Despite previous pessimistic estimates that predicted recession with almost a 100% probability, the US economy has shown unprecedented growth in 2023, as per the White House. Based on December 2023 data, the past year has seen a 2.6% rise in overall economic growth, an increase in consumer spending, a new series of investments in manufacturing, a deceleration in the inflation rates, and the creation of new jobs. But which ones?
We decided to take a look at our internal data to see how these theoretic estimates translate into practice. SignalHire is a contact database primarily used by recruiters seeking new professional talent. Access to our search history gives us fact-rich insights into which careers spur the recruiters’ interest most often. This, in turn, suggests which US jobs are in the highest demand based on the number of recruiters’ searches.
At a glance, US recruiters were most interested in IT and the high-tech sector, which is not surprising considering that the global IT market grew by 8.2% in 2023. Based on different estimates, the US’s share in this global market is almost 30%, so career opportunities should not be lacking.
Below, we list the top trending jobs in the USA as per data from our recruiting database.
1. Software Engineer
Median salary in the US: $140,300
Employment growth: 25%
Typical educational requirements: BS in computer science or a related field
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for software engineers is showing much faster annual growth than the industry average. This is also one of the highest-paying jobs, as according to the same source, the 2022 median pay was a few cents short of $60/hour. This is obviously not the limit, and today, job opportunities are rising along with monetary compensation rates.
One more reason for such unprecedented job growth is that software engineering is a very diverse field. Depending on their skillsets and employers, software engineers can deal with different tasks — from front- and back-end development to providing ongoing maintenance of complex software products. In today’s tech-dependent world, this profession certainly seems recession-proof.
2. Technical Lead in IT
Median salary in the US: $173,403
Employment growth: 15%
Typical educational requirements: BS in computer science, engineering, or a related field
IT tech lead is the second top 10 job in America, which is not surprising — when companies hire multiple software developers, they also need senior tech experts to lead those teams. Unlike purely managerial jobs, tech leads are more engineers than managers; even though they are expected to guide junior developers, the primary responsibility of a tech lead is to implement and maintain efficient tech infrastructures. This is the main reason why tech leads are most generously compensated — the position requires a perfect balance of tech and soft skills, along with years of experience in required fields.
3. Data Scientist
Median salary in the US: $156,747
Employment growth: 35%
Typical educational requirements: BS in computer or data science, math, statistics, or a related field
A data scientist ranks third on the top 10 trending job list, but this field has even more employment growth potential than any other profession in our analysis. The projected job growth for data scientists outranks even the demand for software engineers because practically all businesses depend on data analyses today. Data experts are the future of business decision-making — regardless of the company’s specifics. So, qualified experts who can translate raw data into actionable business development steps will have plenty of career opportunities in the foreseeable future.
4. Principal Architect
Median salary in the US: $245,520
Employment growth: 4%
Typical educational requirements: BS in computer science, software engineering, or a related field
The general employment growth for principal architects may not be as high as that of previously described trending careers. Still, judging from the sheer number of job openings US recruiters were trying to fill in late 2023, the employment opportunities are not lacking. Of course, finding suitable candidates for the principal architect position is not easy. This is a highly responsible job that implies defining the scope of multi-scale software projects, guiding tech leads, and communicating project vision to C-level execs and investors. But the level of responsibility is well-reflected in the salary range and career-making opportunities.
5. Director
Median salary in the US: $206,270
Employment growth: 3%
Typical educational requirements: BBA, MBA (or BS in a related field)
Business directors oversee the managerial and strategic development of their departments or entire companies. For as long as the economy is on the rise, business directors will remain some of the most sought-after jobs on demand in USA. While existing companies grow and expand and new startups are registered, dedicated leaders with MBA degrees and experience building efficient organizational cultures will have plenty of career opportunities in America and beyond.
6. Manager
Median salary in the US: $93,380
Employment growth: 5%
Typical educational requirements: BA, MBA (or BS in an industry-related field)
Qualified managers are high demand jobs almost in every industry, from retail and healthcare to food industry and hospitality. IT and field-related managerial positions in the USA are also in high demand. BLS predicts over a million new employment opportunities for managers every year.
Note, however, that this figure does not categorize managers by specialization and includes all qualified experts in sales, administration, HR, engineering, computer networks, finance, construction, education, recreation, and many other fields. But the good news for qualified managers is that many employees welcome professionals from adjacent fields.
