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Labor Market Information Center

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

Click on the Occupational Ttile 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 High School Diploma or Equivalent is Recommended
SOC* Code	Occupational Title	Average Annual Openings	2022 Employment	2032 Employment	Numeric Change 2022 to 2032	Percent Change 2022 to 2032	Average Annual Wage 2023	View Current Job Openings
47-2031	Carpenters	595	6,116	6,784	668	10.9%	$44,550
51-9124	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	154	1,505	1,643	138	9.2%	$46,650
33-3012	Correctional Officers and Jailers	126	1,410	1,443	33	2.3%	$50,500
11-9013	Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers	2,415	21,349	22,751	1,402	6.5%	$99,990
47-1011	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Worker	228	2,437	2,697	260	10.7%	$72,030
37-1011	First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers	103	792	870	78	9.9%	$44,890
41-1012	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	102	1,111	1,203	92	8.3%	$112,080
41-1011	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	479	4,365	4,707	342	7.8%	$59,110
53-1047	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation & Material Moving Workers, except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors	163	1,419	1,566	147	10.4%	$65,280
11-9051	Food Service Managers	224	1,746	1,951	205	11.7%	$59,050
47-4051	Highway Maintenance Workers	199	2,130	2,192	62	2.9%	$45,600
53-7051	Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators	188	1,676	1,854	178	10.6%	$44,770
51-9061	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	119	990	1,034	44	4.4%	$44,840
53-3033	Light Truck Drivers	465	3,744	4,246	502	13.4%	$43,830
51-4041	Machinists	91	817	899	82	10.0%	$48,400
49-9071	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	344	3,348	3,644	296	8.8%	$45,240
47-2073	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	195	1,979	2,188	209	10.6%	$54,240
47-2141	Painters, Construction and Maintenance	96	1,050	1,156	106	10.1%	$45,270
41-2022	Parts Salespersons	247	1,850	2,051	201	10.9%	$44,700
37-3012	Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers and Applicators, Vegetation	110	756	847	91	12.0%	$44,450
11-9141	Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers	148	1,657	1,814	157	9.5%	$51,620
41-4012	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, except Technical and Scientific Products	573	5,535	6,130	595	10.8%	$78,120
47-2221	Structural Iron and Steel Workers	90	891	993	102	11.5%	$52,210
51-8031	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	86	886	915	29	3.3%	$54,180
Notes: Learn more about how the level of education recommended was determined. A hot air balloon icon 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 2032. 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 (2022 workers, 2033 workers, percent change 2022-2033), 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 2024.

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