Dentist tops 2015 best jobs list; hygienist ranks 5th

Dentist is ranked as the best job and dental hygienist came in fifth on the U.S. News Best Jobs of 2015 list.

The occupations selected for the list are those the U.S. Department of Labor predicts will grow the most between 2012 and 2022, according to USNews.com. Those top 100 jobs, from the industries of business, creative, construction, healthcare, social services and technology, are then ranked based on projected openings, rate of growth, job prospects, unemployment rates, salary, and job satisfaction.

Healthcare and technology jobs rise to the top -- in fact, seven of the top 10 occupations are in healthcare.

Dentist topped the list because of the following factors:

  • It has a low unemployment rate of 0.9%.
  • It has a good work-life balance, especially compared with other healthcare jobs.
  • The pay is good -- in 2013, dentists earned an average salary of $164,570 and a median salary of $146,340.
  • The labor department predicts 23,200 new jobs will open at a rate of nearly 16% between 2012 and 2022.

Dental hygienist came in fifth, as the labor department predicts new hygienist positions will open at a rate of 33.3%. Vanity makes people visit the dentist more, but that same vanity also results in increased openings for dental staff to clean and treat teeth, according to the story.

Nurse practitioner, software developer, physician, physical therapist, computer systems analyst, information security analyst, registered nurse, and physician assistant also were included among the top 10 jobs.

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