To earn big bucks, you will need to pony up the time and money for education. That is, unless you become an air traffic controller. Out of the 50 highest-paying occupations, only air traffic controllers are exempt from a Bachelor's degree requirement* (*Source: U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics 2004-05).
| The 10 detailed industries with the largest wage and salary employment growth, 2004-14 | |||
| (Numbers in thousands) | 2004 | 2014 | % Growth |
| Management, business, and financial occupations | 14,987,482 | 17,142,266 | 14.38% |
| Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations | 6,805,257 | 8,561,393 | 25.81% |
| Engineering | 1,448,871 | 1,643,500 | 13.43% |
| Education, training, and library occupations | 8,698,018 | 10,438,019 | 20% |
| Law enforcement workers | 1,199,357 | 1,347,418 | 12.35% |
| Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aide | 2,138,627 | 2,814,935 | 31.62% |
| Graphic Design | 228,216 | 262,951 | 15.22% |
| Community and social services occupations | 2,317,113 | 2,800,198 | 20.85% |
| Legal and legal support worker occupations | 1,657,590 | 1, 931, 325 | 14.70% |
| Computer and mathematical science occupations | 3,152,801 | 4,119,844 | 30.67% |
| (1): Source: National Employment Matrix | |||
