06 Feb The Fastest Growing Careers in STEM

There’s nothing smart about staying in a dead-end job. To help women identify the best path for career growth, financial technology company SmartAsset combed through data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics between 2014 and 2018 to find out what types of jobs experienced the fastest growth for women.

While taxi driving and chauffeur jobs boasted the fastest growth overall, when it comes to professional careers, positions in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields reigned supreme. They accounted for seven of the top 25 fastest-growing careers for women. Here’s how the STEM jobs stack up.

Industrial engineers. There were approximately 25,600 more women employed as industrial engineers in 2018 than in 2014—more than an 82 percent increase during that period.

Architects (except naval). Almost 30 percent of architects were women in 2018, up from about 25 percent in 2014.
Chemists and materials scientists. Women chemists and materials scientists experienced 46 percent job growth between 2014 and 2018.

Computer systems analysts. There were 244,500 women employed as computer systems analysts in 2018, up from 174,800 in 2014.

Mechanical engineers. Mechanical engineers tied with compliance officers as the 17th fastest-growing career for women overall.

Database administrators. Women database administrators experienced 35 percent job growth between 2014 and 2018.
Software developers (applications and systems). Women software developers saw 33 percent job growth during the four-year period, from 244,500 in 2014 to 324,600 in 2018.

—Tamara E. Holmes