Jobs of the future · 7 min read
What are the fastest-growing jobs for the next ten years?
Nurse practitioners, solar installers, data scientists and wind turbine technicians top the 2025-35 US projections. Here's what the list means and how to use it.
The short answer
In the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections for 2025 to 2035, the fastest-growing occupations by percentage are nurse practitioners (about 41%), solar photovoltaic installers (37%), data scientists (35%) and wind turbine service technicians (30%), followed by medical and health services managers and several therapy and technician roles. Overall US employment is projected to grow about 3.5%. Fast percentage growth often starts from a small base, so check the number of openings as well as the rate before choosing.
On this page 5 sections
The top of the list
| Occupation | Projected growth | Why it's growing |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse practitioners | About 41% | An ageing population and more care delivered outside hospitals |
| Solar photovoltaic installers | About 37% | New solar capacity on homes, businesses and utilities |
| Data scientists | About 35% | More organisations making decisions from data, including AI work |
| Wind turbine service technicians | About 30% | More turbines that need regular maintenance |
| Medical and health services managers | About 24% | Growth across healthcare and its admin |
BLS projects total US employment to rise about 3.5% over the same decade, so every role in this table is growing many times faster than the average. Healthcare support is the fastest-growing major group, at about 13%.
Three patterns behind the list
- Care: an older population needs more nurses, aides, therapists and the people who manage them.
- Energy: solar and wind both appear near the top, alongside a long tail of electrical and installation work.
- Data: data scientists and computer research roles grow as more decisions run on data and AI tools.
How to use a fastest-growing list
- Pick two roles from the list you're curious about, not the two at the top.
- Read their BLS Handbook pages: what the work involves day to day, pay and the entry route.
- Find a 15-minute task that looks like the work, and do it this week.
- Notice what you enjoyed. Growth makes a job easier to get; it doesn't make it a good job for you.
What the list can't tell you
Projections assume the economy keeps running at roughly full employment and that current trends continue. They don't predict recessions, policy changes or sudden technology shifts, and they say nothing about whether you'd enjoy a Tuesday afternoon in the job.
Questions people ask
- Which job will grow the most?
- By percentage, nurse practitioners top the BLS 2025-35 list at about 41%. By number of new jobs, home health and personal care aides add the most, about 847,000 over the decade.
- Are these projections for the UK too?
- No, they cover the United States. The direction of travel is similar in many countries (health and care, clean energy and data work growing), but check your own country's labour market statistics for local numbers.
- Does fast growth mean lots of jobs?
- Not always. Wind turbine technicians grow fast from a small base, so the total number of new jobs is modest. Look at projected openings, which include people retiring or leaving, alongside the percentage.
- Do I need a degree for these jobs?
- It varies. Nurse practitioners need a graduate degree. Solar installers usually need a high school diploma plus on-the-job training, and wind technicians typically need a postsecondary certificate. Each BLS Handbook page lists the usual entry route.
- How often are these numbers updated?
- BLS publishes a new ten-year projection every year, usually in late summer. This page uses the 2025-35 projections published in 2026.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Total employment projected to grow 3.5 percent between 2025 and 2035 · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Economics Daily
- Fastest growing occupations · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
- Occupations with the most job growth · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.