Source: Glassdoor.
Do you love your job? Do you earn a good living, have plenty of career opportunities, and go to bed eager for the next day? If so, you're among the minority of American workers. According to Gallup, only 30% of Americans are excited about their job. That's a pretty poor showing, but it's probably not surprising given that wage growth has slowed and people are working longer days. If you're among the minority of people who love their job, consider yourself lucky. But if you're among the majority of people who are dissatisfied with your work, it might be time to consider a career change to one of Glassdoor's 25 Best Jobs in America for 2015.
America's best job
According to Glassdoor's new report, the best jobs are those that pay well, provide plenty of career advancement opportunity, and give workers the opportunity to leave for greener pastures if employers disappoint.
Across these three categories, physician assistants have the best job in America.
Physician assistants, who practice medicine under the supervision of physicians in private practices, hospitals, or healthcare clinics, typically have a master's degree and earn an average base salary of $111,376. According to Glassdoor, there are more than 45,000 open positions available for physician assistants, but that could just be the tip of the iceberg.
Thanks to aging baby boomers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the number of physician assistant jobs will grow 38% between 2012 and 2022. If so, that would represent far faster growth than the 11% expected across all jobs during that period.
More top jobs
Although physician assistant is ranked as the best job in America, it doesn't pay as well as a finance manager, which is ranked fifth on Glassdoor's top 25 list. Finance managers earn an average annual salary of $122,865, which is higher than every other job in this year's top 25 ranking.
But while finance managers earn more than software engineers, whose average annual paycheck is $98,074, software engineers are in greater demand. According to Glassdoor, there are 104,828 open jobs for software engineers, which is more than any of the other positions on Glassdoor's ranking.
Overall, there are 10 technology sector jobs and five professional services jobs on Glassdoor's list. There are also three healthcare jobs on the list. So even if you're not a physician assistant, finance manager, or software engineer, you might still be working in one of the other jobs that made Glassdoor's cut.
Here's the full list. The table includes not only the ranking of each of these jobs, but also Glassdoor's proprietary job score, the number of job openings, and the average base salary for each position.
| Rank | Job | Job Score | Number of Openings | Average Base Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physician Assistant | 4.8 | 45,484 | $111,376 |
| 2 | Software Engineer | 4.6 | 104,828 | $98,074 |
| 3 | Business Development Manager | 4.6 | 11,616 | $94,907 |
| 4 | Human Resources Manager | 4.6 | 8,073 | $96,443 |
| 5 | Finance Manager | 4.6 | 9,728 | $122,865 |
| 6 | Marketing Manager | 4.6 | 14,647 | $100,130 |
| 7 | Database Administrator | 4.5 | 9,790 | $97,835 |
| 8 | Product Manager | 4.5 | 10,294 | $113,363 |
| 9 | Data Scientist | 4.4 | 3,449 | $104,476 |
| 10 | Sales Manager | 4.4 | 26,193 | $76,556 |
| 11 | Solutions Architect | 4.4 | 3,982 | $121,657 |
| 12 | Mechanical Engineer | 4.3 | 16,065 | $73,015 |
| 13 | QA Engineer | 4.3 | 26,383 | $77,499 |
| 14 | Business Analyst | 4.3 | 21,337 | $74,638 |
| 15 | Electrical Engineer | 4.3 | 10,435 | $76,803 |
| 16 | Network Engineer | 4.3 | 14,092 | $87,518 |
| 17 | Civil Engineer | 4.3 | 6,120 | $73,383 |
| 18 | Audit Manager | 4.3 | 4,585 | $69,271 |
| 19 | Physical Therapist | 4.3 | 27,579 | $64,806 |
| 20 | IT Project Manager | 4.3 | 5,700 | $103,710 |
| 21 | Client Services Manager | 4.2 | 2,377 | $103,736 |
| 22 | Supply Chain Manager | 4.2 | 3,754 | $83,795 |
| 23 | Mobile Developer | 4.2 | 4,651 | $79,810 |
| 24 | Nurse Practitioner | 4.2 | 15,341 | $95,171 |
| 25 | Sales Engineer | 4.2 | 6,007 | $91,318 |
One big benefit
One of the big benefits of working in one of these 25 jobs may be the chance to put aside more money for retirement. Each of these jobs pays much more than the average American earns, offers advancement opportunities, and is in high demand. As a result, workers in these positions may be better able to sock away money for their golden years, and that could be what truly makes them among the best jobs in America.
