Top 15 In-Demand Jobs in 2021

LinkedIn data revels the top 15 in-demand jobs in 2021 and the most important skills needed for each position.

A new report highlights the fastest-growing job areas over the past year, which are ranked based on a combination of demand and number of jobs available.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, LinkedIn is shifting the focus of its annual emerging jobs report to emphasize where the opportunity is right now.

Previous editions of this report have focused on job trends over the past 5 years, but the world of work has changed rapidly over the past 12 months.

Before you scroll down to look at the full list – yes, digital marketing is among the fastest growing jobs! As is digital content creation and UX design.

But it’s not all digital skills that made the list. Many in-demand jobs, which have since gone remote, call for more traditional skills.

This information can be useful for people looking to refine their skills and enhance their qualifications to stay prepared for the year ahead.

Top 15 Jobs on the Rise

LinkedIn prefaces its list by explaining how it came to identify the following 15 in-demand jobs:

“To identify these “Jobs on the Rise,” we looked at the roles experiencing the highest year-over-year growth between April and October 2020. We then grouped that data into 15 job areas for you to investigate, which each capture a range of specific but related job titles.”

Here are the top 15 in-demand jobs in 2021 along with the education levels and skills needed to land them.

1. Frontline Ecommerce Worker

Hiring for these roles grew 73% year-over-year. Over 400,000 jobs are available right now.

• Top Job Titles: Driver, Supply Chain Associate, Package Handler, Personal Shopper
• Skills: Time Management, Customer Service, Leadership
• Education: 75% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

2. Loan and Mortgage Experts

Hiring for these jobs in 2020 increased nearly 59% from 2019.

• Top job titles: Underwriter, Mortgage Loan Officer, Escrow Officer, Loan Closer
• Skills: Risk Management, Customer Service, Credit Analysis
• Education: 86% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

3. Health Care Supporting Staff

Since 2019, hiring for these positions has increased more than 34%.

• Top job titles: Health Care Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Dental Assistant, Home Health Aide
• Skills: Patient Education, Data Entry, Physician Relations
• Education: 83% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

4. Business Development and Sales Professionals

Hiring for these roles grew more than 45% between 2020 and 2019.

• Top job titles: Sales Consultant, Sales Operations Assistant, Inbound Sales Specialist, Strategic Advisor
• Skills: Customer Retention, Sales Process, Team Building
• Education: 92% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

5. Experts in Workplace Diversity

Hiring for these roles increased more than 90% since 2019.

• Top job titles: Diversity Manager, Diversity Officer, Head of Diversity, Diversity Coordinator
• Skills: Community Outreach, Teaching, Organizational Development
• Education: 99% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

6. Digital Marketing Professionals

Hiring for digital marketing roles grew nearly 33% year-over-year.

• Top job titles: Digital Marketing Specialist, Social Media Manager, Marketing Representative, Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Skills: Product Marketing, Digital Strategy, Brand Management
• Education: 94% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

7. Nurses

Demand for nurses grew nearly 30% year-over-year in 2020.

• Top job titles: Registered Nurse, Certified Nursing Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Intensive Care Nurse
• Skills: Patient Advocacy, Clinical Research, Time Management
• Education: 89% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

8. Education Professionals

Hiring for education professionals grew more than 20% between 2019 and 2020.

• Top job titles: Teaching Assistant, Elementary School Teacher, Mathematics Tutor, Curriculum Developer
• Skills: Lesson Planning, Time Management, Differentiated Instruction
• Education: 97% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

9. Digital Content Creators

Demand for digital content creators grew 49% year-over-year.

• Top job titles: Content Coordinator, Writing Consultant, Podcaster, Blogger
• Skills: Video Editing, Creative Writing, Public Speaking
• Education: 92% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

10. Professional and Personal Coaches

Hiring for these coaching roles increased more than 51% since 2019.

• Top job titles: Career Coordinator, Life Coach, Fitness Coach, Business Coach
• Skills: Mentoring, Social Media, Entrepreneurship
• Education: 92% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

11. Specialized Engineers

Hiring for these engineering roles grew nearly 25% between 2019 and 2020.

• Top job titles: Web Developer, Full Stack Engineer, Frontend Developer, Game Developer
• Skills: Program Management, Web Development, Distributed Systems
• Education: 93% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

12. Mental Health Specialists

Hiring for these roles grew nearly 24% year-over-year.

• Top job titles: Behavior Therapist, Mental Health Specialist, Psychotherapist, Mental Health Technician
• Skills: Play Therapy, Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Education: 97% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

13. User Experience (UX) Professionals

Hiring for these specialists grew 20% between 2019 and 2020.

• Top job titles: User Experience Designer, Product Design Consultant, User Interface Designer, User Experience Researcher
• Skills: Web Design, Design Thinking, User Experience Testing
• Education: 97% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

14. Data Science Specialists

Hiring for these roles grew nearly 46% since 2019.

• Top job titles: Data Scientist, Data Science Specialist, Data Management Analyst
• Skills: TensorFlow, Statistical Modeling, Data Visualization
• Education: 98% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

15. Artificial Intelligence Practitioners

Hiring in this area grew 32% between 2019 and 2020.

• Top job title: Machine Learning Engineer, Artificial Intelligence Specialist, Machine Learning Researcher
• Skills: C++, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Python (Programming Language)
• Education: 99% of hires have a bachelor’s degree or higher

To see more data, or view open job listings for any of the above positions, see LinkedIn’s full report here.