Oops! Where’s “Lawyer” in America’s 50 Best Careers?

Leave it to US News & World Report to come up America’s 50 Best Careers … and forget to add lawyer to the list. But that’s what happened this week. Now that the economy is slowly recovering, US News examined the Labor Department’s job growth projections for 2008 to 2018. They were looking for occupations expected to add jobs at an above-average rate over the next decade or so, and those that provide a median income above the national median of $32,400.

They came up with 50 jobs that present some of the best opportunities for workers in five categories: science & technology, healthcare, business & finance, education & civic, arts & services. The closest to anything law-related was “mediator” and “court reporter”. BigLaw associate, in-house counsel, public service lawyer? Forget it. Here’s the 50; if you hurry, maybe you can enroll in some night school classes:

Accountant, Actuary, Biomedical engineer, Civil engineer, Clergy, Commercial pilot, Computer software engineer, Cost estimator, Court reporter, Curator, Dental hygienist, Emergency management specialist, Environmental science tech, Film and video editor, Financial adviser, Financial analyst, Firefighter, Gaming manager, Lab tech, Landscape architect, Loan officer, Logistician, Market research analyst, Marriage and family therapist, Mediator, Medical and public health social worker, Meeting planner, Meteorologist, Network architect, Optometrist, Physical therapist, Physical therapist assistant, Physician assistant, Plumber, Public relations specialist, Radiologic tech, Registered nurse, School psychologist, Security system installer, Special ed teacher, Systems Analyst, Technical writer, Training specialist, Urban planner, Veterinarian.

And not one of them lives by the billable hour!