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Projected job openings for occupations at the high school and bachelor’s degree levels
March 07, 2024
Whatever your education level or goal, there are lots of occupations to consider. The charts below focus on two education levels, high school diploma or the equivalent and bachelor’s degree. Each education level highlights selected occupations expected to have many annual average openings for new entrants from 2022 to 2032. Home health and personal care aides stands out among the occupations in these charts as having the largest number of projected openings, averaging well over half a million each year.
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. Hover over a bar in the charts below to see an occupation’s wage, which you can compare with the $46,310 median annual wage for all occupations, as well as the work experience typically needed for entry and the training typically required to become competent.
Annual average openings, by source of opening, in selected occupations that require a high school diploma or equivalent, projected 2022–32
Occupation
New jobs
Occupational transfers
Labor force exits
Median annual wage, 2022
Work experience in a related occupation typically required for entry
On-the-job training typically required to attain competency
Home health and personal care aides
80,500
247,700
329,400
30,180
None
Short-term
Stockers and order fillers
17,900
287,900
182,900
34,220
None
Short-term
Customer service representatives
0
227,500
162,200
37,780
None
Short-term
Office clerks, general
0
151,700
155,900
38,040
None
Short-term
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive
0
100,600
111,300
41,000
None
Short-term
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers
6,000
119,900
63,000
37,050
Less than 5 years
None
Maintenance and repair workers, general
5,700
74,700
72,100
44,980
None
Moderate-term
Occupations that typically require a high school diploma or the equivalent for entry have the most projected openings of any education level: 7.1 million per year, on average, over the decade. And the occupations shown accounted for about one-third of those total openings.
The home health and personal care aides occupation is projected to have more openings due to new jobs compared with any other occupation in the economy, as these workers are increasingly needed to help care for an aging population. The highest-paying of the selected high-school level occupations was general maintenance and repair workers, with a median annual wage of $44,980. The lowest paying in the chart was home health and personal care aides, with a median annual wage of $30,180.
Annual average openings, by source of opening, in selected occupations that require a bachelor's degree, projected 2022–32
Occupation
New jobs
Occupational transfers
Labor force exits
Median annual wage, 2022
Typical work experience in a related occupation
On-the-job training typically required to attain competency
General and operations managers
14,700
192,400
89,200
$98,100
5 years or more
None
Registered nurses
17,700
67,100
108,300
81,220
None
None
Software developers
41,000
64,400
30,900
127,260
None
None
Accountants and auditors
6,700
71,200
48,500
78,000
None
None
Elementary school teachers, except special education
1,000
47,000
48,000
61,690
None
None
Market research analysts and marketing specialists
11,700
53,900
29,000
68,230
None
None
Management analysts
9,600
47,700
35,600
95,290
Less than 5 years
None
Occupations that typically require a bachelor’s degree are expected to have 3.3 million openings each year, on average, over the projections decade. Overall, employment in bachelor’s-level occupations is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations. This growth reflects the relatively high numbers of openings due to new jobs.
Of the selected bachelor’s-level occupations, software developers are expected to have the largest number of openings from growth (41,000 each year, on average), and it had the highest median annual wage ($127,260). Elementary school teachers, except special education, had the lowest wage ($61,690) of the selected occupations.
To learn more, see "Education level and projected openings, 2022–32", Career Outlook, January 2024. The charts in this article highlight a fraction of the more than 800 occupations for which BLS makes employment projections. Search for occupations by education level, wages, and other variables using the “Select occupations by” feature of the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH).
United States Department of Labor
