Fastest Growing Occupations
REGIONAL DATA LIMITATIONS
This commentary (not anyone’s career story) presents a list of the fastest growing occupations in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area in early 2024 with projections until 2030. When more information is available about occupational growth projections on a nationwide basis, this commentary will be updated.
(Editor’s note – Although I am not a professional career advisor, I believe this regional information will likely be generally consistent with national surveys. So, assuming you have some interest in any of these occupations, pursuing one of them would not be a mistake. And remember that entering any career path is never a binding commitment – lots of folks zig and zag through jobs until finding something they really like to do to support themselves financially.)
FASTEST GROWING OCCUPATIONS
Listed in the order of projected percentage growth change from 2020 to 2030 (ten years).
Nurse practitioners 39%
Physical-therapist assistants 33%
Medical and health service managers 32%
Audio and video technicians 32%
Physician assistants 31%
Passenger-vehicle drivers 29%
Logisticians 27%
Preschool teachers 23%
Health specialties teachers 22% (post-secondary teachers)
Respiratory therapists 21%
PROJECTED JOB GROWTH – OCCUPATIONS NOT REQUIRING A COLLEGE DEGREE
(Percentages unreported; listed in order of Phila. area jobs growth next10 years)
Registered nurses
Medical and health-services managers
Software developers and QA (quality assurance) analysts
Market research analysts and marketing specialists
General and operations managers
Preschool teachers
Accountants and auditors
Health-specialties teachers, post-secondary
Nurse practitioners
Substance abuse, behavioral disorders, and mental health counselors
PROJECTED JOB GROWTH – OCCUPATIONS NOT REQUIRING A COLLEGE DEGREE
(Percentages unreported; listed in order of Phila. area jobs growth next 10 years)
Laborers and freight, stock, or material movers
Light-truck drivers
Nursing assistants
Passenger-vehicle drivers
Supervisors – food preparation and serving workers
Medical assistants
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
Childcare workers
Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
Receptionists and information clerks
ADVICE FROM WORKFORCE EXPERTS
Look for jobs with a career path – A lot of starting jobs in education, health services, leisure and hospitality provide minimal starting wages – in the range of “OK but not great.” But you can use entry level roles in those jobs as a chance to gain experience before moving into related positions that offer more stability and better pay.
For example, people who get restaurant experience may want to use that to get into a job at a hotel or casino, preferably one with a unionized staff. Says Patrick Clancy, CEO of Philadelphia Works, the city’s nonprofit workforce development board, “You could very well work your way up to assistant manager, general manager without a college degree. You have to be able to sacrifice nights and weekends to start.”
“Home health care is another job with huge demand for labor, but they’re tough jobs, where workers often end up driving around between multiple clients. A more solid place to eventually be working is a long-term care facility or a hospital,” Clancy added.
Some office jobs are low-training and high-opportunity – Finance and insurance are areas of high employment growth, according to Clancy.
A senior regional director for recruiting firm Robert Half, Christine Endres, said “The finance jobs sector provides entry-level opportunities, such as clerical roles. Even without a specialized degree or certification, knowing how to use Microsoft Excel is a valuable skill for getting an entry-level position in the finance or accounting space.”
Looking for a career change? Auditing jobs focused on anti-money laundering work within financial services may be a consideration for those who are detail-oriented and critical thinkers. Endres has seen people with a background in the legal industry, math, and former enforcement officers end up in those jobs.
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This careers commentary was prepared on the basis of a news article written by Lizzy McLell, whose contact information is [email protected], published by the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper on February 19, 2024.
