The top jobs in the US in 2024 are in mental healthcare, according to Indeed — and mental health technicians, mental health therapists, and psychiatrists are the best ones to apply for this year.
The employment website ranked the 50 “best jobs” in the US based on salary, growth opportunities, flexibility, and availability (a role’s share of overall job postings). The company found that 22% of the top jobs were in healthcare, and most of those positions were specifically related to mental healthcare.
Healthcare jobs have made a comeback in the last year. The sector was responsible for about 18% of overall job growth in the US economy in December, and even more (about 40%) in November. Healthcare employment is returning to its pre-pandemic levels, but there’s been a particular proliferation of mental healthcare roles.
“The fact that we’re seeing mental health care jobs populate this list with eight of the top 50 reaffirms what many of us have been experiencing in real life,” Scott Dobroski, Indeed’s career trends expert, told Quartz. “There’s been this trend that mental health services are increasing, but this is data that reaffirms [that] demand for mental health care jobs is keeping up with increased supply.”
The No. 1 spot in the rankings was mental health technician, a trained professional who helps people receiving mental health treatments. Workers in Mental health technicians make $77,448 on average, and almost 20% of the jobs are remote or hybrid. Mental health therapist was listed as the third-best job, with a slightly lower average salary ($76,140) but more flexibility (41%).
The highest paid job on the list was also in healthcare: psychiatrist. Theymake $258,440 on average.
Other industries winning on Indeed’s list
Aside from healthcare, construction and manufacturing jobs grabbed a sizable share (32%) of the slots on Indeed’s 2024 list. And about 18% of the listed roles were in finance.
Meanwhile, tech jobs fell off the list. Once the leading industry represented on Indeed’s job rankings, the sector represented just 12% of the roles this year. That’s unsurprising, given the rising number of layoffs in the field and the fact that tech employers aren’t as popular as they once were.