The most secure jobs in America pay between $61K and $350K, based on data from the BLS, our Salary Database, the World Economic Forum, and interviews with real professionals. See their salaries and what they say about their jobs!
December 15, 2025
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Daniella Flores
Job security means that you feel stable in your role and your job has a high enough demand for your skills to possibly protect you from future job loss. But the economy and company you work for has a lot to do with it.
How much the job pays is another indicator of a secure job. No matter how much job security your role has, what’s the point if it doesn’t pay you a living wage?
2025 was a zinger for many who thought their jobs were stable and secure. As a part of the 1.1 million layoffs we saw this year, tech and government workers bore the brunt of it. It’s almost maddening, but a lot of what was going on behind the scenes had less to do with their actual job titles and more to do with the economy and company priorities. AI was a big reason but not in every scenario. Trade policy uncertainty is the highest it’s ever been and many companies have decided to change course in response to that.
Looking forward, the job market will continue to go through changes driven by technological development and economic shifts, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report.
So, what does this mean for your job? If we look to history, some jobs are always needed and hard to replace with AI and robots, like electricians and nurses. In today’s world, jobs that support AI development are also crucial because AI can’t create itself and it desperately needs data.
Let’s dive into the best-paying careers with the most job security in 2026 and how you can find your own!
Key points:
We’ve identified these roles using job outlook data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the World Economic Forum (WEF), salary data we’ve collected in our Salary Database of over 13,000+ publicly shared salaries from our community, and 3+ years of street interviews.
To find more about these high-paying secure jobs, search our Salary Database and Transparent Job Board. Don’t forget to join and add your salary!
Median salary (BLS): $133,260
Highest salary recorded in our Salary Database: $220,000
Job growth (2024-2034): 20% per the BLS
A physician assistant (PA) works under physician supervision to meet with patients and provide care. They’re also able to diagnose patients, prescribe them medication, and assist doctors in surgery, but their scope of practice depends on the state they live in and its regulations.
It’s basically like being a doctor without the PhD or the pay, but PAs are still one of the highest-paying healthcare jobs out there. We interviewed a PA that makes $130,000 a year!
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If you’ve ever called your doctor’s office to make an appointment and they asked if it was ok to schedule with the PA instead due to the doctor’s limited availability, you’ve run right into the reason why this job has so much job security. There’s such a high demand for providers in the industry that PAs are becoming a must-have for many doctors.
Required education: A master’s degree from an accredited PA program. The PA we interviewed also recommends starting with as much shadowing as possible to make sure you know what you exactly want to do in this field.
Learn the skills for this job: Human Anatomy & Physiology I
Median salary (BLS): $132,050
Highest salary recorded in our Salary Database: $350,000
Job growth (2024-2034): 35% per the BLS
Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), and nurse midwives (CNMs). Similar to PAs, they work closely with doctors to provide patient care and are also able to diagnose patients and prescribe medication. The reason for their job security is also the same: there just aren’t enough providers in the industry to cover the growing amount of patients. Their projected job growth is also a little higher than physician assistants (BLS projects a 35% growth by 2034).
We interviewed a pediatric NP in the video below that was a nurse for 12 years before working their way up to an NP. They currently make $100,000 with the expectation that their earning could increase to $150,000 throughout the rest of their career.
Required education: A Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) from an accredited program, an RN license, pass a certification exam in your specialty, and further licensing may be required.
Learn the skills for this job: The Nurse’s Toolkit
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Median salary (BLS): $124,910
Highest salary recorded in our Salary Database: $205,000
Job growth (2024-2034): 40% per the WEF
The Future of Jobs Report from the WEF found that cybersecurity skills are the 2nd fastest-growing skillset, according to 70% of employers they surveyed. As cyberattacks become a daily occurrence in our modern world, cybersecurity analysts are desperately needed to protect our data and systems. Tech giants also need to think about what new vulnerabilities come with the AI they’re developing and cybersecurity analysts help them do this. So much so that 25% of businesses cite cybersecurity as one of their core skills for their workforce, according to the WEF.
We interviewed a cybersecurity analyst in the video below that makes $150,000 a year after 5 years of experience.
Other job titles that utilize cybersecurity skills also come with a similar type of job security and pay. We also interviewed a cybersecurity instructor and project manager in the same video that makes $83 an hour as a contract cybersecurity project manager and $75 an hour as an educator!
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Required education: A bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or similar is preferred but not absolutely necessary. Some are able to break in with an associate’s degree or certifications. The cybersecurity analyst we interviewed got a bachelor’s degree in information technology online.
Learn the skills for this job: Foundations of Cybersecurity
Median salary (BLS): $112,590
Highest salary recorded in our Salary Database: $350,000
Job growth (2024-2034): 110% per the WEF
The only skills that topped cybersecurity on the Future of Jobs Report as the fastest-growing skills are AI and big data, according to 87% of employers. The report also found that Bi projected job growth increase of 80% by 2030.
