Many of America’s best jobs are in tech, according to Glassdoor’s latest Best Jobs list. Enterprise architect topped the list, followed by full-stack engineer, data scientist, DevOps engineer, and strategy manager.
Various kinds of engineers and developers (in specializations such as machine learning, data, and product) rounded out the top 10, demonstrating yet again how tech dominates when it comes to pay and job satisfaction. Glassdoor ranks jobs according to available job openings, high earning potential, and high job satisfaction.
Learning highly specialized skills can help technologists land these top jobs. “The most common technical skill is machine learning, which is important for jobs like Data Scientist (#3), Machine Learning Engineer (#6) and Software Engineer (#8),” read Glassdoor’s note accompanying the data. “Workers with this skill will be able to develop models to identify patterns in big data. Other skills worth picking up include distributed computing and time series analysis.”
Enterprise architects must set up and maintain a company’s network and related services. It’s a huge job, especially since it often involves lots of apps, services, and hardware within the tech stack. They must stay current with the latest trends and releases, since some parts of the tech stack must be upgraded or swapped out on a regular basis; at the same time, they must communicate with stakeholders throughout an organization (including upper management) to determine the company’s needs well into the future.
According to Emsi Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country, there’s low demand for enterprise architects nationwide (only 3,700 job postings in the past 12 months), but projected growth over the next 10 years is a solid 13.4 percent. The relatively small number of jobs isn’t surprising—not every organization needs an enterprise architect to wrangle a huge technology footprint.) Enterprise architects can expect to make a median annual salary of $102,577, which can obviously rise with experience.
If you want to land a job as an enterprise architect, you’ll need a variety of technical skills, including (but certainly not limited to) SQL, project management, data architecture, data warehousing, business processes, Big Data, and business intelligence (B.I.). “Soft skills” such as communication are also vital, as you’ll need to explain complicated concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
Whatever tech jobs interest you, keep in mind that specializing in “hot” skills can always open up opportunities for you. Just remember that hiring managers and recruiters will almost always test your knowledge of those skills—come prepared to the interview.
