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Labor Market Information Center

Hot Careers for which a Bachelor's Degree is Recommended

Click on the Occupational Title to learn more about the occupation in the virtual labor market data system.

Click on the icon to view current job openings in the occupation.

South Dakota Hot Careers High Demand, High Wage Occupations for which a Bachelor's Degree is Recommended
SOC* Code	Occupational Title	Average Annual Openings	2024 Employment	2034 Employment	Numeric Change 2024 to 2034	Percent Change 2024 to 2034	Average Annual Wage 2025	View Current Job Openings
13-2011	Accountants and Auditors 😎	513	5,982	6,569	587	9.8%	$85,030
13-1020	Buyers and Purchasing Agents	152	1,417	1,568	151	10.7%	$78,690
	Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products
	Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
	Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
21-1021	Child, Family and School Social Workers 😎	173	1,880	2,004	124	6.6%	$53,320
17-2051	Civil Engineers	81	1,123	1,254	131	11.7%	$99,500
21-2011	Clergy 😎	167	1,828	1,898	70	3.8%	$60,180
29-2010	Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	96	1,283	1,408	125	9.7%	$60,940
	Clinical Laboratory Technicans
	Clinical Laboratory Technologists
13-1041	Compliance Officers	93	1,129	1,186	57	5.1%	$80,090
15-1211	Computer Systems Analysts	80	1,134	1,271	137	12.1%	$106,040
25-2021	Elementary School Teachers, except Special Education 😎	337	4,606	4,833	227	4.9%	$52,680
11-3031	Financial Managers	91	1,009	1,190	181	17.9%	$172,430
13-1071	Human Resources Specialists	135	1,485	1,630	145	9.8%	$74,450
13-1111	Management Analysts 😎	381	3,935	4,437	502	12.8%	$92,440
13-1161	Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	148	1,482	1,657	175	11.8%	$73,980
11-9111	Medical and Health Services Managers	123	1,146	1,465	319	27.8%	$130,720
25-2022	Middle School Teachers, except Special and Career/Technical Education	166	2,279	2,392	113	5.0%	$53,290
13-1082	Project Management Specialists	114	1,391	1,542	151	10.9%	$88,360
29-1141	Registered Nurses 😎	946	14,208	16,133	1,925	13.6%	$77,140
25-2031	Secondary School Teachers, except Special and Career/Technical Education 😎	237	3,423	3,596	173	5.1%	$53,960
15-1252	Software Developers	156	2,169	2,582	413	19.0%	$104,790
21-1018	Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder and Mental Health Counselors - see options below	160	1,605	1,879	274	17.1%	$54,760
	Mental Health Counselors
	Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors
Notes: Learn more about how the level of education recommended was determined. A smiley face with sunglasses like this 😎 following the occupational title indicates the occupation is a Top 30 career, ranked in the top 30 occupations with the greatest projected demand to 2042. Learn how the Hot Careers and Top 30 occupations are identified. *SOC - Standard Occupational Classification (See SOC occupational descriptions on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website.) The SOC taxonomy is revised as needed over time to appropriately reflect changes in occupational duties and expectations. The version of the taxonomy used for each particular data set shown above varies along with the timeframe used for that data set. Additionally, sometimes the taxonomy is adapted for a particular program or data set. Occupational classification for a particular program is often a work in progress, with codes for some occupations modified multiple times before a final, static code is determined. During such transitions, an occupation may have more than one code associated with it. For these reasons, we have included in the table above all codes associated (across the various data sets displayed) with the occupations listed. When using other resources for occupational data, if you do not find the occupation by the SOC code listed, please contact us for assistance. For more information on average annual openings and other employment projections data used in the table above (2024 workers, 2034 workers, percent change 2024-2034), see our Employment Projections Technical Notes page. For more information on average annual wages, please see our Occupational Wages Technical Notes page. Employment projections data for additional occupations is available; please see our Occupational Projections menu. Wage data is also available for additional occupations; please see our Occupational Wages menu. Source: Labor Market Information Center, South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, July 2026.

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