The 15 fastest-growing jobs in the US, according to LinkedIn
- LinkedIn published a new "jobs on the rise" list for the US, based on job growth rates using member data.
- LinkedIn's Andrew Seaman noted the list has "something on it kind of for everyone."
Chief growth officer, physical therapist, and vice president of diversity and inclusion are some of the top US jobs on LinkedIn's new jobs on the rise list.
The LinkedIn ranking is based on job growth rates, which were calculated based on members' data for jobs started from January 1, 2019, to July 31, 2023.
"To be ranked, a job title needed to see consistent growth across our membership base, as well as have grown to a meaningful size by 2023," the new report noted.
The compound five-year growth rate for the No. 1 job on the list, chief growth officer, was 41%, based on rates shared with BI. Government program analyst and environment health safety manager, which ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, both had rates around 39%.
"Overall I think the list has a nice diversity in terms of how there's something on it kind of for everyone regardless of your educational background, your interest," Andrew Seaman, senior managing editor for jobs & career development at LinkedIn News, told Business Insider.
Given the list is based on several years of data, Seaman said that opportunities in these roles are unlikely to quickly dry up. Instead, "we like to call it sustainable growth," Seaman said.
"These are areas where companies have shown consistent interest and commitment," Seaman said. "People who are seeing this list, people who are trying to plan their careers, they could look at this list without having to worry that these jobs are going to fall off the face of the Earth in a year."
People looking to land one of these jobs should think about the skills they need. Seaman said "the skills needed to do any job is evolving rapidly" and that more and more employers are doing skills-first hiring, so they may place less emphasis on their past job titles, per Seaman.
"What I would suggest to people is think about the skills they have and the skills that are required to do these jobs," Seaman said, adding the new report notes some of these skills.
"If you see that you want to go into sustainability and maybe you're missing some big skills on that list, then you want to work toward filling those," Seaman said. "And then even if you're coming from a different industry or a different background, it helps you pivot into that world."
Below are the 15 fastest-growing jobs in the US jobs per the new LinkedIn report. Most common skills noted below "were derived from the top skills most unique to each title among members who have ever held that title on LinkedIn," per the report. The median years of prior experience noted for jobs below "was calculated using the median years of work experience held prior to starting in the featured title for members hired within the methodology timeframe," the report said.
15. Director of land acquisition
This job involves "the process of acquiring real estate or land" according to the new LinkedIn report. As this process can involve "strategic relationships with brokers," one of the most common skills for this job is contract negotiation per the new report. The new LinkedIn report noted that the median prior experience required for this job is almost six years.
14. Grants program manager
This job was defined in the report as overseeing "the end-to-end process of grants programs, including identifying funding opportunities, managing budgets and ensuring regulatory compliance." While LinkedIn noted that many grants program managers transitioned from being grants writers, program coordinator and project manager were also common previous roles. The report said the median prior experience for this role is around four years.
13. Physical therapist
Physical therapists were one healthcare job among the top 15. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for this job is almost $100,000 — $97,720 — and is projected to see employment increase by 15% from where it stood in 2022 to 10 years later in 2032. LinkedIn noted 2.3 to 3.0 as the median years of prior experience.
12. Product security engineer
This engineer role involves taking care of "potential vulnerabilities" for products or systems "through risk assessments, threat modeling and protective measures," per the new report. The median years of prior experience needed is 4.4 years according to LinkedIn. Software engineer, application security engineer, and cyber security engineer were noted as the top roles LinkedIn users transitioned into this job from.
11. External communications manager
This communications role involves "an organization's strategic messaging to external audiences," per the LinkedIn report. The median years of prior experience noted in the report was 5.8 years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public relations managers have a median pay of $129,430, and a bachelor's degree was noted as the typical education needed.
10. Artificial intelligence engineer
While artificial intelligence is already playing a role in the labor force, such as with people finding ways to be productive with the help of AI tools, artificial intelligence engineer was one job on the list that specifically involves AI duties. Around three years of prior experience is typically needed, per the median years noted in the LinkedIn report. The most common skills this job can involve are machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing.
"We're seeing how AI is emerging and eventually it's just going to seep into all these other job titles," Seaman said.
9. Recruiter
The median years of prior experience noted for this job in the report was 3.0 years to 3.9 years. Staffing and recruiting was one of the most common industries for this role, along with IT services and IT consulting as well as business consulting and services.
"Without talent acquisition professionals, these other jobs wouldn't get filled most of the time," Seaman said. "So that's why they're so high on the list and important to the whole process."
8. Artificial intelligence consultant
People in this job "advise organizations on the implementation of AI technologies in their business operations and product offerings," per the report. The median experience required for this job was about four years. The same most common skills for artificial intelligence engineers at No. 10 were noted for this AI job: machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing.
7. Vice president of diversity and inclusion
Community outreach was one of the most common skills noted in the report for this role. The median prior experience noted in the report for this job was 4.3 years to 5.4 years. Professor was one of the top roles transitioned from that was noted in the report. Diversity and inclusion specialist was another one listed as a main role transitioned from.
6. Advanced practice provider
The most common skills needed for this job noted in the report were all healthcare related: electronic medical records, advanced cardiac life support, and basic life support. The median years of prior experience for this healthcare job is 2.5 years to 4.9 years per the report. Many advanced practice providers were previously intensive care nurses.
5. Sustainability analyst
Project manager was one job noted in the report as a top previous role for sustainability analysts, and data analysis was one of the most common skills noted. The median prior experience for this role is 2.6 years per the new report.
Seaman said this role is one of the jobs that can be considered "mission-driven jobs, which are people who they're fulfilling a mission that is really beneficial to probably most people."
4. Director of revenue operations
Sales operations is one of the most common skills noted for this job. People who work a sales role may have some transferable skills for this job. Sales director was one job noted as a top role transitioned from.
A director of revenue operations typically needs more than five years of prior experience. The median noted in the report is 6.7 years to 7.3 years.
3. Environment health safety manager
This kind of manager's job involves making sure employers are "fostering a safe and sustainable workplace for employees, managing risk and ensuring compliance to health, safety and environmental regulations" per the report. This job could need several years of prior experience; the report noted a median of 6.3 years. Jobs for this kind of work can commonly be found in Atlanta, Houston, and Boston, as these three places were noted as where the most jobs are for this role.
2. Government program analyst
This analyst job focused on government programs needs about four years of prior experience per the new report. Two different types of analyst jobs — service analyst and licensing analyst — were noted as top roles transitioned from, alongside office technician. While analytical skills could be needed for the job, the report noted community outreach as one of the most common skills.
1. Chief growth officer
"Chief growth officers develop and execute an organization's strategies for driving revenue, expanding market presence and ensuring sustainable growth," the new report stated.
Business development is one of the most common skills noted in the report for this job, and the position typically needs a few years of experience. The new report noted the median prior experience required as 4.2 years to 6.5 years.
Seaman said chief growth officer and director of revenue operations both making the list suggests companies are continuing to want to grow and knowing they should be smart about it — by hiring people for roles where this is their job function.
Popular Right Now
Advertisement