Growing Career Paths: In-Demand Jobs & How to Prepare for Them

Explore the educational requirements for in-demand career paths in healthcare, education, criminal justice, and business. See how Russell Sage College’s undergraduate programs and graduate programs equip you for long-term success. 

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Career paths that offer growth help ensure a reliable income, which has a big impact on your quality of life.

While different career paths have different educational requirements for entry-level positions, a bachelor’s degree is often a first step, and a graduate degree can speed up many career paths. 

Plus, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, median earnings increase with a bachelor’s degree and again with a master’s degree.

Keep reading for an overview of the best career paths for growth and stability.

Please note that this blog post focuses on the education required to pursue different career paths. In many cases, licensing exams and state requirements apply. Please check with your state.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare employment opportunities are expected to grow much faster than average through 2023. In-demand jobs in healthcare include registered nurses and nurse practitioners, physical therapists and occupational therapists, registered dietitians, and mental health counselors. 

While the education field does not exhibit the same explosive growth as the healthcare field, what it does offer is a career trajectory with opportunities to enhance your resume and marketability with additional credentials, or to enter the field as a career changer.  

Finally, criminal justice offers career growth opportunities for individuals with specialized expertise, and a Master of Business Administration or other business master’s are flexible degrees that can be an asset for career growth in any field. 

Healthcare is seeing rapid growth, thanks in part to the increasing emphasis on preventive care and the aging population in the United States.

Nursing offers variety as well as career growth. Every stage of a nursing career offers opportunities to specialize with specific patient populations or health conditions, and it is common for nurses to move among patient care, administrative, education, and research roles. 

A bachelor’s in nursing can help you start your career as a registered nurse in a higher-paying role with a strong foundation for career growth. If you have a four-year degree in another subject, an accelerated B.S. in nursing program can help you enter the nursing field on a shorter timeline.   

Pursuing the nursing master’s degree to become a nurse practitioner is common for registered nurses looking to grow their careers and salary. The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks nurse practitioners third among the 20 fastest growing occupations, with opportunities for nurse practitioners expected to grow by a remarkable 40% through 2033! 

A Doctor of Nursing Practice is the highest degree for nursing practice and provides nurses with the skills and credentials to lead in clinical settings, education, and healthcare policy.

Physical therapy is another high-growth career path in healthcare, with more than 36,000 jobs expected to be added across the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

Physical therapists help people regain strength, mobility, and quality of life after illness, injury, or other physical challenges. 

Individuals with an undergraduate degree in biology, health sciences, or psychology often meet the prerequisites for the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree — also called a DPT — that is required to practice as a physical therapist. You do not have to earn a master’s between your bachelor’s and doctorate in physical therapy, and accelerated physical therapy programs make it possible to complete all the educational requirements to become a physical therapist in less time than it would take to earn the degrees separately. 

Occupational therapists help people who are recovering from an illness or an injury to return to activities that are important to them. And like other healthcare career paths, the labor statistics bureau expects demand for OTs to grow faster than the average rate for all professions over the next decade. 

You need a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree to be an occupational therapist, but you can apply to OT graduate programs with almost any bachelor’s as long as you satisfy the prerequisites. Accelerated OT programs allow you to earn a bachelor’s and graduate degree in less time than it takes to earn the degrees separately.    

A doctorate in occupational therapy (or OTD) will give you even more career options if your career goals include teaching, research, or leadership (and you can go directly from a bachelor’s into an OT doctoral program, without earning a master’s first.)

Dietitians help individuals and groups manage health conditions and meet wellness goals through nutrition. As with other career paths in healthcare, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook predicts opportunities for dietitians will grow faster than the average through 2033.

The Registered Dietitian Nutritionist credential (sometimes shortened to Registered Dietitian and abbreviated as RDN or RD) is the gold standard in the field. The education required to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist includes a bachelor’s, master’s, and a program of supervised practice called a Dietetic Internship. 

If you are making a career change, you can enter a nutrition master’s program with a bachelor’s degree in another field although you might have to take a few prerequisites before you begin the Dietetic Internship.

Once you earn the RD or RDN credential, you’ll have career options in healthcare facilities, school districts, private practice, and with consumer brands. 

Counseling is a healthcare-related career path that can provide job security, stable employment prospects, and an opportunity to make a real difference.  

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for mental health counselors is expected to increase by 19% through 2033. 

Becoming a licensed mental health counselor does require some career planning, since you need a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and supervised post-master’s practice hours, but online mental health counseling master’s programs and in-person counseling master’s programs with part-time options can make the education more accessible whether you are a recent college graduate or a career changer. 

The education profession faces persistent hiring challenges, and the right educational credentials can set you up for career growth over the long term. 

If you are seeking an undergraduate degree in education, Russell Sage College offers strong bachelor’s programs in Childhood Education and Physical Education — and you can add Early Childhood Education, Special Education, or a Grade 7–9 extension to your B.S. in Childhood Education to increase your opportunities in the job market.

You don’t have to start from square one, though! Several education-related graduate programs are open to individuals with a bachelor’s in another area. 

Russell Sage offers graduate degrees in childhood education, special education, literacy, art education, health education, and coaching and mental performance for career-changers entering education and practicing teachers pursuing permanent certification or additional credentials.  

For individuals with a master’s degree and teaching experience who are seeking building and district leadership roles, an Instructional Leadership Advanced Certificate and a doctorate in Educational Leadership or a similar subject are necessary credentials. 

Russell Sage’s leadership programs for educators are designed to be convenient for working professionals: Sage’s SBL/SDL certificate program is online, while its Ed.D. program combines online coursework with occasional in-person experiences, to support flexibility and connections.

