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Labor Market Information Center

Hot Careers for which a High School Diploma or Equivalent is Recommended

Click on the Occupational Title to learn more about the occupation in the online 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 High School Diploma or Equivalent 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
47-2031	Carpenters 😎	498	5,917	6,484	567	9.6%	$51,330
47-2051	Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers 😎	176	2,208	2,424	216	9.8%	$48,800
51-9124	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	146	1,375	1,488	113	8.2%	$49,640
43-6011	Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants 😎	195	1,828	1,890	62	3.4%	$56,200
47-1011	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Worker 😎	230	2,615	2,890	275	10.5%	$78,970
37-1011	First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers	104	793	856	63	7.9%	$48,320
41-1012	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	91	1,024	1,107	83	8.1%	$113,980
41-1011	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers 😎	541	5,183	5,526	343	6.6%	$61,860
53-1047	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation & Material Moving Workers, except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors 😎 see the following options	173	1,554	1,720	166	10.7%	$64,760
	First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators
	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation Workers, All Other
11-9051	Food Service Managers 😎	218	1,746	1,927	181	10.4%	$63,920
53-7051	Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators	158	1,418	1,579	161	11.4%	$48,730
51-9061	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	140	1,074	1,162	88	8.2%	$49,990
49-9071	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 😎	379	3,625	3,928	303	8.4%	$49,790
47-2073	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators  😎	229	2,362	2,633	271	11.5%	$59,330
47-2141	Painters, Construction and Maintenance	92	1,042	1,125	83	8.0%	$47,710
11-9141	Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers	138	1,523	1,657	134	8.8%	$53,970
41-4012	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, except Technical and Scientific Products 😎	521	5,348	5,734	386	7.2%	$81,270
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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