What Are The Most Common Jobs in California?
Are you wondering what most people in California are doing for a living? Or what are popular or common jobs in California? It’s undoubtedly one of the best places to work in the entire US, which isn’t limited by a career in Hollywood or Silicon Valley.
You will be surprised, but there are much fewer software engineers than one might expect. The job trends change yearly, but some jobs remain on the list of the most popular and in high demand for decades.
The most common jobs in California are:
- Statistician
- Registered nurse
- Occupational therapist
- Solar photovoltaic installer
- Physician assistant
- Application software developer
- Restaurant cook
- Nurse anesthetist
Finding a job in California boils down to knowing where to look. The state is huge, and the job market is equally diverse. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of the most common jobs in California, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
List of the most common jobs in California
This state has much more to offer than the tech and kino industries. In fact, California is home to a diverse range of businesses and job opportunities. From health care to construction, here are some of the most common jobs in California.
Jobs with no formal education requirements:
- Housekeepers
- Construction laborers
- Cooks (fast food and restaurants)
- Food preparation workers
- Waiters and waitresses
- Retail salespersons
- Farmworkers
- Cleaners and janitors
Jobs you can get with a high school diploma:
- Store clerks and order fillers
- Personal care aides
- Customer care representatives
- Secretaries and administrative assistants
- Security guards
- First-line supervisors
- Sales representatives (manufacturing retail)
- Carpenters
Jobs for non-degree college graduates:
- Teacher assistants
- Accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing clerks
- Hairdressers, barbers, and cosmetologists
- Dental assistants
- Licensed practical and vocational nurses
Jobs that require a bachelor’s degree:
- Operation managers(general)
- Registered nurses
- Specialists
- Auditors and accountants
- Specialists (business operations and others)
- Auditors and accountants
- Management analysts
- Elementary school teachers
- Research analysts
- Software developers
Due to emerging trends, some jobs are becoming more popular than others. According to reports from the United States Department of Labor, job advertisements by employers keep changing; Some jobs appear regularly among the list of typical jobs.
If you are unsure which job to go for on the list of most common jobs in California, let’s look at careers in demand in 2022 and the salary expectations in the state of California.
Top Most Common Jobs in California in 2022
California is a gold mine for young professionals looking to realize their career dreams! Here are some of the state’s most common jobs with a large number of vacancies. Therefore, one will have a great chance of employment, particularly in those professions.
1. Statistician
Statisticians are mainly research analysts who solve problems using statistical models and methods. Their work is to gather and analyze data then interpret helping businesses in decision-making.
A statistician can work in business, Information Technology, medicine, government, environmental and physical science. Companies are increasingly hiring statisticians to help interpret and analyze data.
Requirements to become a statistician
Education: A master’s degree in mathematics or statistics for an entry-level job. You may also have a competitive advantage if you have studied biology, economics, or computer sciences(degree level).
Skills: Technical, leadership, analytical, and communication.
Expected salary: $69,756 annually.
2. Registered nurse
Registered nurses and nurse practitioners are very common in California. They usually have an advanced medical practice. Nurses are licensed to perform diagnostic tests, treat chronic conditions, prescribe treatment, and overall patient management.
Requirements to become a registered nurse
Education: A bachelor’s degree of science (nursing degree), pass the National Council Licensure Examination, and one or two years of nursing experience.
Skills: A nurse must have leadership, patience, analytical, competence, and communication skills.
Expected salary: $107,310 annually.
3. Occupational therapist
Occupational therapists help patients perform their daily activities by using therapeutic techniques. Patients unable to perform their daily activities after suffering serious ailments need occupational therapists to help them get back on their feet.
What is required to become an occupational therapist?
Education: A master’s degree for an entry-level job and pass the National Boards for Certification In Occupational therapy (NBCOT) exam.
As an occupational therapist, you can specialize in Mental Health, Physical rehabilitation, driving and community mobility, pediatrics, gerontology, low vision, and school systems.
Skills: patience, empathy, physical strength, compassion, communication, and problem-solving.
Salary expectation: $103,242.
4. Solar Photovoltaic installers
Solar photovoltaic installers convert energy from the sun into electricity. They assemble, install and maintain solar photovoltaic systems on roofs or other designated areas.
Requirements to become a solar photovoltaic installer
You can become a solar photovoltaic installer with a high school diploma. Employers may prefer to hire workers with construction, electrical, and roofing experience and provide on-the-job training.
Education: High-school diploma.
Skills: Mechanical, installation, reading comprehension skills; quality control and analysis skills, decision-making; and equipment maintenance.
Salary Expectation: annual salaries range from $24,000 to $44,664, and hourly wages range from $11.50 to $21.
5. Physician assistant
A physician assistant is a medical professional licensed to diagnose and treat common ailments and perform minor procedures. They provide primary care to children and adults of all ages.
Physician assistants can specialize in several areas, such as cardiology, neurology, dermatology, general practice pediatrics, radiology, anesthesia, and surgery.
