Name: Dream Jobs vs Job Openings: 241 US Careers Ranked
Creator: Novoresume
Published: 2026-10-19

Contents

Key Findings
Jobs With the Most Searches per Opening
Jobs With the Most Openings per Search
Jobs With Too Few Openings to Rank
All 241 Jobs Ranked
Methodology

Novoresume compared how often Americans google "how to become a [job]" with how many openings each job has a year. We added up US Google searches from October 2025 to September 2026 for jobs from cashier to neurosurgeon. We then divided each job's searches by the average number of openings a year that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects for it from 2025 to 2035, and ranked 241 jobs by searches per opening.

Key Findings

Judge tops the list: Americans search for how to become a judge about 151,000 times a year, against about 800 projected openings a year, or 189 searches per opening.
Medical jobs take five of the top 10 places: radiologist (164 searches per opening), dermatologist (141), psychiatrist (110), anesthesiologist (74) and nurse anesthetist (55). Searches for how to become a doctor come to 2.9 per opening.
Model ranks fourth: 140 searches per opening, with the lowest median pay in the top 10 ($48,470).
Air traffic controller ranks seventh: 88 searches per opening. More than a third of its 184,270 yearly searches came in October and November 2025, during the federal government shutdown.
Cashiers have 1,086 openings for every search: 521,300 openings a year, against 480 searches.
Management consultant has the most openings per search of any degree-level job: 94,100 openings a year and 2,480 searches.

Jobs With the Most Searches per Opening

Table 1The 25 jobs with the most searches per openingDownload CSV

Rank	Job	How-to-become searches a year	Projected openings a year	Searches per opening	Median pay
1	Judge	151,000	800	189	$153,990
2	Radiologist	114,670	700	164	$420,860
3	Dermatologist	56,280	400	141	$328,730
4	Model	98,330	700	140	$48,470
5	Game warden	64,830	500	130	$74,060
6	Psychiatrist	99,220	900	110	$281,870
7	Air traffic controller	184,270	2,100	88	$148,080
8	Anesthesiologist	81,920	1,100	74	$391,490
9	Nurse anesthetist	132,230	2,400	55	$236,590
10	Travel agent	300,860	5,900	51	$50,160
11	Private investigator	160,050	3,200	50	$51,220
12	Locksmith	54,800	1,200	46	$51,320
13	Actuary	57,140	1,500	38	$130,000
14	Meteorologist	29,400	800	37	$99,070
15	Veterinarian	111,060	3,100	36	$130,100
16	Court reporter	59,270	1,800	33	$72,420
17	Audiologist	19,610	600	33	$95,780
18	Pediatrician	29,680	1,000	30	$210,040
19	Underwater welder^*	11,580	400	29	$72,990
20	Cardiologist	13,980	500	28	$496,010
21	Neurosurgeon^*	18,600	700	27	$414,010
22	Paramedic	112,720	4,300	26	$60,600
23	MRI tech	58,110	2,300	25	$95,480
24	Sonographer	145,630	6,000	24	$96,590
25	Chiropractor	62,520	2,600	24	$79,200

* Openings are for a wider BLS group, such as all commercial divers for underwater welders.

Bar chart of the 15 jobs with the most yearly "how to become" Google searches per projected job opening. Judge leads with 189, then radiologist (164), dermatologist (141), model (140) and game warden (130). A callout repeats the judge figures: about 151,000 searches for about 800 openings a year. — Source: Novoresume analysis of Google search volume (October 2025 to September 2026) and US Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projections, 2025 to 2035.Download chart (PNG)

Medical Jobs

The five medical jobs in the top 10 all have a median pay above $230,000, and none has more than 2,400 openings a year. Searches for how to become a doctor total 64,970 a year, against 22,100 openings for all physicians and surgeons. Radiologist, psychiatrist and anesthesiologist are each searched more often than doctor.

Travel Agents

Travel agent ranks 10th, with 300,860 searches a year for about 5,900 openings. Only real estate agent, firefighter, flight attendant and electrician are searched more often.

