Dental hygienist, a job that typically only needs an associate's degree for entry, is projected to see job growth of 19,000 between 2021 to 2031, according to employment projection data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
With a median annual pay of $77,810, this job also pays above the median annual wage for all jobs in the US, which is $45,760.
Unlike dentists or orthodontists — which are actually projected to see smaller increases in employment from 2021 to 2031 compared to dental hygienists — a dental hygienist typically doesn't need a doctoral or professional degree for entry. They typically only need an associate's degree.
Insider recently analyzed jobs that pay above the median annual wage for all occupations in the US and that also have some kind of job growth over 10 years, from 2021 to 2031. After ranking our list of high-paying, growing jobs based on the geometric mean of projected job growth from 2021 to 2031 and median annual wages, we wanted to just look at the set of jobs that make the top of the list when only looking at those that typically need an associate's degree.
With this methodology, paralegals and legal assistants made the top of this list. This job has a typical pay of $56,230 and is projected to grow by 49,900 from 2021 to 2031.
The following are 15 occupations that typically only need an associate's degree for entry, that pay above the median annual pay, and are projected to see future job growth.