U.S. News and World Report is not a novice at making these kinds of lists.  If you look on their website, they have an entire section of lists.  Just scroll to the bottom of their home page and you will find a section called “Rankings and Research”. 

They cover everything from best colleges to best vacations.  This is a very credible source, but it is worth a look at what the best job rankings are based on.

They look at seven aspects of a job and weight these as to their value for “best” consideration to determine the order.  Here are the seven criteria and their accompaning weight.

1.    10-Year Growth Volume (10%) – How many of these jobs will be in demand?
2.    10-Year Growth Percentage (10%) – Growth compared to the total of these positions currently in the market.
3.    Median Salary (30%) – A high weighting but certainly one related to “best”.
4.    Job Prospects (20%) – Will there be open positions available in 2014?
5.    Employement Rate (20%) – Is employment stable and not subject to cycles or layoffs?
6.    Stress Level (5%) – If a “best” job comes at the price of high stress, then maybe its not the best.  
7.    Work-Life Balance (5%) – Being able to find the appropriate balance between work and life will make the job better.  

So why is healthcare so dominant for 2014 best jobs? 

It has to do with the expected influx of 30 million consumers as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). 

It is anticipated that these people who have previously not had healthcare will be looking for practitioners of all kinds and at all levels.

Will this list prove true in the coming year?  The high rankings of healthcare augurs well for dentistry and should be a right click for everyone in the industry.

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