Jobs With the Most Openings per Search

Cashier, waiter and janitor each draw fewer than 2,000 searches a year, against hundreds of thousands of openings.

Table 2The 10 jobs with the most openings per searchDownload CSV

Rank	Job	How-to-become searches a year	Projected openings a year	Openings per search	Median pay
1	Cashier	480	521,300	1,086	$32,880
2	Dishwasher	160	68,900	431	$34,810
3	Waiter	1,130	423,100	374	$35,230
4	Housekeeper	620	175,500	283	$35,510
5	Janitor	1,710	321,800	188	$36,840
6	Customer service representative	1,590	289,500	182	$44,770
7	Line cook	1,370	218,600	160	$37,390
8	Landscaper	3,240	149,500	46	$39,150
9	Management consultant	2,480	94,100	38	$101,860
10	Delivery driver	2,920	107,200	37	$44,860

Jobs marked with an asterisk in Table 5 are left out of this table and the next.

Degree-Level Jobs With More Openings Than Searches

Among jobs that usually need a bachelor's degree or more (O*NET Job Zone 4 or 5), these 15 have the most openings per search.

Table 3The 15 degree-level jobs with the most openings per searchDownload CSV

Rank	Job	How-to-become searches a year	Projected openings a year	Openings per search	Median pay
1	Management consultant	2,480	94,100	38	$101,860
2	Fundraiser	280	10,000	36	$72,550
3	Logistician	1,300	26,600	20	$82,320
4	Publicist	3,810	23,000	6.0	$74,750
5	Farmer	14,920	70,800	4.7	$89,900
6	Marketing manager	7,230	34,000	4.7	$166,790
7	Coach	8,980	36,400	4.1	$47,320
8	Software engineer	49,600	95,300	1.9	$135,980
9	Civil engineer	12,310	22,700	1.8	$100,840
10	HR manager	10,080	16,800	1.7	$149,280
11	Registered nurse	108,950	180,800	1.7	$97,550
12	Chemist	3,720	5,900	1.6	$91,240
13	Mechanical engineer	11,260	17,800	1.6	$104,110
14	Art director	8,410	12,200	1.5	$114,850
15	Financial analyst	17,700	24,700	1.4	$102,740

Paired bar chart of projected openings a year and yearly "how to become" Google searches for 10 degree-level jobs. Management consultants have 94,100 openings a year and 2,480 searches, fundraisers 10,000 and 280, and logisticians 26,600 and 1,300. — Source: Novoresume analysis of Google search volume (October 2025 to September 2026) and US Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projections, 2025 to 2035.Download chart (PNG)

Jobs With Too Few Openings to Rank

These 14 jobs have fewer than 400 openings a year, so they are listed by searches instead of ranked.

Table 4Jobs with fewer than 400 openings a yearDownload CSV

Job	Searched as	How-to-become searches a year	Projected openings a year
Orthodontist	orthodontist	28,300	200
Pathologist or medical examiner	medical examiner	28,300	300
Neurologist	neurologist	16,200	300
Genetic counselor	genetic counselor	15,900	300
Mediator	mediator	14,700	300
Podiatrist	podiatrist	12,480	200
Historian	historian	10,800	300
Astronomer	astronomer	10,370	100
Oral surgeon	oral surgeon	8,850	200
Ophthalmologist	ophthalmologist	8,570	200
Watchmaker	watchmaker	4,280	100
Pediatric surgeon	pediatric surgeon	4,030	fewer than 50
Mathematician	mathematician	2,720	100
Sociologist	sociologist	2,320	200

All 241 Jobs Ranked

Americans search for how to become a nun 68,240 times a year, more than twice as often as for how to become a priest (26,200).

