The 15 Best Jobs for Young Adults

As the U.S. job market slowly recovers from the Great Recession, one segment of the population continues to lag by some measures.

Young adults ages 18 to 34 have consistently faced higher unemployment rates than the nation as a whole, according to Young Invincibles, a national nonprofit that seeks to empower young Americans.

Last month, the unemployment rate for young adults (7.5 percent) was more than 40 percent higher than the national rate (5.3 percent) for all workers.

Some of the effects of those economic challenges can be seen in the choices millennials make as they head back to college this fall, Young Invincibles reports:

These students are overwhelmingly heading to college seeking economic security, better jobs and wages that will provide stability in their financial lives. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, young adults value these economic incentives more and more. …

While young people do name social impact and work-life balance as important factors in their careers, the proportion of college students placing better employment outcomes and more pay as primary motivators for a college education is presently around 90 percent.

So the nonprofit set out to determine which careers are best for the millennial generation. Young Invincibles defines such careers based on three major criteria:

• Median wage
• Projected occupation growth by 2022
• Millennial share (percentage of jobs in an occupation held by millennials)

The top 15 ranked jobs are:

• Physician assistants
• Actuaries
• Statisticians
• Biomedical engineers
• Computer and information research scientists
• Market research analysts and marketing specialists
• Nuclear engineers
• Elevator installers and repairers
• Petroleum engineers
• Therapists
• Dental hygienists
• Logisticians
• Financial analysts and advisers
• Software developers and programmers
• Pharmacists

To view the full rankings and report, click on the Young Invincibles link above.

Are you surprised by these rankings? Would you add any jobs to the list? Let us know below or on Facebook.