More than three years after a world-upending pandemic and uncertainty in the job market, it’s understandable if you’re now seeking stability for the next few years. The good news? We found it. Enter U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 ranking of careers with the most job security. Some of the most secure jobs include nurse practitioners, software developers, dentists, and landscapers. The list includes information about the job itself, median salary, and details on openings in the field.
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So, Where Are The Most Secure Jobs In 2023?
Of the top 10 jobs with the most job security, 70 percent of those jobs are in the health care and social assistance industry, says Janica Ingram, Careers Editor for U.S. News & World Report. Number one on the list is nurse practitioners, Ingram says, noting a projected 46% job growth over the next 10 years for such healthcare professionals.
Also this year, software developers captured the top spot on U.S. News 100 best jobs list – and second on its list of careers with the most job security. What sets that career apart, according to Ingram, is its high median salary, low unemployment rate, and high current employment rate, which she describes as a job satisfaction rating. “It’s a fun and challenging industry, and it’s an industry that’s continuing to grow,” she says.
But no matter what career you find fulfilling, there’s more to any job than what you’ll find on paper – or in the statistics about it.
J.T. O’Donnell, founder, and CEO of Work It Daily, says she thinks choosing jobs with security and stability also means you’re probably making some trade-offs. “I think you have to know yourself,” she says. If you’re somebody who needs a lot of variety, autonomy or flexibility, she notes, jobs with a lot of security often don’t offer that. Some also may be accompanied by a lot of stress.
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As a result of the pandemic, O’Donnell says people have become “purpose-driven professionals.” They are no longer going to work just to work, she says, adding: “They are not going to do the grind or the hustle culture.”
Making Difficult Career Decisions
Noting post-traumatic stress years of living in constant physical and mental uncertainty, O’Donnell says she thinks “we have a lot of people that are very fragile right now, which is also making it difficult for them to make big, sweeping career decisions.”
How people handle that does tend to reflect where they are in their lives, says O’Donnell, author of “Awakening Your Inner Workplace Renegade: 7 New Rules for Transforming Your Career & Finding Your Professional Purpose.” Someone who is the family breadwinner and has expenses is going to be looking more for a job to take that pressure off themselves. A person who’s younger and has the flexibility to live with relatives or doesn’t have the same bill pressure is going to be a little bit more selective and maybe not rush to take just anything, she says, adding that they’ll probably try to craft something nontraditional.
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Where people are mentally and financially is definitely impacting how they look for work and what they choose to accept for work, she says. “But universally,” she says, “everyone is just in a fragile place trying to choose work that works for them, feels purposeful, and doesn’t add to their stress.”
Shopping For The “Right” Job
Increasingly, people are becoming “job shoppers,” O’Donnell says. “People are done with being job seekers. Job shoppers do their homework. They’re selective, they’re intentional, and they choose their next employer. And that is universal.” (In other words, job shoppers are using all the tools available to them (like salary comparison data on Payscale) to research a role and industry before they get locked into a position or new industry.)
O’Donnell notes that for the first time, people seem to understand there are differences between a job, a career, and a calling.
“Everyone’s always thought we had to have a calling. Everyone’s always been striving to have the best career that … edges on being a calling. I think right now people are understanding that having a job is just fine. Paying the bills and pursuing other areas of my life, there’s nothing wrong with that,” she says. “To have a great awakening around that and realize that at any given time we might just need a job or a career or a calling, it really depends, is wonderful. There’s no one-size-fits-all anymore.”
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