Requirements to become a physician assistant
Education: A bachelor’s degree in medical sciences and undergo the physician assistant program provided by ARC-PA (accreditation review commission of education for the physical assistant ).To be a licensed physician assistant, you must also pass PANCE ( Physician Assistant National Certifying Examinations) from NCCPA( National Commission on Certification of physician assistants.
Skills: communication, ability to work under pressure, empathy, sympathy, and communication.
Salary expectations: annual salary of $115,300.
6. Application software developers
Application software developers create or develop applications and systems per the customer’s specifications. They then test these applications to avoid any hitches.
Requirements to become an applications developer
Education: a bachelor’s degree in a computer science-related course. However, some talented individuals successfully become software applications and developers with only a high school diploma.
Skills: Programming languages, problem-solving, accuracy, and attention to detail; you also need to be good in mathematics and have excellent management and organizational skills.
Expected salary: $109,174.
7. Restaurant cooks
Cooks in restaurants prepare a variety of food and personally cook most orders.
Requirements to become a cook
Training: Professional or vocational training from culinary institutions. Most employers offer on-the-job training for newly employed cooks.
Skills: creativity, passion, teamwork, time management, willingness to learn new skills, and multitasking ability.
Expected salary:$41,255 annually.
8. Nurse anesthetist
A nurse providing pain medication to patients pre-surgery, during surgery, and post-surgery is called a nurse anesthetist. They constantly monitor how patients respond to anesthesia medication during and after surgery.
Requirements to become a nurse anesthetist
Education: A bachelor’s degree in nursing; you need to be a trained and practicing registered nurse and pass the NCLEX-RN ( National Council Licensure Exam).
Skills: anesthesia and blood administration skills.
Salary expectations: $183,500 annually.
Top Most Common Jobs in Los Angeles
The following are the most common jobs in Los Angeles:
1. Educational instruction and library occupations
These include all educators in any formal educational institution; 8,446,910 people work as academic instructors in Los Angeles.
Expected salary: $59,810 annually and $28.75 hourly.
2. Business and financial operations occupations
This occupation includes all people working in business operations, from agents to human resource specialists to finance and investment analysts, and the list goes on. 8,387,490 people work in business operations in Los Angeles.
Salary expectations; $38.79 mean hourly and $80,680 mean annual.
3. Computer and mathematical occupations
Computer and mathematical occupations comprise; computer and information analysts, software developers, database administrators, computer programmers, mathematicians, actuaries, research analysts, statisticians, and many more. This sector employs 4,587,700 people in Los Angeles.
Salary expectations: $46.53 mean hourly and $96,770 annually.
4. Healthcare practitioner and technical operations
This group includes all workers providing healthcare services like doctors, nurses, surgeons, etc. Employees working in healthcare services in Los Angeles total 8,579,180.
Expected salaries: mean hourly $41.30 and mean annual $85,900
5. Office and administrative support occupations
This group includes all clerks, administrative assistants, switchboard operators, secretaries, ticketing agents, and more. A whopping 18 548,360 million residents of Los Angeles work in this category.
Expected salary: $20.38 mean hourly and $42,390 mean annual.
6. Sales and related occupations
All sales (retail and manufacturing ) workers, including first-line supervisors, fall in this group; this occupation employs 13,120,320 employees in Los Angeles.
Expected salary: $22.00 mean hourly and $45,750 mean annual.
7. Transportation and material moving occupations
All workers in the transport industry, from supervisors to bus and truck drivers to gas pump employees, fall into this category. Around 12,163,360 people in Los Angeles work in transport.
Expected salaries: $19.08 mean hourly and $39,680 mean annual.
8. Food preparation and serving related occupations
Food preparation and serving-related occupations consist of chefs, cooks, waiters and waitresses, bartenders, fast food and counter workers, hosts and hostesses, and others. 11,262,850 people are employed in this occupation.
Expected salary: $13.30 mean hourly and $27,650 mean annual.
9. Management occupations
Management occupations comprise operation and general managers, chief executive officers, managers in sales and marketing, institutional managers and administrators, and others. An estimated 7,947,300 people are working in management occupations.
Salary expectations: mean hourly $60.80 and mean annual $126,480.
10. Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations
This group includes repair, technicians, and maintenance workers in electricals, automotive, and electronics. 5,486,930 people work in repair and maintenance in Los Angeles.
Expected salary: hourly mean $25.17 and annual mean $52,360.
11. Production occupations
This group includes all workers in the manufacturing sector; according to statistics, 8,519,410 people in Los Angeles work in production.
Expected salary: mean hourly $20.08 and mean annual $41,760
Top 10 Jobs in California
California is a great place to work, with a booming economy and plenty of opportunities for career growth. Whether you’re looking for a new job or just curious about the hottest careers in the state, you can’t go wrong with any of these ten top jobs in California.
Here is a list of the ten top jobs in California:
| 1. | Lawyers |
| 2. | Air traffic controllers |
| 3. | Nuclear engineers |
| 4. | Pharmacists |
| 5. | Post-secondary forestry and conservation science teachers |
| 6. | Benefits and compensation managers |
| 7. | Managers (financial) |
| 8. | Engineers (computers hardware) |
| 9. | General dentists |
| 10 | Promotion and advertising managers |
