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For World Logic Day: Jobs for critical and analytical thinkers

January 14, 2025

January 14 is World Logic Day, which acknowledges the contributions of logic to fields such as engineering, mathematics, and philosophy—as well as everyday life! Critical and analytical thinking skills help people use logic and reasoning to analyze information, identify strengths and weaknesses of various approaches and solutions to problems, and draw conclusions. In recognition of World Logic Day, let’s look at some occupations for which critical and analytical thinking skills are particularly important, according to new BLS skills data.

Employment in occupations with high scores for critical and analytical thinking skills, May 2023
Occupation   Employment   Typical education
needed for entry
Projected growth rate,
2023–33

Software developers

1,656,880 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Medical and health services managers

515,100 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Chief executives

211,230 Bachelor's degree As fast as the average

Operations research analysts

117,880 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Aerospace engineers

66,660 Bachelor's degree Faster than the average

Financial examiners

63,440 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Computer and information research scientists

35,210 Master's degree Much faster than the average

Biochemists and biophysicists

33,180 Doctoral or professional degree Much faster than the average

Legislators

32,460 Bachelor's degree As fast as the average

Actuaries

25,470 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Chemical engineers

21,140 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Bioengineers and biomedical engineers

19,320 Bachelor's degree Faster than the average

Physicists

18,350 Doctoral or professional degree Faster than the average

Nuclear engineers

12,710 Bachelor's degree Decline

Epidemiologists

10,230 Master's degree Much faster than the average

Materials scientists

8,810 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers

7,040 Bachelor's degree Slower than the average

Mathematical science occupations, all other

4,320 Bachelor's degree Faster than the average

Mathematicians

2,220 Master's degree As fast as the average

Agricultural engineers

1,860 Bachelor's degree Faster than the average

Industrial-organizational psychologists

1,030 Master's degree Faster than the average

Software developers was one of the largest occupations for critical and analytical thinkers, with nearly 1.7 million jobs. The largest occupations for critical and analytical thinkers also included medical and health services managers (515,100), chief executives (211,230), and operations research analysts (117,880). Mathematicians, agricultural engineers, and industrial-organizational psychologists were much smaller occupations, with about 2,200 or fewer jobs each.

Annual mean wages in occupations with high scores for critical and analytical thinking skills, in dollars, May 2023
Occupation Annual mean wage
(U.S. dollars)
Typical education
needed for entry
Projected growth rate,
2023–33

Chief executives

258,900 Bachelor's degree As fast as the average

Physicists

158,270 Doctoral or professional degree Faster than the average

Computer and information research scientists

157,160 Master's degree Much faster than the average

Industrial-organizational psychologists

154,380 Master's degree Faster than the average

Software developers

138,110 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Medical and health services managers

134,440 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Aerospace engineers

134,330 Bachelor's degree Faster than the average

Actuaries

132,500 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Nuclear engineers

126,950 Bachelor's degree Decline

Chemical engineers

122,910 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Biochemists and biophysicists

120,310 Doctoral or professional degree Much faster than the average

Mathematicians

119,770 Master's degree As fast as the average

Materials scientists

112,440 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Bioengineers and biomedical engineers

106,700 Bachelor's degree Faster than the average

Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers

105,460 Bachelor's degree Slower than the average

Financial examiners

98,140 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Operations research analysts

95,600 Bachelor's degree Much faster than the average

Agricultural engineers

93,490 Bachelor's degree Faster than the average

Epidemiologists

90,430 Master's degree Much faster than the average

Mathematical science occupations, all other

83,330 Bachelor's degree Faster than the average

Legislators

68,140 Bachelor's degree As fast as the average

All of the selected occupations for critical and analytical thinkers had annual mean wages above the U.S. average of $65,470. These high wages may reflect the high skill level of these occupations, typically gained through postsecondary education: all of the occupations shown typically require at least a bachelor’s degree for entry, and some, such as epidemiologists and physicists, typically require a master’s degree or doctoral or professional degree. Chief executives, with an annual mean wage of $258,900, was among the highest paying of the selected occupations, along with physicists ($158,270), computer and information research scientists ($157,160), and industrial-organizational psychologists ($154,380). Lower paying occupations for critical and analytical thinkers included legislators ($68,140); mathematical science occupations, all other ($83,330); and epidemiologists ($90,430).

Employment in most of these occupations is projected to grow faster or much faster than the average of 4 percent for all occupations from 2023 to 2033. Three occupations are projected to grow about as fast as the average: chief executives, mathematicians, and legislators. Mining and geological engineers is projected to have slower-than-average growth, while employment of nuclear engineers is projected to decline.

This TED features occupations for which the importance of critical and analytical thinking skills is at the 98th percentile or higher, based on new skills data from the Employment Projections program. Skills scores for some occupations were imputed from similar occupations. For more information, see “A new data product for occupational skills: methodology, analysis, and a guide to using the employment projections skills data.” Employment and wage estimates are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, and typical entry-level educational requirements and projected employment change over the 2023–33 decade are from Employment Projections.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, For World Logic Day: Jobs for critical and analytical thinkers at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/for-world-logic-day-jobs-for-critical-and-analytical-thinkers.htm (visited March 20, 2025).

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