Table 5All 241 jobs, from the most searches per opening to the fewestDownload CSV


1	Judge	judge	151,000	800	189
2	Radiologist	radiologist	114,670	700	164
3	Dermatologist	dermatologist	56,280	400	141
4	Model	model	98,330	700	140
5	Game warden	game warden	64,830	500	130
6	Psychiatrist	psychiatrist	99,220	900	110
7	Air traffic controller	air traffic controller	184,270	2,100	88
8	Anesthesiologist	anesthesiologist	81,920	1,100	74
9	Nurse anesthetist	nurse anesthetist	132,230	2,400	55
10	Travel agent	travel agent	300,860	5,900	51
11	Private investigator	private investigator	160,050	3,200	50
12	Locksmith	locksmith	54,800	1,200	46
13	Actuary	actuary	57,140	1,500	38
14	Meteorologist	meteorologist	29,400	800	37
15	Veterinarian	veterinarian	111,060	3,100	36
16	Court reporter	court reporter	59,270	1,800	33
17	Audiologist	audiologist	19,610	600	33
18	Pediatrician	pediatrician	29,680	1,000	30
19	Underwater welder^*	underwater welder	11,580	400	29
20	Cardiologist	cardiologist	13,980	500	28
21	Neurosurgeon^*	neurosurgeon	18,600	700	27
22	Paramedic	paramedic	112,720	4,300	26
23	MRI tech	mri tech	58,110	2,300	25
24	Sonographer	ultrasound tech	145,630	6,000	24
25	Chiropractor	chiropractor	62,520	2,600	24
26	Funeral director	mortician	68,310	3,000	23
27	Elevator mechanic	elevator mechanic	42,930	1,900	23
28	Archaeologist^*	archaeologist	16,500	800	21
29	Marine biologist^*	marine biologist	28,620	1,400	20
30	Detective	detective	158,540	7,800	20
31	Actor	actor	124,890	6,300	20
32	OB-GYN	obgyn	9,600	500	19
33	Optometrist	optometrist	37,830	2,000	19
34	Surgeon	surgeon	23,640	1,300	18
35	Train conductor	train conductor	53,500	3,000	18
36	Orthopedic surgeon	orthopedic surgeon	6,900	400	17
37	Flight attendant	flight attendant	316,600	18,500	17
38	Dentist	dentist	73,200	4,700	16
39	Plastic surgeon^*	plastic surgeon	10,870	700	16
40	Embalmer	embalmer	10,710	700	15
41	Real estate agent	real estate agent	464,050	32,600	14
42	Crane operator	crane operator	47,930	3,500	14
43	Firefighter	firefighter	363,330	26,800	14
44	Pharmacist	pharmacist	164,190	12,500	13
45	Physical therapist	physical therapist	171,910	13,400	13
46	Home inspector^*	home inspector	188,960	14,800	13
47	Epidemiologist	epidemiologist	10,160	800	13
48	DJ	dj	21,300	1,700	13
49	EMT	emt	171,630	13,800	12
50	Dietitian	nutritionist	70,150	5,700	12
51	Voice actor^*	voice actor	75,900	6,300	12
52	Pilot	pilot	196,220	16,400	12
53	Dental hygienist	dental hygienist	175,540	15,000	12
54	Physician assistant	physician assistant	132,670	11,500	12
55	Sports agent^*	sports agent	27,640	2,400	12
56	Forensic scientist	forensic scientist	30,620	2,800	11
57	Piano tuner^*	piano tuner	6,530	600	11
58	Archivist	archivist	11,580	1,100	11
59	Paleontologist^*	paleontologist	18,500	1,800	10
60	Surgical tech	surgical tech	71,920	7,100	10
61	Surveyor	surveyor	30,890	3,100	10
62	911 dispatcher	911 dispatcher	87,780	9,000	9.8
63	Zoologist	zoologist	13,320	1,400	9.5
64	Jeweler	jeweler	33,440	3,700	9.0
65	Athletic trainer	athletic trainer	21,450	2,400	8.9
66	Train engineer	train engineer	17,700	2,000	8.8
67	Fashion designer	fashion designer	21,790	2,500	8.7
68	Occupational therapist	occupational therapist	78,050	10,000	7.8
69	Probation officer	probation officer	60,810	7,900	7.7
