School psychology tops list of best jobs in 2013

In 2013, school psychology was named the #1 social services career (ranked #14 out of 100 overall) by U.S. News. “In the coming years, classrooms will swell and educate more students who have special needs, learning disabilities, and behavioral issues. Schools tending to their needs will increase demand for school psychologists,” says the report. The Beaurea of Labor Statistics expects employment growth of nearly 22 percent in the occupation by 2020.

Each year, U.S. News compiles and analyzes data from the BLS to rank occupations based on hiring demand, as well as factors including salary, future growth potential, stress, and work-life balance.

Also high on the list of social service careers is substance abuse counselor (ranked #3, #27 overall). The profession is experiencing strong growth (27.3%), in part because of shifts in how the justice system is dealing with drug offenders, assigning many of them treatment-oriented sentences in addition to or in lieu of jail time. Mental health counseling generally is expected to grow by 36% (it was ranked #67). Lewis & Clark offers two master’s degrees for those interested in professional counseling: Professional Mental Health Counseling and Professional Mental Health Counseling—Addictions. Both offer in-depth, well-rounded mental health counseling preparation, while the latter includes specialized focus on addiction and dual diagnosis. Lewis & Clark also offers degrees in Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy, an occupation for which the Labor Department predicts extremely high occupational growth—by 2020, the profession is expected to grow by 41.2%. It was named one of the fastest growing professions by CNN’s Money Magazine in 2012.

Also ranked in the top 100 were education-focused occupations: high school teacher (#38), elementary school teacher (#45), and middle school teacher (#52). For all of these jobs combined, the BLS predicts that over one million positions will need to be filled by 2020.