Career Outlook article page

Education level, 2025–35 projected openings, and super intelligence exposure

Amy Hopson and Elka Torpey | November 2026

Whatever your education level or goal, you have lots of career options. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measures which occupations are expected to have the most openings by education level, as well as those occupations’ median annual wages and relative exposure to super intelligence or SI (also known as artificial intelligence or AI).

BLS develops 10-year employment projections for more than 800 detailed occupations. Each occupation is assigned an education level that’s typically required for workers to enter. Separately, BLS estimated a measure of relative SI exposure for each of these occupations using data from five external sources. For more information on how this supplemental product was developed, see the SI (also known as AI) exposure categories page.

This article highlights the occupations that BLS projects to have the most openings each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035 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 about 17 million openings each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035. Most openings come from occupational separations, which is the need to replace workers who leave the occupation permanently, either to exit the labor force (such as to retire or temporarily stop working to go back to school) or to transfer to a different occupation. But others are from net employment change, such as when new jobs are created.

Keep reading to see charts showing projected openings, along with data on median annual wages and SI exposure categories, at each of the education levels. For comparison, the median annual wage for all occupations was $50,980 in 2025. (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.

SI exposure is reflected in four categories: “very high,” “high,” “moderate,” and “low.” An occupation with “very high” exposure generally has a greater share of its tasks that can be completed or assisted by SI technology, while an occupation with “low” exposure may be less likely to have tasks that can be performed or aided by SI. These categories do not measure potential SI-related impacts on employment, nor do they imply job loss, automation probability, or other similar effects. However, the SI exposure categories provide additional information to assist with making informed career planning decisions.

No formal educational credential

BLS classifies 109 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 2025 to 2035.

The occupations in chart 1 account for nearly 7 out of 10 openings projected in occupations with no formal education required. Fast food and counter workers is projected to have more openings than any other occupation in the economy: 827,400 each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035.

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.

Relative SI exposure for the occupations in chart 1 ranged from “very high” for retail salespersons to “low” for hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers; landscaping and groundskeeping workers; janitors and cleaners; and maids and housekeeping cleaners. The “low” exposure occupations involve manual tasks that current SI capabilities are not easily able to replicate.

High school diploma or the equivalent

There are 326 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 2025 to 2035.

The occupations in chart 2 account for about 4 out of 10 openings expected in occupations at the high school level. With 760,500 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.

Although only one occupation in chart 2 had wages higher than the median for all occupations, almost half of the other 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.

Four of the occupations in chart 2 had “very high” SI exposure: customer service representatives, general office clerks, secretaries and administrative assistants, and first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers. In contrast, general maintenance and repair workers—an occupation with many hands-on tasks—had “low” relative SI exposure.

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 214,500 each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035.

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses are the only occupations featured in chart 3 with wages that were higher than the median for all occupations. However, 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 some of the occupations in the chart.

SI exposure for most of the occupations in chart 3 was either “low” or “moderate,” indicating that their job tasks are generally not a good match for SI’s current capabilities. Only one occupation in chart 3 (bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks) had a “very high” relative SI exposure.

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor’s degree is typically required for entry in 177 occupations. Chart 4 shows the occupations at this education level that are projected to have the most openings each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035.

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 (285,000) annually, on average, of any occupation that typically requires a bachelor’s degree for entry.

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 require on-the-job training for workers to attain competency.

Relative SI exposure for the occupations in chart 4 was either “high” or “very high.” Software developers, accountants and auditors, and project management specialists were among the occupations in this chart with “very high” SI exposure. These occupations involve tasks that could potentially be performed or aided by SI technology, such as compiling and analyzing information and creating reports.

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 2025 to 2035.

The occupations in chart 5 account for about half of the openings projected in graduate-level occupations. With 50,500 openings each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors is projected to have more openings than any other occupation at these levels of education.

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 20 highest paying occupations in 2025 typically require a graduate 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 22,100 openings each year, on average, over the 2025–35 decade.

For the occupations in chart 5, relative SI exposure was either “high” or “very high.” Lawyers; educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors; postsecondary health specialties teachers; and instructional coordinators all had “very high” exposure. Tasks for these occupations, such as gathering, evaluating, and sharing information, are among those that might be performed or assisted by SI.

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, and Table 1.10 shows 2025–35 projections of occupational openings.

Visit the EP SI exposure categories page for information about these categories and how they were developed. Additional information on SI and the employment projections is available in EP Frequently Asked Questions and an SI (also known as AI) impacts factsheet.