70	Nuclear engineer	nuclear engineer	6,060	800	7.6
71	Appraiser	real estate appraiser	39,260	5,200	7.5
72	Lineman	lineman	81,210	10,900	7.5
73	Commercial diver	commercial diver	2,850	400	7.1
74	Interior designer	interior designer	54,260	7,700	7.0
75	Psychologist	psychologist	77,610	11,300	6.9
76	Petroleum engineer	petroleum engineer	6,790	1,000	6.8
77	Phlebotomist	phlebotomist	121,150	18,000	6.7
78	Librarian	librarian	84,020	12,600	6.7
79	Sound engineer	sound engineer	6,660	1,000	6.7
80	Tax preparer	tax preparer	62,040	9,400	6.6
81	Architect	architect	44,570	6,900	6.5
82	Biomedical engineer	biomedical engineer	7,640	1,200	6.4
83	Boilermaker	boilermaker	4,410	700	6.3
84	Paralegal	paralegal	255,070	40,800	6.3
85	Dog trainer	dog trainer	40,190	6,500	6.2
86	Vet tech	vet tech	82,250	13,400	6.1
87	Wind turbine technician	wind turbine technician	8,880	1,500	5.9
88	Respiratory therapist	respiratory therapist	49,800	8,600	5.8
89	Journalist	journalist	19,280	3,400	5.7
90	Radiologic technologist	x ray tech	73,700	13,000	5.7
91	Nun^*	nun	68,240	12,100	5.6
92	Florist	florist	28,680	5,200	5.5
93	Broadcast announcer	sports broadcaster	11,020	2,000	5.5
94	Museum curator	museum curator	8,800	1,600	5.5
95	Speech pathologist	speech therapist	63,660	12,500	5.1
96	Artist	artist	11,090	2,200	5.0
97	Referee	referee	21,390	4,300	5.0
98	Esthetician	esthetician	68,530	14,200	4.8
99	Financial advisor	financial advisor	82,520	17,100	4.8
100	Police officer	police officer	247,020	51,500	4.8
101	Nurse practitioner	nurse practitioner	136,840	29,400	4.7
102	Electrician	electrician	302,670	72,700	4.2
103	Lawyer	lawyer	118,040	28,700	4.1
104	Barber	barber	27,970	6,900	4.1
105	Geologist	geologist	7,270	1,800	4.0
106	Pharmacy tech	pharmacy tech	179,120	44,700	4.0
107	ER doctor	er doctor	3,510	900	3.9
108	News anchor^*	news anchor	13,080	3,400	3.8
109	Massage therapist	massage therapist	75,990	20,400	3.7
110	Bailiff	bailiff	5,820	1,600	3.6
111	Forester	forester	3,260	900	3.6
112	Technical writer	technical writer	11,160	3,200	3.5
113	Choreographer	choreographer	1,980	600	3.3
114	Substitute teacher	substitute teacher	211,160	65,000	3.2
115	Optician	optician	17,300	5,600	3.1
116	Aircraft mechanic	aircraft mechanic	33,700	11,400	3.0
117	Political scientist	political scientist	1,180	400	3.0
118	Doctor	doctor	64,970	22,100	2.9
119	Underwriter	underwriter	19,670	6,800	2.9
120	Loan officer	loan officer	49,380	17,100	2.9
121	Physicist	physicist	3,690	1,300	2.8
122	Medical coder	medical coder	39,400	14,000	2.8
123	Economist	economist	2,980	1,100	2.7
124	Pastor^*	pastor	51,640	19,200	2.7
125	Arborist	arborist	20,890	7,900	2.6
126	Talent agent^*	talent agent	6,310	2,400	2.6
127	Microbiologist	microbiologist	3,670	1,500	2.4
128	Nuclear reactor operator	nuclear reactor operator	960	400	2.4
129	Event planner	wedding planner	40,020	16,800	2.4
130	Plumber	plumber	98,160	42,000	2.3
131	Photographer	photographer	24,720	10,700	2.3
132	Aerospace engineer	aerospace engineer	8,640	3,800	2.3
133	CEO	ceo	43,300	19,100	2.3
134	Cinematographer	cinematographer	5,430	2,500	2.2
135	Animator	animator	8,760	4,200	2.1
136	Ship captain	boat captain	7,900	3,800	2.1
137	Film director^*	film director	22,700	12,100	1.9
138	Singer^*	singer	32,360	17,400	1.9
