product shows the importance of 17 different skills categories for each of the detailed occupations for which BLS publishes data. EP developed these categories by analyzing data from the U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored Occupational Information Network (O*NET) and other sources. Visit the EP skills data page for links to tables and more information about these data.