Over the 2002–12 decade, career choices abound for those seeking high earnings and lots of opportunities. High-paying occupations that are projected to have many openings are varied. This diverse group includes teachers, managers, and construction trades workers.

The job openings shown in the chart represent the total that are expected each year for workers who are entering these occupations for the first time. The job openings result from each occupation’s growth and from the need to replace workers who retire or leave the occupation permanently for some other reason. Not included among these openings are ones that are created when workers move from job to job within an occupation.

Median earnings, such as those listed below, indicate that half of the workers in an occupation made more than that amount, and half made less. The occupations in the chart ranked in the highest or second-highest earnings quartiles for 2002 median earnings. This means that median earnings for workers in these occupations were higher than the earnings for at least 50 percent of all occupations in 2002.

Most of these occupations had another thing going for them in 2002: low or very low unemployment. Workers in occupations that had higher levels of unemployment—truck drivers, carpenters, and electricians—were more dependent on a strong economy or seasonal employment.

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