7. Vice President
Median salary in the US: $301,925
Employment growth: 3%
Typical educational requirements: BBA, MBA (or BS in an industry-related field)
It would seem such a high-ranking and relatively rare position should not make the list of most in demand jobs in the USA, but our search data speaks otherwise. Still, if you consider that there are 33+ million small businesses, constituting 99.9% of all US companies, such high demand makes perfect sense. Besides, startups that have survived the COVID-19 pandemic and other dangerous pitfalls of launching a new business are now expanding. And these expanding companies are in need of qualified professionals who can lead them to the new business development stages.
8. CFO
Median salary in the US: $296,762
Employment growth: 16%
Typical educational requirements: BBA, MBA (or BS in finance, accounting, economics, or another industry-related field)
High-tier financial management is another professional area with faster-than-average growth rates. Depending on the company size and specifics, CFOs may be responsible for many different tasks, from figuring out ways to sell company products to other C-level execs to finding the optimal ways of generating business ROI. Unlike most other trending careers on our list, CFOs can work in any industry that needs them, not necessarily IT. So, this occupation is also less prone to market fluctuations.
9. CEO
Median salary in the US: $359,428
Employment growth: 3%
Typical educational requirements: BA, MBA (or BS in industry-related field)
Similar to other top-tier managers and C-level execs on our list of most in demand jobs in the USA, CEOs can find employment in practically any industry. To succeed in this field, one will need a good understanding of business development and industry specifics. CEO employment possibilities range from high-tech to finance and can offer the most exciting career opportunities for people with the right skills and mindsets.
10. Project Manager
Median salary in the US: $99,595
Employment growth: 6%
Typical educational requirements: BA, MBA (or BS in industry-related field)
Project managers wrap up our list of top trending jobs in USA. However, this does not mean that the openings are scarce — compared to overall employment growth in managerial positions, BLS growth projectiles for IT project managers are higher than the industry average. This is not surprising — most in-demand US jobs on this list are IT-related, which means that the need for talented PM should not decrease any time soon.
Methodology
In this analysis, we have presented data from our internal database. SignalHire is service that collects and stores contact data to allow registered users search for new professional contact individually, by name, or in bulk — by job title, industry, company, or skillset.
Our primary users are recruiters, salespeople, marketers, and business developers, which certainly affects the job statistics presented in this article. So, our data may differ from publications analyzing more industries, including local retail jobs, commerce, physical goods manufacturing, etc. But while SignalHire analysis is skewered towards the digital sector, it presents a vivid picture of the top US information and technology careers in demand, based on factual recruiters’ searches.
To create this rating, we have pulled history of all SignalHire searches made in the fall of 2023. Later, we extracted all search requests for US job openings and picked ten most numerous job titles, sorting them from highest to lowest.
Statistics about job growth rate was taken from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and includes the bureau’s estimates for the period of 2022-2032. Information about salary ranges was taken from Glassdoor, one of the major online communities where employers and employees anonymously share data about salary ranges and other workplace conditions across different industries.
These median salaries are presented without consideration of bonus payments or years of professional experience. The additional pictures giving more information on potential salary ranges are also taken from Glassdoor, and even though this platform shows unofficial statistics, it still has the most up-to-date information on factual US compensation potential.
Information about typical educational requirements was taken from public online sources — job boards, universities, and other trusted resources. These data only presents minimal educational requirements and cannot account for actual employers’ expectations, which may be somewhat higher and will usually include some previous job experience in the relevant industry.
Conclusion
Our article analyzes the most trending jobs in the US information and high-tech business sector. Since the research is based on internal SignalHire data, it may not offer a complete picture of all industries and available job openings in the country. The USA offers plenty of other job possibilities in healthcare, government, manufacturing, and retail sectors, and many local searches were not necessarily run through our database.
At the same time, there is little doubt that IT is one of the most rapidly developing sectors worldwide. So, while the data above may not offer a complete economic picture of the US job market, it certainly shows how rapidly the high-tech sector is developing and which professions in this industry are in highest demand.
Besides, the need for qualified software developers and top-management professionals in the IT industry is not a new or a passing trend. To get a better idea of how the US job market is evolving, read our 2022 analysis of the most in demand jobs in the USA —it also offers some data on non-digital occupations that were the first ones to recover from the COVID pandemics and are still in demand today.