But what is big data? Big data refers to large and complex data sets that big data specialists and data engineers transform and clean so they can be used, whether that’s for analysis, training AI, or other purposes. It’s important work in a world fueled by data and is one of the best-paying tech jobs for that very reason.
We interviewed a data engineer that makes $165,000 a year after getting their master’s degree. They originally studied chemical engineering and then pivoted to data engineering.
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Required education: A bachelor’s degree in computer science, data engineering, or similar area, but some jobs may accept an associate’s degree, certifications, or experience in place of a 4-year degree.
Learn the skills for this job: Introduction to Big Data with Spark and Hadoop
Median salary (BLS): $95,410
Highest salary recorded in our Salary Database: $230,000
Job growth (2024-2034): 15%
Speech language pathologists work with different communication and swallowing issues and work with every age group from infants to seniors. They work with stroke survivors to regain their speech abilities and support those with swallowing disorders (dysphagia). They also work with children on articulation difficulties and nonverbal children on alternative forms of communication.
The reason why speech language pathologists have stable jobs is due to their high demand (BLS projects a 15% growth by 2034), which partially comes from increased awareness about disorders and the need for care and a shortage of professionals.
There are a lot of different specialties to explore in this area and it pays great too. We interviewed a speech language pathologist that makes $110,000 a year!
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Required education: A master’s degree in speech language pathology and audiology, professional supervised hours, and state licensing. Master’s programs are highly competitive, so applicants should be persistent!
Learn the skills for this job: Voice Disorders: What Patients and Professionals Need to Know
Median salary (BLS): $62,350
Highest salary recorded in our Salary Database: $108,000
Job growth (2024-2034): 9%
Becoming an electrician has always been one of the most stable trade jobs, as there never ceases to be a need for electricity and energy and many roles are union roles that tend to pay higher than non-union roles. Now with an aging infrastructure and the push to provide a power grid that can handle scaling AI technology, they’re growing even more in demand. This is also why there has been such a push for nuclear energy, which is another good thing for electricians as they’re needed to make sure facilities run safely.
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We interviewed several electricians at the IBEW's International Women's Conference and many cited the work as rewarding and the pay as equally rewarding, with one from Boston, Massachusetts that makes $77.55 (total compensation) after 4 years of experience and another in Santa Clara, California that makes $117.55 (total compensation) an hour after 5 years of experience!
Many women we interviewed cited how much they love the stability of the job and what it offers. “I’m very blessed to be in the local I’m in. I’m very lucky,” one woman said. “I appreciate everything I’m willing to get with all of the benefits, our health insurance, which is huge in America, especially as a woman when it comes to creating a family.”
Required education: High school diploma and apprenticeship (which is paid).
Learn the skills for this job: Introduction to Electronics
Median salary (BLS): $61,330
Highest salary recorded in our Salary Database: $155,000
Job growth (2024-2034): 6%
Social workers will always be in demand as long as our general population needs social justice. They’re the ones who are there when we need counseling, advocacy, and access to essential services like food assistance and housing programs.
Our aging population in America especially has a huge need for social workers as they navigate long-term care and end-of-life decisions. Many social work positions are also tied to legally required services that can’t be easily eliminated, like child protective services and veteran services.
The work is stressful but rewarding, and it also doesn’t pay too bad either. We interviewed a medical social worker in the video below that makes $74,000 a year and a mental health therapist (LCSW) that makes $80,000 a year. The mental health therapist noted that she was able to make more in Maryland versus Connecticut
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Required education: A Master of Social Work (MSW) from a CSWE-accredited program.
Learn the skills for this job: Social Work Practice: Advocating Social Justice and Change
Regardless of what the data says about what jobs have the most job security, sometimes it all comes down to where you work and fluctuating external factors. For example, being a data engineer is a great option for job security due to its projected growth. However, if you’re working for a tech startup company with an unclear financial future, that threatens your job security.
Some companies have pretty bad track records for layoffs too. If you find a job with one of those companies but it’s in a department they seem to do layoffs in every year, then it may not be the right fit for you. Or you can take it temporarily while you still look for another job (this also helps you deal with a future layoff when you’re always putting your feelers out in the job market).
Start with our Transparent Job Board when searching for jobs, which has salary ranges listed for each job and you can filter per industry, remote jobs, etc. For remote jobs only, we love FlexJobs that screen every single job on the board so they can keep the site 100% scam free.
When applying for jobs, we also recommend using a tool like Teal to revamp your resume and find ways to stand out to the employer.
If you need help finding your next job or career pivot, browse any of our free guides:
That’s a wrap for this week! I’m Daniella Flores, a former software engineer who writes about tech, money, and careers, a current member of the CNET Money Expert Review Board, and career researcher that’s appeared in TIME, CNBC, and Investopedia (among many others). I’m extremely passionate about workers' rights and financial freedom, so it’s a pleasure to be able to bring you this type of content through the Salary Transparent Street blog (thank you for the opportunity, Hannah!) If you want to connect, follow me on Linkedin. Chat soon!
If this guide helps you land your dream job, let us know! Send us an email ➡️ hello@salarytransparentstreet.com
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