139	Dancer	dancer	2,890	1,600	1.8
140	Tailor	tailor	6,660	3,700	1.8
141	Translator	translator	10,590	6,000	1.8
142	School counselor	school counselor	48,900	27,800	1.8
143	Writer	writer	20,900	11,900	1.8
144	Secret service agent^*	secret service agent	13,320	7,800	1.7
145	Dental assistant	dental assistant	90,090	53,000	1.7
146	Correctional officer	correctional officer	48,230	28,400	1.7
147	Insurance agent	insurance agent	72,640	43,100	1.7
148	Social worker	social worker	113,830	69,100	1.6
149	Personal trainer	personal trainer	111,760	68,000	1.6
150	Insurance adjuster	insurance adjuster	33,520	20,900	1.6
151	Video editor	video editor	4,970	3,100	1.6
152	Comedian^*	comedian	7,120	4,500	1.6
153	Professional athlete	professional athlete	3,460	2,200	1.6
154	Web developer	web developer	8,100	5,300	1.5
155	Editor	editor	11,580	7,900	1.5
156	Stunt performer^*	stunt double	6,280	4,500	1.4
157	Welder	welder	55,820	40,300	1.4
158	Priest^*	priest	26,200	19,200	1.4
159	Music producer^*	music producer	16,200	12,100	1.3
160	Medical assistant	medical assistant	145,350	109,700	1.3
161	Accountant	cpa	133,500	115,300	1.2
162	Set designer	set designer	2,490	2,200	1.1
163	Data scientist	data scientist	27,500	24,800	1.1
164	Nursing assistant (CNA)	cna	215,670	196,200	1.1
165	Statistician	statistician	2,050	1,900	1.1
166	Urban planner	urban planner	3,250	3,200	1.0
167	Teacher	teacher	204,790	201,700	1.0
168	Investment banker^*	investment banker	35,290	35,100	1.0
169	Chef	chef	25,220	25,200	1.0
170	Graphic designer	graphic designer	15,960	16,000	1.0
171	Casino dealer	casino dealer	12,770	13,300	0.96
172	Commercial fisherman	commercial fisherman	3,000	3,300	0.91
173	Costume designer^*	costume designer	2,220	2,500	0.89
174	UX designer	ux designer	7,230	8,300	0.87
175	Composer	composer	3,620	4,200	0.86
176	Bartender	bartender	104,450	121,200	0.86
177	Mechanic	mechanic	54,170	66,200	0.82
178	Butcher	butcher	12,060	15,100	0.80
179	Yoga instructor^*	yoga instructor	54,070	68,000	0.80
180	Lumberjack	lumberjack	3,280	4,200	0.78
181	HVAC technician	hvac technician	30,450	40,600	0.75
182	Project manager	project manager	55,920	76,500	0.73
183	Cybersecurity analyst	cybersecurity analyst	10,240	14,100	0.73
184	Financial analyst	financial analyst	17,700	24,700	0.72
185	Art director	art director	8,410	12,200	0.69
186	Mechanical engineer	mechanical engineer	11,260	17,800	0.63
187	Chemist	chemist	3,720	5,900	0.63
188	Magician^*	magician	2,720	4,500	0.60
189	Registered nurse	nurse	108,950	180,800	0.60
190	HR manager	hr manager	10,080	16,800	0.60
191	Rapper^*	rapper	10,080	17,400	0.58
192	Bank teller	bank teller	15,500	26,800	0.58
193	Civil engineer	civil engineer	12,310	22,700	0.54
194	Carpenter	carpenter	33,190	62,800	0.53
195	Software engineer	software engineer	49,600	95,300	0.52
196	Professor	professor	64,290	123,800	0.52
197	Solar installer	solar installer	2,160	4,200	0.51
198	Bus driver	bus driver	9,040	21,100	0.43
199	Ironworker	ironworker	2,480	5,900	0.42
200	Garbage man	garbage man	6,200	15,500	0.40
201	Court clerk^*	court clerk	6,260	17,100	0.37
202	Mental health counselor	mental health counselor	17,760	50,500	0.35
203	Mail carrier	mail carrier	6,720	19,600	0.34
204	Tour guide	tour guide	4,060	11,900	0.34
205	Lifeguard	lifeguard	15,370	45,400	0.34
