The 20 Most Promising Jobs of 2018

When that perfect candidate considers the job you’re offering, they’re not just thinking about salary or title. They’re thinking about career growth, advancement, work/life balance and more. They’re looking for the whole package.

At LinkedIn, we wanted to figure out a way to discover the most promising jobs with just the right blend of these highly-coveted factors. To do that, our data scientists settled on a formula combining salary (30%), advancement opportunities (25%), job openings (20%), year-over-year growth of job openings (15%), and regional demand (10%) and ran it against data from our network of 530M+ members and millions of jobs.

And voilà—below are the 20 most promising jobs of 2018, along with some helpful insights like the salary, growth of job openings, associated skills, and career advancement score.

Lucky you if you are already recruiting for these roles—sure demand and competition for candidates is high but you have such a powerful set or arguments to get a candidate to say “yes”!

And if you are not hiring for one of these roles, the lesson here is that you can make your job seem promising by following Lou Adler’s famous advice: don’t just sell a job or a salary—sell a career move. Frame the job as a 30% increase: a promising step up in terms of pay, professional growth, and opportunity.

The 20 most promising jobs

1. Engagement Lead

• Median Base Salary: $93,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,200+ (425%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 10
• Top Skills: Management, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy, Communication

2. Software Engineering Manager

• Median Total Salary: $148,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,100+ (38%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8
• Top Skills: Software Development, Agile Methodologies, Management, Java, SQL

3. Customer Success Manager

• Median Total Salary: $82,300
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,000+ (91%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 10
• Top Skills: Management, Sales, Customer Service, Leadership, Customer Relationship Management

4. Solutions Architect

• Median Total Salary: $134,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 2,000+ (28%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6
• Top Skills: Management, Integration, Solution Architecture, Design, Project Management

5. Sales Director

• Median Base Salary: $145,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 2,000+ (31%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6
• Top Skills: Sales, Management, Business Development, Account Management, Marketing

6. Engineering Manager

• Median Base Salary: $130,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,400+ (42%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6
• Top Skills: Engineering, Project Management, Management, Manufacturing, Design

7. Program Manager

• Median Base Salary: $100,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 4,500+ (25%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8
• Top Skills: Management, Project Management, Program Management, Leadership, Training

8. Product Manager

• Median Base Salary: $105,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 3,600+ (30%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8
• Top Skills: Management, Product Management, Program Management, Marketing, Product Development

9. Data Scientist

• Median Base Salary: $113,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 2,100+ (45%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8
• Top Skills: Python, Data Analysis, Machine Learning, SQL, Statistics

11. Technical Program Manager

• Median Base Salary: $140,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 500+ (37%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 10
• Top Skills: Management, Project Management, Program Management, Leadership, Testing

12. Financial Analyst

• Median Base Salary: $65,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 4,000+ (25%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 10
• Top Skills: Microsoft Excel, Financial Analysis, Microsoft Office, Management, Accounting

13. Data Engineer

• Median Base Salary: $107,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,400+ (35%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8
• Top Skills: SQL, Java, Python, Big Data, Data Analysis

14. Frontend Engineer

• Median Base Salary: $104,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,000+ (82%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8
• Top Skills: Javascript, CSS, jQuery, HTML, Frontend Development

15. Site Reliability Engineer

• Median Base Salary: $155,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 600+ (112%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8
• Top Skills: Linux, Python, SQL, Management, Automation

16. Finance Director

• Median Base Salary: $135,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 800+ (51%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6
• Top Skills: Management, Finance, Financial Analysis, Accounting, Budgeting

17. Strategic Account Manager

• Median Base Salary: $125,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 500+ (31%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8
• Top Skills: Sales, Management, Account Management, Business Development, Leadership

18. Pharmacist

• Median Base Salary: $124,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 4,000+ (28%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 4
• Top Skills: Pharmacy, Healthcare, Microsoft Office, Customer Service, Medication Therapy Management

19. Hospitalist

• Median Base Salary: $232,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,900+ (19%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 4
• Top Skills: Healthcare, Hospitals, Medicine, Clinical Research, Healthcare Management

20. Medical Director

• Median Base Salary: $250,000
• Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,800+ (43%)
• Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 4
• Top Skills: Medicine, Healthcare, Clinical Research, Hospitals, Healthcare Management

To receive blog posts like this one straight in your inbox, subscribe to the blog newsletter.