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FINDING A JOB

Top 25 In-Demand Careers in 2021

October 7, 2021

By: Indeed Editorial Team

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If you are planning your career path and want to cultivate sustainable skills employers need and want, it is important to know the current trends in the job market. These in-demand careers have the most anticipated growth rates for the next five years. In this article, we list the 25 most in-demand careers with job duties, average salaries and educational requirements.

25 most in-demand careers

Careers that qualify as in-demand offer long-term growth and a large number of open positions. Industries with in-demand careers seek to fill positions with qualified candidates who possess a specific set of skills and abilities and many offer certain benefits to encourage skilled candidates.

Here is a list of the top 15 in-demand careers ranked by salary (low to high):

1. Home health aide

National average salary: $30,696 per hour

Primary duties: A home health aide works in clients’ homes to assist them with the activities of daily life. Most home health aides work with geriatric patients or patients who are unable to care for themselves. Their responsibilities include:

Helping patients with dressing, bathing and other personal hygiene
Performing basic health care for patients such as checking vital signs or administering medication
Assisting with light housecleaning
Working with nurses, certified nursing assistants, nursing aides and other in-home care professionals to provide patient care
Reporting the health status of clients they observe

Requirements: No formal education is required, though many employers may prefer National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) certification. Additional requirements include:

Reliable transportation
Ability to work with minimal to no direct supervision
Ability to follow instructions, verbal and written

2. Physical therapy aide

National average salary: $35,674 per year

Primary duties: Physical therapy (PT) aides are responsible for setting up equipment and maintaining a clean area for patient treatments and exercises. PT aides are also responsible for:

Motivating and assisting patients under the direction of medical staff when performing exercises and functional activities
Transporting patients using wheelchairs or providing standing support to and from treatment
Recording treatment administered and the equipment that was used
Performing clerical duties. For instance, taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering the telephone and patient intake

Requirements: High school diploma or GED. Other requirements may include:

Basic Life Support (BLS) certification

Related: What Is Physical Therapy?

3. Nursing assistant

National average salary: $36,393 per year

Primary duties: A nursing assistant, also known as a certified nursing assistant (CNA), helps patients with health care and other needs under the supervision of a registered nurse (RN) in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes or other medical treatment facilities. Their responsibilities include:

Taking patient vital signs
Serving food to patients or feeding them
Changing and cleaning bed linens on a routine basis
Bathing and dressing patients
Moving or lifting bedridden patients
Recording the observations of patient health

Requirements: A high school diploma or GED is typically required. These health care professionals must also complete state nursing assistant training and earn certification. Other requirements may include:

Patience
Ability to remain calm under stressful situations
Exceptional interpersonal skills
Decent physical strength

4. Construction worker

National average salary: $39,38I per year

Primary duties: Construction workers operate and maintain equipment to build different structures, including buildings, homes, bridges and others. They are often responsible for:

Loading and unloading tools, materials and other necessary equipment
Removing garbage and debris from sites
Assembling barricades and temporary structures
Helping contractors as required
Assisting with the operation of large machinery and equipment
Regulating traffic with traffic signs

Requirements: These professionals can find employment with a high school diploma or GED and the completion of trade school or apprenticeships. Other requirements may include:

Licensure to work with hazardous materials may be required
Willingness to undergo additional training, as necessary

5. Truck driver

National average salary: $68,140 per year

Primary duties: Truck drivers are responsible for moving goods from one location, usually from a warehouse or supplier, to another location, typically a store or vendor, on a strict deadline. Some additional responsibilities of a truck driver may include:

Driving long distances to deliver goods to businesses or customers
Loading and unloading truck cargo
Recording deliveries
Refueling and cleaning the truck
Following applicable traffic laws
Inspecting trucks and reporting mechanical issues to maintenance
Logging work activities and work hours.

Requirements: High school diploma. The other requirements for becoming a truck driver are:

Commercial driver license (CDL)
Passing alcohol and drug test
Clean driving record

Read more: How To Become a Truck Driver

6. Web developer

National average salary: $68,330 per year

Primary duties: Web developers use programming languages such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript to create easy-to-navigate sites for clients in addition to performing maintenance on existing pages. Some detailed responsibilities of a web developer are:

Performing website updates
Developing web testing schedules to test all browser and device types.
Designing, writing or editing website content
Maintaining an accurate knowledge of new web applications and programming
Identifying any website issues with testing and customer feedback

Requirements: Associate or bachelor’s degree in web development, web design, programming or another relevant field. Some other requirements may include:

Proficiency in JavaScript, HTML, CSS and MySQL

Read more: What Is a Web Developer?

