The job market is a constantly evolving environment, regularly affected by government regulations, demographic changes, economic conditions, and of course, technological advances. In 2024, economic and geopolitical circumstances have become especially transparent, with high inflation levels in many countries eroding real incomes; in the meantime, global circumstances, such as supply chain disruption due to geopolitical conflicts, have been slowing down the post-COVID economy revival.
However, the largest shift in career opportunities has been brought on by technological advances, with the number of digital jobs on the rise and potentially reaching up to 92 million by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum. But which jobs are in the highest demand right now? To answer this, we decided to take a closer look at our internal database, primarily used by recruiters from all over the world, to see which positions they were trying to fill the most in 2024.
Based on our internal search data for the first half of 2024, recruiters worldwide were actively seeking to fill the top jobs listed below.
Table of Contents:
Technical Lead (IT)
Median salary: $243K
Typical educational requirements: BS in computer science, engineering, or related fields
IT is one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide, with the US predictably in the lead. However, Western Europe and Asia do not lag behind, and offer plenty of job opportunities for IT tech leads. The high demand for tech lead roles in various industries is primarily caused by digital transformation, the vast spread of AI, and the rise of remote and hybrid work models. Combined together, these factors cause an increased demand for qualified tech leads who can guide companies through innovation while ensuring the successful implementation of new technologies in a constantly transforming business landscape.
C-level positions
Median salary: $262K
Typical educational requirements: MBA or Master’s in relevant industry-specific field
Digital transformation of business models, adoption of new technologies, and a shift to hybrid remote work also increase demand for C-level positions. Companies determined to strive in this changing business landscape are in need of strategic leadership. Clearly, they also need people who can drive innovation while ensuring the company’s operational efficiency. In addition to ‘traditional’ C-level positions, i.e., chief executive, financial, and technical officer, new roles, like chief digital officer, are put forward by the ever-transforming digital landscape. And, even though MBAs are still welcome to qualify for this job, the real focus today is on soft skills, especially when it comes to strategic insight, adaptability, and overall emotional intelligence.
IT Manager
Median salary: $148K
Typical educational requirements: BS in computer science, engineering, or related fields
Based on our internal data from late 2023, IT managers ranked fourth on the list of in-demand IT jobs, but in a few short months, this vacancy has made it to third place. Similar to other high-demand professions 2024 has created, this impressive job growth is primarily caused by digital transformation and the adoption of new work models. Another reason is the growing number of cybersecurity threats, with human negligence as the primary reason for data breaches. So, the relatively new addition to the IT manager’s key responsibilities is maintaining cybersecurity measures — often, by monitoring data flow within teams and educating team members about cyber ‘hygiene.’
Sales Manager
Median salary: $166K
Typical educational requirements: BS or BA, preferably in marketing-related fields
Global e-commerce growth and a shift towards personalized selling have created a high demand for creative, result-driven sales managers. In this year alone, the global e-commerce market is expected to grow by 8.8%, exceeding $6 trillion in total worth. The South-Pacific region shows the highest growth percentiles of 22%, followed closely by North and South America. At the same time, the market grows ever more complex as customer expectations increase and overall sales dynamics shift towards personalized consumer offers. All of this combined creates a high demand for skilled sales managers who should definitely enjoy diverse career opportunities in 2024.
Marketing Manager
Median salary: $114K
Typical educational requirements: BS or BA in marketing-related fields
The transforming commercial landscape expectedly creates an increased demand for marketing managers. Once again, the massive spread of AI and the emphasis on big data technologies play their part in mid-2024 job trends, even in the marketing landscape. The introduction of data-driven marketing has created a very high demand for marketing managers with skills in data analytics – that is, people who make informed decisions and optimize marketing strategies based on data analysis. However, skilled digital specialists without deep knowledge of AI and data science are also in demand.
Project Manager
Median salary: $136K
Typical educational requirements: BS or BA in relevant industry-specific fields
Based on past job market trends, project management is one of the best jobs with steadily growing employment opportunities, and it certainly looks like this trend should persist. Expectedly, IT is the top industry on the lookout for skilled project managers, but it’s not the only one. Construction, healthcare, and manufacturing are in high need of professionals who can manage complex projects and lead teams of different sizes. Similar to other management jobs on this list, employers are highly interested in candidates’ soft skills, especially their ability to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment.
