The roles span healthcare, science and engineering, and every one can be entered with an associate’s degree, a postsecondary nondegree award, or a high school diploma, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said in a Career Outlook report published in February. Each is also projected to grow at or above the 3% average rate for all U.S. jobs through 2034, the agency’s latest projection cycle.
What stands out is the inversion at the top of the list: the best-paid of these jobs out-earn many that require a bachelor’s degree. Most clear the $49,500 median wage for all U.S. workers, and the strongest cluster is in healthcare, where technical roles combine high pay with fast growth.
Among healthcare practitioner and technical jobs, dental hygienists earn the most at a median $94,260, followed by diagnostic medical sonographers at $89,340 and MRI technologists at $88,180, all requiring only an associate’s degree, according to BLS. Psychiatric technicians and ophthalmic medical technicians are the fastest-growing in this group, each projected to expand 20% by 2034.
|
Occupation |
Projected growth, 2024-34 |
Median wage, 2024 |
Minimum education |
|
Psychiatric technicians |
20% |
$42,590 |
Postsecondary nondegree award |
|
Ophthalmic medical technicians |
20% |
$44,080 |
Postsecondary nondegree award |
|
Hearing aid specialists |
18% |
$61,560 |
High school diploma or equivalent |
|
Health information technologists and medical registrars |
15% |
$67,310 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Diagnostic medical sonographers |
13% |
$89,340 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Respiratory therapists |
12% |
$80,450 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Veterinary technologists and technicians |
9% |
$45,980 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists |
7% |
$88,180 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Medical records specialists |
7% |
$50,250 |
Postsecondary nondegree award |
|
Dental hygienists |
7% |
$94,260 |
Associate’s degree |
Healthcare support roles grow even faster.
Physical therapist assistants, at a median salary of $65,510, are projected to expand 22% through 2034, the fastest of any job on the list, while occupational therapy assistants lead the group on pay at $68,340, BLS data show.
|
Occupation |
Projected growth, 2024-34 |
Median wage, 2024 |
Minimum education |
|
Physical therapist assistants |
22% |
$65,510 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Occupational therapy assistants |
19% |
$68,340 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Home health and personal care aides |
17% |
$34,900 |
High school diploma or equivalent |
|
Massage therapists |
15% |
$57,950 |
Postsecondary nondegree award |
|
Medical assistants |
13% |
$44,200 |
Postsecondary nondegree award |
|
Medical equipment preparers |
10% |
$46,490 |
High school diploma or equivalent |
|
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers |
9% |
$37,320 |
High school diploma or equivalent |
|
Dental assistants |
6% |
$47,300 |
Postsecondary nondegree award |
|
Phlebotomists |
6% |
$43,660 |
Postsecondary nondegree award |
|
Other healthcare support occupations |
4% |
$46,050 |
High school diploma or equivalent |
Outside healthcare, the science and engineering roles pay well but grow more slowly.
In life, physical, and social science, occupational health and safety technicians are the fastest-growing at 9%, though BLS notes most of these jobs require one to 12 months of on-the-job training to learn equipment, production techniques, or sample-handling procedures.
|
Occupation |
Projected growth, 2024-34 |
Median wage, 2024 |
Minimum education |
|
Occupational health and safety technicians |
9% |
$58,440 |
High school diploma or equivalent |
|
Food science technicians |
5% |
$49,430 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Agricultural technicians |
4% |
$46,790 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Environmental science and protection technicians, including health |
4% |
$49,490 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Chemical technicians |
4% |
$57,790 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Other life, physical, and social science technicians |
4% |
$60,130 |
Associate’s degree |
In architecture and engineering, aerospace engineering and operations technologists lead on both counts, with a median $79,830 and projected 8% growth, according to BLS.
|
Occupation |
Projected growth, 2024-34 |
Median wage, 2024 |
Minimum education |
|
Aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians |
8% |
$79,830 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Calibration technologists and technicians |
5% |
$65,040 |
Associate’s degree |
|
Surveying and mapping technicians |
5% |
$51,940 |
High school diploma or equivalent |
|
Architectural and civil drafters |
4% |
$64,280 |
Associate’s degree |
A few no-degree jobs pay even more but are shrinking. Nuclear technicians, for instance, earn a median $104,240, the highest of any role BLS tracks in these fields, but their numbers are projected to fall 8% by 2034.
Most openings across the growing occupations will come from the need to replace workers who retire or change jobs, the agency said, rather than from newly created positions.
