It is excellent to know that you have viable career options regardless of whether you’re a college student who’s still unsure of what field they should pursue or a professional looking for a change of pace. As the world rapidly changes towards a technology-driven future, jobs in engineering, data science, and computer systems are gaining more traction. It has become common today for recruiters to have potential hirees take a data science skills assessment to determine whether they are right for the job.
While in the past, being tech-savvy is a bonus, today, it is considered a requirement to be knowledgeable of almost all basic computer software. There are now many career options that have opened up thanks to the advancement of technology. At the same time, jobs with menial tasks are getting phased out, replaced by automation.
Here, I have listed down some of the best career options that you can take for 2020 and their average annual salary. Take note, however, that the data for the annual average wage came from a 2018 study and thus chances are these figures have increased.
Solar Energy Technician
Average Yearly Pay: $42, 680
With all the talks about climate change and the adverse effects of fossil fuel usage, it is a possibility that solar energy becomes one of the primary sources of power for humankind. The cost of solar energy is becoming more and more inexpensive. As such, solar power is growing much more viable than it has ever been. As clean energy gains traction and popularity in households, it cannot be helped that the demand for solar energy technicians also increases.
Wind Energy Technician
Average Yearly Pay: $54, 370
The rising threat of climate change has made everyone clamouring for a cleaner source of energy. Climate Change scientists have stressed the importance of reducing everyone’s carbon footprint to help the planet recover from Global Warming. One way of reducing an individual’s carbon and methane emission is by making the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Wind energy is one sustainable option that the planet can take. With this in mind, it is apparent that thousands of skilled wind energy technicians will become in-demand.
Software Developer
Average Yearly Pay: $103, 620
Without software developers, computers, robots, and even mobile devices are all rendered useless. Sophisticated software comes hand-in-hand with advanced hardware. As our world transitions towards a “smarter” world, software developers are becoming more and more in-demand. With the Internet and smartphones dominating the world, millions of software developing jobs are going to open up in the next five to ten years.
Data Scientist
Average Yearly Pay: $128, 750
The Harvard Business Review considers data scientist as the sexiest job of the 21st century. Businesses are currently spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on market research to gain valuable insights that will help them with their decision making. The world is also shifting towards more quantified measures of success, such as performance metrics. Companies are then left to deal with massive amounts of raw data. Almost any organization can now collect information, but the challenge lies in interpreting this information into useful insights that the organization can use.
Professional data analysts and engineers will be able to spot any persistent patterns while also being able to identify the past, present, and future market trends. Being a data scientist deals with data collection, cleaning, and analysis. A skilled data scientist can quickly transform raw amounts of data into comprehensible information that everyone can understand.
Web Developer
Average Yearly Pay: $69, 430
Experts recommend that every business establish an active online presence in the form of a website to improve their audience reach. It is partly because of this suggestion that there are currently 1.5 billion websites existing on the World Wide Web. With the Internet basically achieving global domination, it is apparent that the world requires millions of web developers that would create and refurbish websites to improve User Experience.
Digital Content Specialists
Average Yearly Pay: $98, 350
Digital Content Specialists come in close association with web developers. Web developers need engaging and relevant content to put on websites, and on the other hand, digital content specialists need web developers to upload their content online. By working harmoniously, these two jobs can create an aesthetically-pleasing, perfectly-working website.
SEO Specialists
Average Yearly Pay: $61, 000
Even the best-looking website will need SEO Specialists to improve its SEO ranking. The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process is quite crucial as it dramatically increases the online traffic that a specific website gets. The most effective way to increase the visibility of a website is for it to appear in the search results. However, appearing on top of the search results page is a complicated process that SEO specialists are capable of helping companies with.
Information Security Analyst
Average Yearly Pay: $98, 350
As our world slowly goes online, we must take the necessary steps to avoid cyberattacks. Because of the sensitive information that we upload online almost regularly (i.e. private information, photos, messages), Information Security Analysts have to work double-time to safeguard their clients. Unfortunately, cyberhackers are becoming more and more creative in how they infiltrate networks and IT systems. It is this exact reason why both the government and private firms require information security analysts to protect their files continually.
