It's Better To Be A Software Programmer Than A Doctor, Says List Of The 100 Best Jobs For 2014
The work is meaningful, touching every aspect of our lives. It pays well. It is in demand in all parts of the country and doesn't require a lot of grad school to get started.
Software developers (sometimes called programmers) get paid an average $90,060, with the top 10 percent earning $138,880, according to the latest stats available from the Labor Department.
Plus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be nearly 140,000 brand-new software development jobs created before 2022, says the US News study.
If you can't be a software developer, your next bet is computer systems analyst, which is a job that deals with tech design, troubleshooting and analysis. The systems analyst role is morphing into something called a "data scientist," a new job title in huge demand thanks to the big data trend. A data scientist helps companies munch through massive amounts of information - like tweets, news articles and sales stats - to find business insights.
A computer systems analyst earns $83,800 on average, and $122,090 on the high end. Pay for this job will increase as demand skyrockets. The BLS predicts a whopping 24.5 percent growth for this job by 2022.
Both of these jobs are better than being a dentist or a doctor, US News says. In fact, here's the Top 5 best jobs, according to the report:
No. 1: Software developer
No. 2: Computer systems analyst
No. 3: Dentist
No. 4: Nurse practitioner
No. 5: Pharmacist
Doctor, by the way, is No. 8.