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The 30 best high-paying jobs of the future

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  • Using employment projection and salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we found 30 high-paying jobs that are poised to enjoy healthy employment growth over the next decade.
  • Several tech and medical occupations show up on the list.

The future of work is looking pretty bright, at least for nurses and software developers.

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Plenty of medical and tech jobs are likely to keep growing in the next several years, and pay handsomely as well.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Projections program publishes estimates for job growth across hundreds of occupations. The most recent release compares how many people worked in each occupation in 2016 with the Bureau's projections for 2026.

We combined those job growth projections with 2017 median annual earnings for each occupation from the Bureau's Occupational Employment Statistics program, using the geometric mean of the two numbers, to find roles that are both growing and high-paying.

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Since we are focused on high-paying jobs, we restricted our ranking to occupations with 2017 median earnings above the median among all occupations of $37,690.

Here are the 30 best jobs of the next decade or so:

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Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 19,200

Median annual earnings in 2017: $198,740

Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree

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Mikhail Olykainen/Shutterstock

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 25,700

Median annual earnings in 2017: $151,440

Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree

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caifas/Shutterstock

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 75,200

Median annual earnings in 2017: $52,590

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Typical educational requirements: High school diploma or equivalent

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 88,900

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Median annual earnings in 2017: $45,030

Typical educational requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award

Matt Cardy/Getty Images

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Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 44,800

Median annual earnings in 2017: $91,370

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 39,600

Median annual earnings in 2017: $104,860

Typical educational requirements: Master's degree

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Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 76,400

Median annual earnings in 2017: $56,970

Typical educational requirements: High school diploma or equivalent

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Flickr/US Department of Education

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 76,800

Median annual earnings in 2017: $59,170

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Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

Mel Evans/AP

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 108,400

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Median annual earnings in 2017: $42,480

Typical educational requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award

UC Davis/flickr

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Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 54,400

Median annual earnings in 2017: $88,270

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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AP/Wong Maye-E

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 75,800

Median annual earnings in 2017: $64,070

Typical educational requirements: High school diploma or equivalent

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Shutterstock

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 94,900

Median annual earnings in 2017: $52,510

Typical educational requirements: High school diploma or equivalent

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Adam Berry/Getty Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 47,100

Median annual earnings in 2017: $107,600

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Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

Ben Sklar/Getty images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 67,100

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Median annual earnings in 2017: $86,850

Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree

David McNew/Getty Images

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Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 56,100

Median annual earnings in 2017: $103,880

Typical educational requirements: Master's degree

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Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 60,600

Median annual earnings in 2017: $97,870

Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree

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Flickr / US Department of Education

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 104,100

Median annual earnings in 2017: $57,160

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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Wikimedia Commons/Rick Naystatt

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 44,200

Median annual earnings in 2017: $139,220

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Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

Shutterstock.com/Monkey Business Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 90,300

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Median annual earnings in 2017: $70,010

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

Getty Images/Christopher Furlong

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Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 72,100

Median annual earnings in 2017: $98,350

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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Minerva Studio/Shutterstock

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 65,000

Median annual earnings in 2017: $119,250

Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree

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John Phillips / Stringer / Getty Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 79,500

Median annual earnings in 2017: $105,610

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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Glassdoor

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 138,300

Median annual earnings in 2017: $63,230

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Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

Africa Studio/Shutterstock

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 42,300

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Median annual earnings in 2017: At least $208,000*

Typical educational requirements: Doctoral or professional degree

*The Bureau of Labor Statistics top-codes median earnings data and does not give specific figures for estimates above $208,000.

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create jobs 51/Shutterstock

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 115,200

Median annual earnings in 2017: $82,450

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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Justin Sullivan / Staff / Getty Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 139,900

Median annual earnings in 2017: $69,350

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 108,600

Median annual earnings in 2017: $125,080

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Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

University of Exeter/Flickr

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 205,200

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Median annual earnings in 2017: $100,410

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

Stephen Lam/Getty Images

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Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 255,400

Median annual earnings in 2017: $101,790

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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Reuters/Mike Wood

Projected new positions between 2016 and 2026: 438,100

Median annual earnings in 2017: $70,000

Typical educational requirements: Bachelor's degree

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