Six out of the top 25 best jobs in 2024, according to Indeed’s latest Best Jobs Report, are related to mental health. The employment website notes that’s a 100% increase over 2023’s list and a 200% hike over the 2022 report.
“The strong presence of mental health roles on this year’s list not only speaks to the need for mental health professionals but also suggests further destigmatization of mental health issues in America,” says the report.
The six mental health-related jobs include:
- At #1, mental health technician
- At #3, mental health therapist
- At #7, psychiatrist
- At #17, behavioral health professional
- At #18, psychiatric nurse
- At #23, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner
In addition to health care positions, the full list finds manufacturing/construction (32%) and finance (18%) among the best jobs. Tech jobs are at 12%, according to the report.
The findings indicate stability in engineering positions, including electrical, mechanical, data, civil, quality, and senior engineers. The report says, “The strength of engineering careers makes sense when you consider that engineers provide the building blocks to countless tangible and intangible goods and services consumers rely on.
“Electronics, buildings, machinery and software are just a few examples of the products and services engineers work on.”
What’s Important to Job Seekers
The report notes, “For the purposes of this list and identifying the best opportunities available to job seekers, we are looking at the opportunities available that can satisfy the factors we know are important to job seekers and can be measured within a job title: salary and flexibility.”
It continues, “This, coupled with opportunity growth (% change year over year) and availability (share of job postings), we can identify our selection of the “best” opportunities for job seekers in the US today.”
A recent study finds job seekers continue to name “fair pay” and “flexibility” as important factors in their searches. The Best Jobs Report includes “jobs with a salary minimum above the U.S. national average and with at least 10% of postings that include terms to indicate ‘remote’ or ‘hybrid’ work.”
The Impact of AI
With AI currently at the forefront of workforce and education conversations, additional Indeed research – Indeed’s AI at Work – indicates, “Virtually every job will face some level of exposure to potential GenAI-driven change. But while GenAI can learn to do some tasks reasonably well, it is unlikely to fully replace many jobs – especially those that require manual skills and/or deep personal connections.”
The findings note, “Software development jobs have the highest potential exposure to GenAI augmentation. GenAI is “good” or “excellent” at 95% of the skills in software development postings, which includes technology and business operations skills.
“Driving jobs (like truck and taxi drivers) have the least potential impact by GenAI.”
Workers are Optimistic About Their Prospects
Indeed’s 2024 Workforce Insights Report – conducted last month by The Harris Poll – finds 69% of workers are optimistic about their job prospects this year.
The top reasons for seeking new employment are “higher pay (58%), better benefits (34%), and more flexible hours (26%).”
The Insights Report concludes, “Despite continued job optimism in 2024, many workers still encounter challenges along the way and barriers that keep them from applying: unclear salary ranges, lengthy and complicated application processes and a lack of certifications and formal education, to name a few.”
Read more of Indeed’s Best Jobs Report here.
Read Indeed’s 2024 Workforce Insights Report here.
