The 100 Best Jobs

Your dentist isn’t just concerned with your teeth. He or she might also notice signs of undiagnosed diabetes, oral cancer and heart disease during a dental exam. A comfortable median salary of $146,340 and good work-life balance have helped this intrinsic health care job secure the top spot on our best jobs list once again, and the BLS expects 23,300 new dentist jobs through the year 2022.

Nurse practitioners have an array of capabilities, coupled with the fact they can work independently of physicians when treating patients. The BLS predicts 37,100 new positions for these professionals between 2012 and 2022.

You can blame a software developer for the obsession you had with the Flappy Bird app or your dependency on your Samsung Galaxy phone. These professionals usually fall into two camps: There are the application developers, who design computer software and databases, then there are the systems-focused developers who build operating systems, such as Linux or iOS. Growth for both types should balloon: The Labor Department predicts there will be nearly 140,000 brand new positions created before 2022.

Physicians are the top of the health care food chain – it’s their responsibility to diagnose and treat patients, and instruct on proper diet, hygiene and disease prevention. Like other jobs in this industry, physicians will see abundant job growth. The BLS forecasts 123,300 new job openings for physicians from 2012 to 2022.

Dental hygienists don’t just clean teeth, they also educate patients on proper oral hygiene. And something important to note: They make yearly salaries of about $71,110, although many work part time. Expect 33.3 percent employment growth for this field up to 2022.

A physical therapist’s job includes helping paralytics regain mobility, cancer survivors renew their strength, athletes recover from an injury and so much more. The profession is expected to grow 36 percent by 2022.

To excel in this job, you need to be both goal-focused and process-oriented. Computer systems analysts must understand computer hardware, software and networks and how they work together, so they can make recommendations to organizations for the best operations systems to use. The Labor Department predicts 24.5 percent employment growth for this job through 2022.

It’s a no-brainer that this profession is growing – at a rate of 36.5 percent through 2022 – as we become increasingly reliant on technology to facilitate our every day. So what does the profession entail? Information security analysts plan and monitor security of computer networks for companies and government agencies. They also troubleshoot any security breaches that should occur.

A registered nurse is the bedrock player of a hospital or health care setting, and each year more qualified workers are needed to fill this role. The BLS anticipates 19.4 percent employment growth for our No. 9 occupation between 2012 and 2022.

Working under the supervision of doctors, physician assistants interpret X-rays and blood tests, record patients’ progress, conduct routine exams and treat a range of ailments. When you couple growth projections for 33,300 new jobs with a razor-thin 1.4 percent unemployment rate – one of the lowest on our Best Jobs list overall – the job outlook for physician assistants is quite strong.