Wondering Which Careers Have the Most Openings and What the Average Salary May Be?

ACT Releases a New Report Detailing the Most Common and Fastest-Growing Occupations, along with Average Salaries and Skills Required for Each

December 7, 2009

IOWA CITY, Iowa—Perhaps more than ever, workplace skills are key to finding and retaining employment. If you're considering a new occupation in the new year and want to explore some possibilities, check out the new "Occupational Opportunities" (PDF; 8 pages, 267KB) report issued by ACT, Inc. The eight-page report is available online, for free.

Three charts in the report present projected annual openings, recommended skill levels, and average annual salaries associated with some of the nation's most common occupations. The information is based on ACT research, along with data extracted from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) developed by the U.S. Department of Labor and data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The occupation charts are divided into three sections:

The Now section provides data for 45 occupations commonly available to high school graduates. These positions frequently serve as gateways to higher-level jobs and careers.
The Next section provides data for 55 occupations requiring additional training usually acquired on the job or via educational programs offered by community colleges or other providers.
The Later section lists 50 occupations requiring postsecondary educational credentials and may call for professional experience.

For each occupation listed in the Now, Next and Later sections, three columns list the recommended WorkKeys^® assessment scores an individual should have to be successful in that occupation. The three WorkKeys assessments used for this chart are Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and Locating Information. ACT research shows that these three skills are important to 85 percent of the nearly 17,000 jobs that have been analyzed since the WorkKeys system was launched about twenty years ago.

These assessments support the National Career Readiness Certificate offered by ACT — a portable credential issued to verify that individuals possess the essential skills associated with the listed occupations. Employers across the nation may validate the presence of core employability skills that are closely related to job performance and success.

"The U.S. economy is in a period of transformation," stated Martin Scaglione, ACT Workforce Division president and COO. "We will continue to see steady growth in occupations that demand the knowledge and skills needed to master complex tasks and responsibilities. Opportunities abound for those who prepare to meet these new challenges."

In order of Annual Openings, the top five opportunities for each category according to the number of projected annual openings include:

NOW: (Jobs commonly available to high school graduates)

1	Retail salespersons	719,636
2	Customer service representatives	577,955
3	Office clerks, general	474,658
4	Home health aides	393,920
5	Janitors and cleaners (except maids and housekeeping cleaners)	390,328

NEXT: (Jobs that require additional training either on the job or at community colleges)

1	Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks	303,213
2	Executive secretaries and administrative assistants	270,183
3	Carpenters	173,807
4	Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing (except technical and scientific products)	171,904
5	Automotive service technicians and mechanics	131,007

LATER: (Jobs that require postsecondary educational credentials and may call for professional experience)

1	Registered nurses	639,815
2	Postsecondary teachers	420,031
3	Accountants and auditors	249,672
4	Elementary school teachers (except special education)	243,257
5	Computer systems analysts	151,659

In order of U.S. Median Wage, the top five median annual (gross) earnings for each category include:

NOW: (Jobs commonly available to high school graduates)

1	Electrical power-line installers and repairers	$52,570
2	Police and sheriff's patrol officers	$49,630
3	Postal service mail carriers	$44,500
4	Brickmasons and blockmasons	$44,070
5	Firefighters	$43,170

NEXT: (Jobs that require additional training either on the job or at community colleges)

1	Dental hygienists	$64,740
2	Flight attendants	$61,120
3	Diagnostic medical sonographers	$59,860
4	Real estate brokers	$58,860
5	Cost estimators	$54,920

LATER: (Jobs that require postsecondary educational credentials and may call for professional experience)

1	Physicians and surgeons	$153,640
2	Chief executives	$151,370
3	Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers	$148,810
4	Dentists, general	$137,630
5	Computer and information systems managers	$108,070

"As you might guess," stated Scaglione, "the occupations in the Next and Later sections requiring postsecondary training and/or postsecondary education are the more highly compensated positions, as well as the occupations requiring higher WorkKeys assessment scores."

For individuals unsure of what occupation might be the most suitable for them, ACT offers an assessment called "Fit" designed to match individual interests and values to the work environment. This tool assesses work-related interests and a broad range of work-related values, such as Autonomy, Physical Activity, Influencing Others, and Precision. For ease of use, information from both interests and values are combined into a single Fit Index. This is an online assessment containing approximately 100 self-report items, and takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.