Weekly Wrap: A Dozen Hot and High Paying Jobs in High Demand

Every year, CareerBuilder (along with its affiliate Economic Modeling Specialists International), comes out with a list of high paying, high demand jobs for the coming year.

Some might call this an early Christmas present, but I prefer to think of it as a sign of times, a window into the kind of work that is in demand at that specific point in our history, and the value that our society puts on that labor.

According to the CareerBuilder/EMSI analysis, these “hot jobs … are not only growing, but pay well too. The list was based on occupations that grew 7 percent or more from 2010 to 2013, are projected to increase in 2014, and fall within a higher-wage category of $22 per hour or more.”

Take a look at this list and see what you make of it:

1. Software Developers, Applications and Systems Software

Total employment in 2013: 1,042,402 jobs

Added 104,348 jobs from 2010-2013, up 11 percent

Median hourly earnings: $45.06

2. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

Total employment in 2013: 438,095 jobs

Added 54,979 jobs from 2010-2013, up 14 percent

Median hourly earnings: $29.10

3. Training and Development Specialists

Total employment in 2013: 231,898 jobs

Added 18,042 jobs from 2010-2013, up 8 percent

Median hourly earnings: $27.14

4. Financial Analysts

Total employment in 2013: 257,159 jobs

Added 17,060 jobs from 2010-2013, up 7 percent

Median hourly earnings: $37.34

5. Physical Therapists

Total employment in 2013: 207,132 jobs

Added 14,011 jobs from 2010-2013, up 7 percent

Median hourly earnings: $37.93

6. Web Developers

Total employment in 2013: 136,921 jobs

Added 13,364 jobs from 2010-2013, up 11 percent

Median hourly earnings: $27.84

7. Logisticians

Total employment in 2013: 127,892 jobs

Added 11,897 jobs from 2010-2013, up 10 percent

Median hourly earnings: $35.08

8. Database Administrators

Total employment in 2013: 119,676 jobs

Added 11,241 jobs from 2010-2013, up 10 percent

Median hourly earnings: $37.39

9. Meeting, Convention and Event Planners

Total employment in 2013: 87,082 jobs

Added 10,867 jobs from 2010-2013, up 14 percent

Median hourly earnings: $22.56

10. Interpreters and Translators

Total employment in 2013: 69,887

Added 8,377 jobs from 2010-2013, up 14 percent

Median hourly earnings: $22.39

11. Petroleum Engineers

Total employment in 2013: 40,733

Added 7,158 jobs from 2010-2013, up 21 percent

Median hourly earnings: $63.67

12. Information Security Analysts

Total employment in 2013: 75,995

Added 5,671 jobs from 2010-2013, up 8 percent

Median hourly earnings: $41.62

A need to “focus on re-skilling workers”

“More high-wage jobs will be created in 2014 which will, in turn, fuel the creation of jobs at lower pay levels,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and co-author of The Talent Equation, in a press release accompanying this list. “The challenge is many of these in-demand, skilled positions are in areas where companies are already experiencing a shortage of qualified labor. As a nation, we need to focus on re-skilling workers of all ages and providing them with affordable education to catch up to labor demands in technology, health care and other key sectors.”

Yes, Matt Ferguson is right that the U.S. desperately needs to find a way to help workers get and keep the right skills for out modern workplace. It won’t be easy, especially since companies really haven’t brought their training budgets back to pre-recession levels. And worse yet, many companies simply don’t see the need to train workers and simply want to hire them with the skills they need, period.

That approach isn’t going to cut it anymore, especially as the economy pulls out of the this sluggish post-recession period and workers find themselves in higher demand with more options.

All in all, it should make for an interesting 2014, and these “hot ” jobs listed here are just the tip of the recruiting and hiring iceberg that sits underneath.

Managing people on sinking ship

Of course, there’s more than the latest list of hot jobs in the news this week. Here are some HR and workplace-related items you may have missed. This is TLNT’s weekly round-up of news, trends, and insights from the world of talent management. I do it so you don’t have to.

An ugly age discrimination case at Rutgers. The New York Times says that, “Age discrimination claims are on the rise as members of the post-World War II baby boom enter their 60s. Last year, 22,857 people filed age-related complaints with the (EEOC) compared with 16,548 in 2006.” And as a case in point, they dig into this ugly age discrimination lawsuit at Rutgers University where some long-time college administrators with years of great reviews were suddenly told they weren’t performing — and found themselves out of a job past age 60.
10 big problems with open offices. I know that open offices are all the rage these days, but as someone who has worked in both modern open offices and the old-style closed offices from the dinosaur era, take it from me that a little privacy from time to time really helps you to get work done. That’s why this Fast Company story on the worst things about working in an open office caught my eye. Some of the top gripes? “It’s loud,”there’s absolutely no privacy,” and my favorite, “the office always smells.”
Managing people on a sinking ship. As the public demise of Blackberry makes clear, it isn’t easy managing people as a business slowly goes under. That’s why this recent HBR blog post is instructive, because it makes the case that, “Even when it’s clear that a company’s in trouble, there are ways to help team members stay focused, deliver results, and weather the storm.”
How to better sleep on the job. There’s been an ongoing debate over the value of a short nap during the work day, and how it can really rejuvenate employees and improve performance. Whether you believe that or not, this new product touted on Mashable (for only $99!) makes it easier to catch a few zzzzs while working. The only question is, would you want anybody to ever see you actually using it?