The 25 Best Jobs in America in 2016

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What do a data scientist, a nurse practitioner, and a construction superintendent have in common?

All three of them hold positions that rank on the 2016 edition of Glassdoor’s list of the “25 Best Jobs in America,” coming in at No. 1, No. 23, and No. 22, respectively.

Glassdoor’s rankings are based on three factors, according to Scott Dobroski, associate director of corporate communications at Glassdoor:

  1. Earning potential – How much money a person can expect to make in the role
  2. Career opportunity – The potential for career advancement that the role affords
  3. Hiring opportunity – How likely it is that a person can land the job

We’re all probably familiar with those first two criteria, but I think “hiring opportunity” may need some extra explanation. (It sure did for me!)

Dobroski describes hiring opportunity as such: “There might be a great job, but if there’s only twenty openings for that job in the U.S., you probably can’t get hired for that role.”

The list is largely dominated by tech positions (No. 18: UX designer; No. 5: mobile developer; No. 12: software development manager; etc.), with health care roles coming in second place. When you consider the stability of certain jobs and industries, Dobroski says, it makes sense that tech and health care would be prominently displayed on a list like this.

“We all know there’s a lot of economic data that shows tech and health care continue to be great fields,” Dobroski says. “We’ll probably see roles like these on this list for many years to come.”

Stability is an important trend uniting all the disparate jobs in the top 25, but Dobroski notes that there’s also a second, more subtle characteristic that most of these jobs have in common. He calls it “nuance,” by which he means that many of these jobs exist across industries.

“HR manager, business development manager, software engineer – these are all roles that all companies need in this day and age,” Dobroski says. “Whether you’re Walmart, Costco, or Starbucks – you compete for these roles, and you’re competing with tech giants [like Google or Apple] for these roles.”

Recruiters, Pay Attention

RoseThis list isn’t only useful for job seekers in need of lucrative, stable careers. Dobroski says that recruiters should pay attention to the top 25 jobs, and if they find themselves recruiting for any of these roles, they should make a big deal out of it.

“What many of these job titles have in common is that demand for them across the U.S. is outpacing supply,” Dobroski explains.”If you are an organization trying to hire for one of these roles, you should be touting it as a best job.”

Why? Because job seekers are more likely to pay attention to you if your can show them that you’re recruiting for one of the best jobs in America.

“Instead of just another job floating by, if job seekers see that you’re recruiting for a ‘best job’, they’ll perk up,” Dobroski says.

Below, you can check out the full list. For complete data, including information on salary potential, job openings, and career opportunities in each role, check out Glassdoor’s website.

The Top 25 Jobs in America in 2016

1. Data Scientist

2. Tax Manager

3. Solutions Architect

4. Engagement Manager    

5. Mobile Developer

6. HR Manager

7. Physician Assistant  

8. Product Manager

9. Software Engineer

10. Audit Manager

11. Analytics Manager

12. Software Development Manager

13. Product Marketing Manager

14. Marketing Manager

15. QA Manager

16. Finance Manager

17. Business Development Manager

18. UX Designer

19. Strategy Manager

20. Technical Account Manager

21. Consultant

22. Construction Superintendent

23. Nurse Practitioner

24. Electrical Engineer

25. Software Architect

By Matthew Kosinski