Social Media Manager
Median salary: $60K
Typical educational requirements: BS or BA in marketing-related or other industry-specific fields
In 2024, SMM also makes it to the list of top jobs in high demand. The primary factors behind this growth are, once again, the rapid development of the e-commerce market and increased attention to personalized customer offers. However, the social media landscape is going through a transformation of its own, with new platforms emerging and influencer marketing gaining ever more momentum. Social media usage is growing, too, with some estimates predicting a CAGR of 21.4% in the next decade. Some of the most rapidly developing regions expectedly include North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Managing Director
Median salary: $401K
Typical educational requirements: BS or BA in relevant industry-specific fields
According to the World Economic Forum, the high demand for managing directors is primarily caused by the need to upskill and reskill existing talent as companies worldwide go through digital transformation. Once again, businesses are in need of skilled professionals who can strategically lead internal teams through rapidly changing industry environments. Clearly, the focus here is on resilience and continuous innovation. Another important skill is the ability to tailor different strategies to diverse market needs, especially in international corporations that must operate in multicultural environments while maintaining a single strategic vision.
Digital Strategist
Median salary: $135K
Typical educational requirements: BS or BA in marketing-related or relevant industry-specific fields
Even though digital strategists rank ninth based on our data, a quick overview of mid-2024 job trends shows these professionals may be the most sought-after experts in any company. As already discussed, businesses worldwide are actively going through digital transformation — and while this shift is not yet obvious in every industry, it will be soon. Creating authentic, coherent brand images is at the forefront of digital strategists’ job responsibilities in 2024 because audiences become ever-more demanding when social responsibility is concerned.
Software Engineer
Median salary: $159K
Typical educational requirements: BS in computer science, engineering, or related fields
Not surprisingly, software engineers also make it to the list of high-demand professions 2024 job market has need of. This occupation has experienced steady growth over the last few years — once again thanks to technological advances and the growing digital transformation of businesses all over the world. The largest IT hubs today are the USA, Great Britain, and Israel, with the Asian-Pacific region on the rise. Besides, companies are actively hiring talent from developing countries in Eastern Europe and Latin America. The most popular hard skills today are AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. However, data science, full-stack development, and blockchain also make it to the list of high-demand skills.
Methodology
For this analysis of best jobs, we have collected all searches made over our internal database from January 2024 to June 2024. Later, we shortlisted the top ten professions that were in highest demand worldwide, ranking them from high to low based on the total number of searches. Information about typical educational requirements was also primarily taken from our recruiting database and compared to other publicly available sources, including job boards, for higher accuracy.
Statistics about median salary ranges were taken from Glassdoor, an open platform empowering employees to share data about their employers, compensation rates, and overall career opportunities. These median wages, without bonuses or additional payments for years of experience, are based on the United States data and may differ from salaries in other regions, especially in Asia-Pacific. The Western European salaries, however, are typically comparable to the figures we presented in this analysis.
Graphs about job growth for each profession were created to show general market trends in this decade and are primarily based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, very similar trends can also be observed in other locations, especially Western Europe and Asia. In addition, BLS had the most publicly available data for creating visual graphs that detail employment growth and job demand fluctuations in this decade.
Mostly, however, the analysis is based on our internal database, primarily used by recruiters, sales, and marketers. So, these statistics may be slightly skewed towards the digital sphere and may differ from resources that analyze job demand across both digital and physical job opportunities, especially if such analyses are location-based. On the other hand, international market trends from various analytical resources, including the World Economic Forum, confirm the steady growth of digital occupations, so our research is still a good representation of mid-2024 job trends around the world.
Conclusion
Even though our analysis is based on searches from one database, it falls in line with global employment trends and the overall rise of digital career opportunities, especially in IT, sales, and marketing. Of course, one should also note that most digital jobs are, in fact, phygital these days, which means your location can seriously boost employment chances if chosen right. The possibilities for relocation today are plentiful, with most employers looking for qualified professionals all over the globe. So, you might want to check out our previous analysis of the best cities in the world to find a job — compiled based on our global search data from mid-2023 to mid-2024.
