LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise: 15 opportunities that are in demand and hiring now

Millions of people learned in 2020 that industries can be upended almost overnight. Fields like aviation and hospitality were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, while areas like health care, education and finance had to ramp up hiring to meet increased demand. This sudden job market shift has left many workers on the hunt right now.

 To help connect people with available opportunities, we analyzed the data to find which jobs are in demand now — uncovering the fastest-growing job areas over the past year and ranking them based on a combination of growth in demand and raw number of jobs available. Whether you are looking to get back into the workforce or want to invest your talents in a new area, this data is designed to help you find an available path in confusing times.

To identify these “Jobs on the Rise,” we looked at the roles experiencing the highest year-over-year growth between April and October 2020. We then grouped that data into 15 job areas for you to investigate, which each capture a range of specific but related job titles. You’ll find information about education level, necessary skills, median salaries, remote job availability and much more. You can also easily check out the current open jobs or the courses that can help you gain the skills you need.

Check out the 15 Jobs on the Rise right now.

As many sheltered in place this year, retailers and logistics companies onboarded thousands of e-commerce workers to help get products from the store into the hands of customers. Hiring for these roles grew 73% year-over-year — and that demand continues with over 400,000 open jobs right now.

Top Job Titles: Driver, Supply Chain Associate, Package Handler, Personal Shopper | Skills: Time Management, Customer Service, Leadership | Top Locations Hiring: Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C. | Education: 75% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $42,000 - $56,000 | Remote job availability: Low

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The combination of historically low interest rates and the rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program loans has kept loan experts busy this year — and sent many companies on the hunt for even more. Hiring for these jobs in 2020 increased nearly 59% from 2019. For people looking to work from home, roughly a quarter of loan officer job postings mention remote work options.

Top job titles: Underwriter, Mortgage Loan Officer, Escrow Officer, Loan Closer | Skills: Risk Management, Customer Service, Credit Analysis | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Dallas, Chicago | Education: 86% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $43,700 - $60,000 | Remote job availability: High

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The coronavirus pandemic caused a sudden and sustained need for doctors and nurses, but it also created the same demand for the people who support health care professionals. These people help usher patients through the health care system, keep records in order for doctors and much more. Since 2019, hiring for these positions has increased more than 34%. (25 titles)

Top job titles: Health Care Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Dental Assistant, Home Health Aide | Skills: Patient Education, Data Entry, Physician Relations | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Boston, Chicago | Education: 83% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $65,300 - $106,000 | Remote job availability: Low

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Businesses were tasked with quickly adapting to an uncertain world and economy. While some jobs were lost, others that could help bottom lines and help businesses navigate through the pandemic were added. Hiring for these roles grew more than 45% between 2020 and 2019.

Top job titles: Sales Consultant, Sales Operations Assistant, Inbound Sales Specialist, Strategic Advisor | Skills: Customer Retention, Sales Process, Team Building | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Denver, Atlanta | Education: 92% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $43,300 - $105,000 | Remote job availability: Low

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Protests sparked by the police-involved shootings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor caused organizations around the world to reckon with systemic racism and a lack of diversity in positions of power. Companies — large and small — turned to diversity experts who could help them bring new voices into their organizations. Hiring for these roles increased more than 90% since 2019.

Top job titles: Diversity Manager, Diversity Officer, Head of Diversity, Diversity Coordinator | Skills: Community Outreach, Teaching, Organizational Development | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, San Francisco, Chicago | Education: 99% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $72,900 - $97,000 | Remote job availability: Low

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People stuck inside due to the pandemic turned to the internet for entertainment, meaning businesses were eager to get their products and services on their screens. These roles specialize in figuring out how to grab your attention in an already saturated digital world. Hiring for digital marketing roles grew nearly 33% year-over-year.

Top job titles: Digital Marketing Specialist, Social Media Manager, Marketing Representative, Search Engine Optimization Specialist | Skills: Product Marketing, Digital Strategy, Brand Management | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles | Education: 94% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $48,000 - $96,000 | Remote job availability: Medium

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Nurses are the backbone of the health care system and they’re obviously in demand as the world navigates its way back from the darkest days of the pandemic. These roles are not only in hospitals, though. Organizations are looking for nurses to serve in long-term care facilities, schools, urgent care centers and more. The coronavirus is not the only reason for the demand for nurses: The need is being driven by a number of factors, including an aging population. Demand for nurses grew nearly 30% year-over-year in 2020.

Top job titles: Registered Nurse, Certified Nursing Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Intensive Care Nurse | Skills: Patient Advocacy, Clinical Research, Time Management | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia | Education: 89% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $73,000 - $111,000 | Remote job availability: Low

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Few systems were tasked with more in 2020 than schools and universities that had to quickly rethink how they operate and educate. In addition to traditional primary and secondary teachers, demand grew for support workers and tutors. Hiring for these roles grew more than 20% between 2019 and 2020.