7. Operations research analyst

National average salary: $70,945 per year

Primary duties: Operations research analysts advise managers and other leaders about the proper course of action when making decisions using high-level analytical methods and advanced mathematics. Additional operations research analyst responsibilities include:

Collecting and analyzing data from operational systems to develop software for decision reports
Gathering specialized knowledge from workers about operations to assist with solving problems
Using statistical simulations to analyze and define operational issues
Developing mathematical models of potential operational issues
Advising upper-level management on decision making for operations

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in operations research, statistics, mathematics or a related field. Some other requirements of this in-demand career may include:

A high level of computer literacy and expertise with advanced statistical software and databases
Analytical, problem-solving, mathematical and critical-thinking skills.

8. Financial advisor

National average salary: $72,570 per year

Primary duties: A financial advisor provides financial advice to clients based on current market trends and may invest money for clients. Some detailed responsibilities of a financial advisor may include:

Talking to clients to determine their financial objectives and expenses to develop a financial plan
Answering client finance questions
Advising clients based on investment strategies
Analyzing financial data received from clients to develop strategies for meeting clients’ financial goals.
Interpreting client’s financial summaries and investment performance reports
Continuously communicating with clients to update their financial status as needed

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in finance or related major. Additional requirements for this career may include:

Knowledge of various financial industries and insurance industries
Sales experience
Up-to-date FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 licenses

9. Health services administrator

National average salary: $73,269 per year

Primary duties: A health services administrator provides direction to the operation of hospitals, health systems and other health care-related organizations. They deal with regulatory affairs and overall health management policies. Some detailed responsibilities of a health services administrator include:

Keeping detailed records of the stock of medical and office supplies
Informing employees of department changes and other new policy updates
Creating work schedules for employees
Coordinating with health care professionals to identify needs and resolve issues

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in health care administration, business administration or related field. Other requirements for this position include:

A comprehensive knowledge of medical terminology and health care regulations

10. Registered nurse

National average salary: $78,9050,366 per year

Primary duties: Registered nurses (RN) have been in high demand for a few years, and this profession allows room for advancement opportunities. Some responsibilities an RN may have are:

Administering medications
Performing diagnostic testing
Collaborating with other healthcare providers for efficient patient care

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in nursing. Some additional requirements for this career may include:

National Council Licensure Examination-RN.
Current state licensure as a registered nurse

11. Physical therapist

National average salary: $81,377 per year

Primary duties: Physical therapists (PT) provide therapy services to people of all ages who are injured or have other medical conditions that limit their ability to move around and perform basic daily tasks. A few detailed responsibilities a PT may have are:

Developing treatment plans for each patient
Administering physical therapy treatments to assist with pain management and improve mobility, as medically prescribed
Providing information about in-home treatment options to patients and their families

Requirements: Doctorate or professional degree, typically a doctor of physical therapy degree. Additional requirements for this position may include:

Passing the National Physical Therapist Examination (NPTE)
State licensure to practice physical therapy

12. Information security analyst

National average salary: $83,764 per year

Primary duties: The responsibilities of an information security analyst are to monitor for security issues in computer systems. Some detailed responsibilities they might possess are:

Investigating and document security breaches and other incidents
Operating software and installing security measures to protect information infrastructure and systems

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, programming or a related field. Other requirements for this job may include:

Knowledge of firewalls, antivirus, proxies and SIEM
Ability to notice and fix network issues and explain how they can be avoided

13. Medical technologist

National average salary: $88,336 per year

Primary duties: Medical technologists are responsible for maintaining and operating medical equipment used to analyze complex scientific tests on blood and other bodily fluids. A medical technologist’s detailed responsibilities include:

Collecting and preparing urine, blood and tissue samples for analysis
Identifying any cell abnormalities in the collected samples
Preparing detailed reports about any possible test results
Documenting and reviewing data that has been tested
Collaborating with other medical specialists to determine the possible diagnosis
Maintaining a clean working environment according to safety procedures and regulations

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in medical technology or clinical laboratory science. Other requirements may include:

Advanced biology and chemistry knowledge
Demonstrated experience working with a variety of medical tools and equipment

14. Statistician

National average salary: $97,038 per year

Primary duties: A statistician develops and applies statistical theories to obtain useful data that helps solve real-world problems. A few detailed responsibilities of a statistician may be:

Creating statistically accurate experiments, questionnaires, surveys and polls
Using statistical software to identify trends and relationships within a set of data
Reporting conclusions to their analyses

Requirements: Master’s degree in mathematics, statistics or survey methodology. Additional requirements may include:

An expert understanding of statistics, calculus and linear algebra

Read more: How To Become a Statistician

15. Software developer

National average salary: $111,340 per year

Primary duties: The responsibilities of a software developer are to research, design, implement and manage software programs. Some detailed responsibilities of a software developer include:

Preparing reports on programming project activities
Modifying software to adapt it to updated hardware, fix errors, or improve software performance
Consulting with software engineering personnel to assess software/hardware interfaces

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering or other related technical programs. Some additional requirements of this position may include:

Knowledge of deep programming language
Demonstrated experience with several software development projects

More in-demand careers

Here are more in-demand careers to consider: