Job Growth Topic

Fast-Growing Careers

The fastest-growing careers through 2034 on the federal projections, where the growth is concentrated, and which expanding fields also pay well.

By US College Data · Last updated June 2026

By the Numbers

+49.9% Fastest-growing career: Wind Turbine Service Technicians

47 Careers projected to grow 10 percent or more

4.2% Average projected growth across all careers

The fastest-growing careers through 2034

Projected 10-year employment growth, careers paying $40,000 or more

Wind Turbine Service Technicians+49.9%

Nurse Practitioner+40.1%

Data Scientist+33.5%

Information Security Analyst+28.5%

Medical & Health Services Manager+23.2%

Physical Therapist Assistant+22%

The Fastest-Growing Careers Projected 10-year employment growth, careers paying $40,000 or more

#	Career	10-yr growth	Median wage
1	Wind Turbine Service Technicians	+49.9%	$64,120
2	Nurse Practitioner	+40.1%	$132,300
3	Data Scientist	+33.5%	$120,230
4	Information Security Analyst	+28.5%	$129,180
5	Medical & Health Services Manager	+23.2%	$123,860
6	Physical Therapist Assistant	+22%	$68,380
7	Actuaries	+21.8%	$130,000
8	Operations Research Analysts	+21.5%	$88,940
9	Physician Assistant	+20.4%	$135,880
10	Psychiatric Technicians	+20%	$45,130

Which Careers Are Growing Fastest?

The fastest-growing careers tell you where the economy is heading. Wind turbine service technicians lead the projections at about 50 percent growth over the decade, a direct result of the expansion of renewable energy. Behind them come a wave of healthcare and technology roles: nurse practitioners at about 40 percent, data scientists near 34, information security analysts near 28, and medical and health services managers near 23. In all, 47 occupations are projected to grow 10 percent or more. These are the fields adding jobs fastest, and entering one means walking into a hiring market that is expanding rather than shrinking.

Where the Growth Is Concentrated

The growth is not random; it clusters in three areas. Healthcare leads, propelled by an aging population and steady demand for care, and it supplies more fast-growing roles than any other sector, from nurse practitioners to physical therapist assistants. Technology is second, with data and security roles expanding as every industry digitizes. Green energy is the third engine, led by wind and solar technicians. For a student choosing a direction, that concentration is useful: the safest growth bets are in health, tech, and clean energy, and a field outside those three is more likely to be flat or shrinking.

Growth Plus Pay: The Best of Both

Fast growth is most valuable when it comes with good pay, and several careers deliver both. Nurse practitioners grow at 40 percent and pay about 129,000 dollars. Data scientists, information security analysts, actuaries, and physician assistants all pair rapid growth with six-figure or near-six-figure wages. These are the strongest career bets in the data: expanding fields that also pay well, which means more openings and a healthy salary at the same time. When growth and pay line up like that, the usual trade-off between security and earnings disappears, and those are the roles worth targeting first.

The Findings on This Topic

Original data analyses built from the same federal sources. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.

The Fastest-Growing Careers Through 2034

The 25 careers with the steepest projected job growth through 2034 pay a median of about $98,000, well above the all-careers average. Growth and pay mostly travel together.
- Job growth
- Career outlook
- Median wage
- Entry education
- Fastest-growing jobs
Growing and Paying $80K Plus: The Careers That Do Both

Only 95 of 385 federal careers both pay a median above $80,000 and grow faster than the typical job. Here is the rare set that clears both bars.
- Career growth
- Median wage
- High-paying careers
- Job outlook
- Career change
The Sweet Spot: Majors With High Pay and High Growth

Only 12 of 38 college majors clear both an above-median salary and above-median job growth. Two of them, math and computer science, stand alone with double-digit growth.
- Job growth
- Major earnings
- Computer science
- Mathematics
- STEM majors
The Disappearing Jobs: The Steepest-Declining Careers

The 72 careers projected to shrink through 2034 are not the low-wage ones you would guess. The steepest decliner is payroll clerks, and most still pay well today.
- Job outlook
- Declining careers
- Automation
- Wages
- Career change
The Shrinking Majors, Where the Jobs Are Disappearing

Of 38 college major fields, only three face shrinking job demand over the decade. Precision production leads the decline at minus 7.4 percent, and it pays below average too.
- Job growth
- Shrinking majors
- BLS projections
- Precision production
- Communications technology
10 Six-Figure Careers That Do Not Need a Bachelor's Degree

Air traffic controllers earn more than the typical bachelor's-degree career, with an associate degree. The occupations that pay six figures without four years of college.
- No bachelor degree
- High paying careers
- Associate degree
- Trades
- Median wage

Tools for This Topic

Career Path Explorer Start with a career, find the majors and colleges that lead there. College ROI Calculator See whether a degree pays off, on real earnings and net-price data.

What This Means for You

Favor a field that is growing, because entering an expanding occupation means more openings, more bargaining power, and less risk of obsolescence. The strongest bets pair fast growth with solid pay, and health and tech offer the most of those.

Career Path Explorer →

Questions you might still have

What is the fastest-growing career?

Wind turbine service technicians are projected to grow about 50 percent over the decade, the fastest of any well-paying occupation, driven by the expansion of renewable energy. Nurse practitioners and data scientists follow close behind.

Which jobs are growing the fastest?

The fastest-growing well-paid careers are concentrated in green energy, healthcare, and technology: wind turbine technicians, nurse practitioners, data scientists, information security analysts, and health-services managers all lead the projections.

Do fast-growing careers pay well?

Many do. Nurse practitioners, data scientists, information security analysts, and physician assistants all pair rapid growth with six-figure or near-six-figure pay. Fast growth and strong pay overlap most in healthcare and data roles.

Which healthcare jobs are growing fastest?

Nurse practitioners lead at about 40 percent projected growth, followed by physician assistants, physical therapist assistants, and medical and health services managers. Healthcare contributes more fast-growing, well-paid roles than any other sector.

Are tech careers still growing?

Yes. Data scientists and information security analysts are among the fastest-growing occupations at roughly 28 to 34 percent, both paying well above average. Demand for data and security skills continues to expand across industries.

Why does job growth matter when choosing a career?

A growing field means more openings, stronger bargaining power, and less risk that the work disappears. Entering an expanding occupation lowers the risk of the whole career bet, which is why growth deserves weight alongside pay.