206	Machinist	machinist	7,750	26,100	0.30
207	Exterminator	exterminator	3,710	13,700	0.27
208	Coach	coach	8,980	36,400	0.25
209	Teacher assistant	paraprofessional	42,500	176,200	0.24
210	Security guard	security guard	36,450	156,000	0.23
211	Upholsterer	upholsterer	380	1,700	0.22
212	Marketing manager	marketing manager	7,230	34,000	0.21
213	Roofer	roofer	2,550	12,000	0.21
214	Baker	baker	7,700	36,500	0.21
215	Farmer	farmer	14,920	70,800	0.21
216	Stockbroker^*	stockbroker	7,080	35,100	0.20
217	Hair stylist	hair stylist	14,520	73,400	0.20
218	Truck driver	truck driver	37,000	214,500	0.17
219	Crossing guard	crossing guard	2,940	17,300	0.17
220	Publicist	publicist	3,810	23,000	0.17
221	Recruiter^*	recruiter	11,940	73,700	0.16
222	Concierge	concierge	1,100	6,900	0.16
223	Nanny	nanny	20,060	150,300	0.13
224	Construction worker	construction worker	13,920	120,000	0.12
225	Home health aide	caregiver	41,410	760,500	0.05
226	Logistician	supply chain analyst	1,300	26,600	0.05
227	Forklift driver	forklift operator	2,730	64,700	0.04
228	Receptionist	receptionist	3,940	105,100	0.04
229	Administrative assistant	administrative assistant	4,680	163,900	0.03
230	Fundraiser	fundraiser	280	10,000	0.03
231	Delivery driver	delivery driver	2,920	107,200	0.03
232	Management consultant	management consultant	2,480	94,100	0.03
233	Landscaper	landscaper	3,240	149,500	0.02
234	Line cook	line cook	1,370	218,600	under 0.01
235	Customer service representative	customer service representative	1,590	289,500	under 0.01
236	Janitor	janitor	1,710	321,800	under 0.01
237	Housekeeper	housekeeper	620	175,500	under 0.01
238	Waiter	waiter	1,130	423,100	under 0.01
239	Dishwasher	dishwasher	160	68,900	under 0.01
240	Cashier	cashier	480	521,300	under 0.01
241	Warehouse worker^*	warehouse worker	140	340,500	under 0.01

* Openings are for a wider BLS group, such as all clergy for priests and all commercial divers for underwater welders.

Methodology

Searches: US Google searches (Google Ads data, via DataForSEO), October 2025 to September 2026.
Phrases: "how to become a [job]" for each job's most-searched name (the "Searched as" column), plus, for ranked jobs, the same phrase with each state and DC, such as "how to become a nurse in Ohio".
Openings: BLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035: average openings a year, from new jobs and from workers who leave the field, as listed on O*NET OnLine on October 19, 2026.
Matching jobs to BLS: Each job is matched to one or more BLS occupations, such as all physicians and surgeons for "doctor".
Ranking: Searches per opening is yearly searches divided by projected openings a year. Jobs with fewer than 400 openings a year are listed separately, not ranked.
Degree-level jobs: Jobs that O*NET rates Job Zone 4 or 5.
Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, median annual wage, May 2025.

Dream Jobs vs Job Openings: 241 US Careers Ranked by Google Searches per Opening

Key Findings

Jobs With the Most Searches per Opening

Medical Jobs

Travel Agents

Jobs With the Most Openings per Search

Degree-Level Jobs With More Openings Than Searches

Jobs With Too Few Openings to Rank

All 241 Jobs Ranked

Methodology

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