2012’s Best-Performing Jobs for Doctoral and Professional Degrees

This is the fifth post in a series about the best jobs by ed level for 2012. See the original post here. Keep in mind that the 2012 data is a projection.

In this post we want to highlight the fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs that require a doctoral or first professional degree. Our analysis is based solely on labor market data from EMSI’s 2012.1 Covered Employment release, which is drawn from over 80 state and federal data sources. We use Analyst, EMSI’s web-based labor market analysis tool, to assemble and filter this data. The tool contains detailed information on over 1,100 industries and 800 occupations.

Most New Jobs

• Postsecondary teachers gained 80,000 new jobs from 2008-2012.
• Physicians & surgeons gained 23,000,
• Family & general practitioners gained 15,000, and
• Medical scientists gained 8,300.

As it turns out, most of the occupations here are healthcare related (SOC code 29).

SOC Code	Description	2008 Jobs	2012 Jobs	Change	% Change	2011 Median Hourly Wage	Education Level
Source: EMSI Covered Employment - 2012.1
25-1099	Postsecondary teachers	1,350,163	1,429,455	79,292	6%	$30.84	Doctoral degree
29-1069	Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	262,635	285,554	22,919	9%	$81.53	First professional degree
29-1062	Family and General Practitioners	94,503	109,518	15,015	16%	$77.21	First professional degree
19-1042	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	99,470	107,816	8,346	8%	$36.47	Doctoral degree
29-1022	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	4,881	9,927	5,046	103%	$86.30	First professional degree
19-3031	Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists	94,799	98,785	3,986	4%	$32.36	Doctoral degree
29-1061	Anesthesiologists	35,654	39,518	3,864	11%	$86.89	First professional degree
29-1021	Dentists, General	84,695	88,556	3,861	5%	$68.61	First professional degree
29-1131	Veterinarians	53,094	56,748	3,654	7%	$39.22	First professional degree
29-1067	Surgeons	42,588	46,100	3,512	8%	$89.19	First professional degree

Fastest Growth

Here we have the jobs that have bulked up the most proportionately speaking.

• Oral & maxillofacial surgeons grew by an impressive 103% since 2008.
• The rest can’t even touch that: family & general practitioners (16%), obstetricians & gynecologists (14%), anesthesiologists (11%), and pediatricians (11%). Note again the dominance of healthcare jobs.

SOC Code	Description	2008 Jobs	2012 Jobs	Change	% Change	2011 Median Hourly Wage	Education Level
Source: EMSI Covered Employment - 2012.1
29-1022	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	4,881	9,927	5,046	103%	$86.30	First professional degree
29-1062	Family and General Practitioners	94,503	109,518	15,015	16%	$77.21	First professional degree
29-1064	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	19,255	21,945	2,690	14%	$83.69	First professional degree
29-1061	Anesthesiologists	35,654	39,518	3,864	11%	$86.89	First professional degree
29-1065	Pediatricians, General	27,951	30,891	2,940	11%	$72.39	First professional degree
29-1041	Optometrists	26,137	28,805	2,668	10%	$45.60	First professional degree
19-2011	Astronomers	1,211	1,326	115	9%	$52.95	Doctoral degree
29-1069	Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	262,635	285,554	22,919	9%	$81.53	First professional degree
29-1029	Dentists, All Other Specialists	5,504	5,970	466	8%	$74.77	First professional degree
15-2021	Mathematicians	3,181	3,448	267	8%	$44.73	Doctoral degree
19-1042	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	99,470	107,816	8,346	8%	$36.47	Doctoral degree
29-1067	Surgeons	42,588	46,100	3,512	8%	$89.19	First professional degree

Highest Paying

Again, lots of health care jobs. Of all the occupations that make more than $70 an hour (2011 median hourly wage), surgeons is the highest ($89.19), followed closely by anesthesiologists ($86.89), oral & maxillofacial surgeons ($86.30), and obstetricians & gynecologists ($83.69).

SOC Code	Description	2008 Jobs	2012 Jobs	Change	% Change	2011 Median Hourly Wage	Education Level
Source: EMSI Covered Employment - 2012.1
29-1067	Surgeons	42,588	46,100	3,512	8%	$89.19	First professional degree
29-1061	Anesthesiologists	35,654	39,518	3,864	11%	$86.89	First professional degree
29-1022	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	4,881	9,927	5,046	103%	$86.30	First professional degree
29-1064	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	19,255	21,945	2,690	14%	$83.69	First professional degree
29-1023	Orthodontists	5,230	5,588	358	7%	$83.18	First professional degree
29-1063	Internists, General	47,339	50,259	2,920	6%	$81.87	First professional degree
29-1069	Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	262,635	285,554	22,919	9%	$81.53	First professional degree
29-1066	Psychiatrists	21,546	22,982	1,436	7%	$78.50	First professional degree
29-1062	Family and General Practitioners	94,503	109,518	15,015	16%	$77.21	First professional degree
29-1029	Dentists, All Other Specialists	5,504	5,970	466	8%	$74.77	First professional degree
29-1065	Pediatricians, General	27,951	30,891	2,940	11%	$72.39	First professional degree

The Upshot

Taking growth and wages together, which of these super-high higher-ed jobs are performing the best? Oral & maxillofacial surgeons, physicians & surgeons, family & general practitioners are the most notable on both levels.

Return to the original post here.

Find out more about EMSI and our data here. You can reach us via Twitter @DesktopEcon or by emailing Rob Sentz (rob@economicmodeling.com).