Finally, a master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis or a master’s in school counseling are excellent options for those who want to support students in specialized, high-impact roles.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts with a master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis work with individuals with a range of emotional, behavioral, and developmental needs [1]. BCBAs work in schools and other settings to support individuals as they build communication, social interaction, and other daily living skills. And the projected job growth rate for BCBAs over the next eight is over 20% [2]!

Employment opportunities for school counselors and career counselors show a more modest increase — 4 percent from 2023 to 2033 — but it’s still a stable career path. School counselors offer guidance that help children and young adults build academic and social skills and set education and career goals. 

Russell Sage’s graduate programs for educational counseling and support professionals are accessible to working adults with an undergraduate degree in almost any subject. The ABA master’s is fully online, while the professional school counseling master’s offers different full- and part-time options leading to initial licensure, professional licensure, or both. 

The criminal justice field offers professional opportunities in legal services, law enforcement, probation and parole, government agencies, social work, and more. 

No matter where you start, the education you choose can set you up to keep growing your career path. 

A bachelor’s degree in a field like criminal justice, law, and behavioral science or psychology can prepare you for most entry-level positions in criminal justice, but a master’s degree is increasingly essential for advancement (and hiring managers for mid-level roles will often consider individuals with a master’s degree even if they have fewer years of work experience.) 

If you aspire to leadership roles with a title like “director,” “supervisor,” and “investigator,” a master’s degree in criminal justice can help you get there faster. Russell Sage’s online M.S. in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections is particularly relevant given recent shifts in state and national policy that is driving demand for professionals trained in rehabilitation, reintegration, and community-based corrections. 

Some criminal justice professionals seek expertise in behavioral health and forensic evaluation. If this describes you, consider a graduate program in Forensic Mental Health, which prepares you for work across the criminal justice, mental health, substance abuse and social service systems. Master’s programs in community psychology are also relevant to the criminal justice field. 

Whether you choose the classic, in-depth Master of Business Administration, or an efficient and practical Master of Science in Organizational Management, a graduate degree in business is a valuable complement to almost any undergraduate degree that will help you stand out for growth opportunities in any sector.

Studies show that median earnings rise with each level of education, but particularly with an MBA, making an MBA one of the most sought after graduate degrees [3]. 

MBA programs provide a solid foundation in finance, economics, legal issues, and strategic management and opportunities to specialize in areas like entrepreneurship, sustainability, or healthcare management.  A flexible MBA program like Russell Sage’s — which allows you to switch between in-person, livestream, or online asynchronous classes — makes this rigorous degree more accessible for full-time employees.  

For professionals working in hospitals, clinics, or other health-focused organizations, a master’s in Health Services Administration is one alternative to an MBA. While an MBA with a healthcare concentration offers a broad foundation, a Health Services Administration master’s focuses entirely on management within a healthcare setting — from budgeting and healthcare finance to reimbursement systems, HIPAA compliance, and the legal implications of care delivery.

There are other alternatives to an MBA for professionals seeking departmental supervisory roles, who may not be drawn to the finance or data-heavy aspects of a traditional MBA. 

Russell Sage’s M.S. in Organization Management is one such degree. With a focus on people, teams, and workplace culture, this Organization Management program is a streamlined, practical business master’s. And like Sage’s MBA, the M.S. in Organization Management offers flexible scheduling with in-person, livestream, or online asynchronous options to help you balance career growth with real life.

Still have questions about how to prepare for growing career paths? Explore these frequently asked questions. 

Russell Sage’s Career and Self-Discovery Center is available to undergraduate and graduate students as they apply for guidance around internships, graduate school, and professional employment. (If you start in an undergraduate program at Russell Sage, the Career and Self-Discovery Center comes to you in general education courses, with self-assessments, resume review sessions, and lessons on using career tools like LinkedIn and Handshake.)

Online and hybrid programs are very common, especially at the graduate level. Russell Sage offers hybrid or fully online graduate programs in nursing, nutrition, mental health counseling, coaching and mental performance, school building leadership and school district leadership, Applied Behavior Analysis, and criminal justice.

Whether it is referred to as an internship, practicum, fieldwork, clinical experience, student teaching, or something else, most degrees do require hands-on experience as part of the curriculum. In such cases, academic fieldwork coordinators and the Career and Self-Discovery Center help you arrange what is required. 

For positions like nurse practitioner, occupational therapist, licensed mental health counselor, registered dietitian, teacher, school counselor, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and many others, a master’s degree is required for professional licensure. 

In other cases, like business or criminal justice, a master’s degree is not technically required, but is an asset for higher paying leadership roles. 

Search for your dream job on a platform like Indeed or look up openings at a place you would love to work, and see what they list as minimum qualifications. 

Health-related roles consistently top the list of in-demand careers that require a master’s degree. Nurse Practitioner, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and Licensed Mental Health Counselor are some of the most in-demand careers that you can prepare for through a graduate program at Russell Sage College.

Wherever you are in your education and career, Russell Sage can help you move forward. 

First-time college students and transfer students will find undergrad-to-grad pathways to prepare for an in-demand career. 

Want to advance or change your career? Sage’s graduate programs are:

• Competitively priced with public universities

• Focused on real-world application

• Designed with flexible formats for working professionals

Apply today!

[1] https://www.crossrivertherapy.com/autism/do-bcba-only-work-with-autism

[2] https://www.advancedautism.com/post/the-rate-of-job-growth-for-bcbas

[3] https://www.earnest.com/blog/how-much-does-an-mba-increase-your-salary/