{"h1":"Degree fields with the fewest open jobs","faq":[{"a":"Nursing has the fewest open jobs of the degree fields: 343 jobs in our data.","q":"Which degree field or education level ranks first: degree fields with the fewest open jobs?"},{"a":"16 degrees have at least 300 open jobs, so the list has 16 entries.","q":"How many degrees are ranked?"},{"a":"A degree field is a group of occupations that are usually reached through the same kind of study, such as Nursing, Engineering or Accounting. The grouping is our own judgment on the occupation code, and only occupations that typically need a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree are included. A field's score is the number of its open professional roles. A posting does not state a degree. Each is matched to its standard occupation, and the education shown is what the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists as typical for entering that occupation. Some employers ask for more or less, and about one posting in a hundred has an occupation we could not match, which is left out.  Only fields with at least 300 open jobs are ranked.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Nursing has the fewest open jobs of the degree fields: 343 jobs in our data.","minN":300,"rows":[{"n":343,"bar":1,"key":"field:Nursing","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Nursing","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"343"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"0.2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"Not enough pay data"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+8.8%"}],"value":343,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"343 jobs"},{"n":366,"bar":0.9371584699453552,"key":"field:Social work and counseling","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Social work and counseling","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"366"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"0.2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$109k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+7.3%"}],"value":366,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"366 jobs"},{"n":376,"bar":0.9122340425531915,"key":"field:Social sciences and psychology","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Social sciences and psychology","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"376"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"0.2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$140k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+4.1%"}],"value":376,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"376 jobs"},{"n":443,"bar":0.7742663656884876,"key":"field:Education","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Education","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"443"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"0.2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$103k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+1.6%"}],"value":443,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"443 jobs"},{"n":833,"bar":0.4117647058823529,"key":"field:Health professions and medicine","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Health professions and medicine","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"833"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"0.4%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$160k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+8.0%"}],"value":833,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"833 jobs"},{"n":934,"bar":0.367237687366167,"key":"field:Physical sciences","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Physical sciences","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"934"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"0.4%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$114k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+5.7%"}],"value":934,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"934 jobs"},{"n":1068,"bar":0.3211610486891386,"key":"field:Life sciences","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Life sciences","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"1,068"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"0.5%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$143k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+9.4%"}],"value":1068,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"1,068 jobs"},{"n":2259,"bar":0.1518370960602036,"key":"field:Design and architecture","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Design and architecture","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"2,259"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"1.1%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$165k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+1.7%"}],"value":2259,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"2,259 jobs"},{"n":3815,"bar":0.08990825688073395,"key":"field:Law","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Law","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"3,815"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"1.8%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$175k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+4.5%"}],"value":3815,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"3,815 jobs"},{"n":5169,"bar":0.06635712903849875,"key":"field:Accounting","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Accounting","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"5,169"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"2.5%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$83k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+5.0%"}],"value":5169,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"5,169 jobs"},{"n":6682,"bar":0.05133193654594433,"key":"field:Math and statistics","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Math and statistics","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"6,682"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"3.2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$153k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+25.2%"}],"value":6682,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"6,682 jobs"},{"n":18841,"bar":0.01820497850432567,"key":"field:Finance and economics","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Finance and economics","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"18,841"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"9.0%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$134k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+5.3%"}],"value":18841,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"18,841 jobs"},{"n":30658,"bar":0.01118794441907496,"key":"field:Marketing and communications","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Marketing and communications","rank":13,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"30,658"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"14.6%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$152k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+4.5%"}],"value":30658,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"30,658 jobs"},{"n":31677,"bar":0.01082804558512485,"key":"field:Engineering","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Engineering","rank":14,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"31,677"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"15.1%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$142k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+8.4%"}],"value":31677,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"31,677 jobs"},{"n":43985,"bar":0.007798112993065818,"key":"field:Computer science and IT","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Computer science and IT","rank":15,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"43,985"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"21.0%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$188k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+7.6%"}],"value":43985,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"43,985 jobs"},{"n":62474,"bar":0.005490283958126581,"key":"field:Business administration and management","sub":"Field of study","href":null,"name":"Business administration and management","rank":16,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"62,474"},{"label":"Share of four-year-degree jobs","value":"29.8%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$140k"},{"label":"Projected growth to 2035","value":"+6.8%"}],"value":62474,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"62,474 jobs"}],"slug":"degree-fields-with-the-fewest-open-jobs","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"us","kind":"national","name":"United States"},"title":"Degree fields with the fewest open jobs","family":"Degrees","method":["A degree field is a group of occupations that are usually reached through the same kind of study, such as Nursing, Engineering or Accounting. The grouping is our own judgment on the occupation code, and only occupations that typically need a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree are included. A field's score is the number of its open professional roles.","A posting does not state a degree. Each is matched to its standard occupation, and the education shown is what the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists as typical for entering that occupation. Some employers ask for more or less, and about one posting in a hundred has an occupation we could not match, which is left out.  Only fields with at least 300 open jobs are ranked."],"builtAt":"2026-11-03T15:06:31.259Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"dg_field","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles, matched to standard occupation (SOC) codes","Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025-35: typical entry-level education and projected employment change by occupation"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#1 Nursing, Field of study: 343 jobs","#2 Social work and counseling, Field of study: 366 jobs","#3 Social sciences and psychology, Field of study: 376 jobs","16 degrees ranked across all fields","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"degrees","commentary":["The top ten is tightly packed: Nursing leads on 343 jobs, and #10 Accounting is at 5,169 jobs.","Nursing reaches #1 on a sample of 343 open jobs, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","Accounting is the largest market in the top ten, with 5,169 open jobs behind its figure.","Degrees with fewer than 300 open jobs are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/degree-fields-with-the-fewest-open-jobs"}