Top job titles: Teaching Assistant, Elementary School Teacher, Mathematics Tutor, Curriculum Developer | Skills: Lesson Planning, Time Management, Differentiated Instruction | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C. | Education: 97% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $46,500 - $63,200 | Remote job availability: Low

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As the world sheltered in place, many turned online for entertainment and connection — and countless streaming and social platforms stepped up to fill the demand. From TikTok to YouTube and blogs to podcasts, the demand for digital content creators grew 49% year-over-year, providing a constant and entertaining stream of media for us all.

Top job titles: Content Coordinator, Writing Consultant, Podcaster, Blogger | Skills: Video Editing, Creative Writing, Public Speaking | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Chicago, Atlanta | Education: 92% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $46,000 - $62,400 | Remote job availability: High

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The seismic events of 2020 caused many people to reevaluate the direction of their careers, lives and so much more. Many reached out to people who could help them chart a new course for themselves or their business. People who specialize in helping people and organizations transform ended up stepping up to the plate. Hiring for these coaching roles increased more than 51% since 2019.

Top job titles: Career Coordinator, Life Coach, Fitness Coach, Business Coach | Skills: Mentoring, Social Media, Entrepreneurship | Top Locations Hiring: New York City, Houston, Boston | Education: 92% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $44,300 - $50,000 | Remote job availability: Medium

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Most business and casual interactions moved online during the height of the pandemic. The technology that enables these conversations require highly specialized people to create it and keep it running. Hiring for these engineering roles grew nearly 25% between 2019 and 2020. Fortunately for people in this field, many can also work from home.

Top job titles: Web Developer, Full Stack Engineer, Frontend Developer, Game Developer | Skills: Program Management, Web Development, Distributed Systems | Top Locations Hiring: San Francisco, New York City, Washington, D.C. | Education: 93% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $77,500 - $104,000 | Remote job availability: High

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In addition to the physical health and economic costs of the coronavirus, the pandemic caused a mental health crisis. Counselors, therapists and other mental health specialists were tasked with helping people who felt isolated or worried about their safety. Hiring for these roles grew nearly 24% year-over-year.

Top job titles: Behavior Therapist, Mental Health Specialist, Psychotherapist, Mental Health Technician | Skills: Play Therapy, Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) | Top Locations Hiring: Boston, San Francisco, New York City | Education: 97% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $41,600 - $65,000 | Remote job availability: Low

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The way an app or website functions is critical to its success. Demand for people who specialize in how people interact with these technologies grew as millions of people turned to the internet and their devices to be entertained, connect or shop. Hiring for these specialists grew 20% between 2019 and 2020.

Top job titles: User Experience Designer, Product Design Consultant, User Interface Designer, User Experience Researcher | Skills: Web Design, Design Thinking, User Experience Testing| Top Locations Hiring: San Francisco, New York City, Seattle | Education: 97% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $80,000 - $103,000 | Remote job availability: Medium

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The world runs on data. Organizations big and small need experts who can make sense of the data and learn from it. The pandemic may have made some businesses lean more heavily on data scientists as they navigated an increasingly uncertain world. Hiring for these roles grew nearly 46% since 2019.

Top job titles: Data Scientist, Data Science Specialist, Data Management Analyst | Skills: TensorFlow, Statistical Modeling, Data Visualization | Top Locations Hiring: Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York City | Education: 98% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $100,000 - $130,000 | Remote job availability: Medium

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The profession of artificial intelligence (AI) was booming well before the pandemic hit the economy. The coronavirus didn’t slow down the field’s growth either. Many companies looked to AI as a way to keep up with increased demand during the pandemic. Others investigated AI as a way to safeguard their business from future disruptions, too. Hiring in this area grew 32% between 2019 and 2020.

Top job title: Machine Learning Engineer, Artificial Intelligence Specialist, Machine Learning Researcher | Skills: C++, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Python (Programming Language) | Top Locations Hiring: San Francisco, New York City, Seattle | Education: 99% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher | Salary Range: $124,000 - $150,000 | Remote job availability: Low

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Methodology development and data analysis by Economic Graph's Jenny Ying and Carl Shan. Additional reporting by Laura Lorenzetti.

Methodology

Jobs on the Rise are defined as the career categories that have seen the highest year-on-year growth rates in hiring, looking at the April 2020 to October 2020 timeframe. LinkedIn’s Economic Graph data scientists looked across 15,000+ job titles to uncover the jobs that have grown the most compared to 2019 levels, those titles were then grouped into overarching career trends that capture as many as 25 job titles within each category. Each trend summary above calls out the three largest job titles within that trend. Career trends are ranked using a combination of year-over-year growth rate combined with the raw size of the job demand. Salary ranges reflect the 25th percentile and 75th percentile levels within that career trend, using LinkedIn Salary data. You can explore more of each career trend in our interactive feature here.