Depending on where you are on your career trajectory, finding an interesting job that also pays well can seem like an insurmountable challenge. But contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be an engineer at Google or an MIT-trained data scientist to find a job paying six figures in an in-demand industry.
According to a recent jobs report by Glassdoor, there are a number of open positions across industries like computer science, healthcare, and finance that pay well and are actively recruiting for open positions.
Where the attainable jobs are
Every job seeker, regardless of age, experience, industry, and education, has heard the horror stories of hiring managers flooded with thousands or millions of resumes for a single opening. Facing such daunting and overwhelming odds, many job seekers can understandably feel anxious or discouraged about investing in more education and training for jobs in impossibly-competitive fields. But the good news is that although the idea of applying for a job at Facebook or Apple can feel like the professional equivalent of stepping into the arena as a tribute in the Hunger Games, there are still a number of high-paying jobs in the business and technology sector with relatively low competition. According to Jyotsna Jayaraman, a senior data scientist at Glassdoor, low competition translates into at least one job opening per title for every applicant. With odds like that, even people who are currently employed would be wise to take a second look and even reassess existing career goals.
But keep in mind, you’ve got to be qualified.
Several of these jobs require significant upfront education and training just to be considered. Those criteria can reduce the pool of candidates (and competition, at least among the qualified crew). Plan ahead and you just might get ahead.
If you’re college bound and considering future career options, this is a great list to consider.
Desirable jobs by the numbers
To come up with the list, Glassdoor examined a number of factors like search volume and the number of current job openings for each title. In order to make the cut, a job title must have received at least 1,000 searches and have at least 1,000 active job openings in a 30 day period (as of June 13, 2017). Additionally, each job title must have received at least 25 salary report submissions from U.S.-based employees over a two-year period (ending on May 31, 2017). And with $100,000 as the total median compensation, many jobs on the list pay significantly more.
Take a look to see if your